10 Lessons Learned from Running the SAME Online Business for 7 Years

March 3, 2010

Yesterday, my wife and I were working on a new product for a business we run and realized it’s been 8 years since we started it from our little apartment in NYC.
The first year or so, we were an offline operation. So there were paper invoices and checks in the mail. That’s how things [...]

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Will Selling With Video Hurt Your Future Sales?

March 2, 2010
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There’s a lot of hype right now about how the future of selling stuff online is to use VIDEO.
I’m not so sure. Here’s the big problem:
VIDEO in Its Current State is Pretty Much Linear
It has a timeline that needs to be followed for a complete message to get delivered.
Duh, right? It’s just like [...]

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What’s So Great About FREE Shipping?

March 1, 2010

I just ended a small “free shipping” sale in a niche business I help run.
I took the 22 qualifying orders that came in during the promotion (I excluded orders where they didn’t use the coupon or ordered something electronic) and did some quick math.
The average order value was $61.95.
Now if you add our normal shipping [...]

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The Art of Listening

February 26, 2010

The other day in my post about the Future of Information Marketing, one of the commenters asked about some practical applications of how this idea (the one where you treat people like people) could look in reality.
Here’s one idea:
It’s a simple skill called LISTENING.
For some reason, one of the most satisfying things is to BE [...]

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My #1 Recommendation for Boosting the Response of Your Salesletter

February 25, 2010

My #1 recommendation for boosting the response of your salesletter is to sell something worth buying.
Which means not selling “junk.”
That’s not a new idea.
And sorry if you were expecting a copywriting “secret” or something.
But in my experience, it’s easier to sell stuff that’s worth buying.
Because you don’t really have to “sell.” You mainly have to [...]

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Cancellation Hell

February 24, 2010

I just spent the last few minutes of my life trying to cancel an online service I don’t really want to use anymore.
I used the site’s online chat feature to attempt this.
My request was pretty simple:
“I need to cancel my account. The service is great, but I don’t use it. Please let me [...]

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Standing Up…

February 23, 2010

Almost 2 years ago, I started on the path towards accepting responsibility for everything that happens in my life.
I was hardly living my “best life” at the time and the repercussions of that were really starting to be a drag.
The goal (which is always a work in progress) is to stop offloading anything about [...]

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Sticking Around for Greatness

February 22, 2010

I’ve spent a lot of time in my life looking for something better.
When I was a musician, I was “looking” for something better in the business world.
When I was in the business world, I was “looking” for something better in the marketing world.
In each subject area, I’d work really hard at the beginning. I’d [...]

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The Hello Kitty Helmet: Business Lessons from a 5 Year Old

February 19, 2010
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That’s a picture of my son right there. He’s learning how to ride his skateboard. That’s him with his new termite skateboard and all of the protective gear a father could love.
The other week, (before he got all the gear you see in the picture) we were down in Scottsdale visiting the grandparents. I [...]

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Banking is Broken

February 18, 2010

My wife hates banks.
She doesn’t like them…
She doesn’t trust them…
And without asking, she is provided with a good reason not to use a bank over and over again.
Earlier this week, she walked into her bank to deposit a check.
In the middle of the deposit, the teller proceeded to ask her something like…
“What [...]

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