Tom Ruwitch
From atop a cliff on the Amalfi Coast in Italy… A few days ago, I visited the island of Capri. That’s a hunk of volcanic rock filled with fancy villas, overpriced bistros and shops, and tourists — lots and lots of tourists. It’s a beautiful place — the kind that attracts movie stars and other…
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Near the shores of the Mediterranean in Naples, Italy. After writing yesterday’s email about wine merchants in ancient Pompeii and their wise marketing, I recalled of story I once heard about a wise hotel owner. Like the wine merchants in Pompeii, he raked in more revenue by thinking differently about what he sells. This story…
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Melissa and I visited Pompeii yesterday. That’s the ancient Roman village in Southern Italy that was buried under 18 feet of ash and pumice after nearby Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Archeologists have been excavating the place since the 19th century and have uncovered one of the best-preserved ancient ruins on the planet. Melissa…
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Recommended Reading 💡This Category Stumped Everyone on Trivia Night (Adam Kreitman) The Marketing Advocate, a.k.a. Adam Kreitman, has done it again. In this short post, Adam makes the case for direct response marketing over fancy, flashy, expensive ads. Read this if you prefer getting clients and growing profits, rather than wasting money. Recommended Event How…
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My good friend Michael DeLon sent me an AWESOME email today. It’s so loaded with marketing wisdom, innovative thinking, and smile-making surprises… …I have to share it with you. But first, some background. Michael is the President of Paperback Expert which positions experts for business growth. Yesterday, he spoke at the Great Legal Marketing (GLM)…
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A few days ago, I hosted an induction ceremony for The Storytelling Hall of Fame. The latest inductee: This masterpiece ad for BluBlockers sunglasses by the late, great Joe Sugarman. In 2007, Sugarman wrote in his book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, “That ad for BluBlocker sunglasses launched a multimillion-dollar company that eventually sold 20 million pairs of…
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Let’s make a deal. Behind curtain number one: a prospective customer who will buy $10 of your goods and services if you spend $5 on marketing and advertising. Behind curtain number two: a prospective customer who will buy $20 of your goods and services if you spend just $1 on marketing and advertising. Spend $5…
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When he first tried to make it as a songwriter in Nashville, Kris Kristofferson couldn’t catch a break. He eventually became a country music legend, but, at first, he couldn’t tame his literary side. Kristofferson, who died on Saturday at age 88, studied English literature and graduated with honors from Pomona College. He earned a…
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Recommended Reading How to Write Faster (Ann Handley) I love Ann Handley’s blog and emails. Here’s a good one she wrote recently about how to write faster — with greater confidence and consistency. Hint: AI can help, but it’s not the answer. Recommended Book The Checklist Manifesto A book about the power of checklists may…
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I’m feeling a bit feisty this morning. I want to call-out some big boys and do some myth-busting. Let’s start with this quote from Apple founder Steve Jobs: “Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they…
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