Posts in publicity
Scamming Professional Authors

I despise scammers. Whether they’re pitching phony boards of directors, needlessly re-registering website domains or hawking invention marketing services, I find these leeches to be despicable.

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Spring for the Twenty Bucks!

Leaving a conversation holding something tangible can significantly improve someone remembering you and wanting to do business with you. If you have a business card that is both branded and memorable, you’re more likely to stand out in someone’s mind when they’re relaxing, organizing or considering a purchase.

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Good Suppliers Create Heroes

Picking up the vases two days ahead of deadline, I spotted a typo, sending us into crisis management mode. New blank vases were ordered, shipped overnight from New York, and scheduled to arrive the day of our event.

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Five Years of Relative Obscurity

Don’t be afraid of trying new things. Sometimes, achieving success just takes a little time. Because you never know who may want to buy from you if they know how to find you.

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Time To Hang Out Your Shingle?

Business plans help startups (in particular) stay focused, providing a foundation for long-term success, guiding important decisions and anticipating challenges. Here are 8 benefits every business will get from having one in place.

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What’s A Creative’s Time Worth?

Many creative types sell their work for a pittance for fear of scaring off buyers. They equate someone liking their work with liking them, have difficulty determining the value of their time and don’t mind losing money.

Pretty silly, huh?

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Designs Screaming Amateur

I strongly suggest leaving graphics design to the professionals so that everyone can focus on what they do best. Yet for those who still insist on doing it themselves, here are 20 design blunders that scream “Amateur!”

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How to design effective, eye-catching marketing collateral

Do you want to design your sales materials to avoid having to pay someone else? Are you thinking you can just use Canva or another design app? Just recognize you’re spending valuable time on something you’re probably not good at.

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Successful email must meet three criteria

Without a good strategy for grabbing the reader’s attention, your email is pretty much guaranteed to go right into the trash! Here are 8 solutions you can implement immediately.

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Space on the ‘Star Trek’ channel

The Pluto Channel is wasting a breathtaking $230 BILLION each year. The question becomes why are stockholders of corporate overlord Paramount Global allowing this to happen, six years after buying the network for $340 million? Here’s an easy solution for you, guys…no charge.

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Forewarned is Forearmed

If you’re looking to win an award, focus your efforts on trade associations or Chambers of Commerce. These legitimate groups will provide far greater ROI than a phony plaque, helping build relationships that may actually help grow your business.

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Then Ebenezer Did Me A Favor

Getting fired on Christmas Eve by a man with no business acumen proved to be a blessing. He’s since gone bankrupt, while today I run two successful businesses.

And have you met “Christmas” Carol Tiernan, who offers some of the best job-hunting and hiring advice this author has seen in a LONG time?

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When Death Comes Knocking

By making all stakeholders comfortable with all the names and logos and being transparent that changes are afoot, the probable transition of a company to a new name can go smoothly without customers wondering what happened or why they don’t know who you are.

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And Then I Saw Myself!

Were I starting a business today, I’d consider every marketing tool available — from public relations to skywriting — to determine how to best reach the audience within the available budget.

Here's a guy's dog who has it all figured out.

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Branding is No Laughing Matter

Wearing a baseball cap to Costco means I’m just another guy in the crowd. The Panama hat, though, is easy to spot…even from a distance. This means I stand out…and that’s what it’s all about these days!

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Things I’m Thankful For This Year

While everything’s not perfect, I look at all I’ve got…and I am grateful for a good life. Thank you for being a part of it, and happy holiday.

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Low Inventory in the Housing Market

Always double-check contracted work yourself. As Harry Truman famously said: “The buck stops here.”

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You Get What You Pay For

Tomorrow’s success depends on investments you make today, whether it’s in people, technology, or vendor relations. And as my friends at Winco reminded me, cutting corners can easily drive away the very sales you’re looking to make.

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A Case of the Munchies

Your company should always be looking for strategic relationships to help expand your audience and improve chances of making a sale.

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