I want to share another piece from The Lost Chapters of Overdeliver (one of the eleven bonuses for buying my book at www.OverdeliverBook.com). This one is special. I found the“10 Commandments” below (makes 20 in total if you are counting) at the bottom of one of the boxes of promotions from the archives of Jim Rutz sent ...
In “The Lost Chapters of Overdeliver” (one of the free bonuses at www.OverdeliverBook.com), there is a piece about my trip to Africa exactly one year ago. It didn’t make it into Overdeliver and you may have read it already–but I wanted to send it to you today one year later and share with you the two big lessons ...
(Excerpt from Overdeliver, Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing. Check out the P.S. for a special offer to get the e-book for $1.99) During my first decade at Boardroom, creating offers and products—mainly for books and newsletters—was relatively easy. We were publishing some of the most useful newsletters ...
About a year ago we tragically and suddenly lost two greats of our industry, Audri and Jim Lanford. I shared their story at the time of their death–and I feel it is worth repeating. I don’t want them to be forgotten and the lessons they taught us were significant. I met Audri and Jim ...
In the final chapter of my new book Overdeliver, entitled “Playing The Long Game,” I have a series of anecdotes and stories from my career that proved instructional to me…and I thought you might benefit from reading one of them today. (And tonight is one of the last chances to grab the e-book for $1.99—links at ...
In the Broadway show Hamilton there is a song that resonates with me, especially in light of my recent stroke. It is titled “Why do you write like you are running out of time?” (This link has the tune and an anonymous blog post from someone else who the song was meaningful for.) Despite dying in a ...
Everyone wants a quick fix…me too…especially when you are with amazing people who are doing extraordinary things. But before the “fix” (how to do it) it’s important to know what the potential fix is—and additionally, if someone else can do it for you that has the skills to get it done better than you ...
What if I told you I had a video for you today of Socrates, Alexander The Great and Gene Schwartz on stage presenting live? I bet you would watch it, right? Sadly, those three guys are no longer with us (although I really tried to get them for you). Instead, I got three “stand-ins” who ...
With the NBA Finals beginning this week (and for those of you outside the U.S. that’s the championship series of basketball), I want to talk about a concept that I’ve heard a few times recently: Positionless basketball In the past, basketball had five positions: Point guard (for the short guy who could dribble and ...
I wrote a version of this post about a year ago…titled it “when death comes knocking, look busy”…and I didn’t know then that it would be so timely today. And thank goodness I took my own advice. Death came knocking for me a little over a month ago…I had a stroke…and somehow when death ...
I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the greatest copywriters who have ever lived…and there’s one who you probably never heard of who I want to tell you about today. First a little history. When talking about the greats in anything—sports, entertainment and yes, even direct marketing—thinking about your “Mount Rushmore” is ...
There is nothing more important than the concept of “specialty over commodity” when we market our products and services, regardless of the medium we choose, online or offline. Some things just scream specialty…like the supplement I once marketed where the key ingredient could only be found in certain caves in western Africa. That was ...
I was reminded this week of an incredible trip I took to Nicaragua about a year and half ago which included a 3-day marketing seminar (more on that below). I had the privilege of vacationing there after the event and learned what a fascinating and expanding country it is…and sadly for me, I was ...
…and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound? Or…when it comes to writing books: “If you write a book and no one reads it does it still make an impact (and is it still worth writing)?” We all have a story to tell…whether it’s fiction or non-fiction…and ...
Watching the events from Paris this past week made me think about my trips there over the past few years. It brought me back to a place of wonder…and of course made me a little sad too. I wanted to share those thoughts with you again in the hope that we can all find ...
If you have not seen the movie Coco, it is a must watch. On the surface you might think it’s just another animated Pixar film for kids…but don’t be fooled. This is one of the most important films I have seen in a very long time–and those of you who have read previous posts about my ...
If you are a CEO, president, owner (or in any senior position of your company), being your own “boots on the ground” in the office is part of your job no matter how much you delegate to others. From Wikipedia: The origin of the term [“management by walking around”] has been traced to executives ...
Chapter 2 of my new book Overdeliver: Build a Business for a Lifetime Playing the Long Game in Direct Response Marketing is simply titled “Original Source.” This is a topic I’ve spoken about before and it is one that I think is super important for all marketers, copywriters and entrepreneurs…and that’s why I devoted an entire ...
I want to tell you about a direct marketing legend today who you may not have heard of before…but I guarantee that you have employed something in your marketing career that he invented, perfected or enhanced. Simply put, Gordon Grossman (who is the epitome of an “Original Gangster”) pioneered direct marketing techniques that you ...
“No mailer [or marketer] tests enough” -Dick Benson Growing up in the world of direct mail in the 1980’s, I had many role models. Most were personal mentors; but many were actually companies who I paid close attention to and watched everything they did. Combined with that, I also feared being one of ...
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