Goldmine Marketing

Category: Opinion

  • ChatGPT ate his lunch

    1:14pm
    Saint Paul

    “Hmm. That’s pretty good,” the embarrassed webinar host said.

    He was selling his copywriting course as a way to beat AI.

    And to show off, he asked his partner to demo using ChatGPT to write an email.

    (more…)

  • Why “experts” have skewed your idea of successful marketing

    2:34pm
    Saint Paul

    I have tattoos.

    They’re leftovers from my younger years.

    And now… as my kids are growing… I wish I didn’t have them. Because my tats give my kids a reason to—someday—mar their own beautiful skin.

    They’re not my only shortcoming, I know.

    (more…)

  • Digging for Denny Hatch’s Gold

    A few years ago, I wrote to Direct Response Copywriter Denny Hatch.

    He wrote the book “Secrets of Emotional, Hotbutton Copywriting” (summary here) and I was trying to get a copy.

    Denny told me that he’s got a guy working to get it republished.

    I checked in with Denny again last month. I asked if he was open to record a podcast.

    You know, dig for a little gold, here in the Goldmine.

    Denny responded:

    (more…)

  • Mario Kart Spoils Everything

    Monday, May 1
    9:34am

    “I’m terrible! I’m horrible!”

    My son was already in a bad mood.

    I wouldn’t let him use the 120-volt outlet to build a cardboard and tin-foil lamp for his bed. (The repurposed-LED-flashlight solution wasn’t powerful enough for him).

    And after he settled down and read a book, we went to play a little Mario Kart.

    (more…)

  • What’s on your To-Do List?

    9:31am

    Saint Paul

    What’s your To-Do list looking like today?

    I ask because this past weekend I started reading “The Ultimate Sales Machine” by Chet Holmes.

    In this book, Holmes advises making lists of your To-Dos. Limiting it to six items or fewer. And tackling the hardest one first in the morning.

    (more…)

  • Unpaid Invoice

    9:44am

    Saint Paul

    Today’s lesson: get paid up front.

    See, I have a client with an unpaid invoice for work I’ve done.

    The last time this happened—10 or 12 months ago—the client ghosted me.

    (more…)

  • 7 things you’ll learn in Dan Kennedy’s “The Ultimate Sales Letter”

    10:20pm

    Saint Paul

    I was browsing my bookshelf the other night, looking for something to start.

    (I have more unfinished books than I have fully-read books. Not every book is worth finishing, I’ve learned… though many I plan to return to… I think…)

    Now, I noticed my slightly neglected Dan Kennedy section. Dan is a prolific and accomplished copywriter and businessman who has recently fallen ill.

    I pulled down my worn copy of The Ultimate Sales Letter and (more…)

  • Authentic Marketing with Jim Clair (Persuasion Play Podcast 012)

    Jim Clair is a direct response copywriter who spent years in the relationship and health niches, among others.

    But after a few years Jim started to realize that something was severely scammy in the direct response marketing world.

    So he quit!

    Join Jim and I for this fascinating peek behind the curtain of internet gurus, direct response, motivational authors, getting more out of your reading time, and more.

    Jim and I talk about…

    (more…)

  • 10 Ways You Can Strengthen Your Headlines (Starting Now!)

    Your copy is only as good as the headline that gets the reader down the page.

    That’s why David Ogilvy said 80% of your time should be spent on the headline.

    It carries 80% of the weight. If they don’t read the headline, they’re not gonna read the body copy.

    Here are a few ideas for your next Headline.

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  • How to Improve Your Focus and Get More Done in Less Time (aka “Deep Work” book summary)

    Do you ever feel unfocused and a bit antsy… when you should be working?

    You have a To-Do List as long as your, er, arm. And even though part of you wants to get to work, other parts of you are doing everything they can to steal your attention.

    And when you live in a distracting world, it’s easy to find something else to focus on.

    If you look back at old books — even really old books, like Seneca’s “Letters From a Stoic” in which he writes,

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