Lessons from Speaking On Stage

12:50pm
Back in Saint Paul

When it was all over, I shook the A/V guy’s hand.

“Thanks for coming today,” I said.

“Your microphone?”

I unclipped my mic and placed it in his waiting hand.

“Oh. Of course.”

Last week, I stood on stage in front of perhaps 40 marketers at B2B Forum in Boston, sharing my ideas on building relationships with email marketing.

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Posted on Categories Opinion

There is no Persuasion without Interest. Start there.

8:34am
Saint Paul

Someone asked,

“What are some effective ways to persuade someone who has lost interest in something?”

Persuasion means you’re showing a person (or a group) reasons to move forward with an action or belief.

So if they’re not interested, you must get them interested before they can possibly be persuaded.

There are a number of ways to spark interest.

Here are ten that marketers (and Hollywood, and the Media, and others) use all the time:

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Posted on Categories Opinion

Opening Doors… No Talent Required

10:59am
Saint Paul

“They’re all pretty much the same,” says Andi Schmied about some of the most expensive condos in Manhattan.

Andi booked tours with realtors who thought she was a billionaire, just so she could get in to photograph these high-end homes.

“The engineering–these towers being so tall and thin–means there’s little room for play or experimentation. They’re so boring; and the architects who accept the jobs are boring, too.”

That’s a problem for some people. But not everyone.

Not everyone wants a creatively designed home. They want an expensive home.

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Posted on Categories Opinion

Soft Power, Softer Pillows, and Ice-Cold War

12:12pm
Saint Paul

The cold war wasn’t just fought with stockpiles of weapons.

There was also nation-building happening on both sides.

America supported our allies, most notable West Germany. Russia supported theirs, including East Germany and Bulgaria.

And capitalism—through NATO and free trade—supported America’s aims… with a much softer message of prosperity and peace, not war and weapons.

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Posted on Categories Opinion

What Happened to your Dreams?

4:54pm
Saint Paul

One thing the book The Creative Ambush hammers on is,

What dreams have you given up on?
And why?

Last week I met with a university student who is majoring in marketing.

Over coffee, I asked about his marketing and business classes, what he’s learning, what his plan might be after college.

Was he learning to write headlines? Advertisements? Design UX? Understand KPIs?

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Posted on Categories Opinion