Cautionary Tales
How’s this for ironic… Last week, a guy pitching marketing services for pest control companies began bugging me on LinkedIn. He first buzzed by on Wednesday: : “Hey Tom, let’s connect! – I’ve worked with a lot of folks in pest control and thought maybe I could be of help to you.” Pest control?!? This guy was…
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It’s National 7-Eleven Day (July 11)… …which means you can get a free Slurpee® at your neighborhood convenience store (thank heaven) , but… Do NOT get one of those microwaveable burritos… …or, if you must, nuke it in the microwave at home or the office. I stopped using 7-Eleven microwaves after hearing this story, ripped straight from…
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Another day. Another stupid marketing trick. Here’s the story… Last month, my pal Adam received a cold email pitch from a guy named Jim who wrote: “Hey Adam, My boss asked that I connect with you about a potential advertising opening for Words That Click…(his email below)…” Jim then described his advertising service and suggested…
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When I was in college, I had a roommate named Joe… …who was tall, dark, and handsome… …but shy as a vampire at a garlic festival. I once saw a great-looking woman approach Joe at a party, hand him a slip of paper with her number on it, and say, “Call me. Maybe we can…
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I got this LinkedIn direct message yesterday from a guy named Max after I accepted his connection request: “Θα ήθελα να σας γνωρίσω με το (τα προϊόντα μας), μια υπερσυγκλίνουσα πλατφόρμα που συνδυάζει το δίκτυο, την αποθήκευση, τον υπολογισμό και το σχετικό λογισμικό σε ένα συμπαγές, πραγματικά Ανθεκτικό σε σφάλματα αποτύπωμα δύο κόμβων με σχέδιο…
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I learned a new word today: Astroturfing. It means fake, grassroots support (get it?). Here’s the backstory… A guy posted a cry for help on an online forum because his boss wants him to create a fake Instagram account, build a following, pretend to be a customer of their company, and post rave reviews. “The…
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Yesterday, I met on Zoom with the wise and wonderful David Baer to record an episode for his podcast. I told a bunch of stories… …the one about the executive coach who used storytelling to turn her content from boring to brilliant… …the one about the world’s greatest copywriter who never suffered from writer’s block…
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Some people don’t know how to take “no” for an answer. Take Brecht D. who messaged me six days after we connected on LinkedIn. He said he “collaborates” with businesses like mine to “scale to $100k+ /mo profit through our Neuro-Emotional Persuasion Scaling model.” Brecht asked: “Are you opposed to having a brief conversation around…
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When the Beach Boys’ Brian Wilson heard The Beatles’ “Rubber Soul” in December 1965, he was blown away… …and he was inspired. Legend has it he told his wife, Marilyn, he was going to produce “the greatest rock album ever made.” (Holy Ambition, Batman!) Six months later, on this day (May 16) in 1966, The…
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Earlier this week, I emailed about a spammer named Neel who tried to woo me with a picture of his puppy. It didn’t work. In my email, I wondered whether Neel-the-Spammer might have gotten me to bite on his podcast production services… …if he’d sent me a better attention grabber — such as a dancing goat…
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