I recall many years ago there was an award given for winning direct mail packages that remained a control for at least 5 years. I always thought this was curious…was it a control for 5 years because it was so invincible or because the marketer wasn’t testing enough? [NOTE: For this post, I’m defining ...

In the 1976 film, All the President’s Men, which depicts the Watergate investigation (do any of you remember what that was?), there is a character named “Deep Throat” who meets the eager reporters (Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein) in a parking lot where he feeds them information slowly, over time, which builds to the climax of ...

The end of the year is a wonderful time for reflection…to celebrate our wins…think about what we learned…and to spend time expressing gratitude to those who helped us with those wins and learnings. The end of the year is also a good time to think deeply about our businesses…and the deeper I go, the ...

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 received this email from someone in my online family this past week: I know you started off as a list manager. Do you know of or maybe you have a course on how to pick or segment lists? All the great copywriters agree this is the most important part. I can find a ...

On November 22nd 60 years ago, everything changed. It was the day that President John F. Kennedy was assassinated…and it rocked the world. While I was alive at the time (I was 5 years old) I didn’t really comprehend it…all I knew was that every adult was glued to the TV for days…and a lot of ...

I attended a football game 20 years ago where I ended up in the middle of a fight in the stands. I didn’t start it…read on so you’ll learn why I couldn’t have started it in this lifetime (or multiple lifetimes) …but it illustrates the ultimate lesson about why misplaced hero worship rarely (if ever) pays ...

If you can make one heap of all your winnings And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, And lose, and start again at your beginnings And never breathe a word about your loss… …Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it. This is from a poem called If— by Rudyard Kipling…but it might as ...

In 2016 I wrote a post titled, “Masterminding at the Pentagon…or anywhere” …and in it, I included an article I was interviewed for from Forbes.com, titled, “Here’s The Most Valuable Business Lesson This Marketing Legend Shared With Troops At The Pentagon.” Outside of the lesson coming from a “marketing legend in his own mind” (I am far from a ...

Stops four and five of my “marketing-by-walking-around-tour” over the past month were as illuminating as the first three…and if you missed my post from last week, “Friends with benefits,” which describes my adventures in Dallas, Nashville and Sundance (three distinct and unique experiences) click here. Note: This is not an ongoing series or travelogue…no cliffhangers…and ...

If you are a CEO, president, owner (or in any senior position of your company)—or even if you’re not—I maintain that having your “boots on the ground” 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 ...

In January of 2017, when I made a deal for the exclusive publishing rights to Breakthrough Advertising, Gene Schwartz’s timeless masterpiece on copywriting, marketing and human behavior (which was first published in 1966), I had no idea what was in store over these last 6 years. I knew that the “industry” would be enthusiastic ...

There are many ways to become a master in all you do. One way is to be a “mastermind junkie” and go to where the wisdom is…like I am doing for the next two weeks…a “3-city tour”: From Nashville (for copywriting wisdom) …to Dallas (for online marketing wisdom) …to Phoenix (for entrepreneurial wisdom). Being ...

“Recovery” is a powerful but sometimes off-putting word. Powerful when we talk about recovering from an accident, a setback, something negative…that we turn into a positive. Off-putting when we refer to recovery as something that is necessary to do…a “should” …especially when we are not doing it. One of the clicks on my dial (you ...

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 ...