When Abby Breckenridge was little, she tried to convince people to eat sand soup. Nine out of ten people loved it.

by Abby Breckenridge

I once ran a contest on Twitter where people had to follow and retweet to be eligible to win a branded t-shirt. The goal was to get a quick boost of followers, targeting developers. The contest was a success, we met our business goals. Throughout the process, I was AMAZED at what people will do for a free t-shirt. They will create many new Twitter accounts to circumvent the maximum entry guidelines. They will send long emails arguing their case that is clearly not a case at all based on posted guidelines. They will send numerous follow-up emails, tweets, and blog posts wondering why they have not received their t-shirt just days after they won. I, on the other hand, would consider paying someone to remove free branded t-shirts from my home. But that brings us to one of my marketing professor’s rules of marketing: Continue reading →