One of the rewards of writing a book is that it spurs interesting conversations on the topics of writing and publishing. Since publishing my first book earlier this year, I’ve heard all kinds of questions, including: How long did it take to write the book? How long did the self-publishing process take? How much does it cost […]
Subscription Horror Stories
Don’t cover your eyes, because in this post, we’re going to look at subscription horror stories in the context of popular horror, dark comedy, and sci-fi books and movies. Sometimes you need to look your worst fears in the face so you can avoid them. Now you can rent a movie and call it market research! […]
Customer-Inspired Marketing
Your best marketing ideas may come from outside the marketing organization – even outside the company. In the case of Pley, a simple suggestion from a busy parent resulted in a business success and many happy children. Pley is a subscription-based service for children’s toys. In shorthand: Netflix for LEGOs. The company does many things […]
Cultivating Content from Customers
Content cultivation is the practice of collecting content from customers to use in ongoing marketing and customer nurturing. When it comes to content marketing after the sale, you need focus on the issues that are important to current customers. What better source for this content than the customers themselves? You may have heard the term user-generated content, referring […]
Value Nurturing: Marketing Meets the Subscription Economy
In the subscription economy, marketers must dedicate time and energy to nurturing their current customers. If you sell using a subscription model, then your future revenues depend heavily on the success and loyalty of your current customers. The potential payback for marketing to those customers is huge. It sounds both simple and obvious. Yet in many businesses, […]
Marketing Above the Noise by Linda Popky
A Call to Reason and Strategy As soon as I read this statement, I knew I’d like Linda Popky’s new book: “It’s time to move the discussion away from today’s latest hot marketing tools and tactics to what really counts: convincing customers to trust you with their business – not just once, but time and […]