Many of us pride ourselves on being students of the craft of marketing and copywriting…and part of that includes becoming adept at “stealing smart.”  Now remember, stealing is a felony and stealing smart is an art.  And stealing smart as an art equates to re-purposing, re-imagining, re-engineering winning ideas, platforms, and design…which has nothing ...

Submitted for your approval…two mantras for any marketer, blogger, ecommerce business owner, entrepreneur, coach…anyone who sends out correspondence via email…whether information, customer service or an automated thank you: 1. Engagement is a two-way street  AND… 2. It pays to reply to every email with more than an autoresponder  When I wrote “Open rates are overrated,”  based ...

Once upon a time, a powerful emperor advertised for a new “Chief Samurai.”  Only three applied for the job:  1. A Japanese Samurai 2. A Chinese Samurai 3. A Jewish Samurai  “Demonstrate your skills!” commanded the emperor.  The Japanese samurai stepped forward, opened a tiny box, and released a fly.  He drew his samurai ...

Having just completed the annual launch for Titans Xcelerator, I went back to my blog post from a year ago after completing last year’s launch…and I noticed that the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The big difference this year was that we had our first group of third year renewals(in addition to ...

During the live Zoom call I hosted last week, with over 70 existing and prospective Titans Xcelerator members on screen, one of the members shared her experience with the group…which reminded me of a 6 minute video I recorded in 2016. She began with an apology (of sorts) letting the Zoom room know that she spends most ...

I received an inquiry from a prospective Titans Xcelerator member this past week which threw me for a loop…and it was one that I needed to think long and hard to give him a proper answer.  It wasn’t typical of the inquiries I receive, which I do have answers for…things like:  “Is Titans Xcelerator the right fit ...

I receive several emails each month which contain some version of, “Will you be my mentor?” …and since I obviously can’t say “yes” to every request, I refer them to this 9-minute video which gives them the not-so-secret-secret to have the best mentors in their court…and at a minimum to convince them that the secret is not ...

George Lucas, creator of the Star Wars series of classic films, was complimentary about the storytelling in Mel Brooks’ Star Wars spoof (which was titled Spaceballs, released in 1987).  After Lucas saw a screening of Spaceballs, he sent what Brooks recalled was a “lovely note”:“ It’s dangerous comedy. I was afraid I would bust something from laughing.”  Getting permission to make the ...

By now everyone has a good COVID story.  It seems like it’s been with us forever…and it doesn’t seem to want to go away.  I’ve learned a lot since March of 2020…I’m sure you have too…about business and life (as we knew it, know it and hope to know it in the future).  The ...

Three years ago, on Thanksgiving (it feels like 10 years after what we experienced in 2020), I was sitting at my dining room table with over 20 relatives of all ages. The guests included my mom (who was a spry 93 and is now a spryer 96), my wife and kids, siblings, cousins, nephews ...

During the Titans Xcelerator live call this week, we got into a lengthy discussion about “renewals” and “repeat customers” based on my post last week, “Selling a billion dollars’ worth of products…$39 at a time.”  The gist of that post (if you didn’t read it) is that successful direct response businesses come in many flavors…and one thing ...

One of my Titans Mastermind members recently asked me to meet with their expert copywriting team (20 + strong) to discuss some of the core marketing principles I write about in my book, Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing.  It got very real, very quickly, since this ...

I was in Florida this past week where I met with a real estate agent who restored my faith (and reminded me) that there are many effective ways to sell in a commoditized marketplace.  Whether you’re looking for a supplement with an ingredient you can only find in one place on earth, a mastermind ...

Money is a very important asset.  I understand the importance of money in our society in spite of my ramblings about “The five ways we get paid and the fifth is cash” and “It’s not always about the money.”  And my business is not a non-profit which may surprise you.  With that as preamble, I want to share an ...

“Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals” -David Ogilvy I spent the beginning of my career in marketing minimizing the value of research while maximizing the value of gut instinct.  And the gut instinct I’m talking about wasn’t even mine–what did I know in my ...

“Do you know a good copywriter?  ”That’s a question I get multiple times a week.  Of course, the answer is “yes” …however, the answer is not simply knowing them and then throwing names at the people who ask me.  I’m proud to say that I’ve had the privilege to work with some of the ...

Labeling myself a “Copywriter Wannabe” over the years has been both painful and a blessing.  Painful because some readers inside my online family called me out, telling me that it was all a ploy to sell them more of what I was selling (which wasn’t very much) …by playing the “I don’t know what ...

At our most recent Titans Mastermind meeting in early September, one of our speakers, Melinda Cohan, said something that resonated with everyone in the room. I believe it resonated even more with the Titans because they are all marketers of a different breed…marketers that think impact and relationship over money and profits…and that’s without anyone ...

In his book The Road Less Stupid, Keith Cunningham (entrepreneur, speaker, author and business guru) suggests that these three questions should be asked prior to making any major business decision: 1. What is the upside?2. What is the downside?3. Can I live with the downside?   And I would add a fourth:   4. Can you ...

I was sitting at my desk earlier this week when my In Box started behaving like a stock market ticker.  I was in the middle of responding to a detailed email…but I couldn’t help noticing that I was receiving a series of book orders, rapidly, one after another, for Breakthrough Advertising (the classic text written by ...