Competition, Pricing, and The Sony “Mistake”

Can we, as an industry, pause a moment and take a deep breath? Ahhhhh. Okay.  Straight talk coming your way today, fair warning. I submit that as a profession, we: 1) Spend far too much time thinking about how our competition is pricing their work, 2) Misunderstand who our competition actually is, and 3) Waste…

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The Secret Side of Discounts

In 1875, a spectacled man named John Wanamaker bought an abandoned railroad freight depot and turned it into America’s first grand, dazzling department store. Like any big retailer, he had to hire more store clerks around Christmastime every year to accommodate the swell of holiday shoppers.  However, all the extra help became unnecessary in January…

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How Do You Write Personal Blog Posts When You’re a Private Person?

Many of the greatest books ever written were not actually released as books.  Readers did not line up at the Victorian-era equivalent of Barnes and Noble for the midnight launch of Great Expectations, Madame Bovary, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, or Anna Karenina.  These influential works were released as serials in newspapers or periodicals.  Separated into sections,…

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How To Design A Website That Makes You Happy

I know how you feel. No, I’m not saying that like some overbearing aunt offering unsolicited advice.  I know because I asked, and you told me. You told me that you are excited about creating a website, but actually getting it going is just…..ugh. Frustrating.  Exhausting.  Head-banging-on-the-desk, curse-you-HTML, what-the-heck-I’m-not-a-webmaster irritation.  Makes you wonder why you’re…

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