“I don’t think we need to spend more than 200.” I was telling my wife this as we discussed a possible new tent for our family camping trip this summer. “If that! I’ve seen plenty of options for less” she replied. Our life has changed this year, and while we’ve camped fine in the past, the addition of our new guy (8 weeks old as I write this email) has made a different dynamic. “What I really want is a great big cabin tent!” She went on. We’ve never really been “glampers” before … But camping...
over 3 years ago • 5 min read
After my “Achoo” email, I realized I need to cover a very important subject. It’s all about the idea of “The Solvable Problem” which is in fact INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY of Dan Nicholson, author of Rigging the Game. After writing the "Achoo" draft, I went back through and re-wrote the terms “solvable problem” in order to not be actually in violation of intellectual property … But I need to share this idea with you because it’s a foundation of how I approach my work and life. Essentially, how I...
over 3 years ago • 2 min read
Ok maybe I’m being a little cheeky, but last week’s email has me feelin GOOD and ON A ROLL. Let’s dive in … I’ve got so much to share. And I’m really gonna just put it all out there. Did you do your homework? At the beginning of this year … (I had a baby in between then and now, so I think my delay is forgivable) I sent an email imploring you to consider one KEY question, above all others, which is vitally important. Read it here if you missed that one. It’s a question I dig into with every...
over 3 years ago • 4 min read
I need to sneeze. It’s right there. I can feel the sneeze desperately wanting to be out. Yet. Here I am. I was writing about this to myself the other day. I’ve only shared this with a couple people, but for the past 837 days I’ve written a “personal log” entry (not every day, periodically). That project started off inspired by The Martian as a way to talk through the work and problems I’ve been tackling. And I came across this "sneeze" concept a little while ago in this writing. It was also...
over 3 years ago • 4 min read
I was standing outside on our back deck. The air was chill. My breath clouding around me. The mist filtering through the small forest of 80 foot evergreens hugging our back yard up the hill. Drips of rain softly pelted the grassy hill around me. Reminded me of that scene in Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, where the orcs are gathering in front of Helms Deep and you see them huffing and puffing huge breath clouds into the cold rain. Like dragons breathing. (Maybe because we watched the...
almost 4 years ago • 2 min read
So it’s Black Friday / Cyber Monday, and evvveryone is putting out their bestest most fantastically irressistible deal to gather as many new customers and $$ as possible. It’s a buying and selling frenzy … perhaps the most live time for people spending people. And what’s the most common approach here? To make a discount. 90% off Black Friday only! Cyber Monday, all of our courses bundled 76% off! And every variation there-in. But here’s a common problem with this … Current customers see your...
almost 5 years ago • 2 min read
“Advertising is based on one thing. Happiness. You know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car. It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road which screams with reassurance that whatever you are doing, it’s ok. You are ok.” - MadMen, Donald Draper I love this scene … it’s one of those where the words just make sense, and perhaps even spark a new understanding. There’s a reason for this. We all live our everyday lives mostly just needing to feel “ok.” We need...
almost 5 years ago • 3 min read
I was listening to an Audible book recently during my drives to and from the office … And a particular moment really caught my attention, Made me think about the way many businesses try to create new customers. The book is “The Stand In” Fun listen, pretty light. Professional curiosity drew me in at the beginning, because I found the writer does a good job of capturing some real human behavior. Deep flawed features which most of us experience at some point. Anyway The story is about a single...
about 5 years ago • 2 min read
“I don’t know if you receive these emails, however I would be so interested in meeting you …” I did NOT get emails from customers and prospects at all like this when I got started in marketing. At the beginning, when I was jumping into email marketing, I did some pretty classic moves. Free download to get on the list. Then gave some educational emails, while also throwing offers in frequently. I tried all the things. Sales series. Simple offers dropped in emails regularly. Listing what I have...
about 5 years ago • 2 min read