Just a quick little note that we added a “prelaunch” blog, where we will be adding previews, news, samples, and posts about the official launch of Success Chef.

While you’re there, subscribe to the RSS feed or join the email list, and view the special 70-minute prelaunch video tutorial. But if you want a sample, here’s the first 15 minutes or so of that hour-long video tutorial…

Click the video above (or the “play” button at the bottom-right corner) to start watching this video now. To view the remaining 50 minutes, click here.

A mistake businesspeople often make is when they try to sell their company directly in every communication they produce. (I’m referring to the idea that they try to sell their company as being merely open for business, also called “institutional advertising,” and not direct marketing, which is different.)

Institutional advertising (or what I call “blind branding”) will draw up immediate clients. When advertising, they spend hoards of cash on repeated, slick and entertaining ads. When marketing to people for the first time, they blab on until the cows come home. When sending out information, they send beautifully designed packages that make shipping crates look like a joke!

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We’ve made it! You’ve now reached the last commandment. And what better way is there to end this book that’s chock-full o’ marketing secrets other than by telling you about something I truly hate. I hate networking. Really, I do!

I hate it because, in my experience, it hasn’t brought me anything substantial in return. You’re probably saying right now, “What? Is he crazy? Has he lost his mind?”

But wait a minute, hear me out. Networking isn’t a bad concept. Far from it. If the previous commandments have been properly followed, networking can be a fantastic marketing tool to leverage them. If you can be at the top of your prospects’ minds, you can also be at the top of your network’s mind, right?

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The most profitable and often overlooked free publicity generator is the news release (also called "press release", although news release is a better term).

News releases are not only great marketing tools but also far more credible and believable than advertising since they appear to come from an objective third party.

While publicity is the most powerful promotional tool there is, it is the one that is the least effectively used.

All too often, business owners view news releases as a form of advertising. The copy is self-serving, promotional in tone, and one-sided, and offer no real value to a news-reading audience.

Don't get me wrong. The media’s goal is to report on stories that affect, or are of interest to, their readers or viewers. So, news releases are their best friends — but only if they follow a few important guidelines.

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Last Sunday, a bunch of copywriters shot the breeze on the Nuts & Blogbolts talk radio show. At the end, Mike Sansone asked if we would individually respond on our blogs to this question:

"Writing for the visitor is more important than writing for the search engines. Can both requirements be met without sacrificing quality?"

Ryan Healy posted his answer on the subject. I agree with him, but only in part. This is not because I disagree with anything Ryan said, because he makes some great points. But because I think there are ways around it.

So my answer is both "yes" and "no." Here's why…

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I’m the special guest this week on a special "online talk show" called Internet Marketing Unwrapped. Hosted by Heather Vale, these teleshows are new, fresh, in-depth, completely unscripted and, unlike most typical teleseminars.

Why? First off, Heather Vale is a veteran interviewer.

She is not only an Internet marketer herself but also a seasoned reporter and television talk show host from Toronto, Canada. She has appeared on several major Canadian television networks and national news shows, as well as a celebrity interviewer during the Gemini and Genie awards (Canada’s version of the Oscars and Emmys).

Her style is slightly different than most teleseminars out there. Her questions are pointed and direct, and as a veteran reporter she knows how to extract some real, golden nuggets from her guests. (Even I learned a few things!)

In fact, this is the "second season" because the first one was so immensely popular, the second one is the result of popular demand. So I recommend that you signup to listen to these shows. Click here to register now.

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Most advertisers are confronted with the problem of getting distribution. National advertising is unthinkable without that. A venture cannot be profitable if nine in ten of the converts fail to find the goods.

To force dealers to stock by bringing repeated demands may be enormously expensive. To cover the country with a selling force is usually impossible. To get dealers to stock an unknown line on promise of advertising is not easy. They have seen too many efforts fail, too many promises rescinded.

We cannot discuss all plans for getting distribution. There are scores of ways employed, according to the enterprise. Some start by soliciting direct sales — mail orders — until the volume of demand forces dealers to supply.

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