Why Jesse James Could Have Been a Great Marketer

A true story about Jesse James. 

149 years ago today, 125 miles from where I sit…

…the James-Younger gang rode into Gads Hill, Missouri, robbed the general store, and held the townspeople hostage. 

Then they waited for The Arkansas Express to roll into town. 

They lit a bonfire on the tracks, hopped aboard the train when it stopped, and robbed the male passengers…

…at least, the ones with soft hands. 

Legend has it, the gang checked all the male passengers’ hands. 

The robbers judged those with rough, calloused hands to be “working men,” and the gang spared them. 

(Makes me want to skip my daily manicure ) 

I lift my soft hands from my keyboard and chuckle. 

Maddie looks up from her coffee, rolls her eyes, and asks, “What’s so funny, Dad?” 

“Just working on my email,” I say, and then I tell her the Jesse James story. 

Maddie: 
What’s the point? Your stories have a point.

Me: 
It’s about the details we check for and notice. How we learn by paying attention to things others don’t notice. Rough hands, for example. 

Maddie (rolling her eyes again):
You and your “noticing.” It’s LITERALLY the ONLY thing you talk about. 

Me:
Literally?

Maddie: 
Well, you write ALOT about “noticing.” Like that email you sent last week about Bob Dylan listening “to life in a different way.” 

Me: 
You know, Bob Dylan wrote a song called “Outlaw Blues” with the line, “I might look like a Robert Ford, but I feel like a Jesse James.” Robert Ford was the guy who killed Jesse James. 

Maddie:

Me:
Anyhow… yeah… That Dylan email and this one go together. Kind of like a two-part episode.

Maddie:
A two-part episode about noticing? 

Me:
Yes! Because noticing is so important. 

The more you notice about your prospects and clients, the better you know them. 

I’m not talking about the obvious stuff.

The masses notice the obvious stuff. AI copywriting robots notice the obvious stuff. 

I’m talking about the things you notice only by paying attention, by listening (and seeing) in a different way.  

The more you know about your prospects and clients, the better you connect with them. 

The more you connect with them, the more likely they are to know, like, trust…
…hire, and refer you. 

That’s why “Story Discovery” is the most important thing I teach in my Content Transformation Academy.

I teach how to notice more…

…How to discover your prospects’ stories…

…How to know them…

…How to craft content that’s relevant to them…

…How to demonstrate you see them and hear them in ways the masses and robots don’t…

…How to stand out as the ONE who gets them…

…so you connect with them…

…so they choose to do business with YOU. 

There’s a seat in the Academy for you. 

I’m filling three seats in the Content Transformation Academy Mastermind in February. 

Want to learn more about the Mastermind?

Reply to this email and write “Tell me more about the Mastermind.” I’ll get back to you with all the details.