Ahoy!

Some new things in the works, and I’m starting things off with a move…

UnstupidMarketing.com will take the place of lemonarian.com.

More details here:

–> http://unstupidmarketing.com/blog

I’m also doing some changes in terms of how I work with copywriting clients.

You can find details on that under the “Copywriting Services” tab on the site.

Now…

Anything in particular you’d like me to write about?

Cheers,
Linus

Today I went to my first ever football game, with my brother who sort of dragged me along.

And it was actual football, the kind where the ball actually gets kicked, and where the football is shaped like an actual ball.

It wasn’t an entirely positive experience in the sense of maximum enjoyment (it was cold, it was raining, and it was windy, we left our jackets at home, and we lost three to one).

But there were some interesting observations to be made.

When it comes to marketing, we talk a lot about building tribes.

And what’s interesting is how all tribes behave more or less the same.

80/20 certainly applies. Out of all football fans, I can imagine people who regularly go to watch games, live, are among the 20 percent.

If we take good ol’ uncle Pareto’s principle within those 20 percent, 80% are people who go, perhaps with their family and friends, for a good time. The 20% are the rabid fans, the true supporters, and the hooligans.

I don’t know the accuracy of the above numbers. But I don’t think I’m very far off.

Glenn Livingston figured this out in marketing… and realized that 5% of your customers drive half of your profits.

Yes, really.

If you’ve been in business for more than a couple of years, and you analyze your sales and crunch the numbers, you’ll see the same phenomenon.

Those 5% are your biggest asset in business, and you should treat them accordingly.

You should also constantly provide enough value to everyone else, and you’ll get more people move over into that segment we like to call “hyper-responsive”.

When I send these emails, a certain percentage of people reply back and thank me. Maybe I provided an insight, a perspective they hadn’t thought of. Maybe they achieved a biz breakthrough because of me. Which is amazing.

What’s interesting about advice is, that when you give it away, you don’t have less of it.

Another percentage of people unsubscribe.

A small percentage of people take out all their goo-roo hate on me, and accuse me of spamming their inbox and being a fake phoney baloney marketer.

When you think in these terms, it’s very easy to identify your top 20% and your bottom 20%.

(the top 20% of customers drive 80% of profits – the bottom 20% cause 80% of your problems)

This is why I say it’s simply not worth your time convincing anyone of anything. Better to spend that time giving more value to your top 20%, and try to get the middle up to the top.

I’m absolutely not saying to look at your audience as a bunch of numbers and statistics… but the numbers absolutely have their place, and they help you figure out where you need to go next.

When someone sends me a compliment or a sincere question, they typically receive a very sincere response.

When someone just gripes, sometimes I send an apology if I’m in a good mood, otherwise I ignore them and just hit their unsubscribe link for them.

In marketing, like football, you need big balls. (and I don’t care about your gender)

Though, in marketing, they oughtta be made of steel.

…

I thought of… probably at least a dozen parallels that could be drawn between the game of football, and the game of marketing.

This little post describes one. The rest… another time. Maybe.

…
(the following sentences are intentionally vague on purpose – more info soon)

In my own biz, I feel it’s time to shake some things up. Changes comin’. And more simplifications. Cutting down projects from half a dozen to one or two.

And – where you might be concerned – a few new slots have opened for client work. Might start doing that differently too – deeper. More details tomorrow, or in the coming week.

I hope your Monday has treated you well…

Now go kick some balls.

Linus

Fascinating video isn’t it? Really makes you think.

Makes you realize a few things.

Like how, in the grand scheme of things, everything you will ever accomplish is ultimately insignificant.

Everything that ever happened on planet earth, or anywhere else, is ultimately insignificant.

So I hereby give you permission to do whatever the hell you like.

Change the world, build a great business, become a master writer… or perhaps a painter, or a skateboarder or a trapeze acrobat.

Or sit on the couch, watch some more TV, go back to your job. See how much you can deliberately annoy your boss before getting fired.

It’s all the same, really.

One option is a lot harder. It also comes with significantly more fulfillment, and lets you enjoy your life in a whole other dimension.

I got turned onto this video via Peter Spaepen’s private membership site this morning.

And guys, it’s a must-watch.

And oh – you should subscribe to Joe’s podcast. It kicks butt.

As I’m typing this, a rather loud argument concerning the economy and politics and government just passed upstairs, between the three people who live in this house who are not me.

I left the room feeling mostly like they were acting like children, and I wanted no part in it. Which is ironic, I suppose, me being the youngest and everything.

In this current state of the economy, I am a capitalist and an individualist.

If you define capitalist as explained near the end of this post, as someone who provides a lot of value, then I will always be a capitalist – and it doesn’t matter whether or not money is a part of that equation.

My brother has seen the Zeitgeist movie, the first one, and is absolutely pissed that the world looks the way it does, and that we should live in the utopian world of the Venus Project instead. (links at the end of this post)

I am all for that reality. They make a good case for it. We have the resources. And the world would certainly be a more enjoyable place for everyone. All that’s left is some elbow grease and real hustle to make it happen.

I would certainly think it preferable.

But I do not think the current state of the world is wrong, because I don’t understand what it means to not accept what is.

I think the current state of the economy is the best it possibly could be.  I mean… what else? Everyone complains that it’s so horrible and bad and awful… compared to what, exactly?

It just is, and there’s nothing more to it than that.

The way I see it, this is what we got, so let’s make the most of it.

You can either sit on your butt and conjure up complaints about how the world is so shitty, and excuses for why not to be a “part of the system” … or you can accept that the world is what it is, and start hustling.

Even if you want to spread a message and a plea for a currency-free economy, a resource-based society… awesome!

You’re still gonna need money to do it.

Ultimately, everyone’s personal goal is their own personal satisfaction. Most acts of selflessness are acts of selfishness. There are about 50 people on the planet for whom this is not true.

Yet almost no one is willing to put in the work.

And this, by the way, has nothing to do with the infrastructure of society or the state of the economy.

The people who work the hardest toward worthy goals will always be the most fulfilled, regardless of what the external world looks like.

The external world is an illusion. So stop worrying, or even caring about it.

Start caring about YOU.

Everything you feel about the external world stems from what you are on the inside.

The fundamental principle of economy is the exchange of value.

Person A gives person B something person B finds valuable, in exchange for something person A finds valuable.

People who can provide a consistent output of value to other human beings will always be better off, and more happy, than those who can’t.

And this applies, once again, regardless of whether or not the economy is based on money.

If you cannot provide any value… it is a skill that can be learned.

That’s what education is supposed to be for.

The reason why education is messed up is because no one is actually being taught truly valuable things.

And that is why self-education is so important.

The fact that you’re reading this newsletter says a lot about you. You’re a self-educator… which means you’re way ahead of the curve.

This has been a mostly unedited rambling on what I think about the economy, and I’d like to end off with some words from Robert Kiyosaki, from the closing chapter of his book “Unfair Advantage”:

“Capitalism has come under severe attack during this financial crisis. Many people believe capitalists are greedy, corrupt, and evil. Granted, many are.

Yet, if you look at what true capitalists do, true capitalists only profit if and when they make life better, often saving us time and money. For example, the Wright Brothers were the first to fly, but it took capitalists to build an airline industry, making flying safe and affordable for the masses. Today, I am happy to pay for an airline ticket because flying is easier, faster, and a lot less painful than walking, which we all would be doing if not for capitalists.”

“… While it is true that there are greedy, crooked, lazy people who exploit the capitalist system, they are not true capitalists. They are simply greedy, crooked, and lazy people.”

“This financial crisis was caused by corruption at the highest levels of government and business. Like a cancer, legalized corruption eats away at the moral fiber of the world. Men and women of power, craving more power, sell their souls to glorify their egos, destroying lives and bleeding the wealth from people they are supposed to serve.

In world governments, we have too many professional politicians. Many “public servants” serve without any real-world business experience, running the biggest business in the world—the business of government. No wonder government is corrupt.”

And, notice his focus on assets (value):

“While corrupt and incompetent business and political leaders have damaged the economy, I believe one of the biggest reasons for this financial crisis is an obsolete educational system. In the United States, the more we spend on education, the worse the system gets.

One problem with the school system is the failure to focus on true capitalism. Hence, we have corrupted capitalism and corrupted governments running the world. In schools, there is a subtle socialist agenda, a subtle undercurrent implying “the rich are greedy.”

In Marxist theory, the proletariat is a class of capitalist society that does not have ownership of the means of production. All they have to sell is their labor for a wage or salary. Proletarians are wage-workers, trained—like Pavlov trained his dogs—to work for money.

Our school system produces this class of capitalism, the proletariat class, a wage earner, a person who leaves school looking for a job. Many will never own anything of value, and many will die with nothing, simply because our schools, while resenting the rich, produce the workers they claim the rich exploit.

A job is not an asset. You cannot own a job. You cannot pass your job on to your kids.

Money is not an asset. Today, money is debt and is rapidly being devalued with more national debt.

Your home is not an asset. You are the asset. Every month, homeowners send checks to the bank, tax department, insurance, and utility companies.

Your retirement plan is not an asset. It is an unfunded liability. Your retirement savings go to the rich who use your money to acquire their assets—real assets.

Students who leave school, looking for a high-paying job, soon fly into the web of capitalism, not because capitalism is necessarily evil, but because the educational system fails to prepare students for the real world. Without financial education, students are trained to be the victims of capitalism. The school system’s belief that “the rich are greedy” becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

As I’ve often stated, true capitalists are generous. They produce a lot and receive a lot. Could it be the school system that is really the greedy party?

Marx envisioned a war between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie, the capitalist class, since workers naturally wish their wages to be as high as possible, while the bourgeoisie, the capitalists, wish for wages to be as low as possible.

In the brave new world of the new economy, in the ongoing war for high wages versus low wages, the capitalist class is winning. The capitalists win because it is easy to move production to lower-wage nations. Technology also reduces the number of workers needed to run a business. Production goes up, labor costs go down, and capitalists win.

The world is changing rapidly. The school systems are not. Schools continue to teach people to be proletarians, to leave school in search of a high-paying job. This is financial suicide.”

And to Mr. Kiyosaki – you rock, and I hope you don’t mind me copying & pasting some words out of your book. I think they are important words.

To you, the reader, I hope you’ve gotten something out of this post, even though these are just my thoughts. They may or may not be aligned with yours. I don’t know, and I don’t really care either. Just expressing.

Here are a couple of resources you might find interesting:

Zeitgeist, the movie

Unfair Advantage, Robert Kiyosaki

Sovereignman.com, Simon Black

I’ll talk to ya soon…

Linus

P.S. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.

I don’t know how it is for anyone else, so I can only speak for myself.

And, at certain times, I just really don’t feel like doing anything useful.

It’s ridiculously difficult to compel yourself to work during these periods of time. So… here’s what I do:

1. Maintain the morning routine

What you do in the morning will “set the stage” for the rest of the day. This is the most crucial point in the day, so get it right even if you don’t feel like it.

I drink water, eat breakfast, write in my journal and write other stuff, including blog posts like this one, for about an hour.

During down periods, I don’t always write for an hour. But I start writing, which is the most important bit.

2. Start working anyway

This is only if you feel that you HAVE to get some work done or something really bad might happen… but you’re for some reason extremely demotivated.

You could sit around and beat yourself up for not getting anything done, or you could just get started, even if you don’t feel like it.

Sit down, and do something useful for 30 minutes. Just 30 minutes. If at that point you realize it’s not so bad – you can keep going.

If you feel like you’re about to implode, you can just stop and go play video games or something. Hey – at least you got 30 minutes worth of useful stuff done.

3. Ride it out

I’m a big believer in the idea of cycles. That everything moves in cycles. Including sleeping patterns, energy levels, planetary rotation, tides, growth of life, female menstruation, and yes – motivation.

In addition to the miscellaneous things listed above, I would also add “everything else”.

So in my mind – it’s all natural.

When you’ve at least attempted to get some useful stuff done, or not – realize you’re simply in a down part of the cycle of life and stop beating yourself up.

Do something you actually feel like doing… and just ride it out.

…

With that said, I will just have to warn you that the above isn’t a formula for beating your blues, or whatever. It’s just what I do. No idea if it works for you. I know my own motivation will come back fairly soon once I enter one of these periods and I don’t question it. It just there.

It might not work that way for you. So… ultimately, I suppose my advice is this: Listen to your body.

Either way, I hope you found something useful in this issue… and enjoy your friday.

Cheers,

Linus

P.S. MiniBiz is still kicking butt with the 2 new extra bonuses.

And until midnight you can still get in at the discounted price point. Tomorrow it’s going up.

Here’s the link again:

–> http://www.minibiz.me/the-minibiz-reports

Last wednesday I posted this: “Useful idea for internet marketing beginners“.

I just received a comment a few minutes ago that said

“I want some more suggestion. Please help me.”

I don’t know if it’s actually a real comment or spam… and I don’t even care, because I see this “entitlement mentality” far too much.

People who have a sense that people should just hand over the world to them on a silver platter.

That’s not what I’m trying to do.

All I’m trying to do is to help you help yourself.

Here’s a harsh truth for ya: life is a one-man voyage. No one’s going to do shit for you. It’s your life, and it’s your responsibility.

I’ll give advice and I’ll come up with a few suggestions – but ultimately your own success, happiness and well-being is YOUR responsibility.

Don’t ever expect someone else to solve your problems.

It’s your life, dude. I don’t even understand WHY anyone would want someone else to meddle.

In business – “done-for-you” actually DOES exist.

It’s called a franchise. And it’ll set you back $50,000+ on the low end.

If you’re still waiting for just the right guru to come along and make everything alright…

First, snap out of it.

Then pull yourself together and go sell some shit.

/end rant

Linus

P.S. Today is wednesday – on friday I’m raising the price for MiniBiz by 10 bucks. So if you’re still on the fence, now would be a good time to stop kicking tires.

It’s got all you need to get started immediately.

Here’s the link:
–> http://www.minibiz.me/the-minibiz-reports

Most “time management” techniques are complicated, and sometimes takes up more time than the actual task you’re trying to accomplish.

Well, here’s a simple one you may have heard before.

Set timed deadlines on everything.

Parkinson’s law states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”.

Meaning: accomplishing the task will take as long as you give yourself. I like 25 minute and 50 minute blocks.

Take brainstorming, for example. Something everyone should do at least once a week.

Instead of saying “now I’m going to come up with as many ideas as I can until they run out” – say “in the next 15 minutes I will write down as much as possible”.

I guarantee you’ll come up with more stuff in those 15 minutes than you would if you had no time restriction.

It works for everything. Try it. I use my iPod Touch’s timer feature. After the 25, 33 or 50 minutes have passed, it sounds like a duck, which comes with the added bonus of making me laugh after every “working time block”. :)

I think it’s funny how people have gotten so “tactic” and “trick” oriented.

Like… “Here are 5 techniques you can use to make your list instantly trust every word you say!”

Ugh.

STRATEGIC thinking works much better, and there’s less you need to memorize.

Here’s a “trust building strategy” you can use:

Be a trustworthy person, and display the qualities of one.

Duh.

…

Yeah, if you’ve known me for a while, you should have expected that one… lol.

I’m dead serious, though.

Here’s what I mean by that:

You know how everyone and their dogs’ dentist are saying how the money is in the list?

Or… that the money is in the relationship with the list?

That “value is king” and you need to constantly give them value. Over the top. Be an awesome dude… and really GIVE A SHIT about them! [insert Gary Vaynerchuk* quote]

Yeah, everyone talks the talk.

Then they go on and tell you about how their “friend” just spent 26 months, $800,000 and sacrificed 3 sheep to develop their latest, cutting edge software which will automatically give you instant traffic with three clicks of a button… that you can have for only $37 if you act now.

It’s a bit pathetic.

That’s why I say that building trust with your audience ultimately comes down to simply being a trustworthy person… and walking the walk.

Congruency.

Being congruent in your actions.

In other words – if you say you’re gonna do something, you better damn well do it.

Here’s something else that’s been bugging me:

People who “slip up”.

Like… people like those mentioned above, preaching about value and all those nice, cuddly buzz words… that are, for the most part, congruent with it.

They have great products, great customer support, their blog is packed with awesome content, and even their emails are usually pretty decent.

But every so often, maybe once a week, or once every two weeks…

… they send out one of those “copy and paste” promo emails for the latest Clickbank launch.

It is, perhaps, even more pathetic.

Why?

The way I see it, it’s like they would rather do that stuff all the time… but they know they need to provide value in order for people to like them.

They see “delivering good content” as a tactic. A trick. Something you’re forced to do because the market demands it.

I don’t even need to explain why that’s bad, do I?

Well, I won’t, cuz if you don’t get it, you’re probably not the kinda person who’s supposed to be reading this newsletter…

This kind of behavior is, in my opinion, worse than those who make all their money teaching marketing advice.

I have no problem with that. The marketing crowd is one of the toughest markets, and they have some of the most fine-tuned BS detectors in the world.

I’m currently not one of those “gurus” – but I wouldn’t be ashamed of it if I were.

In fact, I’m actively cutting down on everything in my other businesses, because this is what I really want to do. Teach marketing and copywriting.

I’ve been rejecting more and more copywriting assignments lately, and I probably won’t do anything for less than, at least, a high four figure fee.

Other than the marketing stuff, I’m involved in two other projects (one being a client project)… and I think that’s a pretty good ratio.

Anyway, enough about me.

What have you got going on?

If you’re looking for something worthwhile to focus on, I would totally suggest setting up your own “MiniBiz”.

Even if you’re currently involved in a project, adding a MiniBiz structure on the back end of your business would make a huge difference, and probably relieve a lot of stress from your day-to-day activities…

I’ve added some new stuff to the course over the weekend:

• an 8-page report on how to quickly produce world-class content
• a 14 minute training video
• Two more PDF reports (super-valuable – these are technically “unadvertised bonuses” so I can’t tell you what they are!)

If that sounds pretty cool, you should check it out.

–> http://www.minibiz.me

Cheers,
Linus

* Btw… the Gary V. reference wasn’t meant as a “diss” at all – he’s amazing. Easily one of my biggest influences. You should follow him.

A Glastonbury concert (Image via Flickr)

Ever been to a concert?

I’ve not been to many, but a couple of weeks ago one of the biggest hip hop artists in Sweden was doing his thing in the town square, so I kind of had to be there. It was free.

Even in the middle of all that, engulfed in music so loud the trees were shaking – I couldn’t turn my marketing brain off.

But here’s what I noticed:

People are more engaged the closer they are to the stage.

Right at the front, people are fully engaged. Jumping and screaming and following along in the songs, etc.

At the back everyone is a bit “meh”.

Two things I want to say about this.

The first is the why. And here’s why I think this happens:

1. Social pressure: Even if they don’t like the music, they’re weird if they don’t participate (since everyone around them is also jumping and screaming)
2. They have no other choice but to pay attention. There’s nowhere else to go. It’s much easier to give one thing your full attention when there is no second thing you could.

The second thing I wanted to say about this, is that the same thing applies in marketing.

Ever been to a new site, like a marketing blog for example… and you realize that everything the blogger blogs about is perfectly valid… but you’re still unsure whether or not to actually listen?

I do it all the time. Why does this happen? Because I don’t know him.

How do we avoid this happening to us?

We bring them closer, of course.

While we can’t physically, geographically bring people closer (other than by holding live events) – we can bring them emotionally closer.

How?

1. Let them know more about who you are and what you stand for. Tell more stories.
2. Target your audience better. This is one of the reasons why it is so important to have a crystal clear picture of WHO your ideal customer actually is. This allows you to communicate with her in her own language, so to speak.

There are certainly more ways, but those are good starting points.

Either way, in marketing or as a performing musical artist, the people closest to you will be the most responsive.

Meaning: if you want to be heard, the solution isn’t to shout louder. Bring your audience closer instead.