When your customers whine, “It’s too expensive!”

I got an email this morning from Tomáš, a subscriber to my “other” newsletter for software developers: I like your newsletter and I would like to buy your book. But for my country (Czech Republic), even after discount, the book is still too expensive. I have no doubt that your book is great and worth […]

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One-way ticket to Coma-ville

Paul writes: I’m looking for some advice about how to help a client “famous” with regards to an issue that is complex. She is involved in litigation that could effectively change the foreclosure industry. Part of the challenge is being able to translate legalese into language the average person can comprehend. Trying to “sell” this […]

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The “baby duck” secret to bonding with your email list

The first thing a baby duck does after pecking its way free from the shell is take a quick look around… It’s scanning its surroundings for anything big. And when it sees something, it’s tiny brain instantly makes the connection: “MOM!!!” It’s called “imprinting,” and it’s why you’ll sometimes see stories on the news about […]

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Rube Goldberg’s product launch formula

Ever heard of Rube Goldberg? Mr. Goldberg was an engineer and inventor, but what really made him famous is his cartoons. He’d diagram out these outlandish machines that chained together water wheels and tiny steam locomotives and even the occasional octopus… Just to accomplish some braindead simple task. Like his “Simple Way to Uncork a […]

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Chumming the Upwork shark tank

Ever see those “Shark Week” commercials where a scientist dumps buckets of bloody mackerel over the side of a boat until the water is frothing with Great Whites? This weekend I felt a lot like the bait… I needed some data collection done. There’s an online directory of 400 companies in a market that I’m […]

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Apple’s copywriting voodoo (a tip from the iPhone 6s launch)

This week Apple announced a brand new iPhone feature that promises to do away with those grainy, poorly lit selfies. They call it: Front-Facing True-Tone Retina Flash The front camera on my iPhone 5 has always bugged me, so my first thought when I heard the news was “Sweet!” Then I thought about it for […]

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Want more referrals? Start with this.

Recently a friend told me about one of his clients—let’s call him “Alan.” Alan had a SERIOUS problem. He owned a large and successful personal injury lawfirm. And since personal injury cases are a huge cashcow for attorneys, the competition for advertising is a knifefight. In some cities, lawyers fork over $50, $80 or even […]

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An Email Marketing Lesson from Optimus Prime

In response to my call for email marketing questions, reader Nathan says: How do I come up with another kick butt freebie? FlippedLifestyle recommends that I wow them by sending the freebie for which they signed up, then throw them an unexpected, bonus freebie. I’ve tried asking them directly in the past. (My list is […]

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Genius “new baby” marketing gambit

When my oldest son was born, the docs had barely scrubbed the ink off his tiny feet before the marketing started. The beaming nurses handed us a “new parents kit”—a bag bulging with free goodies. Mostly these were samples from companies like Huggies and Enfamil, eager to grab a new customer. But a few sly […]

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This Email Needs an Emergency Root Canal

Email copy clinic is in session. Recently I was working with an entrepreneur, who I’ll call Sam. Sam has a 7-figure business providing marketing services for small businesses—mostly dentists. He’s a superstar marketer in a lot of ways—but his autoresponder sequence is a massive pile of fail. That’s why he was talking to me. Dentists […]

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“It’s Not Long Enough”

Got a voicemail from a client the other day, wondering about the copy I’d written for his sales page: “Is this all, or were you planning to write more?” he asked. “I thought it would be longer.” If you hang around with marketers for even a little while, you’ll discover that there’s a HUGE debate […]

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Kill the “Powered by KingSumo” Badge on Your Giveaway Landing Page

One common question I get is this: “How do I remove the ‘Powered by KingSumo’ badge on my giveaway landing page?” People are nervous about their competitors noticing what they’re doing and spinning up a giveaway of their own. That’s understandable–after all, I found out about KingSumo Giveaways from clicking that very badge on a […]

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How to Create Your Own Viral Giveaway with KingSumo

To run a contest with the KingSumo Giveaways plugin, here’s what you need: A website or blog that runs on WordPress The ability to install WordPress plugins (wordpress.com sites won’t work) The ability to send emails from your website. Installing the KingSumo plugin KingSumo Giveaways is a premium WordPress plugin, and it installs just like […]

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Table flips and karate punches

At my day job (I’m a programmer when I’m not writing sales copy), we talk to other remote team members with an instant message program called HipChat. It includes some fun “emoticons,” including this one: (╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻ Can you see it? The little dude flipping the table in rage? Lately I’ve been using that icon […]

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4 ways to jump start a new email list with a small budget

I’m a member of a small Google group that likes to talk about marketing, and recently one of the members, James, posed an interesting question. One of his clients is a novelist who is trying to build an email list to help market a novel. And James has no idea where to start: Assuming I […]

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How an old copywriting trick can get your ideas heard

During my workout this morning at the local YMCA, I noticed a couple of the other lifters gathered around a small placard on the decline bench press station. I hit pause on The Fizzle Show (awesome podcast, by the way, you should subscribe) and wandered closer to hear what was going on. The little card, […]

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Is Twitter a waste of time for an email marketer?

Last week while we were recording the Entreprogrammers Podcast, John Sonmez hit me with a painful proposition: Has my entire marketing strategy for my books been wrong? Let me back up. Over the last couple of months, sales of my two Sublime Text books have tapered off. I recognized the downward trend in April, and […]

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Why I don’t mow my own lawn

As I’m sitting here, writing this, my neighbor’s lawn mower is whining away in the background. Last spring, I probably would have been out there with him. Not this year. Early each Monday morning, usually as I’m working on my latest Sublime Text-related blog post, a pickup truck with a trailer rolls up in front […]

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One marketing lesson I literally had *beaten* into me …

Of all the sparring partners in my karate class, I feared Adam the most. I was a skinny teenager, maybe 120 pounds soaking wet. Adam was a college student, about my height but built. He had at least 60 pounds of muscle on me. One evening we were squared off, circling each other and throwing […]

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When I get stuck, here’s how I break through

The little group of Jamaican children kept glancing at me. And pointing. And giggling. I was 17 at the time, and visiting Jamaica as part of a church group on a mission trip. We helped to convert an old warehouse into a church/school building, and it was the pre-teen future pupils who were getting such […]

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