Category: Promotion
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Retitling
In 2000, Robert Solomon released his book, Brain Surgery for Suits: 56 Things Every Account Person Should Know. In 2016, that piece of work was re-released as the title it’s best known for, The Art of Client Service: The Classic Guide, Updated for Today’s Marketers and Advertisers. Same work, new packaging, with two additional chapters. …
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The long, hard, stupid way at Hacker News
A few years ago, I joined Chris Do at The Futur podcast, where I mentioned a story about Momofuku displaying chickens that they weren’t actually serving. I didn’t do a great job explaining the story. After I heard Frank Chimero mention a similar idea six months ago, my brain remembered the idea and I wrote…
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Two ideas to stand out when you’re applying to jobs
First idea: Email the person who is hiring for the job to introduce yourself. If you’re not sure, make the best guess. For example, if you’re applying for a job as a content marketing manager, email the marketing director. If you’re applying for a job as a security engineer, email the director of security. It…
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Follow your excitement, try experiments, make more work
When Ryan Holiday writes about creative work, I read. His book Perennial Seller has been super helpful as I’ve been promoting Creative Doing. In one of his recent posts, he explains that his third book, The Obstacle Is the Way (and ensuing series on stoic philosophy), was nowhere near a sure thing when he wrote…
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Editing a call-to-action
In the middle of a great show, a jazz musician asks us—the audience, “Does anybody still listen to CDs?” Nobody raises their hand. “Of course not,” he laughs. So do we. He tells us the title of his new album, which he made CDs for. He also adds that it is available on Spotify and…
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Make the frontlist and backlist work for each other
Seth Godin wrote a post that often comes to my mind, about frontlist and backlist. He coins and defines both these terms: Frontlist means the new releases, the hits, the stuff that fanboys are looking for or paying attention to. Frontlist gets all the attention, all the glory and all the excitement. They write about…
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Categorization, commoditization, and clarity
When you’re growing your business, one of your biggest challenges is market misunderstanding. When you’re working on a business (as an entrepreneur, freelancer, team, artist, author, etc.), your perspective tends to expand in breadth and depth. You develop expertise and see patterns. You come across better opportunities and bigger markets. In order to grow, you…
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A new story for hobbyist websites
At Twitter, Noah Smith points out that hobbyists aren’t making more websites. The incentives just aren’t there. A website needs a new story for hobbyists: it’s great for organizing and finding your work (try searching a post you wrote at a social media site!), you own the domain name, and you can control other parts…
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Announce yourself quietly
Being noisy is the easiest way to draw attention. That doesn’t mean it’s the best way, and it’s certainly not the only way.
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Find people who need the best idea
The trailer for Thor: Ragnarok closes with Thor bracing himself for his opponent. He finds out that it’s his fellow Avenger, the Hulk. Thor screams in relief and celebration, “We know each other! He’s a friend from work!” That was one of the best lines in the movie, and it wasn’t in the script. It…