8:45am
Saint Paul
Last week I came across this tidbit:
Workplace jargon hurts employee morale, collaboration, study finds
The short of it is that jargon——those “industry insider” words that most people don’t understand——doesn’t only confuse outsiders.
(more…)11:57am
Saint Paul
My kids want money.
Ruby is 12 and wrote up some fliers for her babysitting services…
Put them on doors around the neighborhood…
And had 3 paying families within days.
(more…)1:02pm
Saint Paul
Recently I read an article that says Americans are cutting back on spending:
• 56% say they’re spending less on restaurants
(My DoorDashing friend might disagree…)
• 47% have cut back on online shopping
(Tariffs may play a role in pricing…)
• 45% are spending less on vacations
(I don’t know if that means fewer vacations, or cheaper ones…)
But where are we not cutting back?
Safety and security… Well, sorta. You see…
(more…)1:12pm
Saint PAul
I was rewriting a recent promo (due to client schedule changes) when a curious email landed.
“are you still on the hunt,?” it asked.
(more…)10:52am
Saint Paul
Computer storage is full.
iPhone storage is full.
iCloud storage is full.
And Google storage is full… for four different accounts!
And after 15 years of IT work, shuffling storage around doesn’t sound as fun as it once did.
So I keep putting it off.
But like everything, the longer I put it off, the more work it seems, and the more problems it causes.
(more…)8:39am
Saint Paul
Effective marketing can’t target everyone.
Even things that are commodities—like food—shows ads with a mother (or occasionally a bumbling father—which only exists in the ad to sell to the mother).
Which is why the “Five Question Words” you learned in grade school are still important.
(I remember my grade school classroom with these 5 words, each in a speech bubble, laminated and taped to the classroom wall.
I don’t remember the grade. I don’t remember the teacher.
But I remember those words… and being frustrated that there are more than just 5!)
So before writing your sales letter or ad, make sure you answer these:
(more…)9:47am
Saint Paul
Saw a brainrot video today:
This school brings in a polyglot—someone who speaks many languages—to tell students why its important to learn other languages.
And this rizzler low-key gives the presentation in Gen Alpha slang. No cap, chat.
Lucky for us, the video has subtitles in English.
(more…)10:05am
Saint Paul
Serious students of direct response copywriting know the name Doberman Dan.
Dan started selling bodybuilding guides and supplements in the 1990s as a way to find freedom from his J-O-B as a police officer.
That financial freedom didn’t come quickly, though.
It took Dan some 9 failed businesses before he asked himself,
“Why did I buy THAT thang?”
…and then used the answer to build his own successful business.
Doberman Dan was gracious enough to sit with me and share his story—and a few secrets—for this episode of the Persuasion Play Podcast.
(more…)2:10pm
Ice-covered Wisconsin
Heya, it’s “Spring Break”—but you’d never know it after the 2 inches of ice and 4 inches of snow we got here at my in-laws’ home.
Internet is spotty, requiring a hotspot.
Power is spotty, too, requiring a propane generator.
But I can still type and work and check in with you!
Hey two things today.
(more…)