A secret vice, the sidebar of shame, and marketing they’ll actually look forward to
It’s confession time today. One of my secret vices is reading The Daily Mail’s website. Have you seen it yet? The editors of that British newspaper website are pretty smart – they’ve created something that is horribly addictive. All human life is there. And, frankly, a lot of it ain’t that pretty – especially the…
You and Ellen and Oprah
It’s a funny world we live in. For example, when Oprah or Ellen DeGeneres or a Kardashian say something, people listen – even though more often than not these stars have nothing particularly valuable to say on the subject. That’s the power of celebrity. Now, even though you’re not as famous as they are, you…
Small town, big relationships
I live in a small town. Very small.You can’t walk down the street without running into someone you know. You can’t use the crosswalk without a friendly honk from a neighbor. And you can’t line up at the grocery store without catching up on the day’s news. Although there’s a little of the Truman Show…
Use them just like coffee flour
When coffee beans are extracted from their shells prior to roasting, a by-product called coffee cherry is left over. Until now, there was nothing much that could be done with this reddish pulp, so lots of coffee cherry went to waste (and was a big source of water pollution at coffee mills). Then came along…
You’re the perfect brew for some
Last night the radio station interviewed a craft brewer who is setting up in the county. Craft beers, as you probably know, are big right now. This guy has eight beers coming out – and they’re all different. An IPA, a lager, a dark ale… you get the picture. A beer for every taste. Even…
Motivation makes Mondays easier
I was reading How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen this weekend. Great book. I highly recommend it. Early on in the book, Christensen talks about career choices. He makes the point that there are two things that keep you happy at work: the “hygiene” factors and the “motivation” factors. The hygiene…
Unplugged, free and creative
We had a power outage up here yesterday. Five hours of computer-free bliss. The café upstairs provided free cupcakes to people on main street because the icing was about to go bad. People sat around and chatted. This kind of unplugged time is healthy. I’ve heard it said that your best work is done when…
Pink flowers, rainbow chairs and happy shoppers
I noticed two signs of spring this week in the part of the world I inhabit. First were the little pink flowers that are poking up through the leaf litter in the woods. Everything else seems dead – but here were some tiny shoots of hope. And second was the rainbow of differently coloured Adirondack…
It all starts with just one tooth
Just floss one of your teeth. That was the advice I heard from a dentist once. It hardly sounds like good oral hygiene, does it? But it reality, it was sound advice. For anyone who has fallen out of the flossing habit, climbing back into the routine can be tough. When you’re told that you…
You never know what, you never know when
Here’s a funny thing you will discover when you start sending newsletters: Certain articles at certain times will trigger response from a client. It will surprise you when something in your newsletter speaks so directly to someone. When you write on a variety of topics, some of those topics will resonate with certain clients or…
Success with dead tree marketing
I had a guy come round my house with a chainsaw this weekend. I’ve got too many maples and birches, and they’re threatening to take over. I can’t see the woods for the trees. So now, after a lot of noisy gnawing, I’ve got a bunch of dead trees on the ground. “Dead tree marketing”…
Too busy to market, too poor to market
Life is great when business is doing well. Yes, you’re busy, but the money is coming in. All is right with the world. Until, of course, it isn’t. When business slows, sunny days turn to rain. It’s a relief that you have time to breathe, but you’re not making money either. Many business owners suffer…
Why your client database is like a month-old cucumber
At the bottom of my fridge is a bunch of rotting cilantro. It’s slowly turning into liquid. Nasty. Rotting cilantro is one thing. But a rotting prospect and customer list? Now that’s unforgiveable. But unfortunately, many businesses leave their contact database to rot away. I know…I speak with several of them every day when they…
Tell me what to do – and then I will do it
I’ve got a simple tip today for anyone who sends email newsletters. Here it is: Put lots of links in your email. The reason? People don’t take action unless they’re told what action to take. They won’t visit your website unless you tell them that they should visit your website. When you publish an article,…
How do I know if my newsletter is working?
How do I know if my newsletter is working? That was the question I got from a client yesterday. It’s an important question – not just for your newsletters but for any marketing you do. A lot of people make the mistake of guessing, which results in a lot of wrong decisions…and wrong decisions don’t…
The ride-along newsletter
On Friday I told you about the newsletter that is inserted into egg boxes. It’s one of my favorite newsletter concepts of all time. That newsletter is what I call a “ride-along” newsletter because it comes inserted with a product. It’s a good idea because the cost of mailing printed newsletters puts some people off.…
If an egg company can send a newsletter…
Back in 2009, I wrote about The Country Hen and its newsletter. You might have bought some of this company’s eggs. The box has a little newsletter in it. Now, I don’t know of any other grocery products that come with their own newsletter, so this one really stands out. The newsletter is not big…probably…
More response than a Patsy Cline tribute artist?
I was hosting the breakfast show at the local community radio station yesterday. For those of you who are new here – it’s a voluntary position. This isn’t Sirius or NPR. I’m just happy if I don’t have five minutes of dead air. So many buttons and so many potential mistakes. But anyway. Doing radio…
It only takes one to say “I do”
A few years ago, a friend (no, it wasn’t me) decided he needed a wife. So he went online dating. Now…this guy is a statistician, so he took the whole process very seriously. He even created a spreadsheet. And because he is a statistician, he calculated exactly how many women he would need to contact,…
Making lemonade in the basement
I got home from a trip away yesterday and found my basement flooded. Yay! Spring is here and the snow is melting! Three hours with the Shop-Vac later and it’s still damp. Anyway… Why am I telling you this? Well, there are three reasons. First, telling this story illustrates a point I make frequently: your…