The Awful Truth About Unsolicited Advice, Part I: A Big Mistake You Don’t Want To Make
The other day I got the following unsolicited e-mail from a Web designer: “I just visited your site to check your copywriting service. You have a very good portfolio, but one thing that your website lacks is powerful design that would reflect such quality service. It just happens that I…
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“News, news, news — that is what we want. You cannot beat news in a newspaper.” – Arthur Christiansen Years ago, when I was just starting out as a ballroom-dance instructor, there was an article about me in a major local newspaper. It was on the front cover of the…
READ MOREIs Your Competitive Behavior Sabotaging Your Future?
“Man has risen so far above all other species that he competes in ways unique in nature. He fights by means of complicated weapons; he fights for ends remote in time.” – Charles A. Lindbergh Yes, horrible people sometimes succeed in business . . . but it’s not their meanness…
READ MORE5 Ways to Convince Your Boss that He Made a Big Mistake By Not Giving You A Raise
Most of the people I’ve ever turned down for a raise simply sulked and disappeared. But a few of them took the experience as a wake-up call and fought back. They didn’t see themselves as losers, and they weren’t going to let me view them that way either. Arguing with…
READ MOREHow to Get Paid to Travel
“Writing and travel broaden your ass if not your mind and I like to write standing up.” – Ernest Hemingway This time a year ago, I had my toes buried in talcum-powder-fine sand, a book in my hands, and a cold margarita on the table to my left. Last June,…
READ MOREWhat Warren Buffett Can Teach You About Real Estate
“The investor of today does not profit from yesterday’s growth.” – Warren Buffett Warren Buffett didn’t make the bulk of his money by being a great investor. That was just the first part of his success. If that had been the extent of it, he might have a paltry $100…
READ MORESelf-Publishing vs Selling Your Book via Mail-Order
“Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us; concentrate our energy.” – Denis Waitley Dear Mr. Dreads: I’m going to do more…
READ MOREWhy Forcing Your Will On Others Usually Doesn’t Work
It’s so hard to accomplish something great. And it’s made more difficult when you have to rely on others to succeed. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to fix every problem, straighten out every hitch, and achieve all your goals by mandate? To say, “Just do it or else!” In the flux…
READ MOREWhat You Can Learn Frm NetFlix
“Build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson As we told you in Message #1138, NetFlix rents unlimited movies, up to three at a time, for a monthly subscription fee of $21.99. Reed Hastings got the idea for starting the…
READ MOREEmbrace Your So-Called “Incompetence” Part 1
After 20 years as a stay-at-home mom, and following a divorce that made it necessary for her to become self-supporting, my sister-in-law Gini reentered the workforce and took an entry-level job in New York City. She liked the work well enough, but she was earning a so-so wage that netted…
READ MOREAre All Marketers Losers and Sleazebags?
“If it’s not done ethically, advertising won’t be trusted. If consumers don’t trust it, advertising is pointless.” – Jef I. Richards One of my regular copywriting assignments is to write e-mail promotions for the American Writers and Artists Institute, a sister company of ETR. These e-mail messages often go out…
READ MOREHow to Start a Profitable ETR Microbusiness in 30 Days
“If a window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the shade.” – Tom Peters Last month, I sold yet another small business — my third “flip” in the past 12 months — for a nice profit. I’m currently in the process of starting up another, and I’ve got more planned…
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