Why Dominant-Emotion Copy Wins
Albert Lasker and John E. Kennedy revolutionized copywriting by introducing the concept of “reason-why” advertising. Their breakthrough was all about reasoning with a prospect just as a good live salesman would — presenting all the logical reasons why a product should be purchased. Just do that and your ads will…
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: Are You Using This Word Correctly?
I can recall when hardly anyone knew the word oxymoron. Now everyone knows it — but few people use it correctly. The word’s popularity can probably be attributed to the late comedian George Carlin, who loved language and wordplay. In one of his most memorable routines, he described phrases such…
READ MORELove Is the Final Answer
There are only two ways to go through life: coming from Love and coming from Fear. Coming from Fear simply means believing in “not enough” — that there’s not enough money, not enough opportunity, not enough health, not enough love, not enough food, not enough water, not enough energy, not…
READ MOREHow Many Times Have You Seen The Godfather?
It starts in darkness, with Nino Rota’s famous score… Into view comes Bonasera, the undertaker. He describes a terrible attack on his daughter. He is asking for justice. He wants the men who attacked her killed. We’re in morally polysemous waters here. The camera slowly zooms out, bringing into view…
READ MOREI Told You So
I got an e-mail a week ago that caught me off guard. Admittedly, when I first read it I thought it was rather brash. “I told you so” was the subject line. It was from our options expert, Ted Peroulakis. Now if you know Ted like I do, you know…
READ MOREMaking Every Day Thanksgiving
Like most people, I love the festive atmosphere of Thanksgiving. The spirit of this special day seems to put everyone in a good mood. But, like so many of our national holidays, I doubt that many people reflect on its purpose. In this regard, I’d like to share with you…
READ MORETwo Sword-in-the-Stone Secrets
My newest book, No B.S. Wealth Attraction in the New Economy, is all about making yourself magnetic to money, in part via different approaches to marketing. Here’s some insight into that process… Last year, I bought a 1972 AMC Javelin. Not as an investment. Just to drive around during the…
READ MOREWhen the Housing Bust Will End
Ten thousand a month…
That’s how many foreclosures Palm Beach, Florida-based GMAC employee Jeremy Stephan was required to sign off on. His signature confirmed that the paperwork was in order, kicking off the foreclosure process.
READ MOREWhat Pirates and Princesses Taught Me About Business
My wife is a “stay-at-home mom.” But she also has a part-time business: selling children’s books. We pack up our minivan on weekends and head out to holiday bazaars, fall festivals, etc. in our area to sell them. The books are great, and very culturally diverse. Many are based on…
READ MOREHow to Enjoy the Writer’s Life
The most productive and, next to JK Rowling, richest writer in the world is James Patterson.
If you don’t recognize the name, he is the author of Don’t Blink and The Postcard Killers, as well as 48 other books….
READ MOREThe Talking Editorial
Many people think that “living green” means shelling out a bunch of money. And that you have to be a dedicated environmentalist to make that sacrifice.
But as Internet Money Club member Steve Stillwater explained to me between sessions at ETR’s recent Info-Marketing Bootcamp… you can actually save thousands a year in heating, electrical, and other bills by making a few simple changes.
READ MOREThe Language Perfectionist: This Is One of the Columns That…
Decades ago, now-defunct McCall’s magazine ran a marketing campaign that featured portraits of sexy dames, including Carly Simon and Tina Turner, along with the tongue-in-cheek caption “One of the boring housewives who reads McCall’s.” Over a period of months, the trade journal Advertising Age published numerous letters from readers, ferociously…
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