My post from a few weeks ago, which concluded that “everything is a business” (from rock bands to sports teams) took on more profound meaning during my trip this past week to Dallas, Texas…to witness a beatdown of my New York Jets by the Dallas Cowboys (those are football teams for those of you

During my 40 years working and playing in the world of direct response marketing, there are two guys who I can almost always trace as the source (culprits?) of how each of us got into this wacky business. They are each the “first domino” for more marketers practicing today than anyone else. And they

Whenever someone refers to the ten commandments, I picture Charlton Heston (as Moses) receiving two stone tablets…I know, religion is not Hollywood…but for me it keeps “the ten” top of mind. But wait…there’s more. 🙂 One of the stories/lessons in my book Overdeliver (in chapter six on “Creative & Copy”), is a tribute (which

I attended my sixth Bruce Springsteen concert this past week (my first was in 1977 during my freshman year of college). And while Bruce’s music has been the soundtrack of my life (I even went to college in New Jersey), “only” attending six concerts made me feel like a slacker—almost a “Springsteen Virgin” –when

I looked up “the dog days of summer” on The Google and there are dates assigned to this period each year (specifically, July 3rd through August 11th). The expression has little to do with dogs and more to do with astronomy (who knew?) and here’s a short video just in case you want more

A friend of mine once told me that your true, lasting, and most reliable business colleagues can be judged by one thing: Do they have your back when you are on your back? I wasn’t on my back when I left my beloved Boardroom in 2015…my future was bright…but I was technically “unemployed.” I

Dan Sullivan, the top coach for entrepreneurs in the world, is also one of the most quotable people in the world. One of my favorites, which is a credo for all entrepreneurs: “I want it because I want it” This quote came to life in real time after I hit send on my blog

Avoid anyone who touts that they’re “unlucky.” -Sean Stephenson #Sean365 “I’m an introvert so I have trouble making connections and building my business” -Too many introverts When I received the quote above from Sean Stephenson (a quote from Sean is a treat in my Inbox every day), it made me think long and hard

I spent most of last week in Cleveland, Ohio, attending Dan Kennedy’s “Back from the Dead Tour” … which is now officially over…since it was a one-stop tour.I know most of you know who Dan is…a true icon/guru in direct response marketing…and I’ve written about him often in past posts.Here is one about lessons

I learned about “levels of excellence” by watching ultimate mediocrity…through the experience of my dad being the men’s varsity tennis coach at New York University (NYU) for over 20 years.While NYU is an academically sound place to go to college, varsity sports are just not a “thing” there (for the most part).The fact that the campus is in

Those of you who follow me through these weekly posts know that I consider myself a “serial direct marketer.”What does that mean?It means that I am obsessed with “measurable marketing” (i.e., marketing that must always pay out) …and with every and any medium utilized, I demand an acceptable ROI (Return on Investment) from all

“Enter a room like you’re supposed to be there and speak as if others need to hear you.” -Sean Stephenson #Sean365 Today I encourage you to embrace the idea that we belong in every room we enter.Whether it’s a family dinner or a convention of thousands of strangers (and everything in-between), a solid way

Today’s post will bring two concepts together which fascinate me: When to do something with serendipitous data (i.e., occurring or discovering by chance in a happy or beneficial way)OR When to do nothing with serendipitous data The question is whether to exploit (in a marketing context) something positive, which was received unexpectedly…or just sit back and enjoy the

Building your castle (i.e., business) on a firm foundation, so it lasts forever, beats building it on sand (or in the air)…and I want to share with you today some ideas on how to do that.Firm Foundation=Bedrock PrinciplesIn last week’s post, I included two endorsements for my book, Overdeliver, to support the upcoming Overdeliver Bootcamp.One was

Are you one of those people who consider it “exercise” when you eat lunch at the gym (assuming you BYO or your gym has a café)? If you are, then you also might think that hitting “buy” on Amazon for a book means that you have now read the book…and you can cross that

I hate when someone gets anointed in our industry as being “authentic.”Isn’t that a given for all human beings?Whether they are authentic heroes or jerks, they are always being who they are…authenticity is not a learned skill.There are exceptions…as I found out when I met comedian Steven Wright in person.If you don’t know who

You may recall my statement, “overdelivery is dangerous…don’t do it” two weeks ago in my post, “Lose when you win. Win when you lose”.I repeated that sentiment this week on a podcast when I titled my interview, “The downside of over delivering.”In both cases I was lying with a purpose. :-)I “open” with quotes like

I almost fell off my chair while sitting in a mastermind in early 2017 where some of the best online marketers in the world were complaining about how badly their launches and marketing campaigns performed in late 2016, from September through November.As you may or may not recall, there was a presidential election in

Anyone who ever tells me that they want to fight something based on “principle,” will never get my support. I know that sounds harsh. Fighting a war with an endless series of battles, leading to nothing significant in the end, is just not meaningful. Put more simply: “Principle” is a mirage. I could end

One of the most instructive pieces of research a marketer or copywriter can do is to study 5-star and 1-star reviews on Amazon for the books their core audience is reading. It’s one of the best ways (in addition to joining forums and groups where your customers and prospects hang out) to get into