More is not always better.

In our quest to get our message in front of our perfect customer, we talk too much. We can’t help adding more and more content to our website.

And then we wonder why when eyes start to glaze over and a polite “Sorry, I need to run” is mumbled. We can’t figure out why visitors leave our website without buying anything.

Here’s a clip from the movie Jerry Maguire that I love.

In reality, our Holy Grail of marketing is to hear our audience say, “You know, I’m interested in your product…tell me more.”

Then and only then do we [...]

You’ve seen it before.

It’s called highway drafting.

I’m talking about those crazy cyclists who hang dangerously close behind a truck, trying to catch the truck’s draft.

The bike is able to go faster because in that sweet right spot of the wake of the truck there is less drag on the biker which in turn lowers the amount of energy required to maintain speed or speed up.

I don’t recommend what seems insanely dangerous behavior, but there a pretty fascinating lesson we can take away as entrepreneurs.

The major retail players with multi-million dollar online websites have a lot in common...one being that they [...]

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying “Jack of all trades, master of none.”

If you’re a solo-entrepreneur, you can’t afford to be a Jack.

If you’re a business owner with employees...you can’t afford to hire anyone with a "Jack" mindset.

And as you know...if you’re going to be successful as a small business owner today, having an online presence isn’t an option.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed with all that comes with Internet marketing...the problem may be that you’re trying to do everything yourself.

To make matters worse, you’re probably asking yourself, “Why am I working so hard and not making any money?”

How do you think [...]

“But if I give my best stuff away, no one will pay for my expertise.”

This is a common concern I hear all the time.

So let’s cut to the chase and clear up this myth.

Early on when Cheryl and I started seriously studying Internet marketing, we learned the concept of “moving the free line.”

Successful marketer Eben Pagan coined this term when he demonstrated how he used it on his Double Your Dating business under the pseudonym of David DeAngelo.

The idea is that you give away free value up front to convince people that you are worth listening to…and [...]

It's not often that an order confirmation email catches my attention - beyond making sure that the amount they charged to my credit card is correct.

I mean, what can you possibly do to make transactional emails anything other than sufficiently boring?

So when I found myself going back and re-reading what is normally a run-of-the-mill order confirmation email, I wanted to yell "Hallelujah! Someone actually gets what great marketing is all about!"

Moosejaw Mountaineering, whose Facebook tagline is "The Most Fun Outdoor Retailer on the Planet," knows how to put the fun back in marketing.

How about this for a company overview posted [...]

Alyssa Milano (star of TV’s Who’s the Boss? and Charmed) was watching a baseball game in Dodger Stadium several years ago – and was freezing cold.

“It was the beginning of the season, before the poop smell sets in.

I went into the store to get something warm to wear. And I was offended. The only color available in women’s clothing was pink. Their answer for female sports apparel back then was ‘pink it and shrink it.’ It was either that or buy something from the kids’ section. Which I did. I got a kid’s hoodie. In Dodger blue.”

It bothered Milano enough [...]

Your website is your virtual business card and storefront.

And if you have a WordPress website - the preferred platform by all major search engines - you unfortunately have a bright red target on your back.

Like any other brick and mortar building, your online business is vulnerable to bad guys looking for an unlocked door or window into your WordPress site.

After gaining access, these evil hackers compromise your once-clean website and turn it into a bot (or zombie.) This newly recruited zombie is then welcomed into a botnet (or zombie army) with only one intent...

To find more unsecured WordPress sites that [...]

The phone rings. You answer. The voice on the other end says, "Hey, Art, buddy. How are you doin'?"

You don't recognize the voice. He never identified himself - and now you're in an awkward position. Do you play along hoping you'll soon figure out who it is? Or do you embarrassingly ask, "Sorry - uh, who are you?"

It's the same thing when you get an email that has a "From" name and/or address that gives no clue as to who the sender is. Except ... most likely, you just delete it and run the risk of missing an important email.

For your [...]

Your email's CTA (call-to-action) is one of the most critical email marketing components to test because it's what generates leads and conversions!

The CTA is the equivalent of "asking for the sale" when you talk to a prospect on the phone or in person after a sales presentation.

You wouldn't dream of closing a critical call with "Great talking with you, Joe. Well, uh... have a good day."

No - you'd assume the sale. "So Joe, let's get you started. I'm going to ask for some information to get your Infusionsoft account set up. Ready?"  And I just keep going until Joe stops [...]

Invariably we get this question whenever we’re working with new clients on their marketing follow-up sequences:

“Is there a best time of day to send an email - and which day of the week gets the most opens?”

If there was one “best” answer, we’d all be inundated with emails on the same day and time … and most likely we’d throw up our hands and delete every one out of pure email overload.

A the risk of sounding like a broken record, “It depends on who your audience is.”

Just like there isn't a perfect email, there isn't a perfect time to send [...]