Have you had a good laugh today? From the Wall Street Journal: Consider the example of tiny Manzanita, Ore., a town of 700 on the Pacific coast. Four weeks ago, a handful of residents began gathering at 12:05 p.m. every Thursday in the town square for a group laugh-in, says Michael Burkett, editor of the [...]
Archive | May, 2009
Don’t let them leave without something to share
Every person who walks out of your door should have something in hand to show the next person they see. Example: I ate at lunch Jimmy John's and I have a magnet and a menu. I also had breakfast at Au Bon Pain – and left with nothing but a napkin. Everyone who dropped by [...]
Secrets of the Carnegie Deli = Authenticity
Sandy Levine, MBD, is the very-charismatic-in-a-New-York-Way head of the Carnegie Deli. (The title on his business card is "MBD" – Married the Boss' Daughter.) Watch this video to see a great example of building an awesome business by staying genuine. You'll get a few word of mouth tips, too.
Ignore the attackers
It's really easy to be an ass online. People will say insanely rude and offensive things to you. They will say things in front of 1,000 readers that they wouldn't dare say to your face. Ignore them. Block them, delete their comments, unsubscribe, stop reading. If someone was rude, loud and insulting, you'd throw them [...]
How a focus on word of mouth changes your business
[Here's a recent post I did for the SmartBlog on Social Media. You can follow the blog here or subscribe to the newsletter here.] When a company focuses on earning the respect and recommendation of their customers, it fundamentally changes the way a business operates. You become obsessed with the individual customer experience, you learn [...]
A little design adds a lot of value
Now that every grocery store sells take-out sushi, how does the take-out sushi store make sure they look like a better choice? A bit of well-designed packaging helps. I don't get to sample the product until I get home — but this premium packaging tells me that the store takes their food seriously. I also [...]
Advertising is the price of being boring
One of the most popular lines in my speeches is “Advertising is the price of being boring.” It doesn’t mean that advertising is bad. It means that there is a direct relationship between being buzzworthy — earning word of mouth — and how much you’ll have to pay to promote yourself through paid marketing. Give [...]
An ethical way to earn a living as a blogger
Many people misunderstand my ongoing opposition to spam-shop Izea as opposition to bloggers earning a living. To be clear: Bloggers have every right to have a business, to sell advertising, and make a living — if you follow the basic rules of ethics and disclosure that have existed for decades in all forms of media. [...]
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