The smell of cold piss on molten lava

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I just returned from a three-day trip with a small group of friends of mine.

It was a lot of fun, a nice change of pace (I didn’t do anything work-related at all—not even checking my emails or how my promo was going), quite adventurous at some points, and especially tiring when we stayed up until 6 in the morning playing board games (that’s not your usual “stay up way too late” culprit, now is it?).

Funnily enough, one of the main things I learned during and still remember from that trip was a funny little word used to describe “the earthy scent produced when rain falls on dry soil” (courtesy of Wikipedia).

Or, as smart people would call it, petrichor.

So, as you may (or may not) know, I just had to start digging for other such scents.

I then quickly learned about bibliosmia, coined by Oliver Tearle, an English lecturer and author, in 2014 and which refers to “The pleasant smell and aroma of a new (or any) book, caused by the gradual chemical breakdown of the compounds used within the paper”.

The hunt was on. I had so many questions.

How many other scents, smells, or even tastes and sounds have been given unique names of which I’m not aware?

When does a scent become unique or special enough to be deserving of a name?

What’s it called when cold piss falls on molten lava?

Unfortunately, I couldn’t answer all of them.

But that’s not the point.

The point is that I got curious. I let my inner child come out and went looking for what some people might consider stupid answers to even dumber questions.

This is the key to creativity. Which in turn is the key to happiness. And that happiness can easily affect a large number of people who just so happen to be connected to me some way or another thanks to the vast network of modern globalization—further aided by my deliberate intentions to share this curiosity, my findings, and my joy with the world; which in turn might inspire a select few people to do the same and continue expanding the range of global network and reach an uncountable amount of people all over the world.

Many people might say entertainment lies at the root of civilization.

And they’re definitely not wrong.

But there’s a real argument to be made that curiosity lies at the root of entertainment, and thus civilization by extension.

Whether this newfound knowledge about the names of certain scents is of any use to you remains to be seen.

What I do know, however, is that just by sharing my findings and curiosity with you, there’s a good chance you’ll go out there into the world with a newfound appreciation for something which in turn will aid your creative endeavours, giving you a boost which might help you become successful at whatever it is you want to do, and ultimately make the world a better place.

And if you’re curious about something else that might help you become successful, then I’d highly suggest you check out my flagship course Email Valhalla, which teaches you all about writing emails that get you sales while keeping your readers engaged and entertained so they’ll keep reading your emails for a long time.

Click here for more information about Email Valhalla: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Do you struggle with procrastination and perfectionism?

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Well, then here’s a fun fact for you:

So did the man, the father of modern-day fantasy and author of still the number one best-selling Epic Fantasy series of all time, the legend himself, JRR Tolkien.

In fact, his procrastination was so bad it often took him over six months to revise a particular scene or fix a certain plot hole (which his manuscripts were filled with—he was THE master of plot hole writing).

What about his perfectionism fueled by anxiety and insecurity?

Well, it took him TWENTY YEARS to “finish” Lord of The Rings after The Hobbit was released. I say “finished” because he wouldn’t stop tinkering with the damn thing and was basically forced to put it out there by his fellow colleagues.

It’s a miracle The Lord of The Rings got published at all.

Seriously.

Tolkien easily made over 50 revisions—each time rewriting the whole damn thing from scratch basically.

Even more.

If it wasn’t for C.S. Lewis, the author of the popular Narnia books, the Lord of The Rings as we know it today wouldn’t exist at all. Lewis was the person who convinced Tolkien to write about more than just “Hobbits sitting around talking to each other in the Shire all day” (which is what fascinated Tolkien the most).

You can read more about the story behind the Lord of The Rings, the writing, Tolkien’s inspirations, and C.S. Lewis’s contributions to the whole thing in the book “Bandersnatch”.

But I hope I could at least give you some sort of hope that you’re definitely not alone.

Writing is hard.

Any creative type of work is hard. It feels like you’re never finished, sometimes you absolutely despise your own work, but at the end of the day, none of it matters if you don’t get it finished and put it out there into the world for everyone to see.

Who knows, maybe you have a new best-selling series in your hands without even knowing it?

Or maybe you have your next best-converting sales letter or launch emails ready to go without even realizing it.

One way to learn how to write better sales emails (and actually get them out there) is by checking out Email Valhalla.

More information can be found here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Got shot? No problem

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So Trump got shot.

And what did we get? A sad news report about resignation, corruption, or worse, death?

No.

We got to witness a historic moment with an already timeless and iconic picture that perfectly captures Trump and the American spirit he’s fighting for that’ll go down in the history books and will become a highlight for many years, decades, perhaps even centuries to come.

Whether you like the guy or whether you’re even paying attention to anything related to the presidential elections… you can’t deny the significance this moment has and will remain to have for god knows how long.

Was it an actual assassination attempt from other parties?

Was it an inside job?

Was it a ploy from Trump himself to improve his own campaign?

Who knows?

All very important questions, no doubt about it.

But think about the effect it has on the public perception. Think about the ‘lessons’ you can take away from this and how you could apply them to your own life (albeit in a different way—I don’t want you to get shot).

In the end, all this boils down to the classic story of the heavily-opposed man who triumphs despite the odds and despite the challenges and hurdles that are thrown against him.

Whether it’s showing your strength and determination after being shot.

Or standing back up, to keep following your dreams and your passions, after a failed project.

If Trump can get shot and use it to strengthen his campaign even more, then you can release your new offer and profit from it regardless of how it goes.

I once heard a man who was a lot smarter and a lot wiser than me say “Nothing bad ever happens to a writer”.

And oh boy, how true that actually is.

Every bad thing that happens to you can be and should be turned into content, into another offer, into another reason to create, to sell, and to thrive.

Many people love J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter.

And I believe that’s partly because Rowling got rejected a dozen times before her novel finally got published. Of course that’s not the only part. And only getting 12 rejections as a not-yet-established author is even LESS than average, sure.

But that doesn’t matter to the public perception.

It’s the fact that people kept going even though at times it felt like the world was against them. The public looks up to those types of people because it gives them hope. It gives them something or someone to look up to and believe in themselves, despite the many rejections they faced themselves.

So don’t you dare doubt yourself after a rejection or a loss.

Get back on your feet and keep creating.

And if you’d like to learn how to ideate, create, and launch profitable digital products in 21 days or less, then consider checking out Product Creation Made Easy here: https://alexvandromme.com/product


How to solve your problems by complaining about them

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Here’s a good one for you:

Some 15 years ago famous actor Robert Pattinson had to deal with quite the number of obsessive fans who went as far as camping outside of his apartment for weeks just to get a chance of seeing him.

Obviously, nobody likes this kind of attention. So 22-year-old Pattinson had to come up with a solution to solve his obsessive stalker problems.

His solution?

He asked his stalker out on a date.

I’m not even kidding, you can look this up and verify it yourself.

He took her out on a dinner date and, I quote: “I just complained about everything in my life and she never came back”.

Now that’s giving a new meaning to “never meat (get it?) your heroes”.

So think about this the next time you consider complaining about the problems in your life. Whether it’s to your friends, your family, your co-workers, or, worst of all, your audience and (would-be) customers.

If an obsessed stalker suddenly decides they never want to hear from you again. Just imagine the effect complaining will have on your audience.

Anyway.

In case you’d like to learn how to write actual good emails so you can make sales daily and/or get clients on repeat, without having to complain about anything, then consider checking out Email Valhalla.

Here’s the link: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Stop whining and get this topic right

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If you claim to be an expert—let alone a leader—then you should have something to say every single day.

Nobody cares about how much you know (or think you know) unless you prove it on a consistent and regular basis.

If you—an obvious expert and experienced veteran and among the top 1% of peak human evolution in whatever market you're in—only have something to say once every week or so… Yet Timmy, who might have spent a few months watching YouTube tutorials and has only recently started working with clients, shows up every single day, sharing a valuable lesson, insight, principle, or tactic that's on his mind that day…

Who, out of the both of you, would look more credible and build up more authority in the market?

But I get it.

You might not have the time to be posting every day. Fair enough, you're running a business after all. But don't keep shouting about how only posting once a week, or maybe even a few times a week, is the optimal move.

It’s not and you bloody well know it.

Posting content, no matter how or where is done (or should be done at least) for the sole purpose of grabbing attention, showing people you know your shit, and driving that traffic to somewhere that gets you paid (which requires trust).

So if you truly want to stand out.

If you truly want to make a difference.

If you truly know your shyt.

Then back it up by showing up day after day and proving you're worthy of being called "an expert".

And there’s no better place to prove you know your shit every single day than by sending it straight into the inbox of your audience.

For more about how to go about doing so, check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Shocking new statistics show the power of this simple marketing trick

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The average 12-year-old boy is 356% more likely to ask his parents to buy ice cream at the store than a 15-year-old girl.

How crazy is that?

Not only because that’s an enormous difference in the likelihood of a kid asking for ice cream. I mean, it’s not as if ice cream is this extremely gender-specific interest as opposed to playing with dolls or reading your average superhero comic book.

And neither is that 3-year difference that much when you think about the general age range of people who enjoy eating ice cream.

But no, that’s not all. There’s a lot more that makes it a crazy statement.

More specifically…

It’s also crazy because I made up that fact just now. Entirely made up. Total bollocks. I didn’t even do a sliver of research to make it feel more possible.

And yet…

I’m certain there’s a high chance you read that first sentence and simply believed it.

In fact, I know many people did.

Coincidentally, it’s also something Claude C. Hopkins wrote about in Scientific Advertising when he said the following:

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“The weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific. Say that a tungsten lamp gives more light than a carbon and you leave some doubt. Say that it gives three and one-third times the light and people realize that you have made tests and comparisons.”

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Now, admittedly, he didn’t say anything about lying and or making up facts.

Probably because that’s not a good business practice.

But it does work just as well—which clearly shows you the power of being specific.

Now, I’m sure you’re not planning on making up random specific, and believable, facts as a party trick wherever you go.

But you might be interested to know that you’d make, on average, a total of $42 for every $1 you spent on email marketing.

Not a bad trade, eh?

And if you’d like to start learning how to write better emails so you can make more sales while keeping your readers reading day after day, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


My predictions for the upcoming American presidential elections

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You may or may not be following the absolute crapload of articles, interviews, debates, social media posts, social discussions, commentaries, and pretty much everything else related to the upcoming American presidential elections.

But, regardless you’re likely to know it’s Biden vs Trump fighting one another for a second shot at being able to sit their sweet buttocks down in the White House.

And if you didn’t even know that, then now you do.

But you might be wondering. Who are both these people?

Well, people often refer to Biden as a senile old pile of crap who’s drugged up all the time and only awake for two hours a day (if that many) while merely existing the other 16 hours or so he’s awake.

On the other hand, Trump is a tiny, yet very angry, orange oompa loompa with a wet raccoon on his head. He calls himself a true businessman, but we all know the only reason people know him is because of his role in Home Alone. Did I mention that he gets extremely pissed off if you were to mention his mediocre golf skills?

Anyway.

My prediction isn’t nearly as exciting as keeping up with whatever new ploy or scheme the media is cooking up to manipulate, twist, and turn the public’s perception—there’s a lot of shady stuff going on everywhere you look and not a lot of honesty—every single day.

But as for a prediction.

As the elections will happen in November, I reckon people will already be in the Christmas spirit—since, you know, the selling and advertising of everything Christmas related is starting earlier and earlier every year to milk as much money out of the public’s pockets—so they’ll rewatch Home Alone (as people do). This will subconsciously alter the perception of Trump in people’s mind to that of the helpful guide (after all, he does guide the way), making it so Trump will win the elections by a landslide.

Now, whether any of this will actually happen, much less if it’s relevant at all, doesn’t actually matter.

You see.. in his book The Ultimate Sales Letter, Dan Kennedy wrote the following:

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“The two keys to unlimited media attention and publicity are being predictive and being provocative.”

===

So I’ll leave this be for what it is and gently enjoy all of my newfound media attention, thank you very much.

But before I do.

Maybe you’d like to get some media attention as well?

In that case, do check out Email Valhalla where I’ll show you just how to write emails so you can get drive more traffic and attention to whatever you are selling (and make a profit while you’re at it).

My prediction is that you’ll become extremely successful after implementing everything you read inside of Email Valhalla.

But enough talking.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


My extremely unattainable vision for the next 50 to 70 years of my life

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Would it surprise you if I told you I already created a “business plan”—or at least a vision—for the next 50 to 70 years of my life, depending on how long I’ll be able to walk this wonderful planet?

Well, I have.

But before I dive any deeper into it, let me just tell you something… this isn’t meant to be practical advice. This isn’t meant to be used as a guideline or something to strive towards. If anything, I’d suggest you forget everything I talk about right now and pretend I never wrote this.

What I’m about to share with you doesn’t just walk the fine line between visionary and pure lunacy… It IS pure lunacy, no doubt about it. In fact, I’d even argue it should deserve a whole new category of its own.

Hard, relentless work likely won’t cut it. Burnouts are a given. The amount of patience, determination, and quite possibly luck, someone would need to pull this off is truly off the charts and out of this world. But as a wise man once told me, “You don’t know where the line is until you cross it.”

And I’m damn determined to figure out exactly where that line is.

See, it’s currently 2024.

Almost everything is digitalized in one way or another. There’s barely a person left who isn’t, in one way or another, plugged in and online at all times. You can reach a near-infinite number of people just by pressing a few buttons without even having to leave the comfort of your couch.

Technology is evolving at incredible speeds, allowing you to create everything you can imagine.

Yet, people’s vision isn’t evolving at even close to the same speed… and neither is their marketing…

Before I continue, let’s look at how current-day online marketing (for independent creators and entrepreneurs) is mostly done

First, you’ve got the usual options of joining and engaging in online communities (e.g., on Discord, Reddit, Skool, Circle, various forums, hobby or theme pages, …) that share your interests. Then you’ve got the general “building an audience” social media route (LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, …) as well as more specific (market)places (Upwork, Fiverr, Etsy, Amazon KDP, Steam, Itch dot io, Soundcloud, Spotify, you name it).

All great tools on their own.

And that’s where many people stop.

But not you. You know better… you know if you stop there you’ll be entirely dependent on some algorithm or the whims of the next update to the platform—as well as its regulations—that may or may not break your entire business overnight. You’re essentially gambling for success this way (and gamblers tend to lose—big time).

If you’ve got any brain cells in you, then you should be in this for the long game.

That means, setting things up so you’re in control. You decide your own success… without having to pray that some algorithm shows your work to the right people at the right time, let alone consistently and reliably.

So you’ll want to think about building something you own, something you have absolute control over and where you don’t have to please an algorithm or fight an uphill battle to get your content in front of your audience… As well as somewhere you can focus on marketing not just your work, but yourself as the creator behind it… something like a personal blog, or, even better in my humble yet biased opinion, an email list.

When you realize your email list is the true base of operations and everything else is only a portal for people to come into your world (the email list) where you can entertain them and build a deeper relationship with them so they’ll stay for years to come (again, you’re playing the long game) and all but guaranteeing they’ll read, consume, and buy a lot more than they would’ve if you’d tried to get the one-time sale… that’s when the real game begins.

But there are as many of these portals to get people onto your email list as there are grains of sand on Earth (possibly, I didn’t count).

Just to give you some inspiration:

The first and foremost method people use (aside from the ones I mentioned earlier) is to use paid advertisement to get people interested in what you have to offer, maybe give them something for free which they can use (or that’s purely entertaining—this depends on the market you’re in) in return for signing up to your email list.

But what if you don’t want to spend any money?

No worries, there are plenty of other options as well.

Here we’re already entering a terrain that not many people (definitely not nearly enough) are thinking about using and abusing.

For example, going on podcasts or interviews with other people/channels/businesses in your market (or related markets)—the smaller ones especially are always happy to talk with anyone. Or writing articles and press releases for (online) magazines and blogs. As well as your local newspapers or radio stations—they love to interview local people who are doing something creative in their lives.

Everyone is looking for news and entertainment all the time. You just have to approach them and ask (make sure you’re allowed to plug your work or your email list at the end—most will allow you to do so, but it’s best to double-check).

Taking it yet another step further: unleash your inner Brandon Sanderson (to stay in theme as creatives) and grow your own all-around entertainment-focused podcast like he does with his “Intentionally Blank” podcast as a supplement to all the books he’s writing.

This is truly where most people stop.

Only the true devout, the maniacs, and the mentally insane in our world would dare to go beyond. Probably for the best because you’d need to be a special type of deranged to even dare thinking about taking it to this next level.

What level am I talking about?

The level of madness where people start thinking “Why build a business around one product, service, or offer when I could build a whole universe around one central narrative?”

That’s where you start thinking like a publisher.

This is where you start writing books, comics, and graphic novels, releasing video games, board games, or card games, recording songs, albums, and soundtracks, creating paintings, sculptures, or even action figures, directing animated series, films, and documentaries…

All with the intention of creating one coherent universe where everything’s interconnected, one thing leads to the next, the movie follows the book, the action figures follow the movie, the video games follow the action figures, the paintings follow the video games, the books then references the paintings in a later installment, which then again follows the albums, the documentaries, and everything else, all in unison, all living together in harmony, supporting one another and strengthening each other to the point where there are a bazillion gateways for people to come to discover, enjoy, and ultimately become obsessed with everything you’ve built…

And no matter where people are in your universe, they’ll always find themselves on a road that leads to your email list in exactly the same manner as every road would lead to Rome.

Yes, this is a lot.

If anything, this is too much. Especially for just one person to accomplish. No doubt about it. I warned you in the beginning…this takes work. It might not even be possible. I haven’t got the slightest clue. Probably nobody really does.

The least I can say is that this isn’t for the weak-willed, the weak-minded, and the lazy… not in the slightest.

I repeat, these are merely ideas meant to inspire you. I haven’t even started working on 10% of this. It will take years or even decades to do all of it. And nobody’s forcing you to do everything. But it’s great to have goals you can’t possibly reach. It’s good to be motivated and have something to drive you.

Nobody got anywhere without a vision.

And well, mine just happens to be… well, however extremely, more than likely, unattainable this is…

I can’t, in good conscience, suggest you try anything even close to this. No doubt many people who’d attempt such a thing would go insane or completely burn out, draining every single drop of life and creative expression they have left… even attempting to do just two or three different things on this list would probably mean the end to most people.

If anything, I recommend you NOT to do this.

But just in case you happen to be as crazy (and as overly optimistic and long-term-focused) as I am.

This might just get you inspired to make something happen.

Remind yourself that just because you barely see anyone else attempt something like this doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t do it. More often than not, you’ll become MORE, not less, successful by doing the things others don’t.

Circling back a bit…

Don’t forget, you’re not limited to solely talking about your projects from a creative perspective. In fact, it’d likely hurt you if you did. Realize that people won’t be solely interested in your work. If you’re attempting anything close to my crazy vision of the future I’ve laid out right here, and if done right, they’ll be interested in YOU (and everything you put out).

So share stories about the development, about how you came up with your ideas, what inspired you, even talk about the work of others and what you thought was missing from their creations—a common reason for making your own version—be bigger than life. Show them there’s a real person behind this universe you’re creating.

At the end of the day, people just want to be entertained, which opens up a whole new world of things to talk about.

No doubt this universe will become bigger than you. It will outlast you if you put everything you have into it (which also means someone else will cause its downfall when you’re no longer around—you either die a visionary or live long enough to see them kill off your babies).

But as long as that’s not the case, you’ll have to be the driving force of expansion—you and the characters that inhabit your universe and the many worlds it holds.

As we near the end of this article, let me restate the obvious one more time.

This is a lot of work. I have no idea whether this is even possible for a single person to accomplish. But then again, there’s only one way to find out, right?

And on that note, there is one piece of genuinely helpful advice I’d give anyone foolish enough to attempt turning this vision into a reality. This is at least how I’m currently working towards tackling the above. And that’s by starting things slow. Focusing on every aspect one at a time. And building the foundation first (you can’t build a skyscraper on a rushed foundation after all).

And that foundation is nothing less than learning to write and entertain, while simultaneously growing your email list. After all, that’s what’s at the center of this entire vision. It only make sense to start it early and keep working on it for decades to come.


Never stop learning

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Even more.

Do all of your learning in public.

Start new projects all the time. Share your progress. Give regular updates. Talk about what you’ve learned, where you made mistakes, and how you’d go about avoiding those same mistakes in the future.

When it’s time you can ever start educating other people on the skills you’ve learned and the experience you’ve gathered.

There are many places you can learn, record, and even build stuff in public.

Personal websites, portfolios, and blogs are good.

Building an audience on social media platforms is better.

Growing your own email list which you own, control, and gives you direct access to every single one of your readers is the best.

Remember, you’re playing a long-term game here.

You’re not in it to MAYBE go viral and MAYBE get a chance at becoming popular and extremely rich. You’re here to guarantee you’ll be seen and guarantee you’ll have a decent income.

You probably won’t get extremely rich, sure. But chances are you wouldn’t have gotten rich by enslaving yourself to a social media platform, hoping the algorithm works in your favor, always following whatever the latest trend or the latest update is, following the crowd wherever you go, and never truly being able to master something or to stick to one formula.

Instead, you find a format that works and stick to it for decades. You become a platform onto yourself by building an email list which you control.

Most importantly, you take your marketing into your own hands, doing things you can control, which guarantees a positive outcome.

Everyone who’s out there playing the algorithm game is gambling with their future—and gamblers always lose (and they lose hard).

Don’t be a gambler.

If you’d like more information on how to best take matters into your own hand by building yourself something you control and can guarantee a positive outcome, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla


Two-time self-published author doesn’t know how to promote her books

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A question popped up in a self-publishing writer’s community:

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I published my memoir in late January of this year. I was able to get quite a few sales (I was amazed tbh because my previous book I had published barely even sold…).

I’ve been trying my best to promote it this last month because the sales are dropping and I think it’s simply because people have no idea it exists…? But I don’t think I’m catching people’s attention with it.

I published it on Amazon kdp. I can’t pay for ads currently so…am I SOL? I really want my story to be heard

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Classic case of short-sightedness.

You see it everywhere. People trying to get others to buy their products or services so they start looking for ways to advertise that specific product… only to get a few one-time sales and then struggle to keep that momentum (if they even got any to begin with) going—never actually making a business out of what they’ve got.

Here’s the tl;dr of what I’d suggest to anyone in a similar situation:

• Step 1: Create an email list

• Step 2: Drive people to your opt-in page through content creation

• Step 3: Email them as often as you can about the common interests that connect you and them to whatever you’re selling.

• Step 4: Sit back and relax while growing a business that doesn’t rely on one-time sales because you’re not losing your customers. Instead you’re actively growing your customer list and building a better and tighter relationship with them, guaranteeing more sales (consistently) in the future as long as you keep giving people what they want.

Ain’t nothing complicated to it (and if you think this only works for authors, you couldn’t be more mistaken).

If you’d like a more in-depth view of this process, then check out Email Valhalla to learn all about building, growing, and monetizing your email list.

Click here to check it out: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla