Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memo cover art

Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memo

Wizard of Ads Monday Morning Memo

By: Roy H. Williams
Listen for free

About this listen

Thousands of people are starting their workweeks with smiles of invigoration as they log on to their computers to find their Monday Morning Memo just waiting to be devoured. Straight from the middle-of-the-night keystrokes of Roy H. Williams, the MMMemo is an insightful and provocative series of well-crafted thoughts about the life of business and the business of life.℗ & © 2006 Roy H. Williams Economics Leadership Management Management & Leadership Marketing Marketing & Sales
Episodes
  • Everything Flows From Strategy
    Apr 6 2026

    I am always fascinated when I see business owners all marching in the same direction, doing the exact same things because they believe, “This is the way to differentiate yourself.”

    Do you believe that following the same strategy as everyone else is the way the surest way to succeed?

    Of course you don’t. Because if you were an unthinking conformist, you would never have subscribed to the MondayMorningMemo.

    Strategy

    Everything flows from strategy.

    Your logo is the flag waved by your strategy.

    Your sonic device is the trumpet call of your strategy.

    (Do you have a sonic device?)

    Your recurrent phrases – your brandable chunks – are the poetic expressions of your strategy.

    (Can you name your brandable chunks?)

    Your ad copy flows like a river from your strategy.

    How swift is the current in that river today? How many people are swimming, canoeing, skiing, biking, hiking, fishing, splashing, frolicing and dashing in your river right now?

    Your media buyer opens the floodgates that gush water into your river.

    (How good is your media buyer?)

    Do you understand why measuring ROAS is green kryptonite to every super-heroic strategy?

    Do you understand why verbs make a bigger difference than nouns and modifyers?

    Would you like to know these things and change the trajectory of your business and your life?

    Be in the Tower at Wizard Academy on May 26th and May 27th.

    Wisdom is knowing what to do.

    Understanding is knowing why it works.

    If you have an open mind and a hungry heart, your life will be forever changed.

    Or maybe you already know these things and should therefore absolutely, definitely, please don’t come.

    Roy H. Williams

    PS – Do you have a crazy idea? Would you like to learn from 4 famous people, each of whom have repeatedly taken their crazy ideas to the highest heights? It’s going to be an amazing adventure, full of wonder.

    Show More Show Less
    4 mins
  • What Do People Already Care About?
    Mar 30 2026
    March 30, 2026It pays to know what people already care about.The following conversation illustrates one of the ways in which this pays.“If I spend money on advertising, what will I get in return?”It depends on what you say in your ads.“What do you mean?”Most ads have no relevance to most people.“Yes, that’s why you need to target the right people.”There is some truth in that, but not as much as you think.“What do you mean?”You can reach the right person, but if they have no current need for what you sell, you can only hope that they remember you when they do have a need.“So, what’s the answer?”The answer is to talk to people about what they already care about. Speak to what currently interests them.“Can you give me a couple of examples?”Sure.Public Relations experts know that a highly relevant press release will deliver amazing results when it can be inserted into a conversation that people are already having.Mass Media experts know that TV and Radio ads deliver amazing results when they:(A) speak to values and beliefs that already reside in the hearts of the masses(B) introduce relatable, interesting characters so that people can bond with them(C) use 40 percent of the total ads to create “sales activation” by making an offer of a product or service during a time when it is at peak desirability.“But even when something is at peak desirability, don’t I have to be able to reach the right people?”When you are using mass media, you can depend on the behavior of the masses.“What do you mean?”Most products and services will be at peak desirability during these three types of trigger events.(A) Seasonality.Every spring, the masses want junk removal, lawn fertilizer, gardening equipment and supplies, home improvement tools and materials, warm-weather clothing, A/C check-ups and a huge variety of other products and services. Each month of the year triggers its own felt needs.(B) Holidays. Each holiday triggers its own thoughts, emotions, and desires. New Year’s Day is when people invest in diet programs, gym memberships, and programs to help them quit smoking. Valentine’s Day is romance, and Memorial Day is when retailers have discount events, and then we have End-of-School, Vacation Season, Back-to-School, Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. Each of these are each trigger events that every company can build upon.(C) Personal Trigger Events.Moving out of a home or into a home is a personal trigger event that cannot be predicted by even the best AI. Likewise, engagement ring purchases, hot water heater replacement, funeral services, and car repairs happen at unexpected and unplanned times. Does it make sense to wait until the “Zero Moment of Truth” and then pay the price to generate an extremely expensive, low-conversion click? Or should you become the company the masses “think of first and feel the best about” when their personal trigger event occurs? Low-cost, high-conversion clicks are the result of people typing your name into the search engine because you have already won their hearts through the ongoing use of low-cost mass media.CONCLUSION:What you say in your mass media ads determines whether or not you will own real estate in the hearts and minds of the masses.BONUS INFORMATION:Youtube has become a new type of Mass Media.I decided to start a couple of Youtube channels in February.On March 4th, I decided to do an experiment. It began to pay off on March 5th.Twenty-one days later, the results of those two experiments was a combined total of 1,234,238 new subscribers at a total cost of 2 cents per subscriber.When a person subscribes, they are telling you,“I love this and want more of it.”If you want to know how much I spent to gain 1.2 million subscribers in just 21 days, all you have to do is multiply 1,234,238 by 0.02. (If you want to know precisely how much I spent, multiply 1,234,238 by 0.020319090498)But that does not mean that all you have to do is spend the money.You can buy views with money, but you cannot buy subscribers.Subscribers are earned by what you say. You have to speak to a need that people already feel.Weak, limp advertising tries to convince people that they need something that they do not feel they need.Speak about what people already care about.That’s the ticket.Roy H. Williams
    Show More Show Less
    7 mins
  • Keep Your Eye on the Star You Have Chosen
    Mar 23 2026

    I have bumbled my way through life with a reasonable degree of success, I think.

    Especially when you consider the number of people who have patted me on my head and told me that I didn’t need to understand what they were talking about because they would happily, “do all of those difficult things” for me if I would just hand them the checkbook and the keys.

    I never did that, of course.

    Head-patters are always convinced that I am a fool-child from Oklahoma because I never bother with a written plan, a budget, or a timetable for major undertakings.

    But somehow, they always turn out okay.

    Here’s an example of what I’m talking about:

    When Pennie and I began filling 21 acres in Austin, Texas with large, complicated, and expensive buildings, I was asked at least once a day,

    “How long will it take to build all of this, and how much will it cost?”

    I always answered with the truth,

    “It will take as long as it takes, and it will cost what it costs.”

    That answer really alarmed people.

    I didn’t say it to be shocking or cute. I said it because I honestly didn’t know and I genuinely didn’t care.

    When you don’t borrow money, you can take as long as you want to do whatever you are doing. Rarely did Pennie and I have the money to do the things that we chose to do, but we knew that the money would find us.

    That attitude drove people crazy. They were absolutely certain that we would utterly fail because I didn’t have a detailed plan.

    I’m not suggesting that other people should reject written plans. Other people can do whatever they want.

    But so can I.

    Planning is something

    I have never hated,

    But I do believe

    it is overrated.

    I cannot,

    (but maybe you can)

    remember when

    there was a plan

    that let you sail

    the river of

    your dream

    without

    changing course

    in mid-stream.

    Planning is a

    religion theoretical.

    Yes, I am certainly

    speaking heretical,

    but I am depending

    upon your receptivity

    when I say that I prefer

    Energy and Activity.

    But now I am getting

    ahead of myself

    which happens when you

    leave the plan on a shelf

    and rely on your Commitment

    to an Outcome agreed-upon

    and not some soggy paper

    that Circumstances peed upon.

    Commitment and Creativity.

    That’s my plan.

    Plus Energy and Activity

    and a frying pan

    because a good breakfast,

    you will remember,

    is essential to Christmas Elves

    in late December.

    Commitment

    and Creativity.

    Energy and Activities.

    Keep your eye

    on the star stationary

    and do whatever

    you think is necessary.

    And never forget

    that in your hand

    you carry a cast iron

    frying pan.

    Roy H. Williams

    A Note from Indy Beagle: For those of you who are curious, @GreatWritersSeries and @TribalGospelhad a good week on Youtube. GreatWritersSeries climbed from 44,000 subscribers to more than 100,000. TribalGospel climed from 105,000 subscribers to more than half a million.

    I wonder what will happen next! Aroo. – Indy

    Fauzia Burke generates visibility for her literary clients and their books. Her authors include Ken Blanchard, Daniel Silva, Jeffrey Archer, Alan Alda, Dean Koontz, S.C. Gwynne, and Brian Tracy. Fauzia could undoubtedly rest on her laurels, but ever since she launched her firm in 1995, she has continually updated and reinvented her methods.

    This week, she shares the story of her steep learning curve in applying AI to her existing processes, lessons that you can adapt, regardless of the business you are in. As Fauzia tells roving reporter Rotbart and his deputy, Maxwell, “AI will not replace professionals who know their craft, but the ones who learn to use AI will almost certainly outperform the ones who don’t.” Tune in and Win! At MondayMorningRadio.com

    Show More Show Less
    5 mins
No reviews yet