This is a non-work blog because I’m taking some time off until the New Year. I just wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas. To the delight of my kids (and the grownups too) it’s snowing and this was the view from our house this morning
Then this afternoon…
The snowman I made this morning looked like he was a candidate for surgery, and I had to remove his hump after my young son burst into tears with fright.
Christmas had had some strange effects on various marketers with some of the HUGE sales I’ve seen around. I’ve picked up some excellent deals on various software and PLR packages that have been sold very inexpensively.
One of my marketing mates told me he’d had some unsubscribers because he’d written ‘Xmas’ in an email or blog post and a few religious readers found it offensive.
I remember a teacher saying the same thing to me at school but was surprised people still felt strongly about it. Interesting…
After howling like a thrashed puppy while my hands thawed out (snowman’s revenge) I took my netbook into the room that overlooks the garden (marvellous thing wireless internet) and watched the kids play while I checked a few emails and generally got my marketing fix for the day, even though I’m not working
The ‘grapevine’ threw up a couple of very interesting launches which are due in January. The last time I promoted a launch was in October but I’m going to be all over these two Janury launches because they’re VERY good. I’m currently trying to sort out a deal for you because while they won’t be of interest to everyone who reads me emails, they are both seriously good bolt-ons to any business. I’ve already got a review copy of one and you’ll see me using it in my business next year.
As usual I’ll present the facts and you do the deciding.
What else happened today?
I sent for Frank Kern’s free DVD (no contunuity or anything – nice one Frank!) and that should ease me into the marketing spirit when it arrives in the New Year. Then we (me and my family not me and Frank) went for a walk into the village. very Christmassy indeed.

My kids are now both extremely excited about the Christmas season. We bought them some chocolate then walked up past the church to visit the horse in the top field.
It looked bollock freezing to be quite honest, poor animal!
My wife and I watched the kids chatting to it while we warmed ourselves from the 12 year old malt in my hip flask.
We had a quiet bet that the horse would be in Equine heaven within the week- -frozen to the ground.
Actually last Christmas we found a dead cow in a field too. We must be like the ‘Final Destination 2′ of the animal world!
Tomorrow I’m off to a mastermind meeting that is really an excuse for a pie and a pint and to say Merry Christmas to some other marketers., and that’s about it really – if I can get over the moors, we’re due more snow tonight. My usual BIG apology to the Candians and Americans out there who get real snow, but the UK grinds to a stop after a couple of inches. It’s part of the fun.
Declare war on us and we’ll become self-sufficient within three minutes but two inches of snow and the met office declares ’severe weather warnings’
The real reason for posting is twofold. To wish you and yours a very happy Christmas and New Year, and I hope you’ll be around to do the me huge honour of reading my various ramblings, sales promos and opinions next year. You think you learn from me? I learn a HELL of a lot more from you – so thank you.
And finally if you have a spare $17 I want it. Not for me, but for a worthy cause. A charity that you’ve possibly never heard of but is as worthy as any I know. I was asked by Martin Avis to write a short article for an ebook earlier this year, with the aim of selling the book to raise money for the charity.
Now you can get more details here but I just want to say that this is a cracking product – the marketers who have contributed to this are the real deal – people who make their livings online and who know their subjects inside out. There are a couple of my mates in there and a couple of my heroes too. If you fancy a good Christmas read with an internet marketing theme, and you’d like to help out a VERY worthy cause then grab yourself a copy.
ALL the proceeds from this go to charity. I don’t get any sort of payment in any way for this, even thought it looks like an affiliate link, it’s just for tracking purposes. Grab your copy HERE
So that’s it. The support desk will be checked over the holiday period, so you’re not on your own, and like you I’ll probably be unable to stay away from the PC so will be checking my own email on a pretty regualr basis.
Whatever your beliefs or geographical location, Merry Christmas / Happy Holiday / What’s he on about?
I’ll see you in the New Year. As always comments are welcome on the blog….
Just want to leave you with this – a cracker fell apart the other day as I was unpacking them and this was the joke inside it…
‘Did you hear about the Devil Worshipping Dyslexic? He sold his soul to Santa….
Cheers!

Tony Shepherd is an online marketer, writer and publisher.
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Dyslexic, agnostic, insomniac…
Stays up all night, wondering if there’s a dog.
Merry Christmas Tony
)
Have a great Christmas Tony… been a really nice snowy morning down here in Brighton. Shame it’s not going to stick around for longer than a day or two.
All the best!
Al
“And finally if you have a spare $17 I want it.”
This is one of the many reasons I enjoy your stuff. Down to earth honesty and humor. Merry Christmas to you and your family.
Ho-Ho-Ho and a bottle of rum.
Enjoy your Christmas. Make money.
Go easy on the booze.
See you in twenty-ten with bulging pockets.
Graeme – better than my cracker joke mate – nice one!
Have a great Christmas guys – and thanks for taking the time to post.
Hi Tony,
I love seeing your snowy surroundings – beautiful – and I love even more that I do NOT have snowy surroundings here in Phoenix, though it is pretty cold for us, about 50 degrees Fahrenheit. (Poor us.)
BTW, tell your mate who had the unsubscribers after his “Xmas” remark that he did nothing wrong or disrepectful. Those folks are merely uninformed and their ire is misdirected. Abbreviations used as Christian symbols have a long history in the church. The letters of the word “Christ” in Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written, are chi (c or X) and rho (r or P), used in the early church to create the chi-rho monogram (Chrismons). By the fifteenth century Xmas emerged as a widely used symbol for Christmas. In 1436 Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press with moveable type. In the early days of printing typesetting was done by hand and was very tedious and expensive. As a result, abbreviations were common and in religious publications the church began to use the abbreviation X for the word “Christ” to cut down on the cost of the books and pamphlets. It is, however, still pronounced Christmas, if that would give these “religious” folks any comfort.
So….Merry Xmas to you and your family, Tony!
Jacque LaMantia