Good Examples
When I was a wee lad in the early 70s, living in America’s heartland, reading one comic book after another… I was crazy for Sea-Monkeys. Every comic book contained an ad for these “Instant PETS!” And I begged my parents to let me buy some. (Only $1.00, plus 30 cents for shipping.) Mom and Dad…
Here’s the story of a customer support call from heaven … …loaded with lessons that will help you attract and retain clients… …and an offer at the end that could make you giddy. First the quick backstory: Melissa and I remodeled our kitchen two years ago and bought some stools, from a store called Amini’s, to…
I began listening to Pat Metheny in 1978, and I’ve been listening ever since. Last night, I sat in Section C, Row G, Seat 9 at The Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis, listening and watching as Metheny and his band created beautiful music for two(+) hours. As I sat there, tapping my foot, nodding…
Copywriting legend Gary Halbert would have turned 85 this week. In honor of the occasion, I share an excerpt from The Story Power Profit Pack (Pointer #35): * * * A conversation between copywriting legend Gary Halbert and a protégé… Halbert: “The best way to get a prospect’s attention is to appeal to their sense of…”…
A few weeks back, marketing legend Brian Kurtz joined my list, fell in love with my emails, and then shouted so from the rooftops. First the backstory… For 34 years, Brian worked for the publisher Boardroom, Inc. (now Bottom Line, Inc.) where he handled all marketing activities – including direct mail, direct response television, e-mail,…
Ripped from the headlines: Thirteen years ago, Mary Strand accidentally dropped her diamond ring down the toilet and thought it was lost forever. Mary’s husband, David, had given her the ring on their 33rd wedding anniversary. Fast forward to March 2023 when workers at the Rogers, Minnesota water treatment plant found the ring in a…
I’ve got Yogi on my mind. Yogi Berra, that is. He’s the baseball hall-of-famer who grew up three miles, due south, from where I currently sit in St. Louis, MO. Yogi’s in the news because of a new documentary about him that opened this week. It’s called “It Ain’t Over…” …as in, “It ain’t over…
I sent you an email yesterday about Brian Wilson and his perfection problem. The big takeaway: It’s better to be prolific than perfect. That’s an idea I’ve shared before. I once wrote an email about Leonardo DaVinci who, like Brian Wilson, got stuck chasing perfection. Same point, different story. I tell that DaVinci story in The…
Blow the horn and tap the tambourine… It’s National Tell a Story Day! So buckle up, Buttercup. It’s story time. (This is one of my favorites) About a quarter-century ago, when my twins were toddlers, we were spending the weekend at our country place in the Ozark foothills in south-central Missouri. The ground was thirsty.…
A few months ago, I updated my LinkedIn profile with new job titles. One of those titles: “Writer’s Block Remover” Back in the early 2000s — before I had a LinkedIn profile — a hotelier named Chip Conley did something similar with his employees. He’d tell them: “Forget about your current job title. What would our customers…