Signing off

Who knew that when I signed up for an Online Marketing class and Magazine Editing I would spend all my time writing. It has been my most challenging term in graduate school and a kick in the pants.

The Online Marketing class is a great addition to the publishing program. Who can doubt that the market is going online in droves, and online is where we must talk to our audience. Learning about all the new and emerging technologies is mind boggling, but once you get your toes wet, it seems slightly less intimidating.

I now believe that the online strategy must be central in any marketing effort. Marty's class has introduced new ways to think about selling books to the public, and we, as students, need to figure out how to apply those ideas to Ooligan Press.

Despite the bad news about GACP and our shaky distribution, I feel optimistic about Ooligan's future. We have two books coming out that could gain a good deal of attention for the press—Oregon at Work and A Heart For Any Fate. The New York Times has requested a review copy of OAW, and Booklist has asked for HAF—both huge accomplishments.

Also, Ooligan Press recently won a grant to produce a guide to sustainable printing from Portland State University. With a new direction towards sustainability in publishing, the press could become a leader in finding greener solutions in printing and distribution. I believe that smaller, less centralized publishers and sustainable production are key to the future of the industry, and Ooligan is moving in the right direction.

I have a lot of faith in the enthusiasm and determination of the students in the program, and I appreciate the wisdom and leadership of the faculty. Whatever twists and turns await the industry and Ooligan Press, the new talent coming out of the publishing program will be able to handle it.

Which ad solicited the highest response?

These ads appeared next to each other when I asked Google to define "part and parcel" and I followed an idioms link. (Don't ask.)

Here is an excellent example of an AdWords test, though I didn't expect to see them side by side. It certainly makes me wonder which ad receives the higher response.

It also makes me think there is a level of marketing analysis that I'm missing. What do people respond to? What makes them click the link? What turns a click into a purchase?

I suppose in order to answer those questions, I'd have to stay in grad school a while longer. But I am curious about the psychological workings that influence and push consumer behavior.

I would like to think that people are surprising and difficult to predict, even in this day of instant feedback. Am I wrong? Has anyone stumbled upon the secret code to consumer behavior? (I can tell you it is not revealed in the book Groundswell.)

You can reach me at...

I've always had at least two email addresses—work and personal. Since I left my job last year I lost the work address but gained two new ones. I currently have a Comcast account, PSU, and Gmail.

I've had the Comcast account since 2002 (before that it was an AT&T account). It is my general use address where I receive the bulk of business and personal email. When I started graduate school I gained the mandatory PSU account. I use it for school related communication, though much of my school email comes to the Comcast account.

I only recently opened the Gmail account for the Online Marketing class. I've mostly used it to set up Blogger, Twitter, and Facebook accounts. All the sudden, I'm seeing lots of activity here.

Since I use a Mac, keeping up with my email accounts is really easy—even on my phone. The mail application has a simple set-up for multiple accounts—I have the preferences set to check all three every ten minutes. I love the discreet red bubble and soft sound that indicate a new message has come in. I usually check email right away when I see the bubble, but it's pretty easy to ignore if I'm in the middle of something.

When I went to work for the printing company oh so many years ago (1996), I set up the company's first email account. Back then, all artwork that went to press had to be couriered on a disk to a service bureau, then the film was returned again by courier. Once I got on email, I was able to send artwork as an attachment, cutting the courier costs in half. It was a revelation.

Well that was enough of a stroll down memory lane, but I honestly cannot remember what life was like without email. It is especially important to me because I'm not a phone person. I rarely answer the phone, but I respond to email without fail.

Ooligan Press released new title

Do Angels Cry? Tales of the War

by Matko Marušić

This collection of short stories offers an intimate view of the 1991 war in Croatia. Each story presents a different perspective of struggle and devotion to country during a time of war. A father talks his son out of building a bomb. An older man struggles to contribute in some way to the war effort. A doctor and his hospital are liberated at the end of the war. A couple and their young daughter are finally allowed to return to their hometown of Split.

Marušić captures the essence war—not the war fought on the battlefield, but the struggles at home, in the small-town streets, and in the daily lives of citizens. His spare language and vivid images illuminate the war not found in history books.

Do Angles Cry? is a new release by Ooligan Press, the student-run trade press at Portland State University. For more information about all the titles available from Ooligan, visit www.ooliganpress.pdx.edu

ISBN: 978-932010-23-7

5½˝ x 8½˝, softcover
160 pages
$14.95

For more information: ooliganmarketing@pdx.edu

About the Author

Matko Marušić was born in Split, Croatia, in 1946. Matko Marušić’s other writings include a novel, a collection of short stories for children, and two additional collections of short stories for adults. Do Angels Cry? Tales of the War was originally published in Croatia and Great Britain in 1996. A preface, written by Dr. Stanimir Vuk-Pavlovic, has been added for the American edition.

This book is about the facet of the human price of the war…Yet, this book tells the simple truth of the ordinary people caught in extraordinarily desperate situations when choices are few and all are bad. They are the response to the statement, “What is not worth dying for, is not worth living for.”
— Dr. Stanimir Vuk-Pavlovic, Hematology/Oncology and Preventative Medicine, Mayo Clinic