Cautionary Tales
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,…
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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 …
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Looking for the perfect stocking-stuffer for a loved one who has everything? Hereās an idea: Pickle Lip Balm. Yeah, you heard me right. Pickle Lip Balm is a real thing. You can buy a gherkin-sized tube of Mr. Pickle’s World-Famous Pickle Lip Balm on Amazon for the low, low price of $11.95. Warning: You may not like…
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Wowā¦ Sometimes I canāt believe the garbage that lands in my inbox. I got this one last week from a guy named Joon: Hey Tom, I don’t want to sound weird, but I was creeping your LinkedIn profile and wanted to reach out. Thought Iād see if youāre open to hopping on a call. Put…
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Iām not a hating kind of guy. Butā¦ I HATE Facebook. Lots of reasons. But hereās the latestā¦ A few months ago, I set up a Facebook business account so I could run ads to promote Story Power Marketing. I logged in the other day to set up a new user. But I couldnāt manage…
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Remember that scene in āThe Wizard of Ozā when Toto pulls back the curtain so Dorothy and her pals discover the āWizard of Ozā is merely a man? Iām thinking about that scene for two reasons: 1) After I send this email, Iām hopping in my car with my wife to follow the gray concrete…
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I got an email the other day with the subject line that said, “Receipt for P’pal payment…” It came from a marketer named Victory Akpos. I bought software from him last month. I couldnāt understand why Victory sent a receipt now, weeks after my purchase. I worried that, maybe, I accidentally signed up for something…
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