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Tuesday, July 04, 2006
 I think I'll name my next cat Sisyphus.
A good while ago -- like in high school -- I invented (or the family cat, Twinkle, invented) a game called "knock-off." It went something like this. I'd put a toy mouse or similar object on the window sill, a foot from the cat. The cat would look around, look nonchalant, and then whap it gently off the ledge, and onto the floor. I'd then put it back. The cat would knock it off again. Then I'd put it back. That cat could keep me amused for a good ten minutes that way! Or was it the other way around.
This reminds me a bit of business.
You put out a product or a book -- someone copies it. You put new product or new info back on the shelf... along comes another paw to swipe at you. You can't duck. You can't change the nature of the beast. All you can do is hunker down and get ready to put something good to put back on the shelf.
Today I was reading one of the many "newsletters" full of "cutting edge tips" by one of the great many "search advertising experts" in existence today. My oh my oh my, if I didn't see, in great detail, the exact same tips, with similar examples, I shared with readers four long years ago. Four years, and they can't even come up with any kind of critical analysis or new ideas! Long tail, lots of keywords, try different matching options, and so on and so forth, zzz zzz zzzzz....
Problem is, a lot of that info isn't any good anymore. At least they have the decency to give it away for free. No marketing campaign is plug and play. True professionalism is the only way to succeed long term, and that could mean a lot of flexibility in one's approach over time.
So all of this may explain the light (ahem) posting schedule I have planned this month. I'll be hunkering down and creating an entirely new version of the AdWords Handbook, finally... so I've got something to put back on the shelf. Price: not free. Probably $75. Price for people who plan to rip it off and pass it off as their own insight: $200,000 and up. We'll be cloaking to assign the right landing page to the right buyers. :)
Posted by
Andrew Goodman
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D'oh!
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