Never ignore your competitors. Certainly your primary focus should be on your own business, but you must always keep track of your competitors. Pay attention to where they are, what they're offering, and how they're marketing. Study their ads. Periodically visit their websites. Read what's written about them in trade publications and other media. "Secret [...]
Is the old saying “A picture is worth a thousand words” still true? Yes, more than ever. In fact, it should probably be revised to “A picture is worth ten thousand words”—or more. We live in an increasingly visual culture. From a business perspective, there is no place that images are more important than in [...]
Proofreading often proves difficult. Why? Because for the most part, when attempting to proofread your own writing, you read what you thought you wrote. And even after letting your work “cool off,” it’s difficult to catch every error in a single reading. Unless you’re a juggler accustomed to having six or eight items in the [...]
We uploaded a video to YouTube and were shocked when someone immediately lodged a copyright claim against us for the music we used. We have written before about how important it is to either own or acquire the rights to use the material on your website. The same applies to anything you post online, including [...]
Fifty Shades of Grammar Full disclosure: I have not read Fifty Shades of Grey and I won't be seeing the movie. But I have heard plenty of criticism of the quality of the writing. Turns out that the criticism may not be warranted, especially when this novel is compared to other bestselling works of fiction. [...]
Do you know how to excite your market? Start with a baseline market pulse -- that is, get to know your audience so well that you understand what's going to thrill them -- then turn on the heat and watch what happens!
Should you let your customers know about your personal and political opinions? For many years, I advised my clients to keep their personal and political views private and to choose non-controversial charities for their companies to support. My recommendation was based on the idea that some people who disagree with you may decide not [...]
Want to write a book or create another type of information product and publish it yourself? Good for you — the timing has never been better to join the ranks of independent publishers. Of course, having great content is not enough. Successful independent publishing requires all those additional things traditional publishers do, including editing, designing, [...]
If you use a ghostwriter, should you make it known or keep it confidential? It really doesn’t matter. There was a time when named authors went to great lengths to keep the public from knowing they used a ghostwriter, but that’s no longer the case. These days, it’s common knowledge that most celebrities don’t write [...]
Email templates are a tremendous productivity tool, but your readers shouldn't be able to tell that you're using a template. Ask any woman who has ever shown up at a party and seen another woman wearing the same outfit how she feels. That's how you ought to feel if someone recognizes your templates because they've seen [...]
