Back in the days before YouTube, Cable TV, iPhones, and 24/7/365 media saturation of every single aspect of our lives, entertainment was actually special. And one thing that every child in mid-America looked forward to was when the circus came to town. But getting Mom and Dad bought into the idea could take some effort. […]

Few people are adept or successful at anything… at first. And that includes yours truly. In fact, everybody has to go through the four levels of learning every time they attempt something new: 1) Unconscious Incompetence – you don’t know how bad you are at a task 2) Conscious Incompetence – you realize how bad […]

Dashiell Hammett, the famous mystery writer, once gave other writers this advice: “When in doubt, have someone come crashing through the door with a gun.” His advice reflects on the power of drama. When copywriting, you have to remember two things: it’s hard to get someone’s attention and it’s hard to keep their attention One […]

I don’t know if you’re a Baseball fan, but you still know its spring training time in Arizona. In fact I enjoyed a Cactus League game with my grandson last weekend. Sports metaphors abound in business – one of which often heard is “Keep your eye on the ball!” This refers to keeping your focus […]

There’s something magical about the number 3… it forms the basis for great drama (3-act plays), it’s the common structure for presentations (beginning, middle, end), and it’s a common rule-of-thumb in design, gardening, and so many more endeavors. Today I’m going to let you in on three (3) common mistakes that will absolutely KILL the […]

It may seem daunting at first, but actually there’s quite a few places to start to look inside your business when coming up with marketing ideas that turn into your own BIG idea – in fact, 9 to be specific: Do you have some kind of proprietary technology to crow about? What about your story… […]

The old proverb goes like this: “He who hesitates is lost!” What that means to you as a marketer is a prospect who dithers and delays is a sale that more than likely doesn’t happen. Which is bad all around – for the prospect, who could vitally use the service / product you offer… and […]

Being able to clearly define your target market is one of the most important elements of successful marketing. Yet it’s one of the marketing strategies that most businesses struggle with. Identifying your market clearly has many advantages, including allowing you to: Choose the best media to reach the people you want to reach. Tailor your […]

Let me ask you and be honest with yourself here, are you getting the results you want in your business? If you are great, this message will be helpful in getting you to the next level. If you’re not, don’t worry, it will certainly put you on the right path. Now I’ve read the studies […]

If you run a business of your own, you probably put a great deal of emphasis on the importance of hiring the “right” employees, but you will also reach a point when you need to hire consultants or freelancers for projects (sometimes small projects, sometimes large), and it can be difficult to know if you […]