May Meeting: Help Us Help You Help Us All

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Mr. Grumpy Pants

Mr. Grumpy Pants

Why so serious, pookie?

Has your writing career got you down? Things not falling into your lap like those unicorn rainbows and lollipop dreams would have it? Wondering what to do and how to do that (short of offering to sleep with Jack McClelland)?

THEN YOU NEED TO COME TO THE MAY MEETING OF THE SHEBEEN CLUB!

What with raincoaster heading off to places to our north so as to discover new alcohol-based uses for ice, The Shebeen Club is being forced on a new sucker transferred to a new, bright, shining set of hands! Ian Alexander Martin (a guy comfortable with writing about himself in the 3rd person) wants to know what you — yes, you — want to see in the meetings!

Come on down to the Rebel Room, put him in a sleeper hold, and then calmly explain what you need to learn about and who should explain it to you as a presenter.

The best way to get what you want is to say what that is. No one is willing to admit they can read minds, so join us on Tuesday, May 24th at 7pm for a timely, lively discussion by you and other intelligent people who are writers, publishers, literary agents, PR and Media people, or just plain people involved in that Publishing Biz. Bring your questions, suggestions, and your brain!

As always, tickets are $20 in advance [Eventbrite Link; let us know you’re coming and we’ll give you the early bird price] (available till May 23rd) or $25 at the door, and that includes dinner and a drink. The venue is the upstairs lounge at Revel Room, 238 Abbott Street just south of Gastown.

  • Revel Room: 238 Abbott Street just south of Gastown [need a map? CLICK HERE]
  • JUST $20!! GET YOUR TICKETS HERE! [Eventbrite Link!] includes dinner!
  • …or, bring $25 cash on the evening
  • Tuesday, May 24th
    • 7:00 – 7:30 meet & mingle
    • 7:30 – 8:00-ish listen & learn

Apostrophe Boy For The Win!

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Apostrophe Boy FTW!!!

Apostrophe Boy FTW!!!

and you KNOW how we are about proper apostrophe use.

April Meeting Cancelled

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Sorry, y’all. Canucks game, cancelling speakers, and a double-booked venue. It was not meant to be.

Next month!

Fucking Writers’ Conferences: how do they work?

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This is our April topic. I can drop an F bomb in it because the speaker said it was okay, and that was because the speaker is me and I’m the one who puts the PRO in profanity, right? Damn straight.

This month we’re on the 4th Tuesday instead of the 3rd Monday, but oh well, a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds, eh? And we’ll be starting at 6pm instead of 7, and it’s all cash, $20 a head for the set meal. Everybody gets the earlybird price this month.

There’s been a bit of chaos around Shebeen Global HQ this month, but we’re finally organized. We’ll be in the Revel Room upstairs again, from 6-8 or so. This way you don’t have to grab a snack before the meeting!

I’ll be speaking about how to get the most from a writer’s conference, and having been on the board of a couple and an attendee and speaker at more than I can count without taking off my shoes, I have a lot to share. If you do too, we want to hear from you.

And don’t forget the Women&Words conference this coming Friday and Saturday. Guess who’ll be speaking there as well? [insert smiley of your choice, as I am far too bloody dignified to use them myself]

By the way, if you have a favorite conference, please do drop a link to them in the comments. The more the merrier, and it’d be great to do one grand roundup post of all the conferences within reach of BC.

Job Posting: Newsletter Marketing Consultant

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Unhappy Hours

Unhappy Hours

I got this one off Twitter, following the Hired Guns. There are an awful lot of jobs being publicized on Twitter lately.

(and if you’re wondering where/when our April Shebeen Club meeting is, it’ll probably be next Tuesday at Revel upstairs, but we’re having a bit of difficulty pinning people down for that. Stay tuned, I’ll post it as soon as I know)

The Hired Guns are seeking a seasoned Newsletter Marketing Consultant with top-notch email experience for our client, a leading education publisher. You will work to take newsletter marketing for their Teachers division to the next level by managing the strategic development and deployment of newsletters targeting educators for nursery through grade 12.

Gun Profile:

While you’ve got significant experience managing and testing email campaigns, you’ve got a true gift when it comes to newsletters. You know how to optimize them for peak performance and to significantly improve metrics through your innovative approach to newsletter marketing. But that’s because you understand list management and CRM, through and through. It’s important you have experience establishing testing plans and list segmentation, and you’ll need to be comfortable advising clients on strategy and sticking to your guns. Bottom line, you love this sub-vertical within e-marketing, and you’re comfortable and confident in your command of best practices.

Nitty Gritty:

As the Newsletter Marketing Consultant, you will be focused on reinventing the teacher newsletter. Then, you’ll manage and establish monthly deployments, deliver a test plan, and customize an advanced testing dashboard. You’ll incorporate past tests, Omniture data, hypotheses, and content strategy to decide on next actions, and you’ll set up for future testing, data reporting, and campaign management in conjunction with the larger parent organization.

You will design and build the necessary assets, including preparing strategic briefs for client approval. Expect to go through about two rounds of revisions per creative, resulting in copy and design that’s brand-friendly and encourages direct response. You’ll need to deliver creative design assets in the preferred format and make final hand-coded HTML files cross-browser ready. So diplomacy is key.

Inside Skinny:

Maybe you were once an teacher or have other experience working in or serving the education community. It’s not necessary you eat, sleep, and breathe the education market, but any familiarity you bring to the table will make your job a lot easier.

Net-Net:

It’s a fun subject, a celebrated company, and a fantastic opportunity.