Story Power Blog
How Smart Marketers Turn Pain Into (Mutual) Gain
It was the worst of times, it was the best of times. A tale of two doctors. The first doctor was an orthopedist who “diagnosed” the pain in my forearm by telling me what it wasn’t. I thought I might have a pinched nerve in my shoulder. “No, you’re wrong,” she said. (She pulled that…
There’s a Good Reason This Email Is Late…
Whoa! Time got away from me this morning. That’s why my email to you has landed later than usual. I rolled out of bed on time (earlier, in fact, than my typical 6 a.m. up-and-at-’em). I poured some French roast, opened the laptop, and began writing, as usual. But instead of creating today’s email, I…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.12.19
Rudolph’s Origin Story + How to Gain the Clarity and Focus to Create Meaningful Change + Top 100 Tech Innovations + Mike White on Finding that Creative Spark + re: Quality Content
Lazy Marketing. Lousy Results. (A Sad, But Humorous Cautionary Tale)
Here’s a cautionary tale for you to tuck in your “how-not-to-network” file. The saga began last week, when Barry sent me a LinkedIn message asking to meet. Barry used to run an agency in St. Louis that competed with the email marketing firm I founded and ran, MarketVolt. We crossed paths occasionally back then so…
The Secret to Inspire Prospects to Buy — Without Pushing and Prodding
I finished reading a great book last night. Flip the Script – Getting People to Think Your Idea is Their Idea by Oren Klaff. My friend Ted Prodromou (a.k.a “America’s leading LinkedIn coach) chose it as this month’s selection for the Mastermind Book Club. I’m glad he did because it’s a great book. We’ll discuss it tomorrow (Dec.…
How to Batten Down The Hatches as The Robots Arrive
The robots are coming here! The robots are coming here! Sound the alarm! Batten down the hatches! (Whatever that means) Unless you’ve been in a cave, you’ve probably heard the news… There’s a new artificial intelligence copywriter in town called ChatGPT, and it’s got a bunch of people in a tizzy. On a popular message board for copywriters, one…
How to Achieve More and Bumble Less in 2023
I just had the most disturbing flashback. The year is 2008. The month is December. The economy is in a free-fall. And I’m busy planning the year ahead for the email marketing company I founded and run, MarketVolt. I sit in front of my computer, fire up MS Word, and type in big, bold letters……
Monday Mash-up ~ 2022.12.12
Dan Sullivan and Joe Polish re: “What’s In It for Them” + How to Author Great Content – Even if You’re Not a Great Writer (with Matt Harms) + How to Change iPhone Settings to get Rid of HEIC + Ask for H.E.L.P + re: Dating and Content Marketing
Shameless Pitch Enclosed. Don’t Miss This…
In less than 2 hours, I’m hosting a great event with three marketing masters called: Human v. Machine MarketingWhich Produces More & Better Clients? There’s still time to RSVP and attend the 11 a.m. ET (10 a.m. CT) event. And those who RSVP will get a recording if they can’t attend live. But you have…
Today I Celebrate And Give Thanks…
I’m sitting in the kitchen, sipping a hot cup of black coffee and enjoying my breakfast of… A big chocolate brownie. Not my ordinary morning pick-me-up. But, of course, I had to start TODAY with a brownie because it’s December 8, which, as everyone knows, is… National Brownie Day. Really. That’s a thing. Says so…
Why Copycat Marketers Give Me The Deja-blues
I’m having a deja-deja-deja-vu… …thanks to some copycat marketers who filled my inbox with promotions for an upcoming summit. This story is tricky to tell because some of the copycats are my marketing pals who get my emails. I worry they may read this and ask me to return the holiday fruit cake they sent…
Monks Hooked on Junk Leave Villagers in Funk
A Buddhist temple in Thailand has temporarily shut down after every one of its monks admitted to smoking meth. Talk about Breaking Bad-dah! The sheriff and village headman visited the temple, 150 miles north of Bangkok after villagers tipped them off. When drug tests came back positive, the temple’s four monks confessed. The temple’s chief…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.12.05
Briskine is a Huge Time-Saver + Social Marketing Secrets to Drive More Traffic & Sales + Why Facing Death Is The Key To Success + Debunking Email Marketing Myths + …from Air BnB’s Co-Founder
Why I Shut Down This Pitchy Pest — Despite His Enthusiasm
Yesterday, I showed up on Zoom to lead a complimentary strategy session and discovered, instead, that I was attending an unsolicited pitch-fest. Dan scheduled the strategy session a few weeks ago during a presentation I delivered at an online summit. I invited my audience to sign up for a free one-on-one session… …if they were…
The Secret to Terminate Mice AND Marketing Frustration
The mouse was mocking me. He crawled from his hiding place under the dishwasher, skittered toward the fridge, and then paused to stare at me – as if to pose. I could have sworn I heard him squeak, “Look at me, sucker!Catch me if you can. Ha! Ha! Ha!” And then, cool as a cuke, he…
How to Turn Social From a Soul-sucking Slog to a Business-building Blast
I ran into a sad-sack on a marketing forum this morning who asked, “Is it possible to growa successful businesswithout social media?” My favorite response came from “NotSure2505” who dropped this bomb, “No, that is whythere were nosuccessful businessesprior to social media15 years ago.” That made me laugh, but it also reminded me: I’m surrounded…
Oops! I Did It Again…
Oh no! I swallowed some Ryan Deiss click-bait… …only to discover I’d been fooled again. The subject line said, “Re: Refund Request.” Maybe I’m still in a post-vacation haze. Maybe the morning coffee hadn’t kicked in. Whatever my excuse, my lizard brain told me to open the email so I could see the status of…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.11.28
Content Makeover Offer Ends Tonight + Build Self-Awareness, Focus, and Emotional Balance + Quentin Tarantino’s Cinema Speculation + The New Yorker Profiles James Cameron + …from James Cameron
My Black Friday-Saturday-Sunday-Monday Offer…
Good morning. I’m back in my home office for the first time in two weeks… …sipping a mug of black coffee (not as tasty as the double espressos I drank in France, but good enough)… …eating a piece of leftover pie for breakfast… …and wondering what e-maily goodness to send you. (Pause while I rest…
Thanks for Reading and Other Holiday Wishes…
Greetings from the wild blue yonder… …above the southern tip of Greenland… …which from 38,000 feet above… …looks white. I’m flying from Frankfurt to St. Louis. Just in time for Thanksgiving with the extended family. Which brings me to the point of this email. THANKS! At the bottom of most emails, I write, “Thanks for…
“Flabbergasting” Marketing Flubs And How to Avoid Them…
I’m on the train from Paris to Frankfurt, winding down my vacation and catching up on email… …and wondering what I’m going to send you and my other subscriber friends today. Lo and behold, the very first email I read contains a little gem of a story that’s just the kind of tale worth sharing…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.11.21
How to Replace Your To-Do List with Something Way Better + How to Stand Out as an Authority in a Crowded Marketplace + New and Improved Version of Ann Handley’s Classic + Super Simple Highlighter for Chrome + …from Leo Burnett
Guy With a Million Followers Braces for Twitter Meltdown. Lessons For All…
Close your eyes and imagine you’ve built your entire social media following on Twitter. Go on, imagine it. Pretty scary, huh!? Where will you and your followers be in a few months after the dust settles from the Elon Musk earthquake. For those not following the news: Elon Musk (the guy who runs Tesla and…
She Said I Make Her Grimace – and That Felt so Good
Last month, an accomplished, intelligent business woman named Brooke told me I make her grimace. And good golly, Miss Molly, that made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. Once upon a time, I might have sulked if someone put “Tom Ruwitch” and “grimace” in the same sentence – especially a female someone. But not…
More Stinky, Rotten Tactics to Avoid — if you Want to Build Valuable, Long-lasting Client Relationships
Greetings from my temporary home in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, France, where I’m staying in a 600-year-old house, along a back alley that reminds me of Diagon Alley. I got lots of great feedback regarding my email last week about rotten marketing tricksters who “swim in the shallow end of the tactical gene pool.” Like this reply from subscriber Gill who…
How The Family and Me Shifted Our Mood From Cloudy to Sunny
Greetings from the south of France where it’s sunny 300 days a year… …and it rained cats and dogs yesterday. Melissa and I flew over on Friday to meet up with daughter Maddie who’s been traveling across Europe for the last few months. Here, in one of the most beautiful places on earth, the gray, rainy…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.11.14
Send Gifts with Ease + How to Profit with Print and Not Look Stupid Doing It + Turia Pitt: Unmask Your Potential + Finding Creativity In Gratitude, Love, Openness & Wonder + …from Anton Chekhov
Are you Swimming in The Shallow End of The Tactical Gene Pool?
Yesterday, I heard Troy Broussard dish some dirt on marketing jackasses who resort to stupid tricks… …such as ending mass emails with “Sent from my iPhone.” Those cunning tricksters want you to think they’ve sent a personal email, composed one thumb-tap at a time, just for you. Troy said, as I often say: You don’t…
A Peek into the Hamper of my Dirty Relationship Laundry
A new-ish subscriber named Dave chimed in yesterday with high praise and… …a complaint. “I love your emails, but I cannot keep up with them, as they come so often.” Ahhhh…the give-and-take of daily-ish, info-taining emails. You love them, but they’re…ummmm…too much of a good thing. Dave continues… “I don’t want to jump off your…
You won’t believe what this tour guide didn’t know…
Did you hear the one about the tour guide in Frankfurt, Germany who can’t speak or read German? This is no joke. In September, “Michael_S,” gave this guide a 1-star review after hiring him for a private tour around the city. From Michael’s review: “…this tour company has very poor standards for who qualifies as…
The Big Email Marketing Lie: Why Open Rates Are for Suckers
On Thursday, Dean Isaacs and I will host a 5in25 training: Metrics that Matter – 5 Things to Measure in Your Marketing and Sales… …and (spoiler alert): Email open rate is not a metric that matters. A story to clarify: A few years back, I attended a conference where an “email marketing expert” spoke. He described a…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.11.07
The 3-Step Headline System from Jack Turk + How to Build Healthy Teams and Healthy Bottom Lines + Annoying Network Habits to Avoid + Flip the Script by Oren Klaff + …from Troy Broussard
Write This Way (How The World’s Fastest Copywriter Escaped Corporate Idiocy)
In yesterday’s email, I told you how Jack Turk quit his job at Microsoft to become a party magician and, later, “The World’s Fastest Copywriter.” Last night, over cocktails at the hotel bar in Baltimore, I learned the story behind that story. Our new friend Al asked Jack, “Why’d you quit your job at Microsoft?” …
The Secret to Motivate Prospects to Buy
On his 50th birthday, Jack Turk marched into his boss’s office at Microsoft and quit his job as a game writer and project manager. So began his career as a… …party magician. (Holy Pay Cut, Batman!) Now, instead of getting a regular paycheck from Bill Gates, Jack was clawing for gigs, fighting to earn a…
You Won’t Profit Unless You Do This…
Greetings from Baltimore, MD, USA where Vance Morris is about to kick off his DBOS 2022 Live conference. More on that in a moment. But first, a flashback to last evening when my friend and client Richard Terry and DBOS master of ceremonies Michael DeLon were enjoying Happy Hour at Mother’s Grille. Over crab cakes…
The Trick-or-treat Marketing Method to Stand Out and Earn More
Three riddles from trick-or-treaters that made Melissa and me smile last night: Good Q: What’s a vampire’s favorite fruit? A: Neck-tarines. Better Q: What did the obsidian say to the geologist? A: Don’t take me for granite! Best Q: What did Tennessee? A: The same thing as Arkansas! (There’s nothing like a silly Halloween joke.)…
Monday Mash-Up 2022.10.31
Marketing Humor and Insight from The Marketoonist + Tim’s Vermeer + This TED Talk is Funny and Wise + …from Harry Houdini
A Request Inspired by Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal
You opened this email. And, unless you’re a brand new subscriber, this isn’t the first one you’ve opened. So…questions and a request: Why do you read my emails? Would you recommend my emails to others? If so, why? The request: Reply to this email and let me know. I may publish what you say as…
Crazy Stupid LinkedIn Lunacy
I crossed paths with a desperate marketer yesterday who craves more followers for his company’s LinkedIn page. A competing company recently gained 1,600 followers in 30 days, and Desperate didn’t want his company to fall behind. So he posted his story to a marketing forum and asked for help. Then the rotten advice began to…
The Best Car Repair Experience Ever — and What it Means for Your Biz…
Yesterday, I was scheduled to have a minor repair on my car. The driver’s side sun visor needed to be replaced because the mirror was cracked. Once upon a time, that would have meant a 20-minute drive to the dealership – over traffic-clogged highways, through a driving rainstorm. I would have stood in line…
Creative Inspiration from Pablo Picasso
It’s Pablo Picasso’s birthday today (Oct. 25)… …which reminds me of something he said: “Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.” Chew on that for a while – especially if you’ve ever thought you’re not “creative.” A lot of business people tell me they’re not…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.10.24
Recommended TrainingGenerate a Stream of Ideal Prospects Through Referrals When it comes to building your business through referrals, there’s no one better — and no one I trust more — than Virginia Muzquiz. (I don’t promote other people’s stuff often, but I’m promoting Virginia’s.) Today, Virginia kicks off her Referral Alchemy® Bootcamp, and you still…
How to Inspire Would-be Subscribers to Say, “I Must Sign Up…”
Wow! I touched a nerve this week when I asked y’all about list building (here’s the email in case you missed it). So many questions from aspiring list-builders… …including this one (which was similar to several I received): “What can one say that would make someone feel ‘I must subscribe right away?’” I visited her…
How We Fall for “Free” — Even When It’s The Wrong Choice
The Halloween candy is here. Melissa stopped by Costco and brought home the treats over the weekend. Three giant bags of KitKats, Reese’s, Rolos, Whoppers, and Heath Bars. 455 pieces of chocolaty goodness per bag. 1,365 pieces total… …tempting me… …taunting me… …every time I walk past them in the living room. Melissa’s words echo…
A Request for a Quick Favor…And an Offer to Give Share Some Advice…
In a couple of hours, I’ll be a speaker at a live business seminar. The topic: Email list building. As I put the finishing touches on my presentation, I thought, “This is good stuff. Good enough to include in a course.” And so was born my idea to create a short course on lead generation…
How a Tabloid Rag Drew More Readers Than The Bible
Back in the 1980s, copywriting legend Gary Halbert once claimed: “More people read any single issue of The (National) Enquirer than have read The Bible since it was first printed!” (Zoinks!) Halbert did not share the “sickening statistic” (his words) to bash The Bible. He was heaping praise on The Enquirer whose writers were, according to Halbert, “among the best…
Monday Mash-up ~ 2022.10.17
Recommended ResourceAttract a Predictable Stream of Quality Clients My friend Virginia Muzquiz may be the best referrer I know. She’s a referral machine — and a great resource for anyone who wants to grow their business through referrals. Last week, Virginia released a The Referral Alchemy Report — a free resource that reveals how to attract a…
Why Prospects Find You Then Flee — and How to Fix It
Here’s a cautionary tale about LinkedIn… …and why you must power-up your profile… …even if you rarely spend time on the platform. Yesterday, I met a guy named Bill who’s trying to ramp up his tutoring business. He struggles to generate leads and land clients. And he described those struggles while sitting on the “hot…
How a Legendary Marketer Overcame Writer’s Block
Before he stood out as one of the world’s great copywriters, Gary Bencivenga was stuck. So he enrolled in a course called “Overcoming Writer’s Block.” Turns out the course was a bust. The instructor “didn’t have a clue how to cure this problem.” And his classmates turned each day’s class into a whine-and-moan session. Lots…
I’ve Got a Bad Case of Palace Envy
My new neighbors are making me look bad. They moved in over the summer and immediately began pumping big bucks into their century old house. A new roof. Fresh paint. Landscaping makeover. And that’s just what we can see from the front of their house. Yesterday, as I returned from walking my mutt Moose around…
You’re Invited: 2 Opportunities for Free Story Power
I’m packing my virtual bags and heading out on the speaking circuit this wee Opportunity #1 (Today): What: Free training Why Storytellers Sell More and Have More Fun Doing It. When: Today, Tuesday, October 11, 2022, 12 p.m. EDT, 11 a.m. CDT. Where: Zoom. Click here to register. Hosted by: Marc Mawhinney, founder and chief admin at The Coaching Jungle — the…
Monday Mash-Up 2022.10.10
Recommended ViewingSeth Godin on the Difference Between a Brand and a Logo “Companies spend way too much time on their logo.” So says Seth Godin who then explains what really makes a brand. Important stuff whether you’re running a multinational corporation or a one-person shop. Watch the video here. Recommended Viewing / ListeningHow to Create Interactive Experiences…
You Can Choose to Stand Out. Here’s How…
It happened again yesterday. Another expert-in-his-field told me he doesn’t have what it takes to generate creative content and powerful business-building stories. Another struggling business owner who wants to be a stand-out in a crowded market but decided, without trying, that he is a storytelling washout. Another man left on the sidelines watching others play…
How to Gain the Edge in This Wacky, Irrational World
Imagine this… You’re at the office supply store about to buy a pen for $25, and you run into ME. Nice guy I am, I tell you I saw the same pen at another office supply store – 15 minutes down the road – for $18. Do you hop in your car, drive 15 minutes,…
Ditch The Meet-and-pitch Routine on Social. Here’s Why…
A few months ago, my friend Nora called to tell me about the new client she landed. He called me “out of the blue,” she said. “We met the next week, and he signed a contract that day.” The quickest, easiest sale ever, right!? Well, here’s the thing… That “out of the blue” client was…
The Tragic, Cautionary Tale of a Speaker Known as Boring
There’s an old legend about an up-and-coming motivational speaker who joined the National Speakers Bureau and hired an agent to book gigs. The speaker’s name: William Boring. The agent begged the speaker to change his name. “No one will put you on stage with that name,” the agent said. Reluctantly, the speaker hired a lawyer,…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.10.03
Recommended ViewingWhat Makes Us Feel Good About Our Work Dan Ariely is a brilliant behavioral economist (more on him below) who explores what motivates us — at work, when we shop, in our relationships, and more. In this TED talk, Ariely describes two fascinating studies that reveal what drives us in the workplace. Recommended Viewing…
Do You Mind If I Blow Cigar Smoke in Your Ear?
Sex sells. Always has. Always will. Take this modern day ad for Lindor truffles, oozing with innuendo: “Taste the Lindor Truffle. Created with passion…Like nothing you’ve ever experienced.” That would make Milton S. Hershey blush. But here’s the crazy thing… That Lindor spot and other ads released in our 21st-century, anything-goes, twerk-crazy world… …they’re nothing…
Process Automation Gone Wrong. A Cautionary Tale…
It began as a shoulder ache. Now I have a headache. And it’s all because of process automation gone wrong. I woke Monday morning – after a restless, painful night – with a sore shoulder. The pain had spread down my forearm, to my hand. I knew these symptoms. I’d had them before – 15…
I have a Feeling You’ll Open This Email Even Though the Subject Line is 103 Characters and 20 Words Long
A VIP member of my Content Transformation Academy asked me last week: What’s the ideal length for a subject line? “Provocative question,” I replied. My answer: “Size doesn’t matter.” The VIP shot back: “I read ‘shorter is better.’” “Yeah,” I replied, “Some say short. Some say long.” I Googled “what’s the proper length for a…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.0926
Recommended ViewingTim Ferriss and Neil Strauss re: Writing and Creativity Watch the first two minutes of this video. You’ll hear a brilliant insight about how to develop a productive writing habit. Then keep going. The YouTube video description: “…best-selling author and entrepreneur Tim Ferriss sat down with his friend and fellow writer Neil Strauss. Ferriss and…
Email Away — as Long as You Don’t Drop Boredom Bombs
I spoke yesterday to a business owner who doesn’t like getting emails… …so she doesn’t want to send them. “I’ll be honest about email lists or subscriptions,” she said. “I don’t really like being on them. because I always feel like I’m being bombarded by emails…So I’m only intending to send (email) out once a…
Lessons Re: Stupid Social “Trends” And The Stupid People Who Report Them
Ripped from the headlines: The Food and Drug Administration does not want you to cook chicken in NyQuil I repeat: The FDA does NOT want you to cook chicken in the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing, aching, stuffy head, fever, so you can rest medicine. In a “consumer update” on its website, the US government agency…
The Brilliant Way Scammers Find Their Best Marks
A few years ago I got an email that claimed to be from my friend Mark. It said, “Hope you are doing well? It takes me great pain to write this email to you and I feel so devastated. My family and I had a trip visiting Manila,(Philippines) unannounced some days back for a short…
Why Social Media Sucks for Selling — And What You can do About It
A quick story about the awesome selling power of social media… …or lack thereof: Last month, I heard Kim Garst speak. She’s a Forbes top 10 Social Media Power Influencer with 23,364 followers on LinkedIn. And she said this: “I’m known for social media,but only 3% of my salescome from social media.” As Scooby Doo’s…
Last Week’s Gifts – With Corrected Links
Hi, Last week, I sent you an email to celebrate National Online Learning Day. I was on vacation last week, and I wrote/scheduled that email during the frantic hours before I left… …and I screwed up the links. So here are the same gifts, this time with the links corrected. If you have any trouble…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.09.19
Recommended ViewingHow to Stop Languishing and Start Finding Flow This is a great TED talk! From the YouTube description: Have you found yourself staying up late, joylessly bingeing TV shows and doomscrolling through the news, or simply navigating your day uninspired and aimless? Chances are you’re languishing, says organizational psychologist Adam Grant — a psychic malaise…
Not so Fast, Romeo… How to Court Prospects the Right Way
Last week, I re-watched Romeo + Juliet — the 1996 version starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes. I love the scene where the star-crossed lovers meet. Love at first sight around a tropical fish tank. Here’s the video clip… Audiences enjoy love at first sight stories. (This clip — which is one of many on YouTube showing this scene…
Holiday Gifts For You
Happy National Online Learning Day To celebrate the big day, I’m sharing three free resources… E-Book: 5 Storytelling Secrets to Help You Captivate Prospects and Inspire Them to Buy The most successful marketing and advertising campaigns tell powerful stories.Why? Because powerful stories captivate prospects and inspire them to buy. If there was a Storytelling Hall…
Productivity Secret From Martin Luther, Perry Marshall, and Me…
Martin Luther was a busy guy. He wrote “95 Theses…” that challenged the Catholic Church and kicked off the Protestant Reformation. He defended himself before Church bigwigs who condemned him as a heretic and burned his writings. He went into hiding and spent 10 months translating the New Testament from Latin to German. And he…
Paul McCartney Ain’t All That. Let Me Explain…
Fifty-seven years ago today (September 13, 1965), The Beatles released “Yesterday.” Paul McCartney wrote it, and he says the song came to him in a dream. Here’s the story from McCartney’s biography Many Years from Now by Barry Miles: “I woke up with a lovely tune in my head. I thought, ‘That’s great, I wonder…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.09.12
Recommended ViewingPreferences and Beliefs Are Often Assembled Two questions that get at the same idea — but are actually very different: What age do you expect to live to? What age do you expect to die by? Researchers gathered a random group of subjects and asked half of them the “live to…” question and half…
Screening Prospects? Why Harsh is Good…
Last month, I met with a VIP member of my Content Transformation Academy to help her tune-up her sales funnel. Sarah worried she might be turning away good prospects. She’s a business coach who offers a free discovery session to prospects. They have to complete a form to schedule that session. And that form asks…
Lingo-lovers Lose. A Cautionary Tale…
A quiet morning in St. Louis, MO, USA. Your friendly neighborhood storytelling expert sits at his desk, peacefully interacting with some new connections on LinkedIn when… …the alarm sounds… …The Lingo Alarm. Here’s the LinkedIn post that triggers it… (Our company) delivers expertise, market experience and a proven track record in bio-based composite manufacturing (masterbatch,…
Biz Tips Inspired by Batman, French Verbs, and The Quest for World Peace
In case you missed the news yesterday: I’m hosting a complimentary content planning workshop… How to Generate a Constant Flow of Content Ideas — Without Suffering from Writer’s Block Tomorrow at 1 p.m. EDT, 12 p.m. CDT. If you want to attend, reply to this email with “give me the workshop details.” I’ll send you…
If You Ever Feel Stuck Coming Up With Content Ideas, This is For You…
Hi — I was planning last month to host a complimentary content planning workshop… …How to Generate a Constant Flow of Content Ideas — Without Suffering from Writer’s Block… …but I postponed when a flash flood destroyed my dining room. I’ve rescheduled it for this Thursday at 1 p.m. EDT, 12 p.m. CDT. If you…
Why Faster and Shorter Isn’t Always Better
Storytelling standout Bill Mueller shared a tale recently about a critic who told him “I don’t read emails with long copy.” Said the critic: “98% of the people who open email give you 3 seconds of their time.” That caught my eye… …because I write… …ummm… …you know. Still with me? Depending on your reading…
A 929-word Recipe to Cook up More Persuasive Copy
A gift for you today… A .pdf copy of Scientific Advertising – the groundbreaking book by advertising pioneer Claude C. Hopkins. Grab it here: tommail.me/sa And then read Chapter 7: Being Specific. Last week, I sent an email about the Great Moon Hoax (Marketing lessons from horny man-bats and two-legged beavers), archived here: tommail.me/moon. Readers fell for the hoax, in…
The Dirty Little Secret Newspaper Publishers Don’t Want You to Know…
A sequel to the email I sent yesterday re: Dan Kennedy and direct response marketing (archived here in case you missed it) I worked in the newspaper industry for most of the 1990s. By 1996, I was working on the online side. Most newspaper display advertising was (and still is) paid brand awareness. No calls-to-action. No tracking. …
Why This Marketing Legend Never Bought a Blimp
I heard Dan Kennedy say this yesterday… “I believe in brand. I have brands of my own that I relied on my entire career – starting with ‘No BS…’ But I’ve never spent a nickel trying to BUY awareness for that brand…Instead of spending money, figure out ways to get paid to build a valuable…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.08.29
Recommended ViewingPerspective is Everything Rory Sutherland is Vice Chairman at the giant ad agency Ogilvy UK. In this 2011 TED talk, he says several profound and powerful things, including: “Things are not what they are; they are what we think they are.” and “The circumstances of our lives may actually matter less to our happiness…
Why an All-time Fail-er Belongs in the Hall-of-Fame
Earlier this week, I watched Albert Pujols fail – twice. Major League Baseball at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Pujols and the St. Louis Cardinals against the Chicago Cubs. First failure: Top of the 4th inning, runner on first base with no one out. Pujols grounds into a double-play. One swing. Two outs. Nothing doing for…
Marketing Lessons From Horny Man-bats and Two-legged Beavers
Imagine pouring your first cup of coffee, grabbing the morning paper, and reading the news: There’s life on the moon. So it went on this day (August 25) in 1835 for readers of the New York Sun. In a series of six articles published over one week, the paper reported that English astronomer John Herschel built…
How Often Should You sell in Emails? The Answer May Surprise You…
Got this question from a client the other day: “Tom, how often should I sell in my emails?” He told me he’d read an article that suggested a 1:4 sales:storytelling ratio – one “sales email” for every four “storytelling emails.” “Is that the right ratio?” he asked. I hear that question often… …and mama always…
Why Your Rags-to-riches Story Will Fall Flat
Raise your hand if you feel an emotional connection with Amazon because you’re drawn to founder Jeff Bezos’s origin story. (Me neither) Why do I ask? Because I read yet another article about storytelling in one of those big-time business magazines that dished out rotten advice. The article said… “Online shopping behemoth Amazon is another…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.08.22
Recommended ViewingThis Video Will Help You Turn Content From Boring to Brilliant Mary K. Sloane and I had a great conversation last week on her Inspirational Influencer News show. If you want to know how to harness the power of storytelling to captivate prospects and inspire them to hire you… …this is a great crash place to…
This Show-must-go-on Story Blew Me Away
We’ve all heard the expression, “The show must go on.” Here’s a “show must go on” story that blew me away. It was a Thursday afternoon last month in St. Louis, MO, USA. Three days earlier, record-breaking rainfall – 9+ inches in less than 10 hours – flooded the town (I told that story here). Another…
Dr. Oz’s Grocery Gaffe — and Why it Matters to Marketers
We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news from Pennsylvania… Dr. Mehmet Oz went shopping at the grocery store because – in his words – his wife wants “some vegetables for crudité.” GASP! Dr. Oz said “crudité” (From Webster’s: crudités ~cru·di·tés ˌkrü-di-ˈtā krᵫ-dē-ˈtā : pieces of raw vegetables – such as celery or carrot…
You’re in This Business — Whether You Know It or Not
I spoke the other day with a business owner who said, “I’m too busy serving my clients to spend time marketing my business.” I hear that occasionally. Maybe you’ve thought that yourself. I responded by citing the great Dan Kennedy who taught me long ago: All who run a business are in the marketing business. …
Warning: Funny Stuff Enclosed…
My friend Mike walked into his boss’s office last week and said, “I know the economy’s a little shaky right now. But I have three companies after me, and I’ve come to ask for a raise.” He and his boss haggled for a few minutes before agreeing that Mike would get a 5% raise. As…
Monday Mash-Up 2022.08.14
Recommended ViewingSpeaking with Confidence and Selling with Authority My friend Jane M. Powers is a public speaking master who knows how to sell from stage. I learn valuable business-building strategies and tactics every time I hear her speak and talk to her. Here’s a great interview she did with SalesPOP! — a digital magazine that…
Why Knowledge Alone Will Get You Nowhere
Here’s the sad tale of a trivia master I knew back in college. His name was Noah Lott Doolittle. When we played the game Trivial Pursuit, Noah always won. What is the scientific name for a rabbit’s tail? Noah knew. (Scut) Before Hollywood, which New Jersey town was a center for the motion picture industry?…
Leonardo DaVinci and I Share This Problem…
A few months ago, I was working on a new version of a 60-minute storytelling presentation. I was tinkering and tweaking, adding and adjusting. I wanted to make it “just right,” and that was holding me back. My friend Susan, who was helping me with the presentation, had seen enough. Gently but firmly, she said,…
[Quick hit video] Close More Sales with Less Pitching and Prodding
A new thing today… A quick-hit video with Michael DeLon and me. I was in a meeting with Michael yesterday afternoon, and he said something really smart. I planned to write an email about it. But later yesterday, Michael and I decided to shoot a video about it. It’s all about how to build personal connections and rapport with prospects BEFORE…
Why I Keep Reading This Book Over and Over and Over
Legend has it that in 1912 Dale “Carnagey” urged the Y.M.C.A in New York to pay him $2/night to teach public speaking to business people… …and the Y.M.C.A. told him to get lost. The Y had offered such courses before, and they always flopped. But he was ambitious, and he had a vision. So he…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.08.08
Recommended Viewing4 (Stoic) Secrets To The Good Life Here’s another great video from Ryan Holiday, author of “The Daily Stoic” and several other great books. Here’s the video description from Ryan’s YouTube channel: Virtue is one of those words that contains multitudes. If you think about it, being virtuous is not doing one thing all the time, or…
D’oh! I Forgot To. Tell You About the $400 Discount
Yesterday, when I told you about Vance Morris and his DBOS 2022 Live Bootcamp (November 2-4 in Baltimore), I forgot to mention three critical things: DBOS stands for “The Definitive Business Operating System.” The system Vance will share at the event is the same one he has implemented for his own business. This system transformed…
How to Thrive, Not Just Survive, During These Crazy days…
Last week, my friend Vance Morris told me about all the great stuff that will happen at his upcoming business-building bootcamp, and then he dropped this bombshell: “I’m getting away from being the ‘Disney Guy.’” Holy Richter-scale, Batman. That shook my world. Vance Morris is a former Disney executive who is the world’s leading authority…
The Problem With “Look at Me…” Origin Stories
I read an article this morning in one of those big-time business magazines about “how to create an unforgettable origin story.” It was kinda forgettable. It contained lots of dos and don’ts… …be honest… …don’t just list a chronology of events… …include specific details… …describe a vivid moment… …and so on, and so forth. But…
Why I’m a Shameless Self-promoter (And Why You Should be, Too)
A self-proclaimed “respectful” reader reacts to yesterday’s email about Bill Russell and dominating presence…. “This one was a bit self-serving – don’t you think?” Here’s what I think… Oh no! The jig is up.I’ve been exposed.My evil scheme is foiled. Oh wait… …check that… That’s not what MEthinks. That’s what HE thinks. Turns out he…