Tom Ruwitch

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15K Followers. Zero Revenue. What Gives?

By Tom Ruwitch

Sad story: A business owner worked his tail off to build a social media following… …only to discover it got him nowhere. Said the sad sack on Reddit: “I have an insta account with 15k followers but I am not able to generate any income from it.” A tale as old as time (or at…

No Shoes. No Problem. (A Champion’s Tale)

By Tom Ruwitch

A quick story about Jim Thorpe who as born on this day in 1887: When Thorpe showed up in Stockholm for the 1912 Olympics, he was not considered a favorite to win the decathlon. Then someone stole his shoes. Ten events over two days, and, for the moment, he was shoeless. Thorpe scrounged around and…

Why Your Origin Story Bores ’em Stiff

By Tom Ruwitch

Over on Facebook the other day, a bunch of coaches were moaning and groaning about marketing that turns them off. Webinars overloaded with boring origin stories. Linda started the thread and said, “OMG, I’m on another webinar where we are 45+ minutes in and the talk is still all about this guy and his ‘experience.’…

RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2025.05.26

By Tom Ruwitch

Recommended Video How to Talk to Veterans About War Today is Memorial Day—a time to honor and remember the men and women who died while serving in the U.S. military. It’s also a good time to honor and respect those who served and came home from war. Wes Moore is one of those soldiers. In…

I was Stuck Until…

By Tom Ruwitch

Every weekday morning, I wake, pour a cup of coffee, and write an email for you. Most mornings it’s easy and fun. I’ve done this for a long time, and I’ve mastered methods to assemble content without getting stuck. But today it feels hard — as hard as it’s ever been. I’ve been sitting in…

Fake Books, Real Embarrassment. A Newspaper’s Face-Plant

By Tom Ruwitch

I tried to pull a fast one on my AI-powered robot, B-9(?). But he’s too smart for that. I asked for reviews of books I was considering for summer reading. One of the books I mentioned: ā€œTidewater Dreams,ā€ by Isabel Allende. B-9(?)’s response: ā€œā€˜Tidewater Dreams’ by Isabel Allende does not exist. It was mistakenly listed…

Locusts After the Storm: A Marketing Lesson

By Tom Ruwitch

Less than an hour after the tornado hit, the storm chasing opportunists showed up on our street… …handing out business cards… …offering to fly a drone over your house to assess the damage… …promising to solve all your problems — quickly. They said they had teams and supplies ready. They were on this. They knew…

This Gave Me Hope

By Tom Ruwitch

I haven’t spent much time on social media or news sites this week. So it goes after a tornado destroys half your roof and levels your backyard (here’s that story). You tune out the noise and hyper-focus on the stuff that matters most. All of the petty conflict, anger, and hatred that fills the news…

The Things That Really Matter

By Tom Ruwitch

On Friday, May 16, a tornado ripped through St. Louis. At 2:42 p.m., it struck my house. A direct hit. It tore off half our roof and left the other half buckled. It destroyed every tree in our backyard and one in our front. It pummeled our backyard kitchen. It tore hundreds of bricks from…

[Corrected with Links] I’m Gonna Make you an Offer You Can’t Refuse

By Tom Ruwitch

Ummm… Maybe I’m not cut out for this Godfather thing. A moment ago, I sent you an email with “an offer you can’t refuse.” AND I DIDN’T LINK TO THE OFFER. Let’s fix that. Here’s the email again… This time with the links… Tomorrow, my nephew gets married. And I’m his godfather. That got me…