Two weeks ago, I wrote a Motown-inspired best-of from SIPA Annual 2018 and a gentle push for the wonders to come at SIPA Annual 2019, June 3-5 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. But apparently I missed some obvious song titles!

"How could you talk about retention and not use I Want You Back [by the Jackson 5]?" asked Adam Goldstein, publisher of Business Management Daily and this year's SIPA Board Member in charge of SIPA 2019. In that latter role and sticking with the Jackson 5 theme, he also pledged that the conference will go beyond the ABCs. (In fact, with Adam guiding it, it will easily reach the XYZs.)

So here are more song titles and the apt publishing takeaways from SIPA 2018 that go along:

Media kits - Ain't Nothing Like the Real (Simple) Thing. Media kits are complex, so simplify, urged Ryan Dohrn, founder/CEO Brain Swell Media, during a great session at SIPA 2018. "89% of your buyers want 99% of their information on your company and ad space offerings before they speak to a sales person," Dohrn said. "You want to simplify them dramatically. They've probably been written by someone with a journalism degree. But information has to be presented in a visual format, and that means the removal of words. Visuals are received 60,000 times better in reception and context... I sell more because I try to create things that are very simple to understand."

Webinars - Stop (for Short Q&A Breaks)! In the Name of Love. Hyon-Young Kim, webinar producer for Education Week, said that one webinar advertiser they have likes to stop for short, 5-minute question breaks during the webinar to keep everyone engaged. She also advised taking polls and using video during webinars. "Get creative with the chat window," she said. "If you see a lot of networking going on, you can interact directly and elicit responses... Use a Twitter hashtag and get the conversation started before, and then continue the conversation after."

Content – (Move Past) It's the Same Old Song. "We have a monthly meeting that involves myself, the social media manager, content manager and art director," said Lani Harac, director of content for School Family Media. They'll look at what content—and graphics—has performed really well. "We'll keep an eye on long-term trends and if we have any dips, we know that we have to do something different. If someone is feeling resistant, we say just give it a try. There's no point of no return for us."

Email marketing - (Try) Another Saturday Night. Don't think of email as just a weekday thing anymore. OPIS pushed people to their new site on weekends. "We started doing a weekly update version on Fridays much like The New York Times does," said Rick Wilkes, director of marketing. "'Here's what you missed all week.' And we're seeing a lot of people on the site on weekends now." 

Remember, SIPA members receive access to all the conference proceedings. Go here to view the archives. 

Website relaunches - Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand). "Keywords are of the utmost importance" in your website, "but oftentimes we struggle with where to start..." said Ashlee Bovello, SEO and website marketing manager for OPIS by IHS Markit. "Work with the people who work with customers directly if you don't have that access—sales, customer service, editorial teams. Find out what kind of terms and words people who are really entrenched in your industry are using."

Personalized marketing - You've Really Got a Hold on Me. "When writing copy, spend time thinking about your audience," said Kristy Keller, brand director at Access Intelligence, who was named the inaugural recipient of SIPA's Andy McLaughlin Rising Star Award at SIPA 2018. "More and more communication is becoming personalized, so think about a handful of attributes that apply to your audience and consider those when you speak to them through marketing to try to cut through the clutter. And test!"

Financial literacy - Ain't No Mountain High Enough. "I always get on a soabox about [the importance of] financial literacy for women," said Lucretia Lyons, president of BVR at a show-stopping women's leadership panel at SIPA 2018." I feel it has been an egregious omission for women's education... For my own experience, that's where I felt the most deficient. So I went back to get an MBA and stared at the Bond Curve until I understood it which probably took a week and a half. That is the single-most empowering piece of education that women can get for themselves."

Are you subscribed to the SIPAlert Daily?
If not, you're missing out on daily strategies, tips, profiles and case studies that can build your audience and increase revenue. To sign up, please contact Nevena Jovanovic.

Ronn Levine began his career as a reporter for The Washington Post and has won numerous writing and publications awards since. Most recently, he spent 12 years at the Newspaper Association of America covering a variety of topics before joining SIPA in 2009 and SIIA in 2013 as editorial director…