Good Examples

I came across this question earlier in an online marketing forum: “What are some of the most effective strategies you’ve used for converting social media followers into loyal customers?” My answer: Offer social media followers a valuable resource in exchange for their email address… …so they’ll be on my email list. A quick story to…

Riddle me this, Batman… …What’s the difference between “easy” and “simple?” I’ve been pondering that since Tuesday when I toured Redirect Health in Phoenix with its CEO, David Berg. Redirect helps companies find and deliver affordable healthcare plans without sacrificing quality coverage. For more than 10 years, the company’s slogan was “Easy and Affordable Healthcare.”…

From 38,000 feet elevation, enroute to Phoenix… I have a sign on my desk, to the left of my computer, where I see and think about it every day. The sign says: You Won’t Profit Unless You Implement My friend Vance Morris sent it to me. Vance is one of my marketing heroes. Vance knows…

I once met with a businessman who wanted my help to grow his financial planning business. I passed… …not just because his services seemed shady… …but also (and primarily) because he kept referring to his prospects and customers as “suckers.” P.T. Barnum often gets the credit (or the rap?) for saying, “There’s a sucker born…

Ripped from the headlines: Pepperidge Farm has temporarily changed the name of its bite-sized cheddar cheese crackers from “Goldfish” to “Chilean Sea Bass.”  WTF!?? This has to be a joke, right? Ummmm…. ….no… …It’s true. They even have a website — scheduled to run through October 30 — where you can buy them. Go to ChileanSeaBassCrackers.com.…

Happy Steve Jobs Day! Yeah, it’s true. There’s an unofficial holiday to celebrate Apple’s co-founder… …and October 16 is the day.   To celebrate the occasion, I have to share my favorite Steve Jobs story — the one about the time he introduced the iPhone. Let’s take the Wayback Machine to January 2007. The Macworld Conference…

Melissa and I visited Pompeii yesterday. That’s the ancient Roman village in Southern Italy that was buried under 18 feet of ash and pumice after nearby Mt Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD. Archeologists have been excavating the place since the 19th century and have uncovered one of the best-preserved ancient ruins on the planet. Melissa…

My good friend Michael DeLon sent me an AWESOME email today. It’s so loaded with marketing wisdom, innovative thinking, and smile-making surprises… …I have to share it with you. But first, some background. Michael is the President of Paperback Expert which positions experts for business growth. Yesterday, he spoke at the Great Legal Marketing (GLM)…

A few days ago, I hosted an induction ceremony for The Storytelling Hall of Fame. The latest inductee: This masterpiece ad for BluBlockers sunglasses by the late, great Joe Sugarman. In 2007, Sugarman wrote in his book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook, “That ad for BluBlocker sunglasses launched a multimillion-dollar company that eventually sold 20 million pairs of…

I’m feeling a bit feisty this morning. I want to call-out some big boys and do some myth-busting. Let’s start with this quote from Apple founder Steve Jobs: “Some people say, ‘Give the customers what they want.’ But that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they…