I love the psychology behind marketing techniques. I’m nerdy that way. What I don’t love is how manipulative and just… icky… some marketers are when they learn a bit of that psychology. One bit of marketing psychology you can use without being an ickster is the concept of social proof. Better known as All the…
Motivation
Everyone is motivated by different things. At the most basic level, people are motivated to seek pleasure and avoid pain. But pain and pleasure are defined differently by different people. Last month, Rachel Chong, CEO and Founder of Catchafire, spoke about motivation (among other things) at a Creative Mornings Boston event. Although Catchafire is a non-profit, much of…
Catch Up with Ketchup!
QR codes are trendy right now. They started out as a hip, underground things. Kids put QR codes on band stickers then slapped them on mailboxes as a way to announce raves, secret shows and other clandestine things. (Ok, they started at the post office, but that story is not sexy) Now they are everywhere….
You may not be as hooked on the internet as you think
I tried a little experiment at Thanksgiving. I went to visit my parent who had just moved. They didn’t have internet, phone or TV yet. Not even mobile. They live in some kind of weird zone not covered by any cell tower. I was without internet for 2 WHOLE DAYS. My heart stopped, I started…
Productivity
Everyone and his dog talks about productivity. I’m going to add my two cents to the discussion because I learned about productivity the hard way: by insisting I didn’t need anyone else’s advice. Stomping my foot and proclaiming “I’m going to do it all myself!” Then doing nothing because my lists we’re intimidating and overwhelming. Salamatize…
Have a battle-free holiday season
The holiday season is about to begin and with it comes stress. To add to the holiday stress, this is the busy season in some industries. All that busyness is a recipe for tension, battles and all-around ugliness. I want to share some tips on diffusing those battles, whether we’re talking about irritable customers, unhappy…
Captain Jack Sparrow on Branding
I was sitting on the train checking out a stranger’s tattoos. He caught me looking intently at the one on his forearm. He said “Jack Sparrow” by way ofexplanation. I looked away blushing because a) I got caught staring, and b) it was kinda lame. My new friend Jack Sparrow got off at the next…
Mermaids and manatees – What internet business is and is not.
Manatees are real, unlike a lot of the myths you hear about starting a business, particularly an online business. Much of what happens in a business is not sexy and not fun. It’s tedious and boring. Worse- you don’t HAVE to get it done. There’s no boss to demand it. You have to make yourself…
Where Borders went wrong
As promised last week, my thoughts on why Borders Books is going out of business. Warning: for those of you used to my brevity, I break with convention here. Attracted by the giant yellow 70% off signs, I wandered into one of the larger Border’s Books & Music locations. If you didn’t know, Border’s (BGI)…
Understand how your passion generates income
Borders Books & Music is going out of business. I got my start in marketing and bookkeeping there, so its been on my mind a bit. Next week, I’ll share a post on what they did wrong and how you can prevent those mistakes in your business. (Tip sheet subscribers already saw that content. What? You’re…