Marketers are a lot like germs. They try to transfer ideas into living organisms (customers) in a way that enables them to survive, grow, and spread. But just as many bacteria are good for our bodies (like those that help us digest food), not all marketing is bad.

Healthy marketing helps prospects find products that fulfill [...]

Google has announced their own rival to the Facebook “Like” button: +1.

Which is better? Let’s give them a look.

Facebook “Like”

The Facebook “Like” button appears on a webpage. When a Facebook user clicks it, their name may be listed next to the button, and a note about it will appear on their Wall.

Google +1

The Google +1 [...]

Every once in a while, I see a list of “power words” — words you can use to add more punch to your headlines and sales copy. These lists are useful for finding better alternatives for the sorts of boring words we often use in our day-to-day writing, or even just to get you in [...]

Do you think it’s honest to use emotional appeals to sell products? Or as an honest marketer, you should stick strictly to the facts?

While lies and deception are clearly out of bounds, opinions differ on where the line is between an honest emotional appeal and manipulation. If you shy away from emotional appeals to ensure [...]

Have you ever seen a sales letter where the headline claims that you can “Make up to $10,276.84 a month by exploiting this little known loophole?” Have you ever wondered why the amount is so specific?

The reason the number doesn’t get rounded down to $10,000 is that more specific numbers are trusted more than round [...]

When marketing teachers talk about your “Unique Selling Proposition” or “USP”, they nearly always assume that you have one, but just haven’t figured it out yet.

But what if you don’t have one? What if you really are just another “me too” marketer? Should you just give up and go back to your day job, or [...]

Terry Dean didn’t beat around the bush when he wrote:

You cannot create desire for your product.

Trying to do so is a losing proposition. All we do in business is find out what hopes, dreams, fears, and desires people already have…and supply them with products that match. We create value based around what people already [...]

Whether you’re a multinational corporation or a hobbyist making a few dollars off your blog, your brand — the name, logo, slogan, etc. that identifies you — can make a big difference in your current profits and future possibilities.

A recent Mashable article quotes Aswath Damodaran, a professor of finance at New York University, saying:

If you [...]

Last week, Ray Edwards posted an interesting assertion about truth in marketing — I’m trying to decide whether to find it disturbing:

Myths are stories that teach us something about our best selves, that inspire us to reach for something better, or that caution us against grave error.

…

Marketing, in its pure and noble form, uses mythology; [...]

Some websites stink — bad colors, bad design, bad content, etc. But that’s not what I’m talking about today. I mean it literally, what does your website smell like?

I’m also not talking about some newfangled device you connect to your computer’s USB port that outputs fragrances specified by a website’s CSS (that’s “cascading smell sheets” [...]