Adam Street's Blog
The spiritual and practical path to freedom to do your art

Dueling with El Cheap-O

I went to my brother’s Mixxedfit class at his gym.  I’m in my car.  Hot. sweaty, and I could really use something cool and refreshing like a smoothie.  

I don’t buy smoothies very often anymore but I’ve been jumping around like a jackrabbit for an hour so I deserve it.  But I still hesitated…

Both smoothie pimps by my house are franchises.  They opened in the last two years and I think they’re owned by the same person.  Why?  Because they have the exact same problem.  

Unlike the other locations they don’t put enough fruit in their smoothies because  they’re cheap.  I know this because when the manager (or owner) is there my smoothies taste like blueberry flavored ice and not ACTUAL blueberries.  

I’ve even seen the El Cheap-O walk behind staff members and tell them they’re using too much fruit!  It’s sad.

Instead of making smoothies that taste like cold medicine why don’t they ask their customers what they want?  I’d gladly pay more!  But instead they water down their product to save a few nickels.

This seems like a no brainer but I see people make the same mistakes with their services and courses all the time.

 

You don’t need to be the size of Coca-Cola to do a focus group.  Ask your clients what they want. And before you come out guns-a-blazing with swiped headlines and formulas ask prospects what’s important to them too.

Doug D’Anna said, “You should first ask yourself, ‘What do these people really want?’ and never, ‘What’s the best way to sell to them?’

I heard John Carlton say that to learn what a market wanted he’d go to a bar, buy a few drinks and ask strangers a few questions. 

Surely, I could duel with El Cheap-O about their juice water but I won’t.  I vote with my dollars by not going there.  I WILL use my crappy experience to help you out though.

You’re welcome…

If you’d like help keeping your marketing from getting watered-down, join my free daily e-mail list for daily tips:  https://adamstreet.net

Adam

Don’t send Chocolate Frosted Dog crap

My wife was put on the board recently of an animal rescue.

In last meeting she learned donors were complaining about not receiving thank you’s for donations.  I’m big on gratitude so she had my attention.

Surely the donors were complaining about email messages versus thank you cards or  something.  

Nope.  They weren’t sending anything.  Nada.  Nathan.

I do most of the “sending” of donations in my house so I knew my wife didn’t understand quite how strange this was.  I told her every organization that I have donated to has told me thank you.  Even the one ran my own mama!!!!

Jim Rohn said, “Both the years and the experiences have brought me here to where I stand today, but it is the thankfulness that opened the windows of opportunities, of blessings, of unique experiences to flow my way.”

And the same is true for me.  Just like going to the gym and doing push ups, I make a daily habit of exercising gratitude.  

I read a book called Appreciation Marketing by Tommy Wyatt and Curtis Lewsey.  I recommend you read it (or listen to the audiobook).  It’s about the importance of appreciating people by sending greeting cards, hand written notes, phone calls, and messages. 

As someone who has done this religiously for nearly a decade I can tell you, your competition isn’t doing this.  Want another way to stand out?  Start appreciatin’!  

Watch out for chocolate frosted dog crap though.  This is Wyatt and Lewsey’s term for sending thank you cards with your business card in the envelope.  Or using it as an opportunity to beg for referrals. 

Don’t disguise sales and marketing as gratitude.  Give because you want to be thankful, not to get something in return.

It’s good them, it’s good for your soul, and it’s good for business.

Try it.  Send out a message, greeting card, hand written note, or call one person a day for 30 days.  It feels amazing. And when someone thanks YOU for their thank  you.  It’s even more amazing-er.  

For more fun and easy marketing tips join my daily e-mail list at:  https://adamstreet.net

Adam

P.S.  This is the book I mentioned:  https://www.amazon.com/Appreciation-Marketing-Achieve-Greatness-Gratitude/dp/B00OL8P0FM/

When hearing voices is a good thing

Before I decided to escape the insurance company I was shackled to, my first ploy was to get a promotion.  I applied for a manger position and didn’t get it.  The candidate who won was great so I said, it’ll be next time.  

I didn’t get the next one either.  And the guy who got that position didn’t exactly curl my toes.  

My manager knew I was peeved so she did some digging.  She found out ‘they’ weren’t sure I would be a good team player. I was told by the hiring director that when the company was rolling out their new computer system I didn’t get behind it.

Actually, they asked for feedback in a meeting and I politely called their app stupid and clunky.  I also told them how they could make it better.  Apparently that kind of honesty was the kiss of death to a cushy career there.

Emotionally I was done with that company.  Freelancing started calling my name like an episode of Ghost Whisperer. 

This weekend I read an article about Lt. Col. Stuart Scheller, a sitting Marine battalion commander.  He got canned Friday after he questioned the “ineptitude” of U.S. military leadership over the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Standing up for what I believe got me blackballed at my old company but this guy was risking a 17-year career and a juicy retirement plan by speaking up.  

What cojones!  That guy is my role model!!!

I didn’t get the job I wanted but it put me on my path to be here.  Al Gore didn’t get job he wanted to either but he did more for humanity by talking about the planet.

“…you want to be popular, you want people to hire you, and I have to make sure I don’t do it [being politically active] less because I’m an actor.” — Kerry Washington  

Stand up for what you believe in!  Even if it’s not popular.  It tends to work out…  And loving the person you see in the mirror is a good thing too.

For free daily tips and insights on how to expand your reach and stay true to your beliefs in your emails, Sign up for free at:  https://adamstreet.net  

Adam

Having influence that fills a room

About 20 years ago I started a website called SaveComics.org.  

Comic book sales were flattening.  I thought if comic book artists came out of the shadows (most of us work from home) we could introduce kids to our industry and get more children reading comics again.  

My goal was to find other like minded pros so I could get the movement going throughout the country.  I found others who loved the the idea.  One was even in Canada so our cause became an “international” one.  

We made educational material and we spoke publicly but the movement eventually fizzled out.

I never expected us to grow into a ginormous movement or anything but we did good work.   That’s the power of finding and being around like minded people.  

Gary Bencivenga is one of the greatest copywriters like…ever.  He had what he called The Credo Technique. Gary said if you stand for something you’ll never stand alone.

This sets you apart in a very overcrowded, monkey-see monkey-do, marketplace.  It also brings about a level of influence you can’t get any other way.  

Perry Marshall talks about two types of influence.  

Level 1 Influence makes you rich.  

Level 2 Influence does that  AND changes the world.


“Influence is when you are not the one talking and yet your words fill the room; when you are absent and yet your presence is felt everywhere”.

– TemitOpe Ibrahim  

Standing for something is the surest way to attract and bond with your kindred spirits.  They will become your most loyal comrades and your best clients and friends. 

Or you can “Tom Brady” it and try to not hurt feelings and be everything to everybody.  

For free daily tips and insights on how to stand out and increase your influence with email. Sign up for free at https://adamstreet.net .

Adam

How Disney animators can help you write better e-mails

I love my chiropractor.  She’s an artist the way she approaches healing.  She’s cool as hell and she’s fun to talk to.  

I started receiving emails from her shortly after I became her client.  When I opened her first email I was shocked to see that it was… So… 

Boring.  

I had to ask her if she was doing her own email marketing because she is so full of life and her emails are stale and make me want to cut myself.

I’ll show you what I mean.  This is the beginning to an email from last week.

SUBJECT:  Exposing the Truth Behind Opioids

RESEARCH THAT MATTERS WEEKLY 

Did You Know…   In the 90’s, medical doctors were falsely lured into prescribing opioids as a treatment for pain…

Who in the world are they writing to?  Medical students who need data for their term papers? Not only is this fluff but it’s boring fluff.  

Honestly I just feel sorry for my doc and I did voice my concerns.  I learned she wasn’t thrilled with the company she hired but she was giving them time to prove themselves.

If you would like to add some spice to your emails, take an animator’s approach.

In the Illusion of Life  Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston introduced us to 12 Principles of Animation. The most important one for me was APPEAL.

Appeal is about creating interesting characters that appeal to the audience and capture their  interest and attention.  

No appeal = boring.  

Animation is like good writing.  It’s not always necessarily what you say.  It’s also what what you DON’T say.  

JK Rowland said in an interview that she had tons of Harry Potter pages littered around her office.  She said she realized she gave away too much and had to keep taking things out so she wouldn’t ruin the endings.

Dr. Seuss put it this way, “So the writer who breeds more words than he needs, is making a chore for the reader who reads.”

Dr. Seuss is being nice.  If reading is a chore most people won’t read what you wrote at all!  So take out the fluff and leave the good appealing stuff.  

For free daily tips and insights on how to get your emails oozing with appeal, sign up for free at https://adamstreet.net .

Adam