I’ve just started contributing a couple of articles per month to Charlie Cook’s Small Business Marketing Blog.
And I’ve been reviewing quite a bit of Charlie’s material. He’s good.
Worth checking out: his free “New Profit Rules” ebook.
If your business is slow, and you’re thinking maybe it’s time to start doing some things differently — this ebook [...]

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There is a common line of thinking that you must choose between having a lot of money or having a meaningful life.
This is not an either-or proposition.
It’s a “both-and” reality.
The amount of money you have directly affects how you deal with certain requirements of life.
The amount of money you have also directly affects how much [...]

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You’ve heard the exercise: “If you only had 1 week left to live, how would you spend it?”
I’ve always found that an instructive thought experiment – and also a little vague.
Here’s a refinement: what if you only had 1 project left to work on?

Which project would you choose?
How would you go about it?
What would be [...]

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If you’re a copywriter, please take note: the “obnoxious bully copywriter persona” is overdone, possibly destructive and certainly no longer unique positioning.
You probably know what I’m talking about: the kind of copywriter who positions himself as a “badass” and a “rockstar”. Usually this persona comes with a large dose of attitude. Often the persona is [...]

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Mint.com makes everything about monitoring and managing your finances super-easy.
The site is a marvel of simplicity – simple copy, simple navigation, simple user interface.
What’s amazing  is: the conceptual “sale” they have to make to get you to share your financial information with them (necessary for their site to be of any real use to you) [...]

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People hate marketers because marketers lie, cheat and steal.
Now, you may protest. You may say you don’t lie, cheat or steal.
I understand. You adhere to the letter of the law, you follow the rules, and you resent the implication of any dishonesty.
But even if you are “clean” as a marketer, guess what? It doesn’t matter.
You [...]

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There’s a lot of talk these days about the economy, and what to do about it. In the world of business, there’s a lot of talk about what businesses and entrepreneurs can do about the economy.
That might be so broad a topic it isn’t helpful.
What might be more helpful: what can you – you – [...]

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