Tom Ruwitch
Here’s a sad but predictable story about the perils of robot-generated writing. A business owner in Maryland was hiring for a tech position. One applicant rose to the top after exchanging several well-written emails with the owner. Then came the interview. The applicant could barely spit out a complete sentence. It was so bad, the…
Marketing legend Joe Polish has more money than Thurston Howell III, and he carries some of that dough in – get this – his Hello Kitty wallet. Yeah, I said, “Hello Kitty,” as in this cat… He got the wallet from his pal Dean Jackson who also carries Kitty in his pocket. On page 144…
I’m reading Joe Polish’s new book, What’s In It For Them?, and it’s going slowly. Not because I dislike the book. (I it) It’s going slowly because Joe drops truth bombs on every page. I pause to ponder, backtrack to reread, and highlight to note the best nuggets. Here’s one from page 104: To have people consider you…
Inspirational ViewingThe Incredible Story of the “3-Foot Giant” Sean Stephenson was born in 1979 with osteogenesis imperfecta, also known as brittle bone disease. On the day he was born, doctors warned his parents he probably wouldn’t survive the night. He survived — and thrived — for 40 years, before passing away in 2019. Thanks to…
I watched the Chiefs-Eagles game while in Mexico on Sunday so I didn’t see most of the US television ads… …until this week when I saw the endless parade of “Best Ad” lists and “Lessons Learned…” analyses. This Squarespace ad, starring Adam Driver, made some of the lists. Here it is… And what does this…
I got a pitch today from an agency, looking to book their client on my podcast, The Story Power Marketing Show. The agent described her client as “a sales guru” who is “on a mission to make sure entrepreneurs and small business owners have access to growth hacking knowledge.” Quite a mouthful, huh!? When the pitch…
So… I intended to email you yesterday. But I spent most of the day curled in the fetal position… …when I wasn’t rushing to the bathroom… …again and again and again. (Stuck inside of Mexico with belly blues again). I was supposed to hop a plane yesterday morning from Leon, MX to Dallas and then…
Recommended ReadingResources to Be a Better Noticer In last week’s Mash-Up, I shared Bill Keaggy’s excellent TED talk, How to Find Attention, Mindfulness, and Creativity in the Ordinary.  Here’s a great post from Austin Kleon that breaks down the talk and cites other recourses to help you become a better noticer. Why do I keep sharing stuff about noticing? Great storytellers…
I bumped into a business owner this week who refuses to market with email… …because she doesn’t like getting email. “I have 74 million marketing emails in my inbox,” she said. “I can’t stand it.” Yeah, I get lots of emails I can’t stand, too. But I still send emails — lots of them… …because…
A story about the making of The Godfather… When Francis Ford Coppola created the film,his first cut was more than 2.5 hours long. Paramount bean counters demanded he chop it down to under 2 hours. Audiences wouldn’t sit through a movie longer than 2 hours, they argued. And a longer movie meant fewer screenings per day……