Story Power Blog
Do Toddlers Write Better Emails? You may be Surprised…
Yesterday, while I was walking Moose around the block (actually, Moose was walking me) I heard this gem from marketing master Justin Blackman: āWant your writing to sound more natural? Make zero effort to sound smart. That’s it…Sentences are short, and my vocabulary is on par with a toddler. And no big words. I just…
Today’s Email From Me
Quick question: Why did you open this email? Really, itās not a trick question. Please shoot me a quick reply and let me know. You can do that now (the rest of this email can wait). ā¦ ā¦ ā¦ Soā¦back to the question at handā¦ Whyād you open the email? It couldnāt have been the…
Why I Called B.S. on my Friend Who Said All Marketers are Liars
I met yesterday with a friend whoās feeling down in the dumps. His business is struggling and so is he. And even though heās a brilliant mindset coach, he now questions everything heās doing ā including all things marketing. āI donāt like marketing,ā he told me. āItās the use of psychology to deceive people into…
Invitation: Stand Out Above the Trash-generating Crowd
The email from longtime subscriber āScott Hā landed in my inbox last week with a āthudā It flashed as a notification on my iPhoneās home screen, revealing just the first lineā¦ āI have a problem with yourā¦emails…ā āUh-oh!ā I thought. I took a deep breath, sat up straight, and clicked the notification to open the…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.05.30
Memorial Day ViewingHonoring Soldiers on Both Sides of the Battlefield Memorial Day. Every year around this time, I re-watch Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima — a pair of films directed by Clint Eastwood and released in 2006. Both tell the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima — “Flags…” from the perspective of the Americans and…
Storytelling Lessons From a Good Song by Taylor Swiftļæ¼
Driving yesterday from St. Louis to Kansas City, Melissa and I listened to one of my favorite podcasts called āGood Songs.ā The singer/songwriter Peter Himmelman and his son Isaac pick a song they love and discuss it briefly. As we drove through Kingdom City, MO, we listened to the episode about Taylor Swiftās song āTis…
How to Rise Above The Dime-a-dozen
I got a GREAT email last week from world-class marketer Dave Dee. Dave told about a conversation he had with a lawyer who thought creative, personalized marketing was below him. “I didn’t go to law school to be seen as a celebrity,” the lawyer told Dave. I hear the same from some coaches, consultants, and…
The Difference Between “Motion” and “Action” — and Why it Matters
In the Mastermind Book Club this month, we’re discussing Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones, by James Clear. You’re invited to join us tomorrow for our monthly meeting (Thursday 5/26, 1 p.m. EDT, 10 a.m. PDT). You can join the ClubĀ hereĀ (it’s free).Ā Club members will discuss lessons learned…
I Wanted to “Murder” the Prosecutor in This Murder Trial. Here’s the Story…
As jury selection entered its second hour, with no end in sight, the prosecutor strolled slowly to his table, grabbed his notes, paged through them, paused, paged through them some more, took a deep breath, and then asked, āHave any of you ever had a negative encounter with a prosecutor that would prevent you from…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.05.23
Recommended ReadingSeth Godin on Quality vs. Quantity Here’s anotherĀ short blog postĀ from Seth Godin that packs a big punch. Here’s a bit from the post… “The media and our culture push us to build something for everyone, to sand off the edges and to invest in infrastructure toward scale. But it turns out that quality, magic…
Entertainment vs. Sales — Which Matters More? (Hint: It’s a Trick Question)
I was up past my bedtime last night watching the NHL playoffs (St. Louis Blues 4, Colorado Avalanche 1. Woo-hoo!) And I had to rush downtown this morning to report for jury duty. So I’m sitting here, sleep-deprived, in the St. Louis Municipal Courts jury waiting room (quite possibly the dreariest place in the galaxy). The…
How to Know if You’re Sending Too Many Emails
After sending my daily email yesterday (subject line: “I didn’t punch Chad in the face, but his email tempted me” — which you canĀ read here) I received a reply from a surprised-to-be-happy subscriber named Kimberly. When she signed up for my list earlier this month, she was hesitant. Daily emails? Not her thing, she thought. …
I Didn’t Punch Chad in The Face, But his Email Tempted Me
I woke this morning to an email from a guy named Chad who claimed his appointment-setting firm could add āan extra 20K to 40Kā to my monthly recurring revenue. Wow! What a promise. The email contained a video. And in the video, Chad said this: āWe have a system that allows us to harvest anywhere…
The tragic Tale of Sweetie and The Prince of Joy
Sana met āPrince of Joyā in an online chat room after she grew tired of her husband, Adnan. She called herself āSweetieā in the chat room, and she poured her heart out to Prince of Joy. Prince poured back. They had so much in common. Both from Bosnia. Both in loveless marriages. Both looking for…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.05.16
Recommended ReadingCreative Thinking – What’s Holding You Back? Brian Clark was serving up great, creative content before “content marketing” was a thing. He created Copyblogger, one of my favorite sites for marketing tips. Here’s a post by Brian from last year that I especially like. I say this often: Every one can deliver content that…
Ripped From the Headlines: Wacky News Stories that Make Great Emails
Every so often, my buddy Adam sends me a link with a challenge to āemail this.ā Sometimes itās a link to a crazy discussion thread on Reddit. Often, itās a random, funny news story. My favorite āemail thisā challenge was a news story about status-hungry Chinese big-shots and strippers (more on that in a moment). …
The Power of Scratch-between-the-ears Marketing
Moose is jealous. For those of you just tuning in, Moose is my dog (Melissa claims him, too). Heās big and brown, with floppy ears, like a moose, and heās usually the only dog around. But thereās a new dog in town. His name is Cooper, named after a place called Cooperās Landing in Alaska…
How I Broke my Monstrous Cookie Habit
Three days after the Girl Scout cookies arrived, I couldnāt find them. I searched all over the kitchen. In the snack cabinet? Nope. The freezer? Not there. That tiny never-used space above the fridge that requires a step ladder to reach? Not there, either. As I stepped down from the ladder, I yelled for my…
This Braggy Bigshot is Full of BS, so I Dumped Him
A few months back, I saw a video on Facebook by a marketer named Victory. The video begins with a camera panning across his well-appointed bedroom. Victory strolls into the frame, sits on his king size bed, ties his fashionable shoes, and then marches from his room down the stairs and out the front-door of…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.05.09
Free WorkshopMonday Morning Live Event Starting Soon Here’s a good way to start the week: Discover… How to Build Emotional Bondswith Prospects So They’llChoose to Buy from You That’s the title of the one-hour workshop I’m hosting today… …and it starts soon — 10:30 a.m. CDT, 8:30 a.m. PDT. You may still have time to…
Lessons From a World-class Marketer Who Loved my Email
I got lots of great feedback from subscribers after sending an email yesterday aboutĀ my humiliatingĀ Cinco de MayoĀ mishap.Ā My favorite response came from the greatĀ Michael DeLonĀ — America’s Foremost Authority on Credibility Marketing — who said:Ā “Well done! I could just picture being at the table, drinking margaritas with you… and telling you, ‘You have salsa on…
Ai yi yi! This was Embarrassing…
When Dr. Ruth Allan asked me during a podcast interview to, ātell us about an embarrassing thing that happened to you,ā I didnāt hesitate. Iāve deposited piles of embarrassments in my memory bank. But Ruth was interviewing me during the first week in May, so I had to trot out the story of… My humiliating Cinco…
A Simpler Way to Ensure the (Storytelling) Force Is With You
Yo! Itās Star Wars Day. May the fourth be with you! (Get it!?) So dust off your Chewbacca costume. Fire up your lightsaber. And let the celebration begin! One thingā¦ ā¦I wonāt be joining you. I have nothing against the Star Wars movies. Itās not my favorite sci-fi (that honor goes to Battlestar Galactica, the 2004-09 edition), but…
How Richard Transformed an Email from Boring to Brilliant
Hereās a content transformation story starring my client Richard Terry. Richard runs Accolade Kitchen and Bath in my hometown, St. Louis, MO, USA. Richardās promise: Help clients take their outdated kitchens, bathrooms, and closets and transform them into Gourmet Playgrounds, Spa-Like Retreats, and Personal Sanctuaries. Promise kept for Melissa and me. Richard transformed our kitchen…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.05.02
Les “The Time Lord” Watson + How to Outsource to a Virtual Assistant + Dan Ariely re: Irrational Humans and Pricing Strategy + The Marketoonist re: Loyalty Programs + DaVinci re: the “Urgency of Doing”
Why I Died of Boredom and How to Keep from Killing Your Prospects
Yesterday, I was minding my own business, scrolling through a news feed, when I came across an article that preached storytelling. And, mercy me, that article wasā¦. ā¦BORING! I read the first sentence and quickly began to tune out. My eyelids were heavy. My head began to bob. Then I got to the part that…
You’re Invited…
Tomorrow, I’m hosting a live workshop (on Zoom) called… How to Harness the Power of Storytelling to Boost Sales — without Pitching and Prodding When: Friday, 4/29, 11:30-12:30 p.m. EDT, 10:30-11:30 a.m. CDT. Where: Zoom. Click the button below to reserve your spot Here’s a sneak peek… I’ll share the story of a business owner who was…
? Why I’m Focused on Habit-formation
A few days back, I was seeing double. Not in the metaphorical, mad-as-hell kind of way. No, I was literally seeing double. On Saturday, I began wearing glasses with progressive lenses. Iāve used reading glasses for the last few years. But I canāt wear those while driving or at a hockey game or watching…
A Marketing Legend’s Wise Take on Storytelling
I love it when the legends praise āstory power.ā It happened again yesterday. An email from Drayton Bird. Heās a living legend ā among the most influential and successful marketers and copywriters alive. And in his email he broke down a century old ad for a mail-order business course. The ad tells āthe story of…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.04.25
A Customer Support Horror Story + A Unique Way to Deal with a Writing Deadline + Aretha Reinvents a Legendary Song + Two Comedy Greats Discuss Great Comedians + re: Babe Ruth’s Homruns and Strikeouts
Why The Wrong Way is Often The Right Way to Persuade and Teachļæ¼
Once in a while, I share with you stories about the wrong way to market your business. Like thisĀ story about a marketer who pretended sheād sent me a personal noteĀ when it was, actually, a message sent to everyone on her list.Ā Or thisĀ story about a marketer who sent me a sales pitch disguised as a…
The Most Important Holiday You’ve Never Heard Ofļæ¼
Happy Get to Know Your Customers Day. Let the confetti fly! Do you have any big celebrations planned? A confession: I didnāt know there was such a holiday until a few days back when I consulted my calendar of strange holidays. Strange holidays make great hooks for emails so I check the calendar often. Some are…
The Wreck Wasn’t My Fault, But This Was…
Yesterday, I sharedĀ the story of how a hit-and-run driver wrecked my car. I was stopped at an intersection. The truck driver cut a left turn too tightly and slammed their trailer into my car. I didnāt get the driverās license plate. No company logos or other identifying info on the truck or trailer. No recording…
Why I Won’t Treat You How This Truck Driver Treated Me…
A few hours before leaving on my family vacation last week, I was running errands around town when this happenedā¦ I was in my car, idling in the intersection turn lane, waiting for the left-turn arrow, turning the radio to another station. Not a care in the worldā¦ ā¦and then the airbag exploded in my…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.04.18
Rewriting the Stories We Tell Ourselves + Is This Syndrome Sinking Your Sales? + Picking the Brain of an Egyptian Scientist + A Deep Track by The Monkees + Conan O’Brien on Worst Fears Realized
Why Home is Better Than Oz to Build Your Business
Last weekend, I watched The Wizard of Oz for the zillionth time. The first time I watched it, I was terrified. You know, the flying monkeys and all. But this time I wasnāt scared. I was inspired. Dorothy dished out some inspiring wisdom right before she clicked her heels and returned to Kansas. āIf I ever go…
Opening Day Marketing Wisdom From Yogi
Major League Baseball opening dayā¦ ā¦makes me think of Yogi Berraā¦ ā¦and something he once said: āIf people donāt want to come to the ballpark, how are you gonna stop them?ā Yogi was a Hall-of-Fame catcher for the New York Yankees ā not a marketing genius. But those words are loaded with profound marketing wisdom. …
The One Word That Can Make You More Persuasive
Hereās a quick story that reveals how a single word can make you more persuasive. That word: Because A Harvard social psychologist Ellen Langer sent researchers to a copy store near campus to study how powerful that word can be. Researchers, posing as customers, visited the store multiple times and asked if they could skip…
How to Captivate an Audience — the Zelensky Way
On March 8, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky appeared on video before the British House of Commons. He delivered a defiant, confident speech that included these words: āWe will not give up, and we will not lose. We will fight to the end, at sea, in the air, we will continue fighting for our land, whatever…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.04.04
Organize All Your Shift + Brian Kurtz’s Tribute to Joe Sugarman + The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey + “Coming Home” by Drew and Ellie Holcomb + re: Procrastination
How to Consistently Create Never-boring Content
In case you missed, I sent an email yesterday that was bursting with dick jokes. Vance Morris dared me to do it (ā…use āoversize reproductive assemblageā in an email to your audience,ā he said). And I rose to the challenge. Thereās a big lesson in that email (you can readĀ the archived emailĀ for that)… ā¦but thereās…
R-rated Lessons Enclosed. I Dare You to Read On.
Itās not every day that someone triple-dog-dares you… ā¦but thatās exactly what my friend Vance Morris did yesterday. Iāll get to that story in a moment. But first, a warning: When I turn this email into a movie, The Motion Picture Association of America will give it an R rating. So if youāre the G…
A Cautionary Tale About a Marketer’s Trust-busting Email…ļæ¼
I got an eye-roll-inducing email yesterday from a marketer named Stephanie. I signed up for her list a few months ago. So technically, this wasnāt SPAMā¦ ā¦but it sure felt like it. Hereās what it said: Hi there Tom, I wanted to send you a special note, but I don’t have your mailing address š…
You’re Invited (Today)…
If youāre free today at 3 p.m. CENTRAL, hereās an ideaā¦ Be my guest as I revealā¦ 9 secrets to write client-attracting, story-powered content (the Joe Sugarman way). Hereās what youāll learnā¦ Eight āmagicā words that transform readers from tuned-out do-nothings to turned-on buyers The single, most important thing your copy needs to keep prospectsā…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.03.28
Joe+Joe — Polish Interviews Sugarman + You’re Invited… + The Implied Trade-Off with Loyalty Programs + Is Persuasion Legal? Ethical? Where Do You Draw the Line + The Medicine Man by Keb’ Mo’ + Tom Peters Says “Think Small!”
The story-powered Ad That Launched an Eyeglasses Empire
We lost a legend this week — Joe Sugarman, a copywriting great, who taught me (and countless others) tons about marketing. He wrote many great books, including The Adweek Copywriting Handbook. I pulled that book from my shelf yesterday and flung it open to the place I dog-eared long ago: Page 178. The section about storytelling.…
Ben Franklin’s Wily Way to Turn Foes to Friends
Want to turn an enemy into an ally? Hereās a story I got from chapter 18 of āYes!ā by Robert Cialdini ā this monthās selection in theĀ Mastermind Book ClubĀ (more on that below).Ā Back in colonial times, long before he graced the $100-bill, Benjamin Franklin was running for reelection as an officer for a literary and…
I Missed the Holiday. Here’s a Pot o’ Gold to Make up For It…
Happy Belated World Storytelling Day. The big day was Sunday. I canāt believe I missed it. š I usually round up a bunch of my storytelling pals, head down to the corner tavern, and get drunk on green beerā¦ ā¦umā¦check thatā¦ Different holiday. World Storytelling Day? I donāt have any special alcohol-soaked traditions. In fact, I…
How my Client Overcame a Dreaded, Business-Crushing Disease
āI donāt have an interesting story,ā Elizabeth said. Her shoulders slumped. She stared at her shoes. Elizabeth was a client. Weād discussed how storytelling captivates prospects and inspires them to act. She understood and agreed. But then she told me she didnāt have what it takes. āThereās nothing about me worth telling. My story is…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.-03.21
How to Make Your Business Grow Without Being a Braggy, Bigshot Bro + How Content Marketing Has Evolved + Is Persuasion Legal? + 9 Strategies To Make Content Creation Effective And Enjoyable + Prepare for the BEST
The Great Peanut Fiasco and What it Reveals for Your Business
All I wanted was a frigginā bag of peanuts! Last night, at the NHL hockey game between (my beloved) St. Louis Blues and the Pittsburgh Penguins, I had a hankering for some salt and crunch. Peanuts in the shell. Some water to wash āem down. It was between the first and second periods so the…
How to Turn “Yawns” to “Yeses” When You Ask for Email Signups
Want to know one of the best ways to inspire more qualified prospects to join your email list? Sell them on the idea of subscribing. Seems kind of obvious, doesnāt it? Yet so many business people undersell their emails. They put a little form on their site with a headline āJoin our email listā (or…
How to Build Your Email List with the Right Prospects
Iām hosting a free workshop tomorrow (Thursday, March 17)Ā at 3 p.m. EST, 2 p.m. CST) called:Ā 5 Ways to Build Your Email List with the Right Prospects. This is a 5in25 presentation ā five tips in 25 minutes ā followed by discussion and Q&A. If you want to join us, sign upĀ here.Ā
Mastermind Book Club is live. Join now…
The Mastermind Book Club is live. And You’re invited… Go toĀ MasterMindBook.clubĀ to join. Ted ProdromouĀ and I started the club to help ourselves (and YOU) turn all those books we read into business-advancing action.Ā Here’s how it works… Ted and I will choose a book every month. We will share insights they draw from the books. Community…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.03.14
Goodreads is a Great Resource for Book Lovers + How the Chandlers Built Goodreads + How to Accomplish More in Less Time + Setting the Table + …from Albert Einstein
This Book Proves the Power of Rapport-Building
When I make a new connection on LinkedIn, I usually send a direct message ice-breaker to build rapport with the person. Often Iāll say, āPlease tell me something about you that I wouldnāt know by reading your profileā¦ā and then I share something about myself. I got that idea from Ted Prodromou (America’s Leading LinkedIn…
This Club Will Break All The Rules — in a Good Way
Every few months my wife, Melissa, leaves me. Itās not the pack-her-bags, move-back-to-her-momās, and call-a-lawyer kind of leave me. Itās the Book-Club-in-four-days kind of leave me. And it goes like thisā¦ Tom: Itās a Wonderful Life is on TV tonight. You love that movie. Wanna watch it? Melissa (with 3-inch thick Toni Morrison novel propped on her…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.03.07
My Birthday and My Dad + Remembering “Bloody Sunday” + The Go-Giver Marriage + Tim Ferriss Interviews Neil Gaiman + …from John Lewis
Why I Should Have Dumped That Rotten Client Sooner…
I fired a client last month. It felt great. I should have done it several months ago, but I balked. This client didnāt return emails, voicemails or texts. Didnāt complete work they promised. Didnāt meet deadlines for work they delivered. Then, they would pop up out of the blue and bark some command at me,…
Why That Email Signup Raffle Will Backfire
I spotted the following this morning on one of my favorite online marketing forums: āI have a trade show coming up. I want to take advantage of the traffic and grow my email list. The best thing I can think of is an email sign up raffleā¦What is the best way to approach this?ā …
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.02.28
Before It Happened + Donna Loughlin on the Story Power Marketing Show + Sleep Better with Light-Blocking Stickers + 6 Grammar Rules You Can Break + …from John Steinbeck
The Dirty Little Secret About the “Best Content Money Can Buy”
A couple of days ago, I told you about a sad-sack business owner who decided āemail doesnāt workā because it hasnāt worked for her. She was hunting for a content delivery channel that works. I wrote to her and said the problem might be her content, not the delivery channel. Iāve been doing this for…
Why Hunting For a Better Marketing Tool is a Waste of Time
Breaking news: If you want to convert leads to clientsā¦ Email doesnāt work. Neither does text. Same goes for video So says a frustrated consultant who posted a cry for help on Facebook āāā20 years in business, I don’t remember ever it being this hard to connect with prospects. Text and email, videos, and articles…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.02.21
Four Leadership Lessons from Abraham Lincoln + The Go-Giver Marriage + Maxine Cunningham and I Discuss the Power of One-to-Ones + Six Strategies To Stop Procrastinating + Abraham Lincoln
The Mindset You Need to Build a Gold-Medal Business
Last night, I stayed up late to watch womenās Olympic hockey ā the gold medal match between the USA and Canada. Canada won 3-2, powered by two goals from captain Marie-Philip Poulin. This was Poulinās fourth Olympic gold-medal game. Sheās the only hockey player ever (woman or man) to score in four Olympic gold-medal games.…
Master Copywriters’ Simple Formula to Captivate Prospects…
I read some great advice last week from my friend Jack Turk, āThe Worldās Fastest Copywriter.ā If you want prospects to pay attention to you ā your webinar, your sales letter, your landing page, your emails ā you must do as the great Dan Kennedy does… Say interesting things in interesting ways. That sums up…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.02.14
How a Hotel Owner Discovered the Story to Skyrocket Sales + How to Build a Bliss Station + How to Communicate with Humans + A Book About Cults & More + Frederick Douglass
Marketing Lessons From the Prince of Denmark
Picture this: Your dad, the King, is sleeping in the castle garden. His brother creeps into the garden, kills Dad by pouring poison in his ear, marries the Queen, and takes the throne. So it went for Prince Hamlet of Denmark ā at least in William Shakespeareās version of the story. At first, Hamlet thought…
You Know The One About “the company you keep?” What do you think?
I love it when high-quality people call B.S. on meā¦ ā¦hold me accountableā¦ ā¦get me out of my rutā¦ ā¦share a perspective I hadnāt consideredā¦ ā¦inspire me to implement, not dawdleā¦ ā¦encourage me to be my bestā¦ ā¦and then guide me to be even better. And I love to offer peers all of the above. …
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.02.07
The Hidden Danger in Copying Successful People + Do You Talk At or Converse With Your Prospects + The Art, Drama and Power of Olympic Competition + Why I Noodle, Doodle, and Jot + re: Creativity
A Unique Chance to Create Dangerously Entertaining Content
My favorite Alfred Hitchcock movie is The Trouble With Harry. Itās not a thriller or murder mysteryā¦ …although there is a dead body. The dead guy is Harry. Heās lying flat on his back in the woods in Vermont, with a bullet hole in his head, dead as a bug on a windshield. The movie is…
Ashamed to Sell? Nuh-uh. Here’s the Key…
There’s this bloke down under named Daniel Throssell who fills my inbox with entertaining (and informative) story-powered emails every day. I’d like to tell you about a pair of emails he sent last month… …because they’re so spot on… …and so relevant to anyone who has ever struggled with selling their services. Last month, Daniel…
Monday Mash-Up 2022.01.31
Train Your Brain To Become a Learning Machine + PickMyBrain.world + Doreen Downing on the Story Power Marketing Show + The Giant Hand Of Vyrnwy + The Voyage of Discovery
Willie Nelson and The Power of Creative Content
A few days ago, I began reading a book called Keep Going by Austin Kleon. On the very first page, Kleon shares a quote from Willie Nelson. The quote keeps rattling around in my brain:Ā “I think I need to keep being creative, not to prove anything but because it makes me happy just to do it……
My Shameful Trip Down the Social Media Rabbit Hole
I read a GREAT thing yesterday. Itās from Austin Kleonās book Steal Like an Artistā¦ “You’re going to see a lot of stupid stuff out there and you’re going to feel like you need to correct it. One time I was up late on my laptop and my wife yelled at me, āQuit picking fights on…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.01.24
Show, Don’t Tell + InnovaBuzz with JĆ¼rgen Strauss + Jon Keel on the Story Power Marketing Show + A Book to Keep You From Getting Spread Too Thin + From Essentialism…
The Second-Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Done in the Shower…
Remember that time you were in the showerā¦ ā¦and a great idea popped into your headā¦ ā¦and by the time you stepped out of the showerā¦ ā¦the idea was GONE! That used to happen to me all the time. But no longer. Earlier this week, I got me some AquaNotes! (Thanks, Todd Cherches, for telling…
When Content Inspiration Strikes, Will You be Ready?
Paul McCartney says his song āYesterdayā came to him in a dream. Shazam! The song popped into his head while he was sleeping. He wrote it down when he woke. Iāve never had a song, email, or anything else I create appear to me in a dream. Bad luck for me, I guess. But that…
Monday Mash-Up – 2022.01.17
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. + The Power of Visual Thinking + My Favorite New Podcast: Storytime with Seth Rogen + The Sales-Generating Power of Being Helpful + The Courier
Why the World Needs Another Friggin Podcast
A few weeks before I launched my podcast, The Story Power Marketing Show, I shared some of the details with my pal Adam and asked for his feedback. He liked the podcast graphic, introduction, and other details. And then he wrote (with a wink and a smile), “Because…just what the world needs…another friggin’ podcast!” Yeah, I used…
So Many Stories to Create. So Few Ideas. How to Fix That…
Yesterday, I heard āstorytelling expertā on a podcast say, ābusinesses need to get their STORY right.ā I hear that a lot. Story. Singular. As in ONE story. As if storytelling for business is about getting ONE story right, and then youāre done. But thatās not how it works. If you want to break through the…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2022.02.10
John Carlton on Quality vs. Quantity + How to Get Paid What You Deserve + The Author of Overdeliver Reflects on the Value He Brings + The Art of Noticing + re: The Thrill of Noticing
How to Generate Great Content Ideas Without Hurting Yourself
Beth subscribes to my email list, and yesterday she signed up for my upcoming How-to-Generate-Content-Ideas workshop. She wants some help. When she registered for the workshop, I asked, āHow do you come up with content ideas now?ā Beth’s reply:Ā LOL… is this a trick question?!?!? I sprint from a dead stop into a chain link…
Quick Question
No story today. Just a quick heads-up and question… I’m planning to host a free, hour-long workshop later this month (date TBD) to reveal how to create more interesting and entertaining content (emails, blogs, social posts, etc.) without getting stuck. I’ll focus on how to generate a flood of great ideas so you can kiss…
There’s a Holiday for THIS!? It’s True
In case it slipped your mind, a reminder: Today is National Spaghetti Day Yes, today! You didnāt know? Me neither, until I consulted HolidaysCalendar.com. Because of that site, I never miss a big holiday like this one. More on that in a moment, but firstā¦ ā¦in honor of the big day, Iād like to…
Monday Mash-Up ~ 2021.01.03
The Secret To Better Habits in 2022 + reMarkable 2 Lives Up to Its Name + Seth Godin Does It Again + Schmigadoon! is a hoot! + Hope for the Year Ahead
How Joyce Saved Her Family From a Deadly Twister
Just before the twister hit, Joyce walked out to her pickup truck to roll up the windows. It was November 15, 1988, and the high temperature in Davisville, MO was 70F that day ā 15 degrees above normal. Rain was falling. The wind was beginning to whip. Joyce, her husband Jim, and their daughter Shannon…
Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 47
A Little-Used Strategy to Book More Clients — Without Paying + How to Create a Life You LOVE in 2022 + The Story of Content Will Spark Ideas for Your Biz + Wise Words from Carrie Fisher
Home For The Holidays and Other Blessings…
The wonders of technology. My wife, Melissa, and I spent yesterday checking the āFind My Friendsā app on our iPhones, tracking the missing piece in our familyās home-for-the-holidays puzzle Our son Jake hit the road early, with his dog Cooper in tow, to drive from his home in Fort Collins to ours in St. Louis.…
How to Crank Out Client-attracting Content — The Easy Way
Last week, Ben Settle promoted his book Breakneck Content for sale at a 20% discount. The book is all about how to crank out business-building content. As usual, Ben cranked out tons of emails to promote the sale ā at least one per day, sometimes more. I already have the book so I wasnāt shopping. But…
Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 46
How to Answer Sales Objections + The Power of Sacred Time + My Octopus Teacher and the Habit of Noticing + The Power of Dishing Out Compliments + Daniel Pink Says the Future Belongs to Storytellers
The #1 Quote of All Time? Could Be…
Hereās a quote that caught my eye. āItās the start that stops most people.ā Michael Senoff, who interviews marketing experts and then sells the recordings, shared that one in an email earlier this week. He attributed it to his mentor and āgreatest story collector,ā Rob Gilbert. He called it the ā#1 QUOTE OF ALL TIME.ā…
How This One Little Question 3x’d Sales
Over the weekend, I went to one of those big-box stores that camps a āgreeter” by the front door. As I marched past him, he barely lifted his eyes from his phone as he mumbled, āāmornin.ā Some greeting! Made me think of the great marketing consultant Jay Abraham and a story he told about a…
Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 45
A System for Scoring + How to Launch a Gifting Program to Wow Prospects and Clients + Why Your Free Consultation Offer Sucks (And How To Fix It!) + An Ode to John Prine + John Prine Wrote and Sang This…
How NOT to “Suck on Sour Anxiety for The Rest of Your Days”
Thereās an old legend about the great mystery writer John D. McDonald. When he was just getting started, he heard writers donāt get āgoodā until after they write their 10th novel. That seemed like a long road to get to āgoodā¦ā So…he put it in gear and wrote 10 novels in ONE year. In no…
Curling Fans Screwed by “Secks” Toys
Bad news for American curling fans. Big laughs for the rest of us. And a great marketing lesson for good measureā¦ Thereās a company in the Netherlands that makes ātoys.ā The kind of toys not suitable for childrenā¦ …or prudes. “Adult” toys. (Wink, wink.) Anyhow, this toy company paid someone to put their logos on…
Monday Mash-Up ~ Vol. 2, Ep. 44
Angry Mother-of-Bride Delivers Important Mindset Lesson + James Clear: How to Get 1% Better Every Day + Marketing Legend Reveals 7 Copywriting Sins + #ReadThis #ImproveSocialReach + Gail Sheehy on Growth
How Musicians And Marketers Become Masters
Last month, I sawĀ Richard ThompsonĀ at the Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis. Heās one of my favorites. A great singer and songwriter and — maybe — the best guitarist Iāve ever heard. During the concert, I turned to my friend John and said: āClose your eyes and listen. It sounds like he has a separate…
Famous Marketing Expert BS’d Me (and others) so I Ripped Him…
Ryan Deiss is one of the most intelligent and successful digital marketing strategists in the galaxyā¦ …and now Iām going to rip him. After you read the story, let me know what you think. Iām interested to hear your thoughts. The story began yesterday morning when Ryan sent me one of those Cyber Monday promotions…
