Fear vs. “Comfort” Marketing
“No passion so effectually robs the mind of all its powers of acting and reasoning as fear.” – Edmund Burke (A Philosophical Inquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, 1756) Direct-marketing gurus will tell you that people buy information products for one of two reasons:…
READ MOREGet Those Monkeys Off Your Back!
Yesterday, we talked about the problem with “monkeys”: If you are not careful, colleagues and subordinates will try get the monkeys perched on their backs to leap onto yours. Be alert for this kind of “reverse delegation.” The smart manager, William Oncken, author of “Monkey Business,” argues, makes sure he…
READ MOREAre You A Victim of “Monkey Business”?
“Troubles hurt the most when they prove self-inflicted.” – Sophocles (Oedipus the King, c. 430 B.C.) In his book “Monkey Business,” William Oncken describes this all-too-common — but easily fixed — problem that most managers run into: It’s 10 o’clock Monday morning. You are walking down the hall on your…
READ MOREBrainstorming For Copy: Timing Is Critical
“Every action is an idea before it is an action, and perhaps a feeling before it is an idea, and every idea rests upon other ideas that have preceded it in time.” – Wallace Stegner (“A Capsule History of Conversation,” When the Bluebird Sings in the Lemonade Springs, 1991) Here’s…
READ MOREHow Do You Handle The Whiners?
“Every man supposes himself not to be fully understood or appreciated.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson (Journals, 1840) In the early part of my career, I spent countless hours ensnarled in the following kind of situation: A manager would come into my office and start to complain about something. The moment…
READ MOREResume Dedicated
Dear Early to Rise Reader, I’m writing you a quick note this morning to tell you about what could be a very good way for you to make a significant part-time income, beginning almost immediately. It’s a pretty simple business that just about anyone can do … and the nice…
READ MOREHow “The Four P’s” Can Help You Land A Better Job
“It is the bold man who every time does best, at home or abroad.” – Homer (The Odyssey, 9th century B.C.) Today, I’m going to show you how to apply one of the most-important rules of sales copy — something we call “the Four P’s” — to help you…
READ MOREUse You Copywriting Skills To Get Great People To Work For You
If you are not using your best copywriting skills (and you should have copywriting skills!) in recruiting new employees, don’t complain if the ones you get tend toward the mediocre. Here are a few suggestions on making your “Help Wanted” ads work more strongly for you: 1. Write a great…
READ MOREA Simple Way To Make Your Children Wealthy
“There is nothing like dream to create the future. Utopia today, flesh and blood tomorrow.” – Victor Hugo (Les Miserables, 1862) Did you know that your children can easily acquire substantial wealth by the time they have to pay the bills for their own families? How much? Starting with less…
READ MOREMMF’s Seven Rules For Buying Investment Properties
JJF and I know Delray Beach pretty well. We own homes here and have bought and sold more than a dozen properties in our neighborhoods. We have been able to observe firsthand the growth in real-estate prices since the mid-1990s. And we know a good number of people who are…
READ MOREUsing Rental Real Estate to Fund Your Retirement
“You know more of a road by having travelled it than by all the conjectures and descriptions in the world.” – William Hazlitt (“On the Conduct of Life,” Literary Remains, 1836) In past messages, I’ve told you why I think real estate is such a good “second business.” It’s something…
READ MORELet Your Best Customers Do What They Want: Buy More!
In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies to just about everything — including the question “Who gives us our bottom line?” In other words, there is a good chance that fewer than 20% of your customers are giving you more than 80% of your profits. This is so because repeat…
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