It was a bad week for Donald Trump’s wife, Melania. Speaking at the Republican National Convention, she talked movingly about the values she had inherited from her parents and hoped to pass on to her own son. The only problem: Some of the words were lifted directly from a speech given by Michelle Obama…
One of the reasons I love my Kindle is the ability to sample a book before I buy it. Whenever I’m in doubt, I download the first chapter and see how I get on with it. Sometimes I manage to save myself a few pounds. But other times, I’ve bought the whole book long before…
Walking into any branch of Starbucks is like déjà vu all over again…. The same familiar mermaid logo hangs on the wall. The layout of the room and the faces behind the counter may change, but if you’ve seen one Starbucks menu, you’ve seen them all. The drinks taste exactly the same too. The aprons,…
“I need help.” The voice at the other end of the line was shaking. “We’ve been posting on Twitter every day for six months, but we haven’t seen a single lead. Not one! I don’t see the point any more. “Nothing else we’ve tried has worked either. But this business really needs to grow, or…
Three years ago, I bought some face paints for my daughter from a small online retailer. They continued emailing me regularly with new promotions and products – none of which I had any interest in. Nevertheless, I stayed subscribed. Inertia is a powerful force! :- ) Cut to World Book Day this year. One of…
“Mum, can I have it?” I was in Tesco’s with my 7-year-old daughter, D, when she spotted her new object of desire: A Darth Vader toothbrush, with a lightsabre-shaped handle that lights up. “No.” “But can I have it?” “No.” ….And so on and so forth, ad nauseam, until I exited the supermarket with…
“What do you need to hear from us, in order to get you over the line?” I was sitting in a business lounge last week, quietly typing away, when the employee of another company sat down and started making phone calls. Michael’s a recruiter, and – not that I was eavesdropping or anything,…
For about a decade, I was a journalist. I covered every imaginable area, from business and health to education, politics and literature. I wrote news stories, features and opinion pieces, and for several years edited other people too. Online stats showed I was pretty well read. So when I finally decided to make a career…
So, you’ve written a great email. You upload it to your marketing automation system…. Press “send”… And what percentage of your audience open and read it? 20%? 30%? 40%, if you’ve really struck gold? Somehow we’ve all convinced ourselves that if a third of our audience reads what we say, we’ve done incredibly well….
“How much of my knowledge should I give away?” If your company is publishing content online, on blogs, email and as part of a sales funnel, this is probably something you worry about. You and your team have worked for years to build up your processes, expertise and experience. But recently, it’s become expected…
