“My shoes are special shoes for discerning feet.” – Manolo Blahnik, Born Nov. 27, 1942. You want your customers to have a special relationship to your products, your offers, and you personally. That’s called branding – that relationship that exists beyond and outside the immediate benefits of the product. And the secret of doing this… Read More →
How To Become Legendary: Betray Your Masters, Kill Your Gods
“I’m not going to talk about Picasso. I have done my duty to those memories. I have had a great career as an artist myself, you know. I’m not here just because I’ve spent time with Picasso.” – Françoise Gilot, Born Nov. 26, 1921. This is why you’ve got to toot your own horn, and… Read More →
Getting Good at Lying Makes You Better at Making Truth Believable.
“Good lies need a leavening of truth to make them palatable.” – William McIlvanney. Born Nov. 25, 1936. People get upset when I compare marketers to liars. Or I talk about manipulation. And coercion. Your hands are already dirty! Just own it! It’s better! But I digress. Here is what you need to realize. Even… Read More →
Application of Agitation Creates a Persuasion Situation
“When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage – that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making a bargain.” – Laurence Sterne. Born Nov. 24, 1713. This is one of the big secrets right here. If you want your prospect to feel super good about buying, try making… Read More →
Most Writing Is Lame Because The Writer Forgot To Make It Cool
“All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what’s cool.” – Steven Brust, Born Nov. 23, 1955. This quote is either more authentic or more stupid, depending on whether you think that stupid hat Steven Brust wears… Read More →
Make People Feel Like They Are In Charge, And They Will Obey…
“Let every man feel that he is the architect and builder of his own life, and that he proposes to make a success of it by working.” – Heber J. Grant, Born Nov. 22, 1856. Really, though. The key part here is “let every man feel” – whether they really are or not. Let people… Read More →
Creation and Innovation Are Not the Only Way to Provide Value
“The instruction we find in books is like fire. We fetch it from our neighbours, kindle it at home, communicate it to others, and it becomes the property of all.” – Voltaire, Born Nov. 21, 1694. You don’t have to be an originator of ideas if you can be an effective communicator of ideas. Today… Read More →
Good Copy Always Feels Like It’s Happening Right Now
“There is a saying that every nice piece of work needs the right person in the right place at the right time.” – Benoit Mandelbrot, Born Nov. 20, 1924. That’s what I like to make: a nice piece of work. The right person is you, the reader, the viewer, the receiver of my offer. As… Read More →
No One Wants To Buy Your Product – This Is What They’ll Pay For…
“The only way to advertise is by not focusing on the product.” – Calvin Klein, Born Nov. 19, 1942. The art and skill and magic and OOMPH of writing promotions comes from the stuff you do that has NOTHING to do with the product itself. The product is just a token of value. It carries… Read More →
Publish Your Draft Now, Revise When You Re-Publish Again In The Future
“Everything you’ve ever read of mine is first-draft. This is one of the peculiarities of the comics field. By the time you’re working on chapter three of your masterwork, chapter one is already in print. You can’t go back and suddenly decide to make this character a woman, or have this one fall out of… Read More →
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