Posts by Bob Bly
Put a Price Tag on It
“Time is at once the most valuable and the most perishable of all our possessions.” – John Randolph Years ago, I called PF – a well-known guru in her industry – to ask a quick question. “I charge $200 an hour for my time,” PF said without missing a beat, “but I will give you…
Read MoreThe Law of Supply and Demand in Marketing
“The advertisers who believe in the selling power of jingles have never had to sell anything.” – David Ogilvy Modern economics is based, in part, on the law of supply and demand. If an item is rare and people want it, they’ll pay through the nose, driving the price higher. On the other hand, a…
Read MoreThe Secret of Physical Action
“Trust only movement. Life happens at the level of events, not of words. Trust movement.” – Alfred Adler In your marketing campaigns, it’s a good idea to encourage your prospects to take some sort of physical action. For instance, a mail-order marketer of pipes (the kind you burn tobacco in) told his buyers: “If you…
Read MoreGiving Away Information
“You will be surprised at how receptive people can become when you are willing to share with them your expertise, enthusiasm, and energy.” – Mitch Thrower The other day, a VP at a local management-consulting firm called me for advice on Internet marketing. He wanted to start a line of information products related to the…
Read MoreWhat’s a “Good” Direct-Mail Response Rate?
“It is a fundamental rule of human life that, if the approach is good, the response is good.” – Jawaharlal Nehru At least once a week I get an e-mail from someone asking me: “What’s considered a good response rate for direct mail?” In some ways, it’s a meaningless, even absurd, question. Why? Because the…
Read MoreA Secret to Success in Practically Every Business on the Planet
“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, and we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.” – Jeff Bezos Do you have an Internet business… or do you hope to have one some day soon? In my experience,…
Read More4 Facts Every Marketer Needs to Know About Refunds
“You may be deceived if you trust too much, but you will live in torment if you do not trust enough.” – Frank Crane Many marketers, both large and small (and I include myself among the latter) go bonkers when customers return products for a refund. As BK, an executive with one of the biggest…
Read MoreWhen Do You “Put the Meter Down”?
“My fee, if I select the subject, is $150; if your committee selects the subject, the charge is $250, but in either case the speech is the same.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes When you take a taxi, when do you expect the driver to put the meter down? When you first step into the cab…
Read MoreShould You Charge Vendors for Client Referrals?
“Never underestimate the effectiveness of a straight cash bribe.” – Claud Cockburn For decades, I have made it a practice to refer my clients to vendors who can provide services those clients need… and that I don’t or can’t offer myself. I have also made it a policy never to accept a referral fee from…
Read MoreThe Magic of Reciprocity
“There is one word which may serve as a rule of practice for all one’s life – reciprocity.” – Confucius Recently, Google AdWords expert Perry Marshall sent me a letter. Enclosed with the letter was a crisp, new $50 bill. That certainly got my attention. Wouldn’t it get yours? But it did something in addition…
Read MoreThe Most Important Piece of Equipment Any Marketer Can Own
“A businessman is a hybrid of a dancer and a calculator.” – Paul Valery What’s the most important piece of office equipment any marketer can own? It’s not a color printer… or even a PC. It’s a pocket calculator. Costs only a few bucks to buy one, yet many marketers I speak to seem either…
Read MoreMarketing With the ‘Next in Line’ Principle
“You know, anything can be great. I don’t care, BRICKLAYING can be great, if a guy knows. If he knows what he’s doing and why and if he can make it come off…. It’s a great feeling, boy, it’s a real great feeling when you’re right and you KNOW you’re right… You make shots that…
Read More