Quick Poll: Which Topics Should This Blog Cover?

I started my first business blog on Typepad. I called it “On Copywriting.” It was about copywriting, advertising, and marketing. But because I’m a freelance copywriter, I attracted mostly other freelance copywriters as readers. In January 2008, I started my new blog here at RyanHealy.com. I decided to reposition my blog to focus on business […]

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The Laziness Alibi: Legit Defense or a Clever Cover-Up for Fraud?

Last week, I watched the season premiere of The Middle, a sitcom about a middle-class American family living in middle America. In the first episode of the second season, Frankie, played by Patricia Heaton, gets on a kick to be more punctual and proactive with her family. Of course, based on her poor track record, […]

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Drayton Bird: “The Best TV Ad Ever”

While I was in Chicago for Ken McCarthy’s System Seminar, I had the opportunity to meet Drayton Bird. He’s incredibly bright. And he’s got a wicked sense of humor. Anyway, he says the best TV ad ever is this one advertising the Volkswagen Beetle. It’s from 1964. A few things stand out to me: 1. […]

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Direct Mail Advertising – A Few Observations

Direct mail advertising is very different than online advertising. With direct mail, you have to find or compile a list of people who will be a good fit for your offer. The people you mail may or may not be interested in your product or service. They’ve never asked for you to contact them. Plus, […]

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Forget Plan B!

Back in the summer of 2005, I found myself between a rock and a hard place. On April 19, 2005, exactly one month after my second child was born, I quit my job to pursue a new career as a financial planner. I was able to do this because I had received a bonus and, […]

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