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Sam Horn's "Take Action"
Newsletter |
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How Can
a Marketing
Campaign Outsell
its Original
Product?
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Sam’s
Salon for June:
What Do the
Founders of the
World’s Best
Writers
Conference
Say...
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Congratulations
to our May
Contest Winner
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I Want
To Be an Author,
Now
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How Does
Sam Horn Help
Clients?
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“No beak, no
feathers, no service.” –
caption on poster with a
squirrel dressed up as a
bird
If you’re a gardener or
bird-lover, just
mentioning the word
“squirrel” might be
enough to elicit a
string of epithets.
Those cute but
destructive little
fur-balls are
responsible for millions
of destroyed gardens,
vandalized bird-feeders
and lost tempers.
So what has
Arundale (a company
out of St. Louis, MO)
done about it?
They’ve created the Sky
Cafe — the Fort Knox of
Bird Feeders.
Now, that’s a clever
name and tagline. By
using a metaphor to
compare their unfamiliar
product to something
with which we’re
familiar and fond, we
instantly get what
they’ve got.
However, Arundale wasn’t
content to stop there.
They’ve created an
entire line of novelty
t-shirts, posters, and
mugs with dressed-up
squirrels and clever
sayings such as:
Will work for seed.
(Down-on-his-luck
squirrel with a sign)
Hand over the seed
and no one will get
hurt. (Squirrel dressed
as a bandit)
Dancing with
squirrels. (Kevin
Costner look-alike on a
squirrel-populated movie
poster)
E = mcSquirrel (a
squirrel with an
Einstein hair-do)
I discovered these
laugh-out-loud
posters while strolling
down the main street of
historical downtown
Roanoke, VA, enjoying
its Saturday morning
Farmers Market. These
prominently displayed
posters on the front
window of a seed store
literally stopped me in
my tracks.
I was so intrigued, I
was motivated to walk
into
Agnew Seed Store and
check them out. It was
like walking back in
time. This
establishment,
(established in 1897)
features walls of little
wooden drawers full of
pumpkin seeds, snap
dragon seeds, tomato
seeds, you name it.
I had an opportunity to
talk with Patricia
Agnew, one of the store
owners. She told me
their 110 year old seed
store is staying open,
not so much from sales
of gardening gloves and
the like, but because of
the brisk sales of these
amusing squirrel
products which bring in
thousands of dollars a
month.
That’s the power of a
POP! title and
tagline. Not
only did these amusing
posters catch my eye and
motivate me to walk into
a store I wouldn’t have
entered otherwise, I was
motivated to buy several
mugs as gifts for
friends. Who knows how
many mom and pop stores
around the country are
staying in business
because of these
creative products?
Does your marketing
campaign get a smile?
Does it stop people in
their tracks and
motivate them to go out
of their way to buy your
product?
By the way, this is just
one of the illustrations
included in the updated
version of POP!
which Perigee-Penguin
will be releasing in
paperback in Jan. ’09.
I’ve got one more week
to add fresh examples of
stopped-you-in-your-tracks
headlines, taglines,
brands and business
names that caught your
eye. If you’ve seen a
unique commercial, book
title or slogan that
captured your attention,
please email it to
me by June 15. We’ll
give a $50 gift
certificate to
the best entry. Thanks.
Submit your POP! entries
today to
Sam as we need to
receive them by June
15th.
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Imagine having a dream
about creating a writers
conference from scratch
that is to the
publishing industry what
Cannes is to the film
industry – and
organizing that
conference in less than
six weeks and having 150
people from around the
world show up.
Imagine being
responsible for
launching the careers of
hundreds of writers who
got deals after
attending your event,
including a homemaker
who was given a starred
review by Publishers
Weekly, and a
veterinarian who now has
12 NY Times bestsellers
to his name.
Imagine giving aspiring
authors the opportunity
to meet top
decision-makers
face-to-face so they can
pitch their project to
someone who has the
power to give their
project a green light.
John and Shannon Tullius
didn't just imagine all
the above; they’ve done
it.
Hear how they grew
Maui Writers
Conference
into the most respected
writers conference on
the planet. Hear their
favorite “chicken skin”
moments of keynoters who
held the audience
transfixed with
rags-to-riches stories
of how they beat the
odds and got published.
For example, a
home-schooled teen-ager
shared what it was like
to have his book
discovered by novelist
Carl Hiasson while he
was in Montana
fly-fishing. As a result
of that “seren-destiny,”
Christopher Paolini’s
Eragon was
turned into a
blockbuster trilogy and
movie.
The Tullius’s have had a
front row seat on the
publishing industry for
15 years. They are
uniquely positioned to
answer questions about
how to fast-forward your
writing career. A few
lucky participants will
have 30 seconds to pitch
their project and get
John and Shannon’s
incisive feedback as to
whether it’s
publish-ready.
Don’t miss this
one-of-a-kind
tele-interview on
Thursday, June 26 at
8:00 PM EST/ 5:00 PM
PST.
SIGN UP NOW:
Please email
Jill to sign-up for
this exciting event and
then visit
SamHornPOP.com for
details about our
July 24 Sam’s
Salon with Michael Gelb,
(author of How to
Think Like Leonardo da
Vinci and
Innovate Like Edison
and International Brain
of the Year - really!)
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Ready to get your book
out of your head and
into the world where it
can make a positive
difference for others
and a prosperous living
for you? Make
2008 the year you
finally turn your dream
of becoming a published
author into a reality.
Sam’s July 26-27 Writers
Retreat in Chicago is a
perfect opportunity to
crystallize/craft your
proposal and
practice/polish a
winning pitch for your
project so you make the
most out of your
opportunity to meet with
publishing
decision-makers at Maui
Writers Conference.
Can’t make our
July 26-27 Chicago Book
Camp? Attend our
Orlando, FL Nov 15-16
Book Camp
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In the next 6 months,
Sam will be speaking in
California, Texas,
Illinois, New York,
Florida, Hawaii, Arizona
and Virginia. Check out
her calendar below to
see when she'll be in
your area. Perhaps you
can arrange for her to
speak to your
organization when she's
in town -- or schedule a
one-on-one consulting
appointment.
When and Where:
July 15-16 Chicago, IL
Who:
Sam Horn's Two-Day Book
Camp
What:
If you've always wanted
to be an author, Sam can
help. Discover why
client Jenny Schade
said, "Whether you
struggle to put
something down on paper
or you're an
accomplished writer who
needs honest feedback to
get to the next level,
Sam guides you there.
Her gentle but firm
blend of inspiration,
creativity and practical
advice make working with
her a genuine pleasure."
Contact:
Click here for details
about what you'll
achieve during the Book
Camp and to register
When and Where:
August 2 – 5 New York
City, New York
Who:
National Speakers
Association annual
convention
What:
Sam's session titled
"Great Idea! Become the
Go-To Resource for
Media, Meeting Planners
& Audiences" shows
how to develop
leading-edge insights so
you don't look and sound
like every other speaker
Contact:
www.NSAspeaker.org
When and Where:
August 23 – 27 Retreat
Aug. 29 - Sept. 1
Conference Oahu
Who and What:
Sam once again heads-up
the Non-fiction
(Business and Self-Help)
section of the Maui
Writers Retreat and
returns as Emcee of the
world-renowned Maui
Writers Conference for
the 16th year.
Contact:
www.MauiWriters.com
When and Where:
Sept. 18 – 20
Washington, DC
Who: INC. 500
Conference/Awards
Ceremony. The
27th annual event hosted
by INC. magazine honors
the 5,000
fastest-growing,
privately-held companies
in America and features
rousing keynotes and
strategic networking
with Paul Bennett (Chief
Creative Officer, IDEO),
Tim Ferris (The
4-Hour Workweek),
Rod Beckstrom (The
Stafrish and the Spider,)
and Sam Horn who will be
speaking on POP!
Create One-of-Kind
Pitches, Niches, Titles
and Taglines for
Anything.
Contact:
INC. 500
Conference/Awards
Ceremony
When and Where:
Sept. 25-27 Crystal
City, VA
Who and What:
Association for Women in
Communications - 2008
National Conference
Sam will present the
closing keynote for this
annual gathering of top
PR specialists,
corporate communication
directors, journalists,
broadcasters, speakers,
authors and
speechwriters.
Contact:
www.womcom.org
When and Where:
Oct. 18 San Francisco,
CA
Who and What:
"Become an Inspiring
Speaker" Workshop
with Marcia Wieder,
Patricia Fripp, Arthur
Joseph, Jim Pelley and
Sam Horn who will
teaching how to
"Make Your Brand,
Book,Products and
Presentations POP!"
Contact:
www.dreamcoach.com
When and Where:
Nov. 3 Houston, Texas
Who and What:
Clemson University
Professional Development
for Women Conference. A
full day of sessions on
how to improve
on-the-job effectiveness
including Sam's
presentation on
TongueFu!® - Dealing
with Difficult People
Without Becoming One
Yourself.
Contact:
Clemson University
When and Where:
Nov. 13 Orlando, FL
Who and What:
Orlando Chamber Of
Commerce Business
Breakfast: Sam is the
featured speaker on
POP! Your
Business and Brand.
Contact:
www.orlando.org
When and Where:
Nov. 15-16 Orlando,
Florida
Who and What:
Sam Horn's Two-Day Book
Camp. Join us in sunny
Florida for a fun,
productive weekend to
turn your dream of
becoming a published
author a reality.
Contact:
Click here or Call
Jill at 703-232-9757
When and Where:
Nov. 21 Scottsdale, AZ
Who and What:
National
Speakers Association
Fall Conference. Sam
worked with Simon T.
Bailey on his instant
classic keynote at last
year’s convention.
They’ve been asked to
share their “behind
the scenes secrets”
to show how they
collaborated on that
inspirational opening
keynote that had people
on their feet cheering.
Contact:
NSAspeaker.org
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Reader Kathryn
Hammer received
the gift certificate for
correctly guessing that
Meryl Streep was the
witty actress who, when
asked how her family
felt about her wearing
white spandex in
Mama Mia, quipped,
“My children are going
to expatriate when that
movie comes out. And
that is why I did it.”
By the way, Kathryn
herself has a great
POP! tagline.
A POP!
principle is, if you
have a common last name,
why not use it in your
business slogan so every
time people hear it or
see it, they’re
imprinting your name.
Kathryn, a speechwriter
and executive
communications
consultant, does just
that with her humorous
slogan, “Why beat
your head against the
wall when you can use a
Hammer?” Kudos.
Will you be the one who
receives the gift
certificate this month
for sending in the best
title, tagline, brand or
business name by
June 15? Here’s
another example to
kick-start your
creativity.
The most effective
marketing campaigns and
web copy have their
finger on the pulse of
POP!
culture and reflect
current trends. For
example, parents used to
gripe about their kids
being obsessed with
their Gameboys during
family vacations. The
roles today are reversed
with kids complaining
their folks are the ones
who ignore them while
tapping away at their
laptop and Blackberry.
A brilliant
Visit Orlando
ad addresses this issue
by showing a father
happily playing in a
pool with his son. The
dialogue in the side bar
says,
“Daddy, want to go
swimming?” “Yes.”
“Daddy, can you
carry me on your
shoulders?” “Yes.”
“Daddy, will you
leave your phone in the
room?” “Yes.”
The subliminal message?
Come to Orlando and have
an old-fashioned
vacation where you
actually focus on family
and play together
instead of everyone
playing with their
gadgets.
Are you tapping into the
zeitgeist of your target
audience? Do your
marketing campaign and
web copy reflect current
trends? If not, it's
time to update your
content so it resonates
with customers and
motivates them to buy
what you've got to say
and sell.
Please know how much I
appreciate you keeping
your antennae up for
intriguing titles and
taglines that capture
your attention. You are
welcome to send them in
anytime (some of my best
examples come from
eagle-eyed colleagues);
however, if you
want to be eligible for
our contest,
please send in your
entries to
me by June 15.
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Sam Horn helps
people POP!,
What does that mean? She
helps individuals and
organizations develop
one-of-a-kind ideas,
identities, niches and
pitches that help their
business or brand break
out. She does this
through her books (POP!
Stand Out in Any Crowd,
which Seth Godin calls
“revolutionary”),
one-on-one consulting,
weekend camps, media
interviews (NPR,Investors
Business Daily, Chicago
Tribune) and
presentations
(Outstanding Capital
Speaker 2003-04). She
lives and works on a
lake near Washington
DC's Dulles Airport.
Sam’s West Coast
Business Manager, Cheri
Grimm, operates out of
California
Sam’s East Coast
Operations Manager, Jill
Anderson, operates out
of Virginia
Contact us at:
(703) 232-9757
Info@samhorn.com –
email
www.SamHornPOP.com
- blog
www.SamHorn.com -
website
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