Tuesday Notes

Let's try something this Fall ... send me links to articles you think are of interest to our community. If interesting, I'll publish them on Tuesdays during the Fall. If you don't see any articles published on Tuesdays, it means you aren't forwarding me anything. Also - nothing vapid ... our community doesn't need to learn "17 Tricks To Improve Facebook Advertising". Send something clever!

From one of our Readers:  Pottery Barn's Gus the Ghost. Two things here ... first, the limited run of an item (it doesn't have quite the utility at Thanksgiving, does it?) ... and second, look at how CNN is making money via affiliate links. Also notice the slight product upgrade (holding a small pumpkin) that enables repeat purchases. If you want your customers to become loyal customers and buy repeatedly, give them a reason to buy repeatedly.

From ... Me:  The Idaho Offense, the Complete Series. I did a little digging on the internet on Saturday when I noticed that Idaho was down three points to Oregon in the 4th quarter (as a 49 point underdog). Of interest was the fact that their offensive coordinator has a video series breaking down his offensive philosophy. You can have it for $129. It reminded me of how Mike Leach was willing to share his offensive philosophy with anybody who would listen (and for decades, nobody would listen ... now his stuff is everywhere and he's not with us anymore). It led me to a thought.

• If you had to create a $129 video series on the marketing philosophy of your brand, would your tactics and strategies be unique enough and compelling enough for anybody to pay $129 to learn it? Even more important, could you teach it ... could you break down your tactics and strategies (the unique ones, not the tepid ones like PLAs or affiliate links) in a manner worthy of sale?