Laing Marketing Services

Supporting Cancer Research

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 21:15:26 +0000

We all wish that we could unlock the secrets of cancer and finally beat this disease. The lives of so many people have been affected, either directly or indirectly, by “the big C.” I recently created a web site for a cancer researcher who focuses on the rare cases of unexpected remission, hoping to pull together a large enough database of cases so that the phenomenon can be studied.

If you or someone you know who has experienced an unexpected remission, check out her web site.

Spreading the Operatic Love

admin — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 21:07:46 +0000

I recently had the privilege of working with the Lake Geneva Chapter of the Lyric Opera of Chicago, helping them to move from a printed newsletter to an email version. Now that the first issue is out, we can work on training and transitioning responsibility to the local chapter members. What a great group to work with! These people love their opera, and they want to share that love with the world.

If you’re interested in reducing costs by moving to electronic communication with your customers, drop me a line.

There and Back Again

admin — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:05:14 +0000

Our European adventure is coming to an end and we are returning to the US from England. This should not affect interactions with clients, except that it will now be easier for us to talk by phone. We’ll be back in time for the Fourth of July!

Selling Real Estate Online

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 21:01:11 +0000

If you’re trying to sell real estate in this tough market, you need to get the word out to every possible buyer. You need your message to be clear and consistent. And you need to give cautious buyers a reason to call. I recently put together a web site and helped to launch a Facebook presence for a small real estate developer in South Carolina. We used WordPress, so that maintenance would be easy and costs would be low. The broker now manages their Facebook presence.

You can see this example of our work at http://www.marinavillageatbelleisle.com.

Enjoy!

European Adventure

admin — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:57:36 +0000

Farewell, fellow Americans. Laing Marketing is off to London for a European adventure. This relocation should last for at least one year, but of course I will still be available to assist clients remotely. Let’s take it easy on the international phone calls, shall we? There’s this cool new invention called the Internet that will help us to keep in touch.

See you on Skype!

Trailer wins New Covey Award!

admin — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:39:05 +0000

I got the happy news today that the trailer I produced for Martha Powers’ Conspiracy of Silence has won two awards. In the January 2009 New Covey Trailer Awards, Conspiracy of Silence won both the “Most Artistic Trailer” and the “Most Intriguing Trailer” Awards.

Enjoy!

Putting your book video online

admin — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 02:50:47 +0000

People ask me all the time where they can put their book videos (aka booktrailers, book trailers, book peeks, book previews, etc.) online. Here’s what I’ve found.

1. YouTube: Definitely post your video here. It’s easy, you’ll pop up in searches, and they provide you with “embed code” so that you can add the video to your web site without actually, well, putting it on your web site. You just cut and paste the code onto your page (or you have your web guru do the cutting and pasting) and — bam! — your trailer is on your web site.

2. Google Video: I’m not a huge fan of Google Video because I haven’t figured out how to crack their quality code. It doesn’t seem to matter how closely I follow the suggested technical specs. The video still looks awful once it’s uploaded. However, it may pop up in search results, and it’s just not that hard to post it there. Why not do it?

3. Other video hosting sites: I’ve experimented with Phanfare and Vimeo. There are more. Upload your video to as many of these sites as you want. None of them are as big as YouTube, but more exposure can’t hurt.

4. Book trailer sites: These seem to have a short life span, so I hesitate to recommend any specific sites. Three that seem to have stuck around for a while are www.previewthebook.com, www.watchthebook.com, and www.book-trailers.net.

I’ll post additional info as I learn it myself. Perhaps over the next year or so, the online book retailers will make it easier to post book videos to their sites.

Working with Mary Alice Monroe

admin — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 17:59:51 +0000

It was a joy and a privilege to do a book trailer for Mary Alice Monroe. She’s a truly lovely person, and she has such an amazing voice! I think from now on I’ll only get her books in the audio version. She recorded the voice-over for the trailer, and I love listening to it.

Swimming Lessons
by Mary Alice Monroe

Book Trailer for Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

admin — Sat, 27 Jan 2007 17:51:10 +0000

I love the music for this trailer. Apparently other people do, too, because I’ve had the question come up in the comments section on YouTube. It’s one of the “Jingles” that came with iMovie HD (imagine clip art, only sound effects and music). They don’t credit the artist, but it’s called Motocross. Love it!

Leaving Paradise
by Simone Elkeles

Shooting original video footage

admin — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 17:39:41 +0000

In this video, I shot original footage for the first time. Now, I’m not saying I have a career ahead of me as a cinematographer, but I think it turned out well. The only downside is that it will likely make me more ambitious on future projects.

I used the video feature on my digital camera. Turns out good lighting and a steady camera are the two most important elements in beginner filmmaking. Once I had the footage, I used several different effects (exposure, aging, etc.) to create the right mood and — conveniently — mask the quality level of the original footage. If you have any other tips, I’d love to hear them.

Crime & Clutter
by Cyndy Salzmann