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I don’t usually turn to psychopathic killers for marketing inspiration. But sometimes inspiration comes from where you least expect it. So let’s get right to some lessons from… …ummm… …Charles Manson. This month marks the 50th anniversary of grizzly murders committed by members of Manson’s “family.” Over the last few weeks, television networks flooded the airwaves with news stories and documentaries about Manson. I watched some. This is what I learned… Manson recruited family members… Read more: Mailing to Copy: Marketing lessons from a psychopathic killer [Weekly Stories (M)]

In 1925, John Caples was a rookie copywriter working on an ad for home-study piano courses. He drafted several headlines that he shared with his boss. Here are a few: “Can you play the piano? Neither could I three months ago?” “They laughed when I sat down at the piano. But when I started to play…” “I never saw my music teacher. But he taught me to play just the same.”  “Give me 10 minutes,… Read more: Weekly Stories: John Caples Piano Ad

A desperate marketer posted a sad-sack story last week on a public forum. He was trying to reach prospects in a niche market… …and he was getting ZERO response. Facebook Ads? No-go. LinkedIn messages? Zip? Search advertising? Nada. So he asked the internet for help… …and the internet responded with a bunch of INSANITY. First, I’ll summarize the advice, then I’ll tell you why it’s insane. Various experts-du-jour offered tons of tactical tips to Desperate Marketer: … Read more: The insanity of the tactics-first crowd

One of the great business stories of all time is also one of the shortest. Just nine words. Here it is: You can pay me now… …or pay me later. If you watched television in the 70s, you couldn’t miss those ads for Fram oil filters. The broken car. The expensive repair. The mechanic saying all of this could have been avoided… …if only you invested a few bucks in the right oil filter. Great… Read more: Email Story Fram Oil Filters

I was planning to send a different message this morning… …until I read an email from one of my favorite marketing experts Dave Dee (check out his stuff here).  He offered a tip that is so good I had to postpone the other email so I could share the idea with you now. Here’s the tip:  “Whenever you talk about a feature, always follow up with saying, ‘…which means to you…’” Example:  Our tires have expanding… Read more: Follow the claim with “which means to you…”

I read something cool this morning. It comes from a book called Breakthrough Advertising, by Eugene Schwartz. He was one of the great direct response copywriters of the twentieth century. Breakthrough Advertising is a Bible for those who want to write copy that works. At the beginning of Chapter Seven, Schwartz writes… “…Advertising is the literature of desire. It is society’s encyclopedia of dreams…our twentieth-century Wish Book.” Amen. When you see an effective ad, you see a… Read more: Eugene Schwartz Encyclopedia of Desire

I got some great advice from a marketing expert last week after he read one of my emails. If you’ve read my emails lately, you’ve noticed that I offer a free Story Assessment. I’ll review your website, social media or any other channel where you tell your story. Then I’ll reveal ways to power up your story so leads tune in, stay tuned, and act. That’s a great offer. Everyone who has taken me up on it… Read more: Don’t Bury the CTA

Here’s a TV recommendation: Watch “Grant,” the new three-part documentary on the History Channel (here’s the trailer).  Ulysses S. Grant was a complicated man. Some historians have painted him as a drunk, a villain, a reckless general who got lucky, a corrupt politician. This documentary rewrites that history. It exposes some of the warts. But generally, it portrays Grant as a military genius — a great tactician and strategist — who won the Civil War for… Read more: Weekly Story: General Grant

I recently heard this story about the great copywriter Gary Halbert… Near the end of his career he was quizzing a protege and said, “The best way to get a prospect’s attention is to appeal to their sense of ___________.” The protege replied, “Their sense of self-interest?” Halbert said, “No…their sense of curiosity.” That’s great advice. Decades earlier, the advertising pioneer Claude Hopkins said something similar: “‘No other activating factor compares with curiosity.” Marketing experts… Read more: Top marketers say this is more important than anything else…

A few years back, I met with a prospect about a massive project. The meeting went well. I remember thinking as the meeting moved along, “I’m CRUSHING it.” Before I left, they committed to hire me. I returned to the office, shared the news with my team, and slapped high fives all around. “Way to go, Tom,” one of my colleagues said. “Another one bites the dust!” Yep, I crushed it. Another one bites the… Read more: Email Story: Sales People who Kill It

A business owner recently asked me to launch an email campaign for her new company. She told me she wanted to “spread the word” about the business. Spread the word. That’s a popular idea. Let’s send some emails to spread the word. Let’s post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to spread the word.Let’s buy some advertising to spread the word.So many hours and so many dollars spent spreading the word. But what happens when the… Read more: Spreading the word

I love the scene in the Spiderman movie (the first one with Tobey Maguire) when Uncle Ben tells Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  That’s true for super heroes.  That’s also true for marketers.  I’m working on a revised and expanded version of a free resource I created a few years back called “7 Ways to Make Your Marketing Messages More Persuasive.” I’ll share that with you soon.  A client who read the previous version… Read more: The Difference between manipulation and persuasion

Earlier this week, I helped an executive coach power up her business story. We were talking about her prospects’ and clients’ wishes and fears. We dove deep because the more you understand your prospects and clients, the more you connect with them, and the more you sell. Part way through the process, she paused, thought for a moment and said, “You know… The work we’re doing now will help me land clients. AND it will… Read more: Email Story: Dive Deep to Serve Your Customers

I was watching the morning news earlier and saw a pharmaceutical ad that tells a pretty good story. It starts with a scuba diver swimming around a blob of giant black needles (a sea urchin) resting on the ocean floor. Scary! The narrator says, “Needles. Essential for the sea urchin. But maybe not for people with rheumatoid arthritis. Because there are options… …like an ‘Unjection’.” That’s good. The ad is for Xeljanz, which claims to be the… Read more: Email Story: “Unjection” is a good ad that doesn’t present the transformation

When I was younger, I played lots of golf.   I gave it up. I stunk. Most of my golfing pals stunk, too. But they kept at it.  Their “solution?” Buy better equipment. The newest and best clubs. Fancy balls. Expensive gloves with clever names like “Ever Grip.” And they still stunk… …because the FOUNDATION of their game — their swing — was no good. Same goes in marketing. You spin your wheels. You invest in… Read more: Email Story: Stinky Golf, Stinky Marketing

I read a great blog post this morning called Brand communications in time of crisis.  I encourage you to read it.  This crisis creates unique challenges for marketers.  How do you move your business forward without offending?  How do you strike the right tone in your marketing?  How do you connect with prospects who are more difficult to reach and more on edge? What role does your business play in helping people during the pandemic and… Read more: Email Story: Struggling with Tone

When I was a kid, some neighborhood vandals pulled the old TP-gag in my yard. They tossed a few rolls of paper in the trees and stormed off into the night. The next morning, we woke to a maple, sweet gum, and two oaks covered in Charmin-soft tinsel. My dad howled (no, not with laughter). He sent my brother and me outside with a ladder and rakes to pull the TP from the trees. We… Read more: Email Story: Dad’s reaction to TP is inspiration

I was browsing through my swipe file again — searching for some marketing inspiration to share with you.  I came across an ad I loved when it ran in 2009. I love it today.  The ad for POMx (“The Antioxidant Superpill”) ran in investment and money-management magazines in early 2009. That was smack in the middle of the “Great Recession” when investors were feeling the pain of a huge market downturn.  The ad’s headline: “Live… Read more: Pom Ad Uses Humor and Empathy

I ran an email marketing company for 19 years until we sold it in January to Benchmark. When telling people about our software, I loved to share the story of a prospect who hugged our sales guy when he told her about a certain feature. The feature: Automatically generate different sender names, reply addresses, and messages — for a single mailing — depending on the recipient receiving the mailing. The benefit: Before our software, she created… Read more: Email Story: MV Transformed Her Life

My friend Mary Kutheis shared with me a great marketing email, thinking I would want to share it with everyone on my list. She was right. The email came from Touchnote, a greeting card service that allows you to design and compose cards online that they print and mail. Mother’s Day is a busy time for Touchnote. And before that holiday, they send promotional emails reminding customers to send cards to Mom and Grandma. What happens though, if… Read more: Email Story: Mother’s Day Opt-Out

I once read an interview with a top dog at Disney who described why they invest big-time in sidewalk gum removal. Disney employs people who spend their entire day picking up gum from the sidewalks. The idea: If a guest steps in that gum, they will interrupt their fun day, sit on a bench in the hot sun, spend several minutes picking that gum from their shoe and grumble the entire time. It will ruin… Read more: Email Story: Disney Sidewalk Gum Removal

Here is a great ad that I found on Facebook last week:   It’s that first line that makes it so great: “Tired of clients breaking the beautiful website you slaved over?”  That is a great question, a great business story.  That inspires prospects to tune in, and they continue reading (they stay tuned).  Lesson 1: Your business story is NOT a single epic. It’s a thousand little stories. And some of the best are 10… Read more: Email Story: Beaver Builder Ad

Back in the day, when people used to go on vacation, my mom, dad, brother and I packed up the station wagon and drove west in search of a ghost town. Actually, we were headed to some national parks in Wyoming and Montana. But I insisted we detour. The brochure I grabbed at the Stuckey’s on I-80 said the ghost town was “can’t miss.” I’ll spare you the details and tell you only this: The… Read more: Email Story: Betrayed by a Travel Brochure

I know a guy who can import surgical masks and other personal protective equipment (PPE) from Asia to the USA. He can get pallets of the stuff, and he’s trying to figure out where and how to sell it. He’s not a price-gauger. (Some profiteers are selling masks for $15 or more!) He wants to sell the PPE at fair prices. He wants to focus on small and mid-sized businesses that want PPE for their… Read more: Email Story: PPE Sales Guy and Fear

Last week, I was pitching my business to a guy who knows some things and let me know it. He wanted more prospects, sales and profits. I told him how StoryUp Marketing helps businesses tune up their stories so prospects and customers tune in and act. The key, I said: Focus on why customers buy from you, not what products and services you deliver. He cut me off. “Yeah, yeah. I get that ‘Why…’ stuff,” he said. That stung… Read more: Email Story: This Guy Who “Gets It” Doesn’t Get It

Here’s something I wonder during this pandemic: Why is the local news station still broadcasting traffic reports every 30 minutes in the morning? I turn on the news, and there she is, the Traffic Reporter, standing in front of the map with all the highways and byways color coded — green for “all clear,” yellow for “moderate back-ups” and red for “damn this traffic jam!” There she is, every day as we work from home,… Read more: April 1 Email – The Traffic Reporter

Monday, December 23MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsSocial Media is a Means to an End  Will social media ever rule the internet? That’s the question posted in this great article from the Business2Community blog.  Author Justin Wong notes that many of us spend tons of time on social platforms. “But when it comes to social media for businesses and how much weight you should give this tool when it comes to your overall marketing strategy, it’s important to put… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.12.23

Last month, Peloton began broadcasting this ad to promote its exercise bikes and its online fitness classes. The ad portrays a young mother who receives a Peloton for Christmas and then documents her fitness journey on social media. Critics pounced for a variety of reasons. Many mocked the idea of a husband gifting his fit, beautiful wife an exercise machine. Example: The Twitter post that says, “Nothing says ‘maybe you should lose a few pounds’ like gifting… Read more: Peloton Ad failure

Monday, December 16MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Entertaining AdThinkbox Employs Tooth Fairy to Pitch TV Advertising I like this ad by Thinkbox, a consortium of television broadcasters designed to promote TV advertising… Funny and entertaining, while also promoting the value of their service.  Security TipsTurn Off Bluetooth if You Leave Devices in the Car Thieves are using an inexpensive, readily available device to detect nearby devices with bluetooth. They walk past parked cars, detect whether there’s a… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.12.16

Monday, December 9MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsSubject Line Dos and Don’tsHere’s the latest post from the MarketVolt blog: Want to Get a Prospect’s Attention? Here Are Some Subject Line Dos and Don’ts Funny AdGrocery Chain Releases the “Worst Song in the World”  I really like this ad from the French grocery chain Monoprix.  If you’ve ever watched a music video — especially ones from the early days of MTV — this will make you laugh.  It also constructs an… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.12.09

I met with a business owner the other day who wanted to pitch her service to people commenting on her social media posts. Demonstrate expertise on social media. Connect with people who engage. Pitch the service. That’s not a bad plan. The debate during the meeting was how to connect and whether to follow-up after the pitch. She said she wanted someone to call the social media commenters, pitch the service and be done with… Read more: One and Done Is No Way to Build A Business

Monday, December 2MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Brilliant MarketingAlaska Airlines Targets Niche Market with Irresistible PromotionLast month, Alaska Airlines encouraged impulsive surfers to hop aboard and fly to Hawaii by offering last-minute discounts that increased as the island waves grew larger.  The airline ran the ads on surfline.com, a site that offers surfing forecasts for sites around the globe. The higher the predicted surf in Hawaii, the greater the discount.  That’s a great example of targeted advertising.  … Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.12.02

Monday, November 25MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Cool MarketingREI: Practicing What They PreachI really like REI’s approach to Black Friday. Rather than hosting doorbuster sales like other retailers, they close their doors and encourage their employees and customers to opt-outside.  Here’s the explanation on their website.   Marketing TipsThe Power of Split-Testing We say it a lot in these emails: Test what works. Here’s a great article from the smart folks at Crazy Egg about the benefits of split-testing.  Clever… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.11.25

A friend who works as a business consultant told me about his marketing challenge: “My prospects don’t know what they don’t know,” he said. “They don’t know they need me.” I hear that a lot. Business people get hung up on this idea: “How can I sell them my product or service when they don’t know they need it?” My response: Stop worrying about what prospects DON’T know. Start focusing on what they DO know.… Read more: Clients Don’t Know What They Don’t Know

Monday, November 18MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsEmbrace Emotion in B2B Marketing This is a great article — helpful whether you sell to businesses or consumers. Understand your target market and appeal to their emotions. This article explains how B2B marketers can do it. The lessons apply to all marketing.  Marketing HumorBold New Ideas? Not so Much… I like this cartoon about how some organizations welcome innovation… …or don’t.   Email MarketingLooking for Some Marketing Ideas…?  Email marketing is about much more… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.11.18

I had a middle school classmate named David who was a lousy athlete. I remember the first time he took the field to play baseball with us. When he tried to throw the ball across the diamond, Jimmy, the class bully, howled with laughter and said, “You throw like a girl.” Not nice. I thought of David and Jimmy when I saw this video, part of a 2015 advertising campaign. The advertiser invited young women, men… Read more: Always Ad

Monday, November 11MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up I usually finish each Mash-Up with a meaningful quote. But today is Veterans Day so I’ll jump right in with a quote: “The valor and courage of our young women and men in the armed services are a shining example to all of the world, and we owe them and their families our deepest respect.” – Bill Frist Military MarketingVeterans Began as Recruits and Recruiting Begins with Marketing I was born… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.11.11

I received a mysterious email this morning: “Hi, I hope this email finds you well and I can connect with you soon. I wanted to reach out one more time to see if we can interest you in some information about how we can help. Best regards, Claire…” “Help with what?” I thought. “…reach out one more time…” told me she’d emailed before. So I searched for past emails from Claire and unlocked the mystery.… Read more: Mysterious Podiatry Email

Monday, November 4MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Email TipsThe Power of the Pre-HeaderSee that fine-print copy at the very top of this email? That’s called a “pre-header,” and it’s something you should include in your emails if you want to increase open rates and engagement. Here’s an article that explains why and offers some tips for writing good ones.  Productivity“.new” Domain Extension Launches Apps Quickly If you have a Spotify account, type “playlist.new” in your browser’s address bar to create… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.11.04

onday, October 28MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing LaughsBrands with a Sense of HumorI found this article that catalogs funny product descriptions from e-commerce brands. Sometimes we take ourselves and our businesses too seriously. I like it when a brand has some fun. Marketing Tips“Negative” Marketing Can Have Positive Results Customers buy your products and services because they fulfill some desire or they protect against a bad outcome. So it follows that, occasionally, you have to talk about bad outcomes… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.10.28

A client complained to me that his email campaign wasn’t working. “The phone’s just not ringing,” he said. He’s a commercial real estate broker. He sends notices about properties for sale to prospects. The emails link to a more detailed flier and prospectus. I checked the stats for the last email he sent before he told me the campaign didn’t work. Twenty-two people clicked the link to the flier/prospectus. I suggested he send a follow-up… Read more: Quit Waiting for the Phone to Ring

Monday, October 21MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsCopyblogger Reminds Us to Let the Audience Decide I’m a big fan of Brian Clark (a.k.a. The Copyblogger), and I’m a big fan of this blog post. He tells the story of the band Wilco and its album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Record executives thought the album would flop. In fact, Wilco was dropped by the label before releasing the album… which ultimately became the band’s greatest seller. There are some great lessons… Read more: 2019.10.21

This is the story of a $51 million boondoggle called The Loop Trolley. The Trolley is a 2.2-mile streetcar line in St. Louis that connects the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park with the Delmar Loop entertainment district. Those who pitched the idea said the Trolley would be a major tourist attraction, shuttling visitors from a popular museum to a popular dining and shopping district. It hasn’t turned out that way. The Loop Trolley Company,… Read more: Wednesday: Loop Trolley

Monday, October 14MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Know Your Customers, Strengthen Your BusinessI like this article that offers four simple ways to “know thy customer.” As the article notes, “To increase brand loyalty and relevance in this competitive digital era, you have to show customers that you “get” them.” Amen. Marketing TipsHow to Use Simple Surveys to Improve and Grow Your Business One of the recommendations in the article above: Survey your customers. I agree. In fact, last month, I shared… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.10.14

I live in Missouri… …which is adjacent to Nebraska… …which has a tourism slogan: “Honestly, it’s not for everyone.” I’m not kidding. And I love it! In a press release that unveiled the slogan last year, the Nebraska Tourism Commission declared, “Nebraska may not be on everyone’s bucket list of places to visit, but if you like experiences that are unpretentious and uncomplicated or if you enjoy escaping the big city life for moments of… Read more: Wednesday email – Nebraska marketing

Monday, October 7MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing NewsEmail Still Getting It DoneThis article from the Data & Marketing Association (Great Britain) caught my eye. Average open and click rates for email marketing campaigns are going up. Email marketing continues to be an effective way to connect with your target audiences.  Marketing TipsGreat Advice to Improve Content We agree with the advice in this post: How to improve email ROI through content advice to improve content Marketing FunniesA Picture is… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.10.07

One day last week, Burger King restaurants in Argentina stopped selling the “Whopper” for one day and encouraged customers, instead, to head over to McDonald’s for a Big Mac.  It was “McHappy Day” in Argentina, the day McDonald’s donates a portion of sales to a charitable foundation that helps children with cancer.  In print ads published after “McHappy Day,” Burger King trumpeted “A Day Without Whopper — The Day We Donated Our Guests to McDonald’s… Read more: Wednesday Email – Burger King Pitches McDonald’s Burgers

Monday, September 30MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Presentation TipsDon’t Be That Person with the 15-Bullet SlideHere’s a good article with tips on how to improve your presentation from “good enough” to “great.” I’d heard some of these tips before, but not all of them. Some fresh, strong advice.   From the BlogWield Your Power of Persuasion Responsibly I published this post on the MarketVolt blog after yet another salesman resorted to stupid tricks to get me to open his email. Ditch the tricks,… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.09.30

Earlier this month, I shared the news that marketing great Dan Kennedy was in hospice care. Since then, I’ve been recalling many of the valuable lessons I learned over the years from Dan.  Here’s one of my favorites:  Dan often told the story of being disturbed at home by a door-to-door salesman who rang the doorbell while he was watching the ballgame.  An unwanted pest!  A few weeks later, again while Dan was watching a ballgame, someone… Read more: Wednesday Mailing Welcome Guest

Monday, September 23MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsHow to Increase Revenue from Existing CustomersWe preach this all the time: Develop strategies to maximize the value of existing customer relationships. So many businesses focus all their marketing energy on chasing new leads. That’s important, but it’s far less expensive to build on existing relationships. Here’s a great article from Forbes to spark some ideas on how to do it. Great AdvertisingCreative Print Ads Remove the “Blur” from Great Paintings I came across… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.09.23

I’m about to buy a new car in Chicago and ship it to my hometown, St. Louis (see last week’s email about the car salesman who yelled at me when I told him I wasn’t buying his car).  I requested shipping bids through an online brokerage and received dozens of offers ranging from $250 to $400.  I’m going with the $400 bid. Why? Because the shipper who bid $400 was the only one who explained her price.  I won’t bore… Read more: Wednesday mailing: Seller who explained price won me over

Monday, September 16MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up From the MarketVolt BlogThe “Next Big Thing” Is Not Necessarily the Best ThingIn last week’s Mash-Up, I paid homage to marketing genius Dan Kennedy. Here’s a post from MarketVolt’s blog that was inspired by advice I received from Dan several years ago. The lessons still apply today.  What Matters Most in Marketing I’ve seen lots of businesses struggle, even when they have a great product or service. The problem: They don’t develop strong… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.09.16

A car salesman yelled at me the other day. He called to ask whether I was still interested in the car I test-drove with him. I told him I was leaning toward another car, which I named. “Have you read the Consumer Reports article about that car!?” he barked. (He may as well have said, “What are you, some kind of idiot? You’d be a fool to buy that car!”) “No,” I mumbled, “I haven’t… Read more: Wednesday mailing: Car Guy Yelled at Me

Monday, September 9MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing GeniusThank You Dan KennedyI’ve learned more about marketing from Dan Kennedy than from all other marketing experts combined. So it’s with a heavy heart that I tell you he’s on his deathbed. For those of you who don’t know Dan Kennedy, I recommend his book Magnetic Marketing. You can get a free copy here (you pay shipping).  I learned about Dan’s condition by reading a letter he wrote last month. It begins, “I find myself… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.09.09

A hungry man in Houston threatened employees at Popeyes with a handgun on Monday after they told him they didn’t have any chicken sandwiches. My first reaction: This is NOT Popeyes fault. Everyone knows: Chicken sandwiches don’t cause violence, people do! But upon further investigation, Popeyes deserves some blame. Last month, the fast-food chain introduced its new chicken sandwich with claims that it was tastier than the competition’s. The product launch sparked loud debates on… Read more: Wednesday Mailing: Popeyes

Last week, I sent this email about a repulsive person (Charles Manson) who did repulsive things (you know). One of my subscribers replied and told me my email was “repulsive” and that she was opting-out from my list.   I get it. I suggested that marketers could learn a thing or two from Manson about how to woo prospects. In retrospect, citing psychopaths as “inspiration” is bad form. I didn’t mean to make light of his actions… …and, I… Read more: Wednesday Mailing Manson explained

I don’t usually turn to psychopathic killers for marketing inspiration. But sometimes inspiration comes from where you least expect it. So let’s get right to some lessons from… …ummm… …Charles Manson. This month marks the 50th anniversary of grisly murders committed by members of Manson’s “family.” Over the last few weeks, television networks flooded the airwaves with news stories and documentaries about Manson. I watched some. This is what I learned… Manson recruited family members… Read more: Marketing lessons from a psychopathic killer v2

Monday, August 26MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsAre You Engaging Your List?This article is right on!  It’s short and sweet and it makes the point: They only way to drive business from your email list is to engage your list. Read on for more…  From the MarketVolt BlogWant Referrals? Just Ask Here’s a column I wrote for St. Louis Small Business Monthly that we republished on our blog. If you don’t have a referral program or you’re not driving as many referrals as you… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.08.26

I don’t usually turn to psychopathic killers for marketing inspiration. But sometimes inspiration comes from where you least expect it. So let’s get right to some lessons from… …ummm… …Charles Manson. This month marks the 50th anniversary of grizzly murders committed by members of Manson’s “family.” Over the last few weeks, television networks flooded the airwaves with news stories and documentaries about Manson. I watched some. This is what I learned… Manson recruited family members… Read more: Marketing lessons from a psychopathic killer

Monday, August 19MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing FunniesThis Cartoon Cracked Me UpI love Tom Fishburne, the brain behind the Marketoonist cartoons. I especially love this one. The lesson:  If you deliver the wrong marketing message, your prospects will tune out or, worse yet, be annoyed.  Trying a different technology won’t fix it. Tuning up your message will fix it.  Is this Progress?  At first I thought this was a joke: Burger King now delivers food in Mexico City… Read more: Monday Mashup 209.08.19

I was helping a client yesterday tune up her sales and marketing story so more customers would tune in. I asked her, “What does Apple sell?” She replied as many would: “Apple sells computers, phones, accessories…” Then I showed her this video: https://youtu.be/yyNtm0LZiKc It’s an ad for Apple AirPods (wireless, miniature earphones). A brilliant ad. If you want to discover how to tune-up your sales and marketing story, I encourage you to spend just two minutes… Read more: You have to see this Apple Ad

Monday, August 12MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Outstanding AdvertisingApple’s New Ad for Airpods is a StunnerApple has a history of great television ads. Here’s their latest: A pitch for Airpods (wireless earphones). This is great, technically stunning, highly entertaining advertising. Watch for the email I send on Wednesday. I’m going to talk more about this ad in that email.  Dumb MarketingTwo Big Brands Miss the Mark with Women Here’s an interesting article about how mega-brands Macy’s (department store) and Forever 21… Read more: Monday Mashup 209.08.12

A marketer was struggling to achieve year-over-year success. So he asked for help on one of my favorite online forums. “What’s a new strategy or platform you introduced in 2019 that is working or really helped?” he asked. “I’d love to see what’s out of the box we could try.” (Sigh!) The first respondent offered this advice: “Attribution media mix modeling using machine learning.” (Big sigh!) Marketing doesn’t fail because you lack the latest, greatest,… Read more: The Misguided Siren Song of “Out of the Box”

Monday, August 5MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Great Ad, Great Story-TellingMy colleague Pat Hawn sent this video to me. A great example of marketing by story-telling. What does T-Mobile sell in this ad? Not a “phone.” They sell adventures, family connections and more… Thanks, Pat, for sharing this great ad.  Market to the “Maybes” to Grow Your BusinessI spotted this article over the weekend that describes marketing as a courting process. I agree. In fact, many years ago, I wrote this blog… Read more: Monday Mashup 209.08.05

Earlier this morning, I shot a quick-tip video that (I think) has some good marketing advice. I propped my phone over my computer monitor. Shot the 2:30 second video. I saved the video to my YouTube channel. And then linked to it in this email. The entire process took less than five minutes and cost me $0. Why’d I do it? To prove a point: The quality of your content is more important than the “slickness” of… Read more: Your Video Doesn’t Have to be “High Quality

Monday, July 29MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Simple and Wise Writing Tips Here’s a great information graphic with 19 tips to help you write better with fewer mistakes. Print this out and post it by your desk. You’ll be a better writer for doing so.   Marketing TipsThis Column is Not What It Sounds Like I came across a great column with this headline: “It’s Time to Start Sleeping With Your Customers.” Don’t worry. It’s G-rated. This column is all about getting to… Read more: Monday Mashup 209.07.29

In my most recent Monday Mash-Up, I mentioned an article about B2B marketing that I hated. The article was a collection of quick-tips from different “experts.” Here’s the first tip that annoyed me: An appeal to emotion typically wins in B2C marketing. In other words, when marketing to consumers, a winning strategy includes developing emotional connections and backing them with rational bits. B2B, on the other hand, goes through a more in-depth screening process. Decision makers… Read more: Lessons from myth-busting a crummy article

Monday, July 22MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing GuidanceThere Are No Universal Truths in Content Marketing (Sort Of) This is a great article. I encourage you to set aside a few minutes and read it. The key idea: “How you choose to approach content needs to differ depending on what you’re trying to accomplish.” The article goes on to outline different approaches for different goals.  For the “Bad Advice” FileI Hate This Article So Much I Have to… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.07.22

I used to love Southwest Airlines… …until I caught Southwest Airlines in a lie. In fact, I discovered that Southwest lies to me — and you — frequently. It happens when you book flights online. I was doing that last night — booking a flight for my wife and me. I entered the locations, dates and number of passengers. Then I pressed “Enter.” Southwest listed the available flights. I spotted the flight I wanted (perfect… Read more: How a Lying Airline Lost My Business

Monday, July 15MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Excellent AdviceFour Email Marketing Goals For Your Business, With Examples This is a great article from MarketingProfs. Excellent advice with how-to examples. You have to sign up for a free MarketingProfs membership. But it’s easy to do that, and the content on their site is well worth it! Amusing Enlightening VideoGeneric Brand Video Mocks Messaging Cliches This video is funny. And it probably will seem familiar. That’s the point. It demonstrates how easily marketers fall… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.07.15

I read about a hotel that promises a “fun, colorful and flavorful” and magical experience. Set to open in August, the hotel began taking reservations online in June. It sold out in two minutes. Introducing The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs, California. The Bell is just a temporary rebranding of the V Palm Springs Hotel. From August 8-12, the hotel will be all about Taco Bell. A gift shop with… Read more: Weekly Story – Taco Bell Hotel

Monday, July 8MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsEncourage Customers to Review Your Business Here’s a great article that describes how to use email to encourage customers to submit online reviews. Reviews can help you build your business — especially if you actively respond to the reviews. This article has some great tips about how to solicit reviews and how to respond to them.  Presentation AdviceDitch the Fancy Language and Buzzwords  When it comes to public speaking and presentations,… Read more: 2019.07.08

I saw something on the TV news this morning that annoyed me. (What else is new?) I’m sharing this with you not to spread the annoyance, but rather to deliver a business lesson. The news headline: The number of asylum-seekers reaching the Mexico-US border has decreased over the last few months. The analysis: Supporters of President Trump say the decrease is due to his immigration policies. Opponents counter that the flow of migrants always slows… Read more: Weekly Story — Migrant news story

Monday, July 1MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsHow to Humanize Your Marketing and Share Brand Values You’ve heard me say it many times before: Marketing should not be all about pitching your products and services. Here’s a great article that describes “How to Share Your Brand Values Via Email.“ This is an excellent read.  Great AdvertisingShampoo Company Urges You Not to be a Head-Scratcher I love this ad campaign from Head & Shoulders. It’s funny and effective. Rather… Read more: 2019.07.01

Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. So the TV talking heads spent a bunch of airtime debating whether it’s OK to enjoy the King of Pop’s music. The debate goes like this… On one side are those who cite allegations that Jackson molested children. You can’t separate the art from the artist, they argue. If the artist is a criminally perverted creep, you should reject his art. On the other side are… Read more: Weekly Story – Michael Jackson Debate

Monday, June 24, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Myth-BustersMy Pal Adam Blows Away the B.S. About Email Marketing Adam Kreitman is my friend and one of my marketing heroes. He knows his stuff, and he shares it in emails he sends every Monday through Friday. You can sign up here.  He sent an email last night that I especially liked. It starts like this: “Recently I’ve been struck by the glaring lies and misconceptions that still permeate out there… Read more: 2019.06.24

Before publishing his first best-seller, Tim Ferriss tested options. He came up with six potential titles. Then he purchased Google Adwords ads — one version for each title — targeting search terms related to the book’s topics. Each ad used the potential book title as the headline and used the book’s tagline for the ad’s body (same in each ad). He spent less than $200 to discover that the ad with the headline “The 4-Hour… Read more: Weekly Story — Ferriss Names His Book

Monday, June 17, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Last Wednesday, my beloved St. Louis Blues hockey club won the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup Championship for the first time in franchise history. On Saturday, I was among the 400,000+ fans who celebrated at the championship parade in downtown St. Louis.  In honor of all of the above, here is the Stanley Cup Edition of the Monday Mash-Up. If you’re a Blues fan, you get it. If you’re not a Blues… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.06.17

A marketing novice wondered whether a direct mail ad he received from a restaurant was any good. He described the ad in an online discussion board and waited for responses. Dozens of people replied with all sorts of marketing advice. Lots of them said they liked the ad. Some asked to see the advertisement so they could analyze it more carefully. Others said there was no way to know if the ad was good without… Read more: Weekly Story – How do you know if your marketing is working

Monday, June 10, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up More Important than a GameBlues Stanley Cup Run Introduces World to Inspiring Girl I live in St. Louis, and I root for the St. Blues hockey club. So I’m disappointed this morning that the Blues lost last night to the Boston Bruins and didn’t clinch the Stanley Cup championship on home ice (they’ll try again on Wednesday in Boston).  To cheer myself up, I watched this video last night — the… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.06.10

A few months ago, I went to a St. Louis Blues hockey game with my son. He ordered a chicken sandwich from a concession stand run by a local restaurant. The chicken was raw. When we returned the food to the stand and asked for a refund, the woman at the cash register apologized and gave us our money back. But when she handed the sandwich back to the guy cooking the food and explained… Read more: Weekly Story – Raw Chicken

Monday, June 3, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Website Development TipUse a Honeypot to Reduce Garbage Email Signups If you have an email signup form on your website, you might suffer from fake signups, generated by automated bots. Adding a CAPTCHA field (i.e. “enter the letters you see to verify you’re human…”) helps prevent this, but this approach can clutter the appearance of your site. Another option is to add code to your web form to create… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.06.03

Last month, a networking group that I help manage contacted 18 former members to learn why they quit. Three of the 18 said they quit for no particular reason. They just let their commitment lag. Prompted by the phone call, they committed to resubscribe. Three out of 18. That’s 17 percent. That’s pretty good. Many of the 18 offered great feedback about why they quit. Leaders will use that feedback to improve the group. One… Read more: Weekly Story — Reach out to former customers

In early January, when the St. Louis Blues were in the National Hockey League cellar with the fewest points of any team, Interim Head Coach Craig Berube tore the standings from the locker room wall. Yesterday, hours before the Blues clinched the Western Conference championship and punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, a reporter asked Berube why he removed those standings. “Because it didn’t look very good at the time. Where we were… Read more: Weekly Story — Berube Removes the Standings

Monday, May 20, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Relevant DataMust-See Stats re: Email Marketing Here’s an interesting article from the Convince&Convert website:13 Email Marketing Statistics That Are Shaping 2019 and Beyond              Business TipsTear Down the Silos We see it often: Businesses that separate business functions into separate silos. Here’s an excellent article from Marketing Week that explains why this is such a problem: Why silos are the enemy of effective marketing.  Great InfographicHow to… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.05.20

Monday, May 13, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Sales TipsThe Art Of The Email Introduction Email tools like MarketVolt are great for mass mailing a list — or delivering targeted follow-ups to people who respond to your mailings or other content.  But what about those one-to-one emails that you send to cold leads or other prospects? How do you break through the noise, get someone’s attention and get them to act?  Here’s a great article from Forbes… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.05.13

My friend who handles PR for a nonprofit had an annoying mystery to solve. One of her email subscribers complained that she had opted-in but was not receiving emails. Then another complained. Then another. As my friend dug into the problem, she discovered that several people on her list were marked as unsubscribed. But those people never clicked the “unsubscribe” link in emails they received. What gives? Turns out the unintentional unsubscribers had something in… Read more: Weekly Story False Opt-Outs

In 1774, King Frederick II of Prussia was ruling over a land ravaged by famine. He urged farmers to plant potatoes to end the famine. But back then, potatoes were considered livestock feed in Eastern Europe, not suitable for human consumption. So farmers defied the king and didn’t plant them… …until King Frederick changed marketing tactics. He declared the lowly tater a “royal vegetable.” He placed guards around the royal potato field. He banned the… Read more: Weekly Story – King of Prussia and Potato famine

Monday, April 29, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Marketing TipsExcellent Lead Generation Ideas Here’s an excellent article from Unbounce: 10 Creative Lead Gen Examples Sourced from Marketing Legends.  Unbounce is a great service for building lead-generation landing pages. The service integrates with many email engines, including MarketVolt’s.   Bold MarketingBeer-Maker Acknowledges Shortcomings to Promote a Rebrew  Carlsberg Beer has launched a bold, risky advertising campaign to announce it has reformulated its pilsner brew.  Faced with lagging sales, the company has… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.04.29

I was at a concert last night and heard some lyrics that made me think: “That’s a great marketing lesson.” (I couldn’t help it. That’s where my mind goes). Here are those lyrics from an old Kris Kristofferson song called “To Beat the Devil:” If you waste your time a talkingTo the people who don’t listenTo the things that you are sayingWho do you thinks gonna hear? Here’s the lesson: Know your target market and… Read more: Weekly Story – Kris K. song re target market

Monday, April 22, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Recommended App Record and Transcribe with Otter Otter is a free app for Android and Apple phones that records and transcribes audio. The transcriptions are not perfect, but I’ve found them to be good enough. You get 600 hours of transcription per month for free. For $8.33/month (on an annual plan), you get 6,000 hours of transcription per month.  Quick ReadSeth Godin on “Great Marketing”   I love Seth Godin’s blog. Short… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.04.22

This was embarrassing… Several months ago, I pitched MarketVolt’s software and services to a prospect. He replied by telling me he’s already a customer. Stupid me. I’d found an old email conversation in which he and I nearly closed a deal. Eager to try again, I wrote, “It’s been a few months since we discussed whether MarketVolt was a good fit for you…” I didn’t realize that a few days earlier, the prospect called our… Read more: Weekly Story — Pitched an Existing Customer

Our company made a marketing mistake. I’m going to tell you about so you don’t repeat it. We sell email marketing software to many schools and school districts. So we recently ran a print advertisement in the membership directory for the Missouri Association of School Administrators (MASA). The ad included the address for our website designed specifically for schools and districts: k12.marketvolt.com. In the same MASA directory, there’s an ad for the AdvancEd Improvement Network.… Read more: Weekly Story – Learn from our MASA Ad Mistake

Tuesday, April 16, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Sorry, I’m late. Of course, I wanted to send this Mash-Up yesterday, on Monday. But time was not on my side over the last few days. Speaking of Time…Great Book Helps You Make Minutes Matter — and More Mary Kutheis’ Making Minutes Matter is a great book. The Making Minutes Matter Method™ helps you set expectations, avoid distractions and make better decisions about how you organize each day. The outcome: Greater happiness and… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.04.16

Monday, April 8, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Great MarketingHeinz Gets the Story Right I often tell business people they don’t sell products or services. They sell the outcomes those products and services deliver. Here’s a great example of marketing that gets this right: A new ad campaign from Heinz that celebrates “150 years of clean plates.” Here’s Marketing Week’s article about the campaign.  History LessonsHank Aaron’s Quest to Pass Babe Ruth Forty-five years ago today, Hank Aaron hit his 715th home… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.04.08

Monday, May 6, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Privacy ProtectionGoogle Chrome Simplifies History Deletion When you surf the web, your browser stores a log (history) of where you’ve been and archives (caches) images and other content for re-use later. Some sites also drop files (cookies) on your computer to detect that you’ve visited their site (for a variety of reasons, including delivering online advertisements to you).  It’s a good idea to delete your browsing history regularly. Your… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.05.06

My favorite marketing forum lit up yesterday when someone complained about Gmail putting the emails he sends into the “Promotions” folder. Several years ago, Gmail introduced folders (“tabs”) to organize incoming email into four categories: Primary, Social, Promotions and Updates. Most marketing emails sent through third-party software land in the Promotions folder. Yesterday, an unhappy marketer complained in the forum about the Promotions folder: “This means that a large chunk of emails might not even… Read more: Weekly Story – Gmail Promotions and the Boogie Man

Monday, April 1, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Content Marketing TipsWhy All the White Space If you’ve read my Wednesday email stories, you’ve probably noticed: Very short paragraphs and lots of white space. A few people have asked me, “What’s up with that?”  Here’s an article that explains: 10 Practical Reasons To Use Short Paragraphs On Your Blog Posts April FoolsMy Favorite Fake Baseball News Story On  April 1, 1985, when the St. Louis Cardinals and New York… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.04.01

In a recent Monday Mash-Up, I shared a blog post I’d written about misleading statistics. It struck a nerve with several readers. Margaret is one of those readers who told me the story of her run-in with garbage data. Margaret works as a fundraiser at a nonprofit. Margaret often wonders how best to reach older donors and prospects. Some older folks say they prefer print newsletters and other “traditional” communications.  That’s bad news for digital communication vendors who want… Read more: Weekly Story – Garbage Data

Monday, March 18, 2019MarketVolt’s Monday Mash-Up Recommended AccessoryA Safer Set of Headphones I recently purchased a pair of Zpods bone conduction headphones (on sale now for $50), and I love them. These headphones do not have buds that you place in your ears. They have small pads that lay in front of your ear. You hear not by sound waves entering your ear canal. Rather, sound is conducted through the bones on which the sound pads lay.  Why is this… Read more: Monday Mashup 2019.03.25