“"Always remember that to argue, and win, is to break down the reality of the person you are arguing against. It is painful to lose your reality, so be kind, even if you are right." — Haruki Murakami.” It was Christmas Eve, and I gave my brother a ride to the bank to get quarters for laundry. Our conversation started light and cheery. ...

Carl Ally. A few months back, I shared an ad he wrote in response to Avis' 2nd place ads (Click here to read). This week I bring more gold from his treasure chest. In today's ad, he is selling a car from Saab. Selling cars through salesmanship or marketing is a challenge. So let's observe how he sold this "revolutionary" car. Finding #...

Marketing takes time. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Sure, you could run some FB ads and try to get a quick profit, but it's not that easy. There's so much behind having success with paid media. This fact of marketing being a slow burn was brought up in Rob Fitzpatrick's community. Rob shares a story that contains some import...

What better way to bring back ad rewrites than to use one from a subscriber. This is a first, which makes me even more excited. Lucas, a realtor, reached out to me to get my brief thoughts on an ad he is running in his local market. I'm excited to share my thoughts and see what you think and learn. Who: Multi State Realty is Lucas' com...

Last week I wrote how speed is the key to improving anything: more reps = more competence (Click here to read). And one of you beautiful people responded with a great question I felt compelled to answer. Here’s the Q: “How would you define the difference between speed and consistency? Is speed the same thing as frequency and repetition...

Life sucks. It can be challenging to put a smile on at times. Maybe today it slips on quickly, but other days, it's hard to find it. One simple thing you can do to instill more happiness (and hopefully, a smile follows) is to write down daily what you're grateful for. I do this first thing in the morning and right before bed. You may t...

How do you feel about content series? Some examples: • A 3-part series on creating a content plan • A 5-part series on filing your taxes • A 4-part series on go-to-market strategy Do you find them helpful? Before I share my answer (because you asked), let me share a notional example. Let's say you need to learn how to shit. You spent y...

I believe EQ is one skill that every profession demands. I find having high EQ essential to thinking clearly and making good decisions in marketing. Without it, you allow your emotions to cloud your vision, and you cannot produce good marketing. Also, by growing in EQ, you will grow in your appreciation for emotions and their role. Thi...

Speed is critical to improving. Suppose you want to get better at anything, speed matters. A friend who shared a blog titled Speed Matters brought this to my attention. James Somers wrote the blog post seven years ago, but it couldn’t be more accurate today. ““The prescription must be that if there’s something you want to do a lot of a...

How do you get others to do talk about you? Many people have this as a marketing goal, whether to spread your category or your new service offering. So, they go about it through earned channels. They reach out to industry magazines, influencers, or PR to get on media outlets. Sadly, this thinking is backward. While I am not against ear...

Spilling coffee is not the end of the world. I realize this. But then why did I almost completely break down when Katie spilled hers? Let me first share the story: Katie and I visited Mayo hospital in Rochester, Minnesota, for her MS. It was the second day of our stay. We had gone for a run first thing in the morning, and then I went t...

I’ve made a critical mistake. I’ve had a loose vision for this email for the past year. My loose vision is to build an audience while improving my writing and marketing acumen. But I need a more definitive vision. I need to put in concrete terms what I want for this email. Why is that? For a few reasons: Reason 1: A significant way to ...

She's gone. We'll never be able to hold her, kiss her, or see her again. It all happened so quickly. We had been gone for a few days, but she was acting normal when we returned. Both of our cats were happy to see us. Then everything changed. The next day, Evee, our youngest cat that we got in July of 2021, was acting differently. She w...

“I don’t like that.” While personal preferences are “good,” I find that we allow them to impact our decisions too much. Let’s say you HATE podcasts. “Who has time to listen to someone ramble for 50 minutes?” You may—most likely will–let this impact what type of content you produce. But what if your audience loves them? Then you made a ...

Everything is NOT trackable. With marketing, there is a clear balancing act going: Doing and measuring things for immediate ROI and also realizing there is no way to measure some stuff for their direct impact. Essentially it is brand marketing vs. performance marketing. Which camp are you in? Personally, I think both have their place. ...

I judge myself too much. How about you? I frequently compare myself to others and usually end up disappointed. If I had a friend who treated me the way I treat myself, I would have ended the friendship a long time ago. There’s no way I would have put up with the criticism and judgment. So why then do I deal with my inner critic? Why do...

What’s your company’s moat? In software, the need to answer this question is critical. Anyone can duplicate your features and code, so you need something else (your moat) that provides distance from them “catching up to you.” But for every business having a moat is essential. Your moat could be your brand, a true differentiation (i.e.,...

No one likes to suck at anything. But, at times, we all will, especially when we start something new. The reason I write my daily email is to help those just starting or making the switch into marketing. To help them suck less with marketing. This book accomplishes the same thing. For those early in their marketing journey or just star...

I have thought a lot about this question: Why do you write a daily email? Not because anyone has asked me–few care–but because it intrigues me. And if I can succinctly answer it, I will be able to persevere when I want to quit. So, the answer? To become a better writer. That wasn’t always my answer. When I first started, I might have a...

Few companies take advantage of customer stories (also known as case studies). Why is that? I think it’s because most companies can’t tell a story to save their life. They can pitch, sell, and feature blast, but few can tell a story about a customer that draws you in; while also selling you on their solution. Some try to write customer...

I love making life easier (or less stressful). And one way I make life easier is to use frameworks to think better. One example is using a Stoicism fundamental framework: The Stoics realized that there are things we control and things we don't control. To get to the good life, we should focus on the things we control, and accept the re...

Do you celebrate enough? 🍻 I'm not talking about that celebrating—the kind where alcohol is involved. I mean celebrating your wins—even the small ones, like not eating sweets for the day. For me, I am quick to acknowledge the losses. I see that as a way to improve—pointing out the failures and learning from them. But a few months ago, ...

I'm fascinated with startups. They're a concrete reflection of what is needed to succeed in business. They don't have moats or establish revenue channels to rely on. They must build quickly, pivot when needed, and develop revenue sources. Most established organizations could learn a thing or two from startups. And that's what I hope to...

Most business writing sucks. It's a sea of sameness. Websites, blogs, and social media posts all look the same. If you think you're different, I have an exercise for you. Go to your website or latest social media post and cover your logo or profile picture. Read it as your audience would. Now, go to another website in your industry or ...

I love it when someone unsubscribes. Or when someone tells me my daily email is too {insert undesirable trait}. Why do I enjoy this? Because the goal of content should be to push away the wrong people. And to violently pull in those who see the world the same way as you. Many of the best content creators are hated by people who don’t s...

Which do you choose: To be better or different? If you picked being better, today's resource would disagree with you. He would instead suggest that being different is the key to winning. The companies that win 80+% of the category they compete in do three things: • They spend time naming the problem • They have a unique POV • They posi...

I poured myself a cup of warm dark roast. I started writing daily for an entire year. I just finished shitting. Do you care at all? I doubt it. Unless there was something in it for you, we humans are selfish. Maybe I could relate the coffee brand I use with a meta marketing lesson. Or I could share the five lessons I've learned from pu...

Too many religious books are written by people who scarcely resemble Jesus. Those on top (i.e., rich pastors, celebrities like Tim Tebow) are the most frequent writers about religion. But this book is different. Howard Thurman represents someone on the bottom, overlooked, hated for his skin color, much more similar to the Judaic Jesus....

“Why do you invest so much time into writing your email when you’re unlikely to make any money from?” Great question. It’s something I’ve thought hard about. If you know me, you know I’m intentional and resourceful with my time. So then why would I presumably waste it writing a daily email that 60 people read? Because it positions me t...

I receive many emails. Maybe not as many as you, but my inbox can get lit like a Christmas tree. Case and point: This got me thinking: How does one stand out in the inbox? Whether you’re selling me on your LinkedIn growth course or black Friday deals, how do you draw unproportionate attention? Is it the headline? Is it the person sendi...