Cautionary Tales
For the last few months, my wife and I have skipped trips to the store and ordered groceries for home delivery. You know… the pandemic and all. Here in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, we have several options. We prefer one called Shipt. Why? Because the shoppers communicate well with us and consistently delight us. We…
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When my daughter suggested last night that we order delivery from Shake Shack… …rather than have yet another night of leftover turkey for dinner… …I thought, “That’s the greatest idea EVER!” Red meat, topped with bacon and orange cheese. Yum. But what really had my mouth watering was the thought of that shake… …that sweet,…
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Every so often, I browse my junk email folder to see what the spammers are up to. I always come across something that makes me roll my eyes and chuckle… …like this one from a lender: Subject line: Equipment Financing That’s it. No website address. No call to action. No benefits. No story. No nothing…
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A cautionary tale: Earlier this week, I was helping a client move a website. He registered his domain with GoDaddy, and I spoke to their customer support before moving the site. Everything GoDaddy told me was wrong, and when we moved the site it came crashing down. I launched a chat with GoDaddy support and…
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Back in March, when the pandemic was a fresh, new misadventure for all of us, I wrote this email asking why the local traffic reporter needed to do her thing every morning — even though no one was driving to work. I concluded that she and her station kept doing their thing because that’s what they do.…
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I read some marketing advice last week that was SO bad I had to share it with you… …so you can add it to the top of your “Do Not Do This!” list. It came from a so-called marketing “expert” in one of those fancy-shmancy magazines for entrepreneurs. The article contained dos and don’ts for…
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A few months ago, my wife and I woke to a loud “thud.” She thought the sound came from inside the house… …and, for her, that meant trouble. “What was that!?” she asked, sounding a little frantic. We live in the city and crime is a thing so I don’t blame her for worrying. I…
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When he was a young college student, my wife’s great-great-grandfather joined the revolution. He and his pals tried to overthrow the German government. The year was 1833, and young Adolph Wislizenus “stormed the castle” with a band of student revolutionaries in Frankfurt. Their plan: Sneak-attack a few arsenals. Capture the soldiers. Take the guns. Arm…
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My pal Harry forwarded to me a how-not-to-do-it sales email he received the other day. He called it “fertile material” for the emails I send. He got that right. The email Harry forwarded was from a design firm in Arizona that was fishing for business. The email came from Dave, the firm’s principal. “Hi Harry,” Dave wrote.…
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A desperate marketer posted a sad-sack story last week on a public forum. He was trying to reach prospects in a niche market… …and he was getting ZERO response. Facebook Ads? No-go. LinkedIn messages? Zip? Search advertising? Nada. So he asked the internet for help… …and the internet responded with a bunch of INSANITY. First, I’ll…
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