Story Power Blog
Help Comes to Those Who…
Yesterday, Melissa and I visited a camp, set deep in the woods of the Missouri Ozarks, operated by the secondary school we attended back in the dark ages. (Yeah, Melissa and I met in high school. Stay tuned for the Hallmark movie ). The camp, called “Drey Land,” hasn’t changed much since the 1970s when Melissa…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.10.21
Recommended Reading 💡Ryan Reynolds Shares the Keys to Killer Marketing You might know him as the actor who stares in Deadpool. But I’m a Ryan Reynolds fan because he’s a successful business owner and brilliant marketer. In this article from Inc., Reynolds shares his take on the advertising industry and keys to great marketing. Recommended Viewing 💡Mint…
Why I’m Doing a Happy Dance
Yesterday… …my publisher sent the final proof of my upcoming book… …and I approved it. Next step: Finalize some of the resources and special gifts I offer to readers, submit some information to Amazon, and publish this puppy. Exact date TBD. Stay tuned. By the way, the book is called: Story Power MarketingProven Methods to…
Surprise… I Actually Liked This…
And now for something completely different… I’d like to commend the spammer who sent me a pitch yesterday for her company’s telemarketing and LinkedIn advertising services. Really. No sarcasm here. Just genuine appreciation. The email was short and sweet and went like this: Hi Tom, I’m the Partnerships Manager at Growth Yard. If we could…
My favorite Steve Jobs Story & The Lessons it Reveals…
Happy Steve Jobs Day! Yeah, it’s true. There’s an unofficial holiday to celebrate Apple’s co-founder… …and October 16 is the day. To celebrate the occasion, I have to share my favorite Steve Jobs story — the one about the time he introduced the iPhone. Let’s take the Wayback Machine to January 2007. The Macworld Conference…
Marketing Doesn’t Have to Be a Guessing Game. Here’s The Key…
Here’s something I didn’t know until Melissa and I visited Pompeii last week during our European vacation… Ancient Romans loved to gamble with dice. The archeologists who excavated Pompeii (buried under 15 feet of ash when Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 A.D.) founds lots of dice. Here are some on display at the National Archeological…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.10.14
Recommended Reading 💡The Daily Stoic: It Will Make You Better In this brief post, Ryan Holliday describes how young Earnest Hemingway suffered an “almost unbearable loss…” …only to recover and become a better writer than before. This is a powerful story about how to use loss to your advantage. You’re Invited The Tech-to-Profit Formula I’m…
Legendary Tales and Biz Lessons From the Cradle of Western Civ
From the balcony of my cliffside hotel on the Amalfi Coast in Italy, I look due west across the Gulf of Salerno… …at Sorrento, perched on the tip of the peninsula separating the gulf in front of me from the Gulf of Naples. These are historic waters. In September 1943, Allied warships filled the Gulf…
A Lying, Liar Bites the Dust. Here’s The Story…
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…
You May Not Sell What You Think you Sell
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…
Starbucks, Schmarbucks. The Pompeiians Thought of This First…
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…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.10.07
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…
My Pal Sent an A+++ email. I Break it Down Here…
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)…
This Legendary Ad Reveals Biz-building Secrets…
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…
You Have to Pay More Attention to This…
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…
Why Kris Kristofferson Failed at First
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…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.09.30
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…
Hey, Steve Jobs, I Call B.S.
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…
[Invitation] Become a Grandmaster at Business
When he was just 13 years old, chess prodigy Magnus Carlsen nearly defeated former world champion Gary Kasparov during a tournament in Iceland. The Norwegian kid rattled the Russian with an unconventional opening, but the old guy recovered to salvage a draw. I recommend the 2016 documentary about Carlsen. Here’s the trailer: When author Patrick Bet-David…
The Right and Wrong Way to Get Prospects to Tune In
I dozed off during a Zoom meeting yesterday. I couldn’t help it. I was tired, and the speaker was BO-ring. Thankfully, my camera wasn’t on so no one caught me. In olden days in Great Britain, they might have called me a “sluggard.” (That’s a fancy English word for “lazy person.”) In the 18th-century, British…
Don’t Be a Focker (A Cautionary Tale)
Remember this scene in “Meet the Parents” when Gaylord Focker (Ben Stiller) wants to board a plane, but a power-hungry gate agent makes him wait? Funny when you watch it. But not so funny when — like me — you live through something like it. It happened Sunday at the Philadelphia International Airport. Melissa and I arrived…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.09.23
Herb Kelleher on Leadership and Service Yesterday, I flew from Philadelphia to St. Louis on Southwest Airlines. Before I boarded, I had the WORST customer (dis)service experience I’ve ever had with Southwest. It made me think of the airline’s founder, Herb Kelleher, and how he built Southwest on great customer service. He must have been…
What Will You Do When it Comes Tumbling Down?
In yesterday’s email, I told you about the little kerfuffle I’ve got going with the content cops at Facebook. More specifically, the new AI-powered robots that review content and decide whether it complies with Big Social’s “policies.” Big Social’s robot pressed pause on some videos and ads I launched. So that campaign is in limbo.…
I’m at War with Big Social’s Dumb Robot. Here’s the Story…
I’m feuding with Facebook, and I’m not alone. Earlier this month I recorded a few videos designed to promote my businesses — Story Power Marketing and Implementum. Here’s one of them (it’s all about how to transform your technology from a paralyzing migraine to a walk in the park)… I hired a team of Facebook…
She Said THIS About my Book 🥳
My upcoming book is in the hands of the publisher — getting final copy edits and page design before hitting the streets soon (exact date TBA). My editor, Judy, emailed yesterday to share a note from the proofreader who liked it; she really liked it. Here’s what the proofreader said: “This was a delight to…
From Unhappy to Delighted – a Customer Service Tale
This is a tale of customer gone wrong… …with a happy ending. It was 97 degrees the day the a/c crapped out in Melissa’s Volvo. She loves that car — except for the problems with the heating and cooling systems. We paid $400 to “recharge” the a/c — only to have the thing fail again…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.09.16
I’m Back… …from the wilds of Wyoming (no thanks to United Airlines which deposited me in St. Louis more than three hours later than promised). There’s nothing like a week off the grid to rejuvenate the spirit and clear the cobwebs. So let’s get back to business. Recommended Listening 💡John Jantsch: (Un)Limiting Beliefs I love…
How One of The Greats Described “Advertising”
If you’ve spent much time in my world, you know I’m fond of Eugene Schwartz. He’s among the great copywriters of the 20th century, and he wrote a book called “Breakthrough Advertising” which I reread every couple of years. At the beginning of Chapter Seven, Schwartz writes… “…Advertising is the literature of desire. It is…
Finding Joy in The Journey
I’ve gone fishin’… …in the backwoods of southern Wyoming. Off the grid, except for a few minutes each day to plug in and write to you. Yesterday, I bushwacked through willows. I stood in the center of mountain streams for hours. I threw a few hundred casts, and…. …I caught one fish. There’s a new…
On This, There’s No Debate
I came across this question in an online marketing forum recently: Is email marketing still worth it in 2024? On this, there is no debate. The answer is YES! Email marketing is still worth it. I founded an email marketing software company in 2001 — back when most people had not heard of email marketing, much…
Deadly Myths You Must Avoid
In ancient days, when he was the first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang, was obsessed with immortality. He issued an executive order for officials across his kingdom to search for a potion that would give him eternal life. At some point on this quest, he began consuming cinnabar (sounds tasty). He thought…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.09.09
Recommended Podcasts I’ve not yet read “No B.S. Time Management,” the newly revised book by Dan Kennedy and Ben Glass. But I loved Ben’s conversations with my friends Vance Morris and Stephen Oliver. On “Systematic Magic with Vance Morris,” you’ll hear: Great stuff! Listen on Apple or wherever you get your favorite podcast. Stephen posted his interview with…
[Last Chance] GPT Genius Replay Ends Tonight
Today (Sunday) is the last day Jonathan Green will share the replay from his GPT Genius Workshop he ran last week. If you didn’t, today is your chance to see the workshop and the amazing offer Jonathan shared. He revealed the biggest secrets to turn AI into a useful tool that you can master in…
Send More Emails? Yes, If…
Yesterday, while running a free training on how to create profit-generating emails, I got this question from a worried business owner: “I’m worried about being a spammer. I don’t want to invade someone’s inbox. How do I prevent people from thinking, ‘Oh! Why are you emailing me all the time?’” Here’s my answer, transcribed and…
The Expert’s Expert
Every guitarist has their own favorite guitarist. And it’s probably someone you’ve never heard of. Experts don’t like the same things as fans… …in music… …and in business. On today’s workshop, you’re going to meet the guy who a LOT of other AI experts come to with their questions. He’ll pull back the curtain and…
AI Was Supposed to be Easy
Everyone promised that AI would make our lives easier. But using ChatGPT can feel like you’re wrestling with the computer. Half the time you get great answers, and half the time you get garbage. The core problem: ChatGPT lives by majority rule. So if you ask ChatGPT to design a website, it will look at…
Activate ChatGPT’s Genius Mode
ChatGPT has a horrible flaw. It can do so many things, but if you ask it the wrong question…it doesn’t do what you want. Trying to buy prompt collections can only get you so far. Each time OpenAI releases an update, the old prompts stop working right. But there is a better way. You can…
RecomMONDAYtions (Late Labor Day Edition) ~ 2024.09.02
Recommended Workshop 🤖Stop using AI the hard way and let it do the heavy lifting In case you missed the special announcement this morning… AI expert Jonathan Green will be my guest on Thursday for a LIVE workshop where he’ll show us how to activate ChatGPT’s hidden “genius mode” with ONE copy and paste prompt.…
This Simple Switch will Help you Stand Out and Get More Appointments
Yesterday, a member of the Story Power Content Transformation Academy (I’ll call her “Nancy”) sent me a draft of her weekly email and asked for feedback. She does that every week — for every draft… …which has led her to create better, client-attracting emails with far less struggle. That’s one of the Academy’s many membership…
The One About the Pitchy Pest who Claimed Not to Pitch
A guy named “James” invaded my LinkedIn direct-message box yesterday with a note that started like this… Hi Tom, Unlike most on this platform who immediately pitch you, I’d actually like to start a genuine conversation. Then he told me how “…from (his conversations), many service providers like yourself are facing stagnant or declining sales.”…
A Quick, Easy Way to Transform Content From Boring to Brilliant
I met yesterday with a business owner — I’ll call him “Jim” — who struggles to create client-attracting content. Jim runs an agency that places and tracks ads for clients. It’s all about the data, he said, and… Data is boring. “How do you create entertaining, captivating content about data?” he asked Here’s the thing……
Do You Have The Right Tools for The (Marketing) Job?
Yesterday, I was minding my own business, sitting on the screen porch, checking my emails when… …I caught a whiff of natural gas — a strong whiff. So I called the gas company which sent a technician over to diagnose the problem. Turns out there was a small leak which was simple to fix. All…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.08.26
Recommended Training (Last Day) 📚How to Leverage Your Book to Maximize Sales and Profits This complimentary masterclass is available on-demand (watch any time) until 11 p.m. ET tonight (Monday, August 26). If you have a book (or you’re thinking about writing one), this will reveal how to use your book to attract leads, engage prospects,…
Rotten Advice for Authors + a Profit-generating Fix…
I bumped into a struggling author on Reddit this morning who’s flushing money down the drain while hoping people will buy his books. He’s written seven(!) books… …sold 194 (which averages to 28 sales per book)… …wasted thousands of dollars on advertising that hasn’t worked… …and then shown up in a forum for authors to…
Embrace This Credo? You May “Ragret” It…
Before he played Ted Lasso on TV, Jason Sudeikis played a low-level weed dealer named David Miller who poses as a family man so he can smuggle some product across the border in his “family’s” RV. Along the way, his “daughter” meets a dimwitted dude named Scotty P. who swings by the RV and meets…
From Pennies to Profits (Secrets for Authors)
I met yesterday with a business coach who wrote an excellent book… …but is struggling to leverage it as a profit-generator. He sells the book ($20, plus shipping) on the front page of his website. “How many books have you sold from your site?” I asked. “Not too many,” he said. “Most of my sales…
Does my Crazy-doodle Regret This…?
Last month, as the Uber Eats guy delivered my pineapple fried rice and red curry with chicken, my crazy-doodle, Moose, stormed from the kitchen to the front door, jumped against the door’s window, and ripped the lovely privacy curtain that covered the window. When I heard the commotion, I ran into the front hall, saw…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.08.19
Recommended Viewing🎥Melissa Etheridge: I’m Not Broken Last week, Melissa and I saw Melissa Etheridge in concert (5️). Melissa E. grew up in Leavenworth, KS — two blocks from the federal prison. In 1970, Johnny Cash came to town to perform at that prison. Johnny inspired Melissa to do the same. Last month, Paramount+ released “Melissa…
Why Did The Fishes Cross The Road?
This morning, while enjoying a mug of French roast and a heaping helping of Cocoa Puffs, I asked my AI copywriting robot, “B-9?,” to tell me the “greatest joke ever.” He told the one about the chicken crossing the road. (Best joke ever? I don’t think so. ) So I asked him to try again, and…
Attention Authors…
Today’s email is for business people who have written a book… …or are thinking about doing so… Last night, the St. Louis Publishers Association invited me to speak on this topic: How to Leverage Your Book to Maximize Sales and Profits. It occurred to me that you probably are NOT a member of the St.…
How I Patched Things up With my Robot…
My AI copywriting robot, “B-9?”, is depressed. He thinks I don’t like him anymore. Yesterday, I wrote an email ripping a spammer for sending me a pitchy, AI-generated email. “B-9?” took it personally. “You hate robots,” he sniffed. “No! No!” I said. “I LOVE robots — especially you.” “B-9?” crossed his arms, turned his back…
Quick Rant (Reading Time <87 Seconds)
Ripped from my spam folder… …this little “gem” from a “Sr. Growth Executive” named Jasmine: Hi (first name) … just kidding Hey Tom, I am a real human unless this is all just a simulation of course, but then we are both in the same boat! I however am reaching out personally because Story Power…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.08.12
Recommended Viewing🎥“Hitman” on Netflix Melissa and I recently watched and loved the movie “Hitman” on Netflix. Here’s the logline (summary): Inspired by the unbelievable true story, a strait-laced professor (Glen Powell) uncovers his hidden talent as a fake hit man in undercover police stings. He meets his match in a client (Adria Arjona) who steals…
This is Nutz…
Ripped from the headlines… Police say an alleged drug dealer tried to fend off intruders and enemies by feeding his pet squirrel meth. The cops were warned about Mickey Paulk’s meth-fueled “attack squirrel.” And sure enough, when they went to Mickey’s house to arrest him, they didn’t find the fugitive, but they encountered a VERY…
How I Turned Nicole Kidman + Tom Cruise’s Love Story Into a Biz-building Email…
When Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman were a couple, she bought him a star. Nicole broke open the piggy bank, dished out a few shekels to one of those star registries, and dubbed the celestial body, “Forever Tom.” I thought that was kind of amusing and interesting so I wrote an email about it several…
A Biz-crushing Disease & How to Cure It…
I got an email this morning from marketing master Dave Dee who needed to get something off his chest. One of his clients “doesn’t see the value in building a list of prospects who need his service and doesn’t have a follow-up system to turn those leads into appointments and clients.” The result: The client is struggling…
Behold: The Secret to be a “Lead Magnet Master”
Are you joining me today for the free training? It’s called… How to Get More High-Quality Leads and Convert Them Into Clients — Without Working Your Tail Off When: Today (Tuesday 8/6), 11:30 a.m. ET, 8:30 a.m. PT Where: Online. Register here. Last night, I put finishing touches on the presentation, and thought this slide might help you…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.08.05
Recommended Reading🔭How To Set Marketing Goals Based on Business Goals Great marketing begins with great goal-setting. Here’s a helpful post from the IMPACT+ blog that outlines seven steps for setting well-defined marketing goals synced with your business goals. Recommended Event (Tomrrow) How to Get More and High-Quality Leads and Convert Them Into Clients — Without Working…
The Sad Tale of How “Leads” Galore Got me Nowhere
A long, long time ago, I used to market my software business by buying a booth at a local business expo. I’d meet with my sales reps a few weeks before the expo, and we’d discuss how to attract leads to the booth. 🧲 🤔 🧲 🤔 🧲 🤔 🧲 🤔 🧲 🤔 The debate…
Grumpy About Lead Flow? I’ll Reveal a Cure on Tuesday…
May I vent for a moment? I can’t get over how many business owners have websites with zero-zilch-nada ways for prospects to raise their hands and say, “Tell me more…” … Or their sites have “sign up for the email list,” but that call-to-action is buried in the footer where most people don’t find it.…
Which Name do you Prefer? “Complimentary Consultation” or this…Which Name do you Prefer? “Complimentary Consultation” or This…
Ripped from the headlines… A man in Texas is running for President of the United States, and to stand out on the ballot he has legally changed his name to ( drumroll, please…) “Literally Anybody Else” Formerly, “Dustin Ebey,” Mr. Else has gathered enough signatures to appear on the ballot in Tennessee. But he fell short…
Business-building Tips from THE Paperback Expert
Happy Paperback Book Day. Yeah, I know. There’s a holiday for EVERYTHING. But this one is important. My paperback book is coming out soon, but we can’t celebrate that yet. So we’ll have to celebrate the occasion another way… Three years ago, I interviewed Michael DeLon on my podcast, The Story Power Marketing Show. Michael is…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.07.29
Recommended Reading🤔Marc Mawhinney on the Difference Between Cocky and Confident A short, but powerful post from Mark Mawhinney on his Natural Born Coaches site. It begins… “Someone asked a question on Facebook a few years back: ‘What’s the difference between confidence and being cocky?’ The answer I gave: ‘Confident people can back it up. Cocky…
[Must See] Priceless Wisdom From 2 Marketing Legends
Must See TV! This happened on Monday… Dan Kennedy and Jay Abraham — two of the all-time great marketers on Planet Earth… …side-by-side, talking about their craft… …for more than two hours. I watched most of it live. I’ve watched the entire replay once. I’ll watch it again and again and again and… until they…
Smart Marketing for a Dumb Watch
Melissa walked past my desk last week, looked over my shoulder, and saw this: “You have seven thousand and forty-eight emails in your inbox?” she asked. “Yep,” I said. “But zero are marked ‘unread.’” (Which, by the way, is not the same as saying, “I’ve READ all 7,048 emails!”) Welcome to my world of digital…
Have You Felt This Way…?
Raise your hand if you’ve ever said or thought any of the following… “I’m not sure how to clone myself to grow the business, but I know it’s essential for our success.” “I have so much on my plate, I can never get done what I really want to get done, and it feels overwhelming.”…
A Dreaded Biz Diz-ease — and How to Cure It
I read yesterday about a business owner with DIY Diz-ease. It’s a dreaded, yet common condition that afflicts many business owners — including little ol’ me. George Sotiropoulos describes one of the afflicted in his book: “Roadblocks You Can’t Ignore:” I have a client who did their own accounts on QuickBooks to save the fee to…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.07.22
Recommended Listenting 🎤 James Rhee: The Power of Kindness in Business w/ Guy Kawasaki Guy Kawasaki has a great podcast called “Remarkable People.” I recommend the episode with James Rhee. From the show notes: James Rhee is “a former high school teacher turned private equity investor and author of the book “Red Helicopter.” James shares his…
Weekend Plans
My college pal Meredith occasionally posts her “Weekend Plans” on Facebook on Fridays. Funny memes. Weird old photos. Old ads. Like this: Or this… Alas, I don’t have lard in the cupboard… …and decapitation ain’t my thing… …so I have other weekend plans. Melissa, crazy-doodle Moose, and I will head to our country place in…
This May be My Least Favorite Holiday. Here’s Why…
Today is “Get to Know Your Customers Day.” My reaction: Bah! Humbug! Don’t get me wrong. I think getting to know your customers is a GREAT idea — if you want to assemble captivating client-attracting content with greater ease. But this is a dumb holiday. Here’s why: **Getting to know your customers (and prospects) should…
💩 I Bark and Growl at This Poopy Advice…
My client Dr. Deb Carlin loves her GoldenDoodle, Lady Hazel, whom she mentions often in her social posts. But some nosy know-it-alls think all that dog-talk is unprofessional. From one of Deb’s Facebook posts this week: “Some… have advised me to tame things a bit and stop overloading my posts with (Lady Hazel)… not good for my…
“Email Doesn’t Work” and Other Conspiracy Theories
I didn’t sleep well on Sunday. The news out of Pennsylvania spooked me. But the thing that spooked me most and left me sleepless: All the social media chatter that followed. I made the mistake of getting sucked in. Speculation piled on top of speculation piled on top of speculation. One uninformed person after another…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.07.15
Recommended Resource 📹Fathom – AI Notetaker I used to use Otter.ai to transcribe and summarize Zoom and other online meetings. No more. Fathom is better! It records the meeting (and saves the video), generates a very accurate transcript, and summarizes the meetings in different ways — depending on the type of meeting it is. I’ve…
Storytelling’s Power — Beyond Marketing
Last week I posted a video on social media about completing the final draft of my upcoming book. In case you missed it, you can see the video here: LinkedIn or Facebook. If you comment and say, “Put me on the list,” I’ll send you a .pdf copy before the book appears on Amazon. My high school pal,…
“I Have Found a System that I Know Will Work…”
If you were on the fence about attending my “Proven P.L.A.N.” masterclass today, here’s a story that might motivate you to join us… I had a good day yesterday. One of those “This is why I get out of bed and go to my office” kind of days. It started when one of my clients sent me…
Good Fortune Has Nothing to Do With This…
Legendary copywriter Eugene Schwartz said he never suffered from writer’s block. Never ever. Some may explain that by saying, “He had a ‘gift.’” or “He was a genius.” or “He had the good fortune to be born with what it takes.” But none of that explains how Eugene Schwartz avoided writer’s block. Good fortune has…
A Profit-crushing Mistake and How to Avoid It
Ripped from the bowels of my SPAM folder… Behold this message from a guy named “Steve.” It serves as a cautionary tale for you… …IF you wish to stand out and be hired — rather than be overlooked and ignored. Steve writes: Tom, I hope you’re doing well. I wanted to touch base following my…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.07.08
Recommended Masterclass The Proven P.L.A.N. to Create Client-Attracting, Profit-Generating Content — Without Writer’s Block I’m hosting this one on Thursday, July 11 (3 p.m. ET, 12 p.m. PT). I’ll reveal the proven, simple, 4-part system — The P.L.A.N. Framework — to create content quickly and easily, without getting stuck. This is a brand new masterclass…
How to Succeed in Business (And Hot Dog Eating Contests)
Of course, nothing says “Independence Day” in the USA more than shoving an obscene number of hot dogs and buns down your throat as quickly as possible. God bless America and… …Nathan’s Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest. Here’s the video in case you missed it (you’re welcome )… After blazing record-setting trails across the competitive…
A Reminder to Strive
It’s July 4. Independence Day in America. The nation’s 248th birthday. Before I enjoy pool parties, fireworks, and hot dog eating contests, I reflect on the “Founding Fathers” (and so many unnamed Founding Mothers who supported them) and I celebrate… …their vision, commitment, and courage. Melissa and I visited Philadelphia last year and went to…
A Prescription to Get Unstuck…
Yesterday, I met a marketing master who is stuck. He churns out profit-generating webinars and products in a blink. Every piece of his marketing machine zooms ahead like a finely tuned Maserati… …except his emails… …which sputter like a tired, old jalopy. Hard to start. Unexpected breakdowns. Journeys that take hours, instead of minutes. No…
Make Time for Renaissance Time
It was a dark and stormy night. Really, it was… …way back on this day — July 2 — in 1505. A young fella named Martin Luther got caught in a violent storm. He was so awed by God’s thunderous wrath… …he decided to become a monk… …right there and then… …on that stormy night.…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.07.01
Recommended Video The Declaration of Independence | Benjamin Franklin This is an excerpt from Ken Burns’ 2022 film “Benjamin Franklin.” It describes a small but meaningful edit Franklin made to Thomas Jefferson’s first draft of The Declaration of Independence. Here, also, is the transcript of the final product — ratified on July 4, 1776. Recommended Reading Why…
No Debate. This Ad’s Great…
Want to learn how to create content that attracts leads, keeps them tuned in, and inspires them to buy? Watch this complimentary training: “A Masterpiece Ad Reveals How to Create Story-Powered Super Magnets…” I pulled this training from the archives yesterday after mentioning the masterpiece ad at the Mastermind Book Club meeting. We were discussing…
How to be The Shiny Needle in a 60-billion-Needle Haystack
When I was a sixth-grader at Conway School in St. Louis, MO, my teacher, Don Moyle, issued the Chalk Mark Challenge: During recess period, grab a piece of chalk, make marks on the board (in sets of five), and stop when you’ve made one million marks. You can spread the effort over multiple recess periods.…
Here’s a Story About How to Begin a Story…
A cautionary tale: A few years ago, I came across a marketing “expert” on LinkedIn who said you should NEVER begin a story by saying, in effect, here comes a story. “Let the story speak for itself,” he said. If you need to tell someone a story follows, it’s not a strong story. Ummmmmmmm… ⬆…
A Blade Runner Wouldn’t Buy This Marketer’s B.S.
“Blade Runner” premiered 42 years ago today. I saw it that day — June 25, 1982 — at the Esquire Theater in St. Louis. It remains my favorite movie (ever). In the opening scene, a cop interviews a Leon Kowalski to determine whether Leon is a human or a replicant (robot). It’s not easy to…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.06.24
Recommended Video How NOT To Make an Offer (And What to Do Instead) From the YouTube description: “When it comes to making the offer – the moment you let your prospects know about your product or service and then ask them to give you money for it – there’s a mistake almost every business owner…
🔑 The Key to Turn Social Followers Into Buyers
Want to hear a mind-blowing stat about social media? The average engagement rate for an Instagram account is 0.6%. That means six people out of 1,000 engage with the content in some way. And what about those “influencers” who have cracked the code, built giant followings, and mastered this medium? Their average engagement rate is…
“Remember… Communication is Never About…”
I read a story yesterday about Bill Clinton and how he outplayed George Bush in a 1992 debate. During the debate, a woman asked the candidates how they would handle the economic crisis and how it affected lives. Bush answered with logic and opinions. Clinton answered with emotion… …which in this case meshed perfectly with…
Egg-licking Nitwits Don’t Rake in The Rubles
Ripped from the headlines in Russia: Eighteen unlucky souls came down with food poisoning after shopping at Zhiznmart grocery store in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Zhiznmart’s owner denied responsibility and offered 1 million rubles to anyone who could prove his products poisoned them. Enter hordes of nitwits, hoping to rake in the rubles. A few fortune-seekers resorted…
You Won’t Believe What This Bride Did
Melissa and I traveled to the mountains of northwestern Connecticut last weekend to attend a family wedding. My cousin Ali married her sweetheart Ricky. The weather was perfect. The ceremony was a tear-jerker. The food was delicious. The band rocked the house. But the one thing I’ll remember most is the personalized note that I…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.06.17
Recommended Event LinkedIn Masterclass Workshop My friend (and Story Power email subscriber Jon Keel) is a LinkedIn master who will host a free LinkedIn Masterclass Workshop on July 9-11. Three days, one hour per day (4-5 p.m.) to discover how to use LinkedIn to become the recognized authority in your marketplace, have people reach out…
The Puffy Pope, AI, and You…
The Pope is taking on AI. You know, Pope Francis. He’s the hip head of the Catholic Church. Last year, he hit the streets in a white puffer jacket (how hip is that?!?)… …or did he? Turns out the Puffy Pope photos were AI-generated fakes. Not real. But real concerning for those, like the Pope…
Leonardo DaVinci and I Have This Problem in Common
Better late than never. I finally finished writing the book called: Story Power MarketingProven Methods to Create Client-Attracting, Profit-Generating Content – Without Getting Stuck I’ve been working on this book for a while… …a long while. Far too long, really. At one point, my publisher threatened to charge me an additional fee if I didn’t…
When The World Gives You Toilet Paper…
When I was a kid, vandals TP’d our yard. They tossed several rolls of toilet paper in the trees and stormed off into the night. The next morning, we woke to a maple, sweet gum, and two oaks draped in Charmin Ultra-Soft. My dad had a sh%t-fit. Artist’s rendering of Dad: My brother and I…
Enhance The Ordinary — with Yarn (and Stories)…
Around 20 years, a fabric artist in Austin, TX wrapped a door handle in yarn… …and the rest — as they say in some knitting circles — is history. The artist is Magda Sayeg. After wrapping the door handle, the artist, Magda Sayeg, wrapped a stop sign post, a fire hydrant, and other urban objects.…
RecomMONDAYtions ~ 2024.06.10
Recommended Newsletter Idea Surplus DisorderI subscribed earlier this year to “Idea Surplus Disorder” by Matt Homan after Matt and his team facilitated a strategic planning meeting for a nonprofit I serve in St. Louis. Matt is a smart and creative business leader. I love his newsletter which is “a weekly dose of innovation, ideation, and…
Fear Sells and That’s OK. Here’s Why…
Our home security system is on the fritz. A sensor on a first-floor door has stopped working so the system thinks door is open — even when its closed tight. In order to activate the system and secure our house, we have to “bypass” that door which requires pushing keypad buttons in a sequence more…
I Wrote a “Perfect” Subject Line (It’s “…a b’nch of dum Nonsense”)
Whoa! I just escaped from Bizarro World where everything is backwards. Up is down. Beautiful is ugly. And… Terrible (subject lines) are “perfect.” Let me ‘splain… My client — let’s call him Michael — asked me for help to write a subject line for an email he’ll send next week to a purchased list. The…