What we learned about the pursuit of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos

As July 4th approaches and we think about celebrating American independence, we can’t help but think of the pursuit of the American dream, painted with grit, determination and success often from humble beginnings. The journey behind the garish and beloved Flamin’ Hot Cheetos (that are still a phenomenon today and completely disrupted the food industry)…

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4 Tips for Better Live Video Events on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.

Videos are everywhere: Facebook, YouTube, WhatsApp, LinkedIn, Instagram and more. Live video is clearly the hottest thing since Facebook and entrepreneurs and marketers in every niche are taking advantage by hosting their own live sessions. Some of them are pretty good. They’re well attended, fun to watch, and you feel like you benefitted from attending.…

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2019 Social Media Marketing Industry Report Highlights

Social Media Examiner is known as one of the most influential social media websites and they have just released this year’s Industry Report. Social media marketing for your business is important, and so we thought we’d share the highlights from the 50-page report which speaks to how marketers are using social media to grow businesses.…

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Why You Should ‘Thank’ Your Unsubscribers

The negative impact of a spam complaint is a million times worse than when someone on your list unsubscribes. It is definitely sad to have someone unsubscribe especially when you’ve worked so hard for your connections and your leads. But, there are major reasons why you should thank the marketing gods that they unsubscribed instead…

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Inspiration for real estate newsletter topics

You probably have a lot of ideas for stimulating, fascinating articles in your head right now. But here’s the danger. If you don’t start keeping an eye out for these gems of ideas, the evasive little devils will disappear on you. As I said before, when inspiration strikes, write it down. Maybe you don’t have…

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Real estate newsletters – general rules of writing

People who come from a journalism or English-major background have an advantage—they’re less likely to suffer from graphophobia, and they probably have a sense of writing structure and format. On the other hand, they’re more likely to self-judge and worry about writing “perfect” copy. But never fear—whether you’re a confident author or a nervous newbie,…

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The forget-me-not real estate agent

Where did you go the last time you bought special occasion flowers? Can you remember without looking up your credit card statement? Had you ever been there before, or did you pick the florist ‘on the way’ to somewhere else? Or did you screech to a stop when you saw the FLOWERS sign, remembering that…

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They’re hungry for direction and advice

I just came back from England, my homeland. You know… we Brits are notoriously different to read. Sometimes, it’s difficult to know what we think about anything because we’re so indirect. When a Brit says an idea is “interesting,” what he often means is that it’s the worst idea he’s ever heard. Maybe we don’t…

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How real estate agents use their newsletters

You’ve heard from me plenty about how great newsletters are. So now… how about hearing from some actual real estate agents? I’ve put together a page on my website. On it are case studies, along with some audios in which clients talk about how they use our newsletters. Take a look. You’ll get some good…

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You, the mini-celebrity

It’s a funny world we live in. For example, when Oprah or Ellen DeGeneres or a Kardashian say something, people listen – even though these stars often have nothing valuable to say on the subject. That’s the power of celebrity. Now, even though you’re not as famous as they are, you can still be a…

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And how often do they say that?

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…

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Relationships in print

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…

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Your perfect match

A new craft brewer has set up in my 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 if you don’t drink, it’s worth…

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Motivation for a Tuesday morning

I was reading How Will You Measure Your Life by Clayton M. Christensen the other 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…

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When it’s just the right message

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…

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When your pipeline dries up…

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…

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That old cucumber – and your clients

At the bottom of my fridge was a rotting cucumber. It was 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 realize…

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Why it’s worth adding links to your email newsletter

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,…

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The newsletter that goes with you

Last week 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.…

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An eggcellent newsletter (and that’s no yoke)

First, apologies for the subject line… 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…

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