If you are a real soda lover, your probably know about Galco's, a slightly run-down market in LA that enjoys a cult following for its selection of obscure sodas. Owner John Nese isn't trying to please the masses... and that is the point. To really get your marketing message moving, you need fans willing to write reviews, tell friends, send e-mails. And John has mastered that, without a big budget or high tech tools. See how John's passion for authentic soda offers a telling lesson about success in today's marketplace.

In a recent CMO Council/ InfoPrint Solutions report, 92% of respondents indicated they always open their monthly bills and 83% always open bank statements. The chart below shows their responses to the same categories in e-mail.

The point? Getting readers with over-stuffed Inboxes to open your promotional/ informational e-mail is really tough, since even bills and bank statements don’t get consistent opens. Relevance and value are the real keys to ensuring engaged e-mail recipients.

Get the full report here: http://www.precisionpromotion.org/

Mind mapping is a brainstorming and visual thinking technique that dates back to the 3rd century. The technique is finding new life thanks to an array of Web tools that make the creation and sharing of mind maps easier, unleashing some of the inherently collaborative nature of the technique. The most popular of these new Web 2.0 tools is MindMeister, an elegantly simple tool transforms min mapping from arcane to useful. Give it a spin!

If you haven’t heard yet, newspapers are under duress. If there is a next life, it will be the online/offline success of people like David Pogue, whose legions of devotees span the gamut, from dedicated NY Times readers to digital junkies looking for the next big thing. His NY Times blog is great stuff. BTW...catch his 11/17 post on Crowdsourcing Comedy for a little respite from your busy day.