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Lessons from Comedy: Skip the Cheap Shots
After taking improv classes for most of the last 3 years, I’m now taking a class in stand-up comedy. I did my first open mic at a small club here (and yes – it was so successful I floated around for...
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The Surprising Truth About Big Ideas For Your Small Business
We keep hearing that it’s important to get creative in business. Often the difference between success and greater success is just one idea that’s big, feasible and game-changing. But sometimes it’s...
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Yes you can change that copy!
Recently I started doing some stand-up comedy at open mics. I’m a long way from being a pro but it’s definitely a life changer. One of the things I’ve learned is that you have to come to open mic with...
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Big Launch Tip From Scott Berkun’s Year Without Pants
For a long time, I’ve been advising clients to begin launches by writing a sales letter, adding that great copywriting can’t be separated easily from great strategy. Some people get it right away;...
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Serious Marketing Tips From Stand-Up Comedy
Beginning in 2011 I started taking improv classes in Seattle and continued then here. I chose these classes for two reasons. First, I’ve always loved speaking and my audience laughs a lot when I speak...
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3 ways to promote your services on your website (and get exactly the clients...
When you run a service business, one of your biggest challenges involves differentiating your offering from your competitors – who may not even be in the same field. For instance, people get stress...
View ArticleGuest Post: Test Your Headlines With Twitter
Guest Post by Michele Schism Finding exactly the right words to use is the key to getting people to open your e-mails, to click on and share your links. One of the best ways to get people to open...
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5 ways to use forms to market your coaching business
OK, if you really love to fill out those forms in the DMV or the insurance office, let me know. I’ll enter your name in the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not book. But if you have a coaching, consulting or...
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Promoting a service? Don’t lose the set-up when you deliver the punch line
You know what happens when someone tries to make a joke and it falls flat … an awkward silence as everyone tries to figure out if they ought to be laughing? I’ve been hanging around some comedy clubs...
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When Your Strategy And Your Website Operate At Cross Purposes
Often clients begin a consultation by saying, “I want a website just like this person. He’s so famous – I’m sure he’s got the keys to success!” Or, “I like this website from a competitor. Can we set up...
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How NOT to make connections on LinkedIn
Here’s a message exchange from LinkedIn that began promisingly. A fellow group member politely offers to help with referrals. However, as I reject each suggestion, he responds with a request for a...
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Guest Post: A rant about lazy marketing
As you know, I rarely accept guest posts in this blog. But Ian Brodie said some things I’ve been wanting to say myself. Lazy marketing is … well, just that. We grab the same cliched phrases everybody...
View ArticleWeb Designers: Handle With Care
Recently I published a guest post that was a rant about lazy copywriting. Today I thought I’d comment on lazy web design. Recently I found a web designer who was recommended by an experienced business...
View ArticleCreating Your Profitable Ebooks: Lessons From Comedy
If you’re a service business professional and you want to increase your revenue through online marketing, you’ve probably considered writing and selling ebooks. If you’re like me (and like most...
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3 Easy Tweaks To Give Your Web Page Copy Maximum Impact
OK, let’s assume your web page copy has been created professionally, either as a DIY or with a pro copywriter. Now you have to format your text so your web page copy will easy to read. These days we’re...
View ArticlePassive Revenue For Service Business Owners: “When Life Gets In The Way…”
Just the other day I was talking to someone who’s in a client-based service business. He’s really gifted at providing the service, but he’s getting tired. “I had to take a week off to go to a...
View ArticleCreating Information Products? 3 Reasons To Move FAST
Service business owners understand the power of internet marketing for promotion. They also realize that they’ll maximize revenue when they move beyond the “pay per session” model to larger-scale...
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Video: Why Good Copywriters Are Ghostwriters
A few weeks ago someone sent me a message, “Do you do ghostwriting? We need a press release and an ebook.” I hadn’t thought about it before but in some ways a lot of copywriting is ghostwriting plus....
View Article“Get It Done, Get Noticed, Get Clients”
Are you past the early stage of building your start-up business – and now you want to grow without giving up the rest of your life? Has your biggest challenge shifted from “what to do” to “how to get...
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