A note from Sary

Bezos takes a red pen to press releases, product descriptions, speeches, and shareholder letters, crossing out anything that does not speak simply and positively to customers.

Sary The Everything Store, page 20 · July 1, 2023 Save to shelf

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Sary p. 385

When a platform is self-service, even the improbable ideas can get tried, because there's no expert gate-keeper ready to say "that will never work" And guess what - many of chose improbable ideas do work, and society is the beneficiary of that diversity.

Sary Aug 1, 2023

Sary p. 201

An interviewer once asked Bezos why he was motivated to accomplish so much, considering that he had already amassed an exceedingly large fortune. I have realized about myself that I'm very motivated by people counting on me, he answered. 'I like to be counted on.

Sary Jul 14, 2023

Sary p. 121

At Amazon there were a hundred and fifty good ideas all the time and Jeff was capable of developing a new one every day.

Sary Jul 9, 2023

Sary p. 109

Years later, Bezos told journalist ove to Scathe Steven Levy that he was impressed by the Google guys' "healthy stubbornness' as they explained why they would never put advertisements on their home page.

Sary Jul 8, 2023

Sary p. 100

That May, he surveyed what was then Amazon's Hot 100 bestseller list and had an epiphany - why not rank everything on the site, not just the top sellers? I chought, "Hey, why do we stop at a hundred? This is the Internet Not some newspaper bestseller list. We can have a list that goes on and on,' he told the Washington Post. 'The notion was not only to create a new kind of taxonomy of popularity but also to give authors, artists, and publishers a better idea of how they were doing - and to cater to some of their more neurotie impulses. 'Bezos knew sales rank would be like a drug to authors,' says Greg Linden, an early Amazon engineer. 'He insisted that it change whenever a new order came in.'

Sary Jul 7, 2023

Sary p. 99

Could a Wal-Mart-type story still occur in this day and age? My answer is of course it could happen again. Somewhere out there right now there's someone - probably hundreds of thousands of someones - with good enough ideas to go all the way. It will be done again, over and over, providing that someone wants it badly enough to do what it takes to get there. It's all a matter of attitude and the capacity to constantly study and question the management of the business.

Sary Jul 7, 2023

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Building A Storybrand p. 102

Transitional call: 3. Position yourself as the guide. When you help your customers solve a problem, even for free, you position yourself as the guide. The next time they encounter a problem in that area of their lives, they will look to you for help.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

Building A Storybrand p. 102

Transitional call: 2. Create reciprocity. I've never worried about giving away too much free information. In fact, the more generous a brand is, the more reciprocity they create. All relationships are give-and-take, and the more you give to your customers, the more likely they will be to give something back in the future. Give freely.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

Building A Storybrand p. 102

Transitional call: 1. Stake a claim to your territory. If you want to be known as the leader in a certain territory, stake a claim to that territory before the competition beats you to it. Creating a PDF, a video series, or anything else that positions you as the expert is a great way to establish authority.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

Building A Storybrand p. 100

Us: Will you marry me? Customer: No. Us: Will you go out with me again? Customer: Yes. Us: Will you marry me now? Customer: No. Us: Will you go out with me again? Customer: Sure, you're interesting and the information you provide is helpful. Us: Will you marry me? Customer: Okay, I'll marry you now.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

Building A Storybrand p. 99

At StoryBrand we recommend two kinds of calls to action: direct calls to action and transitional calls to action. Direct calls to action include requests like "buy now," "schedule an appointment," or "call today." A direct call to action is sornething that leads to a sale, or at least is the firat step down a path that leads to a sale. Transitional calls to action, however, contain leus riak und usually offer a customer something for free. Transitional calls to action can be used to "on ramp" potential customers to to an eventual purchase. Inviting people to watch a webinar or download a PDF are good examples of transitional calls to action.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

Building A Storybrand p. 97

There should be a "Buy Now" button in the top right corner of your website, and it shouldn't be cluttered with a bunch of other buttons. The same call to action should be repeated above the fold and in the center of your website, and again and again as people scroll down the page.

Sary Dec 19, 2024

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