Japan's Oldest and Most Famous Women's Magazine Features "A Japanese Rock 'n' Roll Ghost Story"!

Japan's oldest and most famous women's magazine, a magazine that's been around for more than 50 years, "Josei Jishin" has run a news feature about "A Japanese Rock 'n' Roll Ghost Story"!

Josei Jishin translates into "Women's Confidence" and it is ubiquitous in Japan; you see it at all the banks, hair salons and doctor's offices. There isn't a person over 10 years old in Japan who hasn't heard of Josei Jishin.

On Saturday, July 18, 2015, they ran a news feature about "A Japanese Rock 'n' Roll Ghost Story"!

Here's the link: 女性自身！？まさか！マイクの映画の記事が！今すぐチェック！

http://bit.ly/1OdsddX

Here's the artist's (uh, me) rendition of the magazine jacket (subject to change without notice! Hee hee hee.)

The article starts out:

「一緒に日本のロック映画作らないか…」(Mike: "I'm making a a rock music movie. Let's do it together.")

「映画会社はどこなの？マイク」(Josei Jishin Magazine: "What movie production company is making this movie?")

「自分で作るのよ、僕が…」(Mike: "Uh, it's just me.")

「製作費は？」(Josei Jishin Magazine: "How about the budget?")

「お金ないよ」(Mike: "There is no budget. It's a punk rock movie.")

「えっ、、、、、、」(Josei Jishin Magazine: "What the f*ck????")

Groupon's Hindenburg Disaster! Japanese Women Don't Like Groupon!

...Maybe not as fast as the explosion of the Hindenburg, maybe more like the sinking of the battleship Yamato...

I said I wouldn't write anything more about Groupon until its stock price hit the penny stocks range, but today I can't resist. Please forgive me as I childishly pat myself on the back. In November of 2011, I predicted that Groupon's share price would fall under $5 (USD) by December 2012. Please refer to: Groupon Stock Holders! Head for the Exits!

In what, I'm sure will be the second to last post I ever make about Groupon, and how much of a dog company I think it is (the last post will be a "I told you so" when Groupon becomes a penny stock), I'd like to show you Groupon stock performance over the past two days.

Pretty shocking stuff. Especially if you own shares in this company!

On Monday, Nov. 21, 2011. The Dow Jones Industrials (DJI) had a bad day dropping 249 points or -2.1% to finish at 11,454. The NASDAQ Composite Index (IXIC) closed 1.92% lower at 2,529.14. On the other hand, Groupon (GRPN) had an even worse day by dropping almost 10% and another nearly 1% after-hours!

Now, today, one of my favorite web sites in the world, Zerohedge, has an article that is even more brutal than I have been. Please refer to: The Poop on Groupon:

Only half a year ago, Groupon was the talk of the town. It was the biggest, hottest IPO on the horizon,and it was the darling of the social media industry. Imitators were everywhere, but there was one giant that was far ahead of everyone else: Groupon.

Well, one glance at a stock chart will show you just how much the biggest, hottest IPO has been embraced since it went public. I offer you the following:

The writer also goes on and agrees with me that Groupon share prices will be under $5 by end of this year as he continues:

Bottom line for me is that Groupon's stock performance isn't a surprise to me at all. There will be hopeful "pops" in price along the way, but my opinion is that this thing is going to wither into sub-$5 territory within the year.

I seriously enjoy that sentence and chuckle when I hear, "Only half a year ago, Groupon was the talk of the town." It was. Everyone was talking about how great Groupon was. Excepting me and a few of my friends. Please refer to my post of January 21, 2011, Is Groupon a Sustainable Business? No.:

This all leads me to think that Groupon's business model is not sustainable. Massive discounting is not a long-term successful strategy unless you are Walmart... But Groupon is trying to tie up lots of small businesses. The small businesses cannot survive making these sorts of deep discounts. 

Sure, Groupon makes money and the customers are happy. But this has to be a win-win-win situation all around. How are the clients winning here? I don't see it. Businesses need good repeat customers with disposable income... Coupon clippers that only visit your shop because they got 80% off your sandwich do not strike me as the kind of people who will repeat when the price is back to regular. I mean, why would they go out of their way to buy from your place at regular price unless what you had was great? And, if it was so great, then you wouldn't have needed Groupon to discount the crap out of your product or service as word of mouth will do the job in this day and age.

This leads me to believe that most Groupon clients will be "one offs" - twice at the most. In November, 2010, the NY Times cited a study done that claims close to 50% of former proprietors said they will not participate again and that almost 30% lost money on the deal. 

So the problem with Groupon is that their business model seems flawed. A good business model would be a win-win for Groupon and the client. But, now, as it stands, only Groupon seems to win with these margins as the client cannot stay in business at those rates.... Also, Groupon's business model is not so unique and copy-cats are already popping up all over the place... What's going to happen when, say, Facebook or Google starts their own version? Probably Groupon will go the way of Netscape Navigator. Remember them?  

I should have added "Myspace" to that ending part but they hadn't gone belly-up in Japan at that time. Like I've said, folks, Groupon is a flash in the pan. It's a loser from the get-go.

They blew it in Japan from the very start and there was no way to recover from that. And, when it comes to this kind of business, if you don't make it in Japan, you don't make it, it's pretty easy to guess that this situation is the kiss of death. They will never recover here in this country as my friend, Koji Tanabe, the chief editor of Josei Jishin, the biggest, oldest and most read women's magazine in Japan told me, "Women in Japan don't like Groupon as their reputation is terrible." Read this and see why.

Groupon will never recover from this. They are heading into oblivion.

Josei Jishin & Yahoo Japan! Web Collaboration Gets More Than 12 Million Unique Hits a Month!

There's not a woman in Japan over 18-years-old who has not heard of Josei Jishin. Josei Jishin is Japan's oldest TV, Movie, singer, Idol gossip magazine.

In 2009, Josei Jishin won the prestigious Fuji Sankei award for best magazine in Japan for the 4th time in that magazine's history! (By the way, Josei Jishin is not Fuji Sankei group). It's not only the oldest, it is by far the largest read women's magazine in the country. Josei Jishin started over 50 years ago (last year was the 50th anniversary) and the magazine sells over 400,000 issues a week.




But "only" 400,000 readers is not what Josei Jishin gets. The estimates are that every single weekly issue of Josei Jishin is read by well over 1.5 million Japanese women. You ask, "How is that possible?" Simple. Anywhere in Japan that there is a waiting room; beauty parlors, doctor's offices, banks, department stores and even coffee shops, you will see Josei Jishin there provided by that business as a service to customers.


I reckon the closest example in the United States would be Good Housekeeping magazine. Josei Jishin is the definitive Japanese women's magazine and totally dominates the market.


I often arrange promotional deals with international airlines (and domestic  airlines too) in a co-branding situation with local businesses and for foreign government tourism departments. I have arranged many deals in cooperation with Josei Jishin so I am well aware of what's going on at that magazine.


Since Josei Jishin is so well known and has been around for so long, in some circles, it has an image of being a low-class magazine for lower or middle class housewives. How far from the truth that is!


I have, in the past, heard some people at huge international companies say things like, "Josei Jishin!? We do not want to deal with that women's gossip magazine! We are a premium  high-class company! We want younger women clients and a magazine with a better image."


Actually, I heard this twice last year and could only chuckle. If only people knew the truth....


In spite of being the oldest women's magazine in Japan, and, in some - probably uninformed - circles, having a "dusty" image... Josei Jishin is bucking the magazine trend in this country and growing their business exponentially. Whereas other magazines are having a very hard time getting advertisers and then cutting their paper quality, staff, and magazine size or going bankrupt, Josei Jishin is cracking new ground and rolling in the money with their Internet businesses and online services.


The latest deal was with Yahoo Japan (as if only old women read Josei Jishin!? What does Yahoo Japan know that other companies don't?) Now, on Yahoo Japan, Josei Jishin has inked a deal to provide all the Japanese star and gossip material for Yahoo Japan. This means that when you see a juicy gossip piece about some famous star on Yahoo and you click the link, you are taken directly to the article on Josei Jishin's web page.


December 2010 access number's for this Yahoo Japan / Josei Jishin deal? Are you sitting down?


12,000,000 unique users in the first  month of operations! 12 million unique users a month!!! That is massive! I received this data yesterday along with my friend Tim Williams, the founder of Value Commerce (and one of Japan's top expert's on direct online sales and marketing) directly from the coordinator of the Josei Jishin and Yahoo Japan deal. The information was verified by telephone with Koji Tanabe, the chief editor of Josei Jishin, and one of my dearest, oldest and best friends.


One day in November of 2010, on the Josei Jishin site there was an exclusive video of a famous Japanese actress and her dog. That video received over 650,000 unique hits in one hour and crashed their server! 

Josei Jishin co-promoted event. Notice all the old ladies in the background!

Only people who do not keep up with the Internet and business news doesn't know about this deal... Today, I'm telling you the inside numbers first.


Josei Jishin an old stodgy magazine for old women? Ha! 12 million women unique users on Yahoo Japan / Josei Jishin linked up page would tend to disagree.


While all other magazines are falling by the wayside, Josei Jishin finds a way to exponentially grow their Internet business with powerful partners. Maybe therein lies a good reason why it is the oldest and most read and most popular women's magazine in Japan.


It could also explain why they have survived and thrived for over 50 years.


You think Josei Jishin a magazine for old women? Ha! Think again! Unless you think 12,000,000 unique users per month on a collaboration with Yahoo Japan is a bunch of old spinsters sitting around on their Macbooks.... Somehow, I think not.

In Japan, a Dog's Life is Heaven - and the Wine Flows Freely!

Japanese people loves pets, especially dogs. While it is somewhat rare to see a person walking a large dog, like a St. Bernard, it is extremely common to see a housewife walking their minuscule tiny breeds that are everywhere in Japan.

Tokyo, especially, must be the tiny dog capital of the world. In my neighborhood alone I'd say that about 30% ~ 40% of the families have a small dog. Trust folks, when I say, "Small dog" I do mean a very small dog. Many of these dog breeds are smaller than cats.

Tiny Chihuahuas that look like mice (with brains no larger than a peanut) are quite common. People treat these dogs better than their own children. I've never seen such pampered pooches in my entire life! The Japanese go crazy over these dogs and their spending shows it.

The Japan Times Reports:

The average amount spent annually on pet-related expenses by households with at least two members rose 4.6 percent in 2009 from the previous year to ¥18,323, the highest figure since comparable data become available in 1990, according to a recent government survey. While family spending as a whole is on the decrease, there are no signs of recession in the pet industry, as high-priced pet food and stylish clothing are selling well, pet cosmetics, insurance and various other services are now available and medical costs for pets are rising as they live longer, according to the survey.

The article goes on to break down the money spent:

Since 2005, expenses have been growing for five consecutive years.

By generation, people in their 50s spent the most on their pets, at ¥28,951 (about $347 USD annually at 81 yen to the US dollar) on average in the reporting year, which was about 4.7 times the average of people under 30, showing that the middle-aged and above were the main group supporting the market, having finished raising children.

On the other hand, data on single-person households showed that women aged 35 to 59 spent the most on their pets, at ¥20,752 (about $249 USD annually at 81 yen to the US dollar)

The other thing that is common is that these owners (the dog's "moms") treat the dogs like babies. Many people put their dogs in sweaters and sports clothing when taking them out for a walk. Many ladies do not walk their dogs but put them in baby carriages and push the dogs around like they would a 2-year-old.

These dogs have a newer - and cooler - wardrobe than I do

You might think I am joking, but if you've ever been in Tokyo, you know I do not exaggerate about this.

Some of the ladies in my neighborhood will hug their dogs in their arms as they stand and chat for hours on end on the street corners... Sometimes there will be four or five of them all at once yapping away... The wives, I mean, not the dogs.

I think these dogs don't know that they are dogs. They think they are human.

I usually don't really care about dogs too much but just yesterday, I heard something related to dogs that just made me laugh and made me wonder, "Why didn't I think of that first?"

Recently, I have been working with a very popular online wine service in Japan called iwine.jp. iwine.jp is Japan's online wine superstore. You can order wine online and have it delivered anywhere in Japan. It is very simple to use.

Well, what does that have to do with dogs? Bear with me for a second. This gets funny.

Recently, iwine.jp made a deal with the #1 most popular and widely read women's magazine in Japan, "Josei Jishin." Josei Jishin is a gossip magazine for housewives. It is the oldest women's magazine in Japan and is read by over 1.5 million Japanese ladies a week! It is one of those magazines that you see at every beauty salon, nail salon, doctor's office waiting room, well, you get the picture.

There is not a girl in Japan over 18 who doesn't know Josei Jishin. Of course, there isn't a woman dog owner in this country who doesn't know that magazine too!

Josei Jishin

Anyway, Josei Jishin and iwine.jp have started a wine club together and it includes a fortune telling service. Besides dogs, the women in this country LOVE fortune telling. At the fortune telling part, women will be able to enter their birth date, etc., and get their fortune told by a very famous fortune teller and be recommended different wines to drink if they want, say, romance, beauty, luck, success.

This sounds like a lot of fun and I hear it is the first time in Japan that this sort of thing will be launched.

What does this have to do with dogs? Well, besides wines for luck, fortune and love, women will also be able to find...are you ready for it?... Wines to drink with their dogs! I kid you not.

Laugh now, my friends, but I think Josei Jishin and iwine.jp have a wild but winning combination here...

And, when you realize that the pet industry in Japan is a $14.4 billion dollar industry  you realize that people like iwine.jp and Josei Jishin know what women like.

I'll report more on this as this "pet" project gets going....

But, I must admit, I just can't imagine giving my pooch a $150 dollar a bottle Dom Perignon, but, I wouldn't put it past the lady next door.

See iwine.jp website here.

See Josei Jishin website here.

Thanks to News on Japan

Make a Press Release Every Week

Creating a buzz is always hard work, but you can increase your chances of doing so by operating like a weekly magazine publisher and making a weekly press release. It doesn't matter if you don't have "Big" news every week... The important thing is that you use your creativity to make something newsworthy every week so that it merits a press release.

Some good folks have asked, "What is the best way to keep in the public eye?" Of course there are many ways, but one of the best and most profitable ways to do so is to create continual press releases about you, your company and product or service; and do it every week religiously.

女性自身 Josei Jishin (Women's Confidence)

Josei Jishin is Japan's oldest and most popular women's magazine

Over 50 years of gossip and still going strong.

Think about those weekly magazines; it is incredibly difficult to come up every week with an interesting jacket and headline that sells magazines. But they work at it and come up with a catchy idea and and catchy image that sells magazines. You should think like they do. The magazines and daily newspapers have it hard. You have it easy. All you need to do is to come up with one good idea once a week that will have people reading about you and thinking about your service.

You will also want to target your press releases to the public and certain people in the media - and I am including all forms of media. Find specific media targets that may be able to help you. Send out e-mails to them - not BCC - specific e-mails addressed to them personally. Keep doing this and, after a few months, they will start to pay attention. Trust me, I know this for a fact after years of working as a radio and TV producer; editors and producers get tons of mail and junk; it takes a special effort to get them to sit up and take notice. Items addressed to "anyone" just don't cut it.

With bloggers or online items, you might be able to get a bit more luck if you take the time to find out who these people are and then write to them directly. A warning though, people don't like it if you ask for favors without knowing at least a little bit about that person (it used to drive me crazy when a record company promoter would give me Hit Parade of Hell albums (Top 40) or a Madonna CD and ask me to play it on my show when I was producing a show that only played Punk and Alternative music.)

I talked to media star George Williams the other day and he mentioned that he was going to start his own blog and design it much like Max Keiser's web page or Mike (Mish) Shedlock's. Like the examples I mentioned, George's web blog will have blogs, videos, U-Stream, Tweets, Pick, and other goodies.

George Williams (right) with up-and-coming rockers,

"Nothing's Carved in Stone"

George and I also discussed promoting it properly. We talked about having a press release party whereby he announces his new web blog and, then for laughs, maybe he announces that he's changed his name to georgewilliams.jp. The party will have drinks and snacks and unveil the web page. This is a good opportunity for George to build a buzz. First, he gets to announce the event; then, report on it as it is happening; then he gets a follow up report... There's three press releases right there. From then on, it's just a small step to making a useful and beneficial press release every week to promote himself and his business.

You can do the same.

So, don't forget to think like a weekly magazine publisher; send out a press release every week. Target several important people who could help you or write about you. Then, of course, you place your press releases on your web page too.

Make a press release every week. It's good enough for the big boys, it's good enough for you...That's just smart marketing.

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Keywords: Buzz, business, press release, smart marketing, catchy idea, weekly magazine, publisher, Max Keiser, Mike "Mish" Shedlock, blog, web page, promote,  U-Stream, Tweet, Pick, George Williams, Nothing's Carved in Stone, publicity, advertising, marketing, Japan