Author Archives: Michael Katz

Their Marketing Does Not Apply to You

by on
22 COMMENTS

When it comes to watching sports, I am far from what you would call a “superfan.” Football? Occasionally. Baseball? Only if I’m at a live game. Hockey? No interest. Looks like something a bunch of middle schoolers invented after their moms told them to turn off the TV and go play outside. But basketball … that I like. Plus, because I play each week in my town’s middle school gym, there’s some potential for me to take what I learn from watching the professionals and apply it to my own game. […] Click to read more…

Everything is Marketing

by on
14 COMMENTS

One of the benefits of being an intergalactically famous email newsletter guru (in addition to the groupies) is the freedom to take a day off whenever you like. And so, yesterday, that’s exactly what my wife, Linda, and I did. We put the bikes on the back of the car and headed off to the Norwottuck Rail Trail, which runs between the Massachusetts towns of Northampton and Amherst. It was a beautiful day, and everything was going exactly as planned. Until (cue scary music) we arrived in Amherst for lunch and I realized […] Click to read more…

Pricing Isn’t Just About Price

by on
8 COMMENTS

“Do you want to go to the zoo?” This seemed like a trick question, coming out of the blue, as it did. But, since it was my wife, Linda, doing the asking, I figured I had better play along. “Sure, I’ll go to the zoo.” As it turned out, the reason for Linda’s offer was that our local zoo was having a Father’s Day special: dads admitted free! So, the next day, off we went. It was a lot of fun. Giraffes, kangaroos, tortoises, a ton of little kids, and a beautiful day […] Click to read more…

Make Your Stories Better

by on
12 COMMENTS

I had dinner last night with two of my oldest friends. Rick, Terry, and I first met in 1982, when we all belonged to the same karate school on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston. For the next several years, it was a central part of our lives; we saw each other, in and out of the school, all the time. Thirty-nine years later, we still get together. Not often – about once a year – and always for dinner at the same restaurant. Interestingly, our dinner conversations are almost entirely confined to […] Click to read more…

Lessons From 500 Newsletters

by on
22 COMMENTS

(Listen to this post, here.) You hold in your hands (sort of) the 500th edition of this newsletter. I published the first one in September of 1999. Just to put into perspective how long ago 1999 was, in that same year, Lance Armstrong won his first Tour de France; Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca” went to #1; and Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, was just an annoying, self-important adolescent (okay, not everything has changed). But I have learned quite a few things in the course of publishing 500 newsletters. So, I thought I might […] Click to read more…