There is no S in iland
Latest posts | Feed | By Mark Brownlow on October 31, 2008
It's Friday, the sun is out, birds are singing (somewhere, presumably) and this site is seven years old today: win birthday goodies. I have written over 2,200 blog posts on email marketing. So for one day I am going to stop and write about something else...Today, an answer to the ultimate question. The question I get asked more often than any other:
"Don't you have a spellchecker? Your blog is called "No man is an iland." Island is spelled with an S! You are an idiot."
Perhaps I am, but not for the spelling error.
In 1624, John Donne (cool beard!) published his Devotions Upon Emergent Occasions. In it you'll find the immortal words:
"any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee"
The paragraph that ends with that phrase begins with another, equally famous, quote:
"No man is an island. entire of itself"
In the original old English, island is spelled iland:
The blog's title comes from that original passage. Simply because it reflects my own philosophy that we all share a common humanity. There is no other motive (but see below).
In business terms, email marketers have a duty to their organization, but also to the wider email user.
A winning email marketing program is one that benefits both the sender AND the recipient. Because you can't have the former without the latter.
No email is an iland, either.
Of course, "No man is an iland" as a blog title makes no business sense at all.
It is useless for SEO. It conveys nothing about the topic. It casts doubt on the credibility of the author (you can't even spell island right!)
This is why I chose it.
SEO has stolen creativity from titles and headlines. You could call your book "Keeping the Key." But you'll probably call it "Email marketing: how to build loyalty through your email list."
You could headline a guide to Paris as "The city of dreams and baguettes." But you'll probably write "Paris: a visitor guide."
An email marketing blog should be called "Email marketing blog" or at least slip an email reference in there.
But being contrary is fun, too.
(Normal service resumes next week.)
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14 Comments:
I submit totally to your point of vue about the lack of creativity brought by SEO.
And as this is a special article, this post is also a way to thank you for all your interesting notes on your blog.
"Merci" as we say in my mother tongue.
By 
, on
31 October, 2008
Happy 7th Birthday!
Thanks for sharing the answer to the ultimate question. I often wondered, but always assumed there was a good reason, and now I know!
Here's to another seven years and beyond!
Cheers!
-Maddy Hubbard
By 
Maddy, on
31 October, 2008
Thanks for the kind thoughts!
Maddy: missing your Voodoo blogging.
By , on
31 October, 2008
Happy Birthday Mark! WOW... that's a lot of water -- and blog posts -- under the bridge. Congrats.
The issue you raise is one I often struggle with: "SEO has stolen creativity from titles and headlines." Actually, there's not much of a struggle, aside from an internal disappointment, I guess. In other words, I don't have much of a choice but to play it straight (at least on MarkeingProfs... my AnnHandley.com blog is a different story!)
Anyway, thanks for being contrary, for just one day. Happy Halloween!
; )
By Ann Handley, on
31 October, 2008
Congrats and Happy Birthday! You've done a great job raising interesting points and generating discussion. Terrific work, Mark!
By Kevin, on
31 October, 2008
I agree, SEO is important but is has stole all the fun and creativity. You have to ask yourself at the end of the day what the goals of your blog or website are.
By Nick Stamoulis, on
31 October, 2008
Mark - congrats and Happy Birthday - quite a feat. On the iland concept - I often refer to email as being part of a global village, a similar message to yours - so it is spot on.
On the SEO perspective, you are absolutely correct about the creative titles - but if SERP rankings are important for your business, you can turn it on its head and find creative ways to get top rankings for specific keyword phrases, and also be "creative" with the copy at the same time. It does take some time and effort though....and most marketers are lacking on the extra time front.
Have a celebratory toast on your B-Day!
By Loren mcDonald, on
31 October, 2008
You may not know how to spell "island" but at least you know how to spell "email." ;)
Happy blog birthday, Mark. Looking forward to the next 2,200 posts.
By Chad White, on
31 October, 2008
Happy Birthday, Mark, and keep up the good work. There are a lot of people out there who read your blog every day.
By Neil Anuskiewicz, Business Development Director, on
01 November, 2008
Happy Birthday - original thinking is always good to find.
Keep swimming against the tide.
Much respect
The Email Eunuch
By Email, on
02 November, 2008
You are all most gracious and kind. And it is a thrill to see so many of my sources of inspiration (as a writer, blogger, commentator) commenting. Very cool!
By , on
03 November, 2008
Clarity trumps cleverness. Actually, it not SEO but RSS that killed the teasing headlines for me. I scan so many headlines looking for something worth reading.
I always assumed you knew how to spell iland and spent all of a lazy evening browsing around your web site trying to figure out the cause. That's a good way to get people to inspect your web site!
By TheresaQ, on
03 November, 2008
While the SEO cannot be ignored or wished off, we need to also determine the creativity-mindedness of many of us. SEO cannot stop anyone from being creative or artistry as he chooses to be. Though such creativity may not get rewarded by SEO, the fact remains that human responses to ads is the ultimate. This is where creativity offers one an edge over the SEO's limitations.
By Toba, on
04 November, 2008
TheresaQ: I always knew the deliberate misspell would pay off!
toba: yep, I've always believed that it's better to have more impact on fewer people through creativity than get a wider audience, with less impact, by being too inclusive and traffic oriented. (Long sentence.) Though I'm sure there's a happy medium in there somewhere, too.
By , on
04 November, 2008
