The New York Times just reported that the US Postal Service will soon stop delivering First Class mail on Saturday. Reduction of store hours is a common tactic used to “stem the tide of losses” for failing companies. Borders bookstore (RIP) cut back hours across the nation before closing its doors … Read more about USPS Proposes Cutting Saturday Delivery or Reducing service to save money isn’t the answer
What the Nook Taught Me About Marketing
I learned a little lesson about marketing from an aborted Nook purchase over the holidays that I thought I’d share with you. A year ago, I purchased a Kindle. I bought it used. As a Craigslist devotee, I arranged the furtive exchange of a Kindle for cash in a well-populated area, feeling like a … Read more about What the Nook Taught Me About Marketing
Be Your Own Best Critic
Recently we embarked upon a massive project for a new client. We were hired to research and create the perfect marketing plan for the coming year; these two steps, Research and Market Plan Creation, are the first two in the bread and butter of our business (the next two being Implementation and … Read more about Be Your Own Best Critic
Why Seth Godin is Awesome – and Why You Should Care
Seth Godin is a world-class author and marketing expert. His blog is one of the few that I read every day when it arrives at my inbox. His ideas are worth paying attention to and offer enough inspiration to be profoundly valuable. He frequently blogs about building a tribe, a group of people … Read more about Why Seth Godin is Awesome – and Why You Should Care
Advertising is like pasta
Pasta is good. Advertising is good too. Pasta can get over-cooked. It gets sticky and mushy. In the 50's, home chefs threw it against the wall and if it stuck, it was done. Advertising can also get over-cooked. Say too little, too often and your ads get all sticky and mushy … Read more about Advertising is like pasta
Super-charge your referral engine
Remember when you were a kid and a parent or a school administrator exacted some form of justice? You'd nervously wonder aloud if you were going to get in trouble. "If you haven't done anything wrong, you've got nothing to worry about!" I don't know - that advice never really worked for me. I … Read more about Super-charge your referral engine
Referrals: Low Cost, High Reward
Measuring advertising success: The reason to spend money on advertising is to get new clients or to make new sales from the old clients. Why, then, do we allow ourselves to be sold “impressions?” If 1,000 or 100,000 people see our offer yet no one buys, it makes no difference how many people saw … Read more about Referrals: Low Cost, High Reward
The New Frontier
There is an economic theory that says this: Our capitalist system relies on the ability to continue to expand. We no longer can expand without wars or unethical trade agreements with underprivileged societies. Therefore, we will fail. Those who subscribe to this theory point out that we on planet … Read more about The New Frontier
SEO Snake Oil
“Psst. Hey, kid. Wanna be at the top of the Google rankings? Gimme $1000. I'll get ya there.” The Snake Oil SEO “gurus” who sell this type of product intentionally keep one thing from their would-be customers... If your website is at the top of the Google search pages, but doesn't provide … Read more about SEO Snake Oil
Renew your brilliance
Just the other day, I was driving my daughter home from school when she saw a strange box by the side of a road on a pole. The box had something inside and a blue handset on the outside. “Dad, what's that?” “That is a pay phone!” “What is a 'pay phone?'” “People put money in the phone to call … Read more about Renew your brilliance
How to get people to unsubscribe from your email list
I'm a big fan of subscribing to other's email lists. It gives me an opportunity to watch my own actions as a "consumer" of information. Which emails do I open? Which do I auto-delete? Worse, which cause me to unsubscribe? At the top of the "unsubscribe" list are those most annoying "Fooled ya!" Re: … Read more about How to get people to unsubscribe from your email list
What does google maps say about you?
Google maps is an incredibly powerful tool. Only 25 years ago, the ability to walk the streets of Paris, block by block, and view the buildings as they exist nearly in present time while sitting on a computer several thousand miles away would have seemed impossible. Never has the human race had … Read more about What does google maps say about you?