My friend and fellow copywriter Kevin Rogers was born one day after I was, on Feb. 23rd.

He sent me a funny happy birthday message that said, “40… is the new 39.”

Now, Kevin’s a riot – and he oughta be. Like many of the best storytellers and wordsmiths, he was a professional stand-up comic in a previous life.

But something struck me about what he said.

It was the way the numbers LOOKED to me… Read the rest of this entry

FTC Clamps Down On Testimonials & Endorsements

By now you’ve surely heard about the FTC’s new guidelines for testimonials and endorsements in advertising and marketing.

It’s a hot topic to be sure…

Some view it as the living, breathing embodiment of government run amok.

Others feel it’s long overdue and welcome these guidelines in hopes of better legitimizing an industry that is rife with misrepresentation and fraud.

My take is probably somewhere in between.

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Work may be a four letter word, but so is life.

Just read a fantastic guest post by Sir David Garfinkle on John Carlton’s blog.

Sometimes we all need a good kick into ACTION

Given the big ole brains that read this blog and John Carlton’s,  my take may not be all that revelatory to you… but I truly believe this to be true and if it helps kick some of you into motion, then it’s well worth repeating (my clients and colleagues have surely heard me spout this before…)

Creating your own reality is scary business. Many entrepreneurs allow their head to float up into the clouds, dreaming of the possibilities, but they leave one foot firmly planted in “reality” – to be safe, grounded.

What we get out of life is what we most want at any given moment. Too often, what we most want is the security and safety of the familar.

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What all successful business have… and what every entrepreneur should always be seeking — is greater LEVERAGE

Leverage is the ability to do more, to get more, to create more… using your existing resources.

From an earlier post on the Warrior Forum today…

Much angst is somewhat unfairly misplaced on the shoulders of marketers without proper consideration of the very demands made by those to whom they market.

Paul Myers has a great saying that’s particularly applicable:

Sell ‘em what they WANT.
Give ‘em what they BOUGHT.
Sneak in what they NEED.

It’s always easier to point to failure of the masses as prima facie proof that something sucks than it is to accept the successes of the few who in fact prove the exact opposite.

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F.E.A.R.

False Expectations Appearing Real…

I was reading a new post on Jason Moffatt’s blog today about the dangers of operating from a scarcity mindset.

It got me thinking a little about the underlying reasons WHY people cling to the safety of scarcity and hide from the freedom of success.

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Continuities are the flavor of the month in Internet Marketing circles at the moment. 

Consequently, we’ve all seen a wave of emotionally charged discussions about the concept, as if continuities were a new discovery.

Nothing could be further from the truth…

A growing undercurrent online is producing a wave of unreasonable demands which are very unhealthy to the overall marketplace, IMO.

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