Posts by Bob Bly
3 Easy Ways to Write Money-Making E-Mails
“E-mail is the greatest thing.” – Wally “Famous” Amos In a recent Dilbert cartoon, the pointy-haired boss chastised Dilbert for forgetting to tell him about an important meeting. When Dilbert replied that he HAD notified him by e-mail, the boss replied: “Well, obviously you chose an uninteresting subject line; otherwise I would have opened it.”…
Read MoreDon’t Rush Your Bills
“Oh yes, wait a minute Mister Postman / Wait Mister Postman / Please Mister Postman, look and see / If there’s a letter in your bag for me /Why’s it takin’ such a long time?” – (from the 1961 debut single by The Marvelettes) My most important piece of advice for ETR readers today? Don’t…
Read MoreThe Worst Marketing Mistake Bob Bly Ever Made – and How to Avoid It
“Precaution is better than cure.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe To say it wasn’t a great way to start the New Year would be putting it mildly. I came into the office on January 2 at 7:00 a.m., my usual time. A few hours later, I clicked onto one of the two dozen or so…
Read MoreThe “Green Sheet” Method of Getting Sales Leads
“Advertising is salesmanship mass produced. No one would bother to use advertising if he could talk to all his prospects face-to-face.” – Morris Hite Lots of people agree (reluctantly) to give talks to promote their businesses. They do it because they believe it helps build their “image.” But imagine giving a talk to a crowded…
Read MoreThe Best Business Advice You’ll Ever Get
“Damn the torpedoes! Full speed ahead!” – Admiral David G. Farragut I’ve known Joe Vitale, the rich and famous Internet marketing guru, for decades. During that time, we’ve talked a lot … and he’s given me lots of great advice and guidance. But something he said a few months ago at ETR’s Bootcamp radically changed…
Read MoreWhat’s the Hurry?
“Call me a braggart, call me arrogant. People at ABC (and elsewhere) have called me worse. But when you need the job done on deadline, you’ll call me.” – Sam Donaldson One of the facts of life for a freelance copywriter like me – any writer, in fact – is deadlines. We live with them.…
Read MoreThink Small
“Very narrow areas of expertise can be very productive. Develop your own profile. Develop your own niche.” – Leigh Steinberg Over the years, I’ve met dozens of people who want to become speakers, consultants, coaches, TV show hosts, or best-selling book authors. Nine out of 10 have told me that they want to speak, write,…
Read MoreThe Takeaway Close
“Like all science, psychology is knowledge; and like science again, it is knowledge of a definite thing, the mind.” – James M. Baldwin One of the best leads I ever read was in a small brochure created by SW to promote his consulting practice. The brochure was written in Q&A format, and began in this…
Read MoreMad? Well FU!
“Simon and Schuster runs a sales contest every year. The winners get to keep their jobs.” – Jack O’Leary What’s the number one mistake that causes entrepreneurs, executives, salespeople, and marketing professionals to spin their wheels, waste their time chasing after people who don’t want to buy, and experience enormous frustration when following up on…
Read MoreLiar, Liar, Pants on Fire
“The aim of marketing is to know and understand the customer so well the product or service fits him and sells itself” – Peter F. Drucker In my last ETR article, I told about the two worst mistakes you can make as a marketer when offering “bait pieces” as a bribe to generate inquiries from…
Read MoreAre You the World’s Worst Salesman?
“The best of merchandise will go back to the shelf unless handled by a conscientious, tactful salesman.” – James Cash Penney Many years ago, Steve Martin made a short little film – a film clip, really – called “The World’s Worst Waiter.” One sight gag I remember was Martin as the waiter serving a turkey…
Read MoreMarketing Secrets From the Grave
“I’m always relieved when someone is delivering a eulogy and I realize I’m listening to it.” – George Carlin Writers and speakers know that you only have a few seconds to get the reader’s or listener’s attention. If your opening fails to grab him, he’ll quickly stop reading or listening. One of the most attention-grabbing…
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