J.F. (Jim) Straw Passed Away 12/3/12

Terrible news...

But thanks for the heads up.

Brian

Wow.

One of the greatest advertising ICONS who ever lived... Humbled to say I had the chance to be his friend. He was truly a great man.

You were a great man Mr. Straw... Wherever you are out there...Thanks for everything you gave us, your will lives on in all marketers, even the ones who dont know it!

-John

I have followed him for quite a while.
Sad to see an icon of the industry pass.
RIP Mr Straw.

Wow. That is very sad news indeed.

R.I.P. Jimmie!

Very sad to hear the news... R.I.P. Mr Straw

RIP Jim. Thanks for "down home" style, ideas, and wisdom.

Thats pretty sad.

Jim was one of the first guys who got on board and helped me promote my Marketing Hotsheet newsletter 10 years back. I learnt a lot of things from him over the years.

1. Having the ugliest website in the world won't hinder your growth. But not being helpful to others will.

2. Repeating the message is not bad. In fact, every repetition will bring in 50% more sales.

3. Think beyond yourself. Help connect people.

I'll truly miss him. :'(

Allen Says once posted we should "Read anything by Jim Straw" I have ever since. Mr. Straw will be missed.

George Wright

Really sad news.

Rest in Peace Jim.

Di

Another great one, that shall be missed...Ty for the heads up.

Thanks for all your wisdom, Jim. Gone but not forgotten.

Becky

I received the email this morning as well. He was my mentor as well.

R.I.P Mr. Straw.

Mr. Straw was a man of real and true character. This one paragraph from one of his WF posts spoke volumes of the man:

A true titan and sales genius. He will definitely be missed. Rest In Peace.

RoD

RIP Jim. You've been an inspiration to many.

RIP Mr Straw
Your knowledge and wisdom lives on in us, and your loved ones.
Kevin Maguire

Jim will truly be missed! May you rest in peace..My condolences to his family!

Andre

all those guys who moved their businesses online are leaving us. Legends.

RIP Mr Staw...

RIP Mr.Straw.

I had the chance to meet Jim at an event in Atlanta and buy him a drink.

He was humble, classy, and had a great sense of humor.

A running joke between us at the event was me telling Jim he didn't know anything about business (which mocked some people here on the WF that gave him crap).

He lived a full life (some of which you can see here).

He will be missed by many...

My name is Tony. I was Jim's publisher. I published his book "Mustard Seeds, Shovels, & Mountains." We were fortunate to make it a #1 bestseller on Amazon, which was one of Jim's goals. (His other goal of winning the Pulitzer Prize has not been realized. Yet. It is being considered.)

I am going to share the story of how we made the publishing deal. I think it's illustrative of how Jim did business and how he became the "500 Million Dollar Man" and enjoyed the success that he achieved.

A "friend" on Facebook messaged me to see if I'd be interested in publishing a book. The author is the marketer Jim Straw, he wrote, and he doesn't want to worry about editing and fulfillment and things like that. I responded that I was interested, especially since I've been receiving Jim's e-mails for more than a decade and really enjoyed what he did. I learned a lot from his e-mails, as many of you probably have, over the years.

Jim e-mailed me. I responded: "big fan ... what are you looking for? ... what's the book?" He responded with his manuscript. Looks good, I wrote.

His response was simple: "Send an agreement."

Just like that. No fuss. No wobbling. Simple, decisive, to-the-point action. Let's get 'er done.

This was August/September 2011. In January "Mustard Seeds, Shovels, & Mountains" was ready.

Notice that I never mentioned a phone call or conversation. That's because there wasn't one. When I commented that he came to a quick decision, he wrote that he did his research, he knows how publishing works, and that taking action is more fun than "dilly-dallying."

I take that example and do my best to live by it everyday: Make a decision and run with it, dammit! You're not going to get anywhere with over-analyzing and number-crunching!

That example wasn't the only one. Whenever I needed something, he had it to me practically overnight. "How about an intro video for the book, Jim?" Two days later, there it is. "Can you do this interview?" Where and when was his response.

Jim was a terrific human being. Smart, funny, insightful ... What you read in his e-mails and books you got in real life. There was no subterfuge or acting. Jim was Jim. Simple and to-the-point.

His death came as a shock to me. As usual, the publisher is sometimes the last to know. We had plans and ideas for other books, interviews, and promotions. A couple of months back, he had a health scare and was hospitalized for a few days. He came through just fine and was hoping to "keep pestering people" (his words) for many years to come.

I wish he were still around to "pester" us. I will miss him.

As some here know, more often than not, when you meet a hero or someone you look up to, whether virtually via e-mails or in real life, the reality does not live up to the expectations. You leave disappointed (to say the least).

With Jim, that was absolutely not the case. Jim exceeded expectations. I think that would be a fitting description of J. F. (Jim) Straw: "He lived life as he treated his customers: He exceeded expectations."

We all would be fortunate to do half as well.

All the BEST!

Have fun ... Tony.

Never Bought his $997 ebook. But I signed up for his Email courses

Seemed like a very intelligent and dignified man

Mr Straw, you will be missed. We'll all do our best to follow in your footsteps until we can meet again in the big marketing room in the sky.

I was shocked to read this.

@ Woodie (the OP) was it sudden? I noticed his website was updated 5 days before he died.

:-( Don

What a great guy he was. He seemed to have a big concern to help struggling entrepreneurs. Even his emails exumed warmth. He always answered my emails, like everyone else's. He wasn't just about money. He was about helping people. I look forward to reading his book. A wise man died, but his wisdom will live on. I bet he meets up with his wife Delores. I never met him, but I feel sad.On a side note, he never really revealed his age. I think he had the last laugh on that one, because his obit says he was 67. I think he was much older than that, and I figured out a way to find out. R.I.P. Mr. Staw, and thanks for all of your emails, books and advise. You will be missed.Jim Young

Sad to hear!

His information is one of the reasons why I am doing what I am doing right now.

Definitely one of the old-school masters of our craft!

He will be missed...

He will be missed.

I read most of his information, which was helpful in keeping me moving forward.

J.F. Straw has had a huge influence on my marketing. One of
the best minds ever... I've been on his newsletters for ages.

This is leaving a huge void... He will be missed, extremely.

Rest in peace.

That is too bad. Never knew him, but liked what gift he gave to the world.

How very sad.......one of the few lists I've stayed on over the years.

Jim was a remarkable man....rest in peace.

Jims "Hancock" was very powerful to say the least, I can say that. Talk about ad copy. lol

He sent out a promotion for one of my ebooks. I got a copy of the email and the ad copy blew me away...

"I did it, he did it, and you can do it the same way..." With a link next to it.

I thought "Is that it?"

An hour later my paypal box virtually exploded!

He was a man of short decisive words, and I can say first hand- "People listened".

Truly respected that man in many ways, I remember seeing his ads since I was a kid. That was more than a JV, it was a brush with GREATNESS... . Proud to say we are from the same state.... another person he reminded me of alot is my grandmother....country as all get out, and not ashamed of it.