KJ, like many of my subscribers these days, wants to get into Internet marketing. But she feels frustrated and unable to move forward. “Where should I begin?” KJ asked in her e-mail. “What was your tipping point to online success?” My answer: “The tipping point in Internet marketing success is to stop reading about [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
I learned a lovely word today: MacGuffin. A MacGuffin is an irrelevant interest grabber — a story whose purpose is to draw attention to itself and away from something else. It comes from a plot device invented by Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from a shaggy-dog story that goes something like this: A couple, [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
Profiled in The Wall Street Journal the other day: A single mother, hit hard by the recession. She can barely keep a roof over her family’s head. Her salary was cut by 60 percent. And buying even the basics is a struggle. A story we’ve heard again and again. “How sad,” I thought [...]
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
When a customer says “no” to your sales pitch, ask him why.
By Don Hauptman | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
In my reading, I frequently encounter misused and confused words. Here are five recent sightings, most from major newspapers: “Anyone who passes even feint praise on anything containing Adam Sandler…” The writer means faint praise — not very much. A feint is a deceptive or diversionary action.
By Michael Masterson | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
If you are too hungry when you sit down to a meal, you will probably overeat and end up feeling way too full. Try this: Drink two full glasses of water 15 minutes before you eat. I tried it recently and found that I ate considerably less. You wouldn’t think the water could [...]
By Dr. Srikumar Rao | Thu, Oct 29, 2009
We seek it here, we seek it there. We seek happiness everywhere. Yet it eludes us. All of our activities — our pursuit of fame and fortune, our quest for meaningful relationships, our drive to build or change things — are directed searches for this ephemeral state. We get there, but we can never heave a [...]
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Oct 29, 2009
When you are going to be interviewed for a job, try to be the last one they see. Studies show, and my experience confirms, that the people who do best in multiple interviews are those who are first or last. And that’s regardless of how good they actually are.
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Oct 29, 2009
In most businesses, the 80/20 rule applies to just about everything — including the question “Which customers contribute most to our bottom line?” There is a good chance that about 20 percent of your customers are responsible for more than 80 percent of your profits.
By Michael Masterson | Thu, Oct 29, 2009
Sharks are said to be the most efficient eating machines on the planet. They are perfectly equipped to hunt and kill. The shape of their bodies… the way they propel themselves through the water… the sensitivity of their hearing and smell… and the construction of their jaws.
By Bob Bly | Fri, Oct 30, 2009
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