I agree. The whole 'people must come to us on our terms' mentality really doesn't help open source as a wider project.
On Thu, 26 Feb 2026, at 9:45 AM, Italo Vignoli wrote: > Hi Matt, > > I receive over 500 emails per day, and I have to act on over 100 emails per > day, which means that a single message can slip between the cracks. > Persistence is another asset of open source marketing. If in 2004 I had given > up after my first 4 messages, which were completely ignored, I would not be > here today. > > I have been involved in professional marketing activities since 1981, first > in a US corporation and then in large PR agencies. I am familiar with most > marketing tasks, and what you are doing will definitely be useful for many, > but do not expect everyone to understand the concept of audience > segmentation. Your experience can be used to grow this understanding inside > the community, and this is why I was suggesting a marketing call open to > everyone. > > Best regards, Italo > > On 2/26/26 15:27, [email protected] wrote: >> Hi Mike and Italo >> >> To clear up any confusion, my comment about not receiving any reply to >> previous questions about audiences referred to an exchange on this list on >> Dec 1, where no one responded to my question, so nearly three months ago. >> This wasn't 24 hours. I'm glad things seem to be moving this time. >> >> As per my previous email, I'll develop some messaging per audience, based >> round the previous comments and other material on the website, to circulate. >> When it's done, it will be a kind of library of approved content for >> designers and other people to drop into what they're doing so the messaging >> is consistent and volunteers aren't spending time reinventing the wheel. >> >> Hope that's clear. >> >> Matt >> >> >> On Thu, 26 Feb 2026, at 5:31 AM, Italo Vignoli wrote: >>> Hi Matt, contributing to open source projects in the area of marketing is >>> not like consulting to a regular business, so please expect delays and/or >>> replies which may look weird. Most of the people in the project do not have >>> any kind of marketing background, and in some cases see marketing as an >>> issue rather than an opportunity. >>> >>> In addition, many people are volunteers, and people who are paid like Mike >>> and me do not work full time, and do cover all continents, talking with >>> journalists, supporting local communities, handling branding issues, >>> preparing announcements, managing marketing budgets, speaking at >>> conferences, representing TDF at global level (EU, governments, NGOs, ...), >>> writing blog posts, preparing slide decks for events, writing the Annual >>> Report, and organizing LibreOffice Conferences. >>> >>> I may have missed some tasks, but I am definitely involved almost on a >>> daily basis on all the above tasks. Mike is focusing on slightly different >>> tasks, but the overall workload is the same. All this, with a marketing >>> budget close to zero euro (if compared to any competitor's marketing >>> budget). >>> >>> So, please be patient. In open source projects, patience is one of the most >>> important assets of good contributors. >>> >>> All that said, I think it makes sense to have a call in early March to >>> discuss about future marketing activities. >>> >>> Best regards, Italo >>> >>> On 2/25/26 13:29, [email protected] wrote: >>>> And again... All goes quiet. That's why I can't help. >>>> >>>> On Tue, 24 Feb 2026, at 10:55 AM, [email protected] wrote: >>>>> I'd be interested to know about audiences too, as a copywriter keen to >>>>> help out. I've asked before but there's been no answer. >>>>> >>>>> Matt >>>>> >>>>> On Tue, 24 Feb 2026, at 1:03 PM, Sebastian Brower wrote: >>>>>> Hi Mike, >>>>>> >>>>>> Thanks for sending those links. I took a look at the schools and >>>>>> university >>>>>> flyers and i think they are really good - Especially the modern design. I >>>>>> have some areas I believe I can improve upon and would love to take a >>>>>> shot >>>>>> myself. Any source files would be a great help. Also would you mind >>>>>> letting >>>>>> me know the target audience for the flyer? Are we targeting an average >>>>>> student or a tech-savvy one? >>>>>> >>>>>> Thank you, >>>>>> Sebastian >>>>>> >>>>>> On Tue, Feb 24, 2026 at 2:34 AM Mike Saunders < >>>>>> [email protected]> wrote: >>>>>> >>>>>>> Hi Sebastian, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On 20/02/2026 11:29, Sebastian Brower wrote: >>>>>>> > >>>>>>>> The main areas that I would like to work on: flyers and graphics >>>>>>> Great, thanks for offering to help! We have flyers that we hand out at >>>>>>> events, in various languages, such as: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2021/04/23/libreoffice-flyers-for-schools-and-universities-help-us-to-hand-them-out/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> And a more modern design: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://blog.documentfoundation.org/blog/2021/07/15/libreoffice-flyer-for-schools-and-universities-extra-design/ >>>>>>> >>>>>>> What do you think? If you'd like to work on improved designs, I can send >>>>>>> you the source file. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Regarding graphics, we have recently contracted a design agency to >>>>>>> improve our graphics, creating things more consistent with our branding, >>>>>>> like: >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> https://blog.documentfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/LO_26_2-light.png >>>>>>> >>>>>>> But of course, there's lots to do. Is there anything in particular >>>>>>> you've seen, that you'd like to work on, or could be improved? >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Cheers! >>>>>>> Mike >>>>>>> >>>>>> -- >>>>>> To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] >>>>>> Problems? >>>>>> https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ >>>>>> Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette >>>>>> List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/marketing/ >>>>>> Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy >>>>> -- >>>>> To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] >>>>> Problems? >>>>> https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ >>>>> Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette >>>>> List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/marketing/ >>>>> Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy >>>> >>> -- >>> Italo Vignoli - LibreOffice Marketing & PR >>> mobile/signal/telegram +39.348.5653829 >>> email [email protected] >> > -- > Italo Vignoli - [email protected] > mobile/signal/telegram +39.348.5653829 -- To unsubscribe e-mail to: [email protected] Problems? https://www.libreoffice.org/get-help/mailing-lists/how-to-unsubscribe/ Posting guidelines + more: https://wiki.documentfoundation.org/Netiquette List archive: https://listarchives.libreoffice.org/global/marketing/ Privacy Policy: https://www.documentfoundation.org/privacy
