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This is my list of peeves and other annoyances that I would like to see marketers kick to the curb in 09. Alas, several - if not all - would require a leap for which many are unprepared. Some, like my first one here, may engender outright hostility (when I tried it out on Hannah, she smirked and said, “I LIKE PDF’s.“). Nonetheless, without further ado, here they are.

1. PDF’s on websites.

Enough already. Put the content on your site on a printable web page. PDF’s were a godsend when there were umpteen different document formats; now they’re dinosaurs. There’s a great piece regarding PDF’s on the TechCrunch site here. I can only add: Here, here.

2. The hero worship of CP+B must stop.

Jesus, they couldn’t even get the SEO right on the WhopperVirgin thing (an idea we had three years ago for another hamburger chain that backed out because it was too “racy”). Am I jealous of CP+B’s client list? Definitely. Are they good? Yes. Are they that damned good? No. Stop wanting to be them and cook up your own big idea. Or let us.

3. Me-too-ness:

“I need a social network component for my site” being at the top of the list. Yes, it is possible to employ social networking as a part of your online marketing tactics. But just saying, “we need this” because you’ve read a blog piece somewhere, or “everyone else is doing it” is half-baked. Do you have something compelling that will aggregate and inspire folks to talk and share? Not stuff that you’re interested in, mind you, but stuff that will interest your prospects? If not, focus your dollars on the basics: website dev, search, email, display and viral.

4. Some journalists are bloggers, but not every blogger is a journalist.

The real peeve here is folks blathering on who can’t even run spell-check, or are too lazy to check their grammar, or - holy shit! - their facts. Subject-verb agreement is a good thing, too. There is a bit of blogger conceit going on: “We’re the future!“ Well, you probably are, but that doesn’t mean you can write for sour apples. Learn to write. And get an editor. I have one; you should too.

5. Talking about “the recession” as you market.

This one drives me nuts. I am already seeing too many ads using some variation on the phrase, “in times like these…“ Listen: prospects are either in the market for what you’re offering, or not. Make them feel good about you, “times like these” be damned.

OK, I actually have a bunch more of these, but as I always say, “edit and focus.“ What are yours?

As always, reasonable people may differ. Now go.

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