Teaching – done right – is really just learning in disguise. And what you learn when you teach is often what you already knew, though perhaps not as deeply as you should have.
I recently finished teaching the last local session of my Online Marketing Boot Camp. Aimed directly at small businesses, it was a reminder [...]
There’s No Denying Social Media’s Buzz. But How Real Is It?
I recently read (and misplaced) an article deriding many social media “consultants” as carpetbaggers, and after reading a presentation to a trade association by a social media “guru” I’d say that’s true for at least one of them.
Naturally, this isn’t a blanket condemnation of social [...]
I can’t tell you the first thing about movie marketing, but that didn’t stop me reading every word of a long, interesting article in the New Yorker which delves into the life of a top movie marketer – a man known as The Cobra.
While I’m not suggesting you immediately adopt Hollywood methodologies, the article’s still [...]
Lately, I’ve been teaching. A lot. I’d recommend it to you if you get the chance (more on this in an upcoming post).
After all, you very quickly learn two things.
First, if done properly, the teacher always learns more than the students.
And second, you’re forced to realize how daunting today’s online technology can be to a [...]
Sometimes, better copy isn’t the solution to a client’s marketing problem.
As a value-added copywriter – someone offering your clients more than vowels and consonants – you should know how to generate success for you clients, even if it doesn’t mean another rewrite.
Which is why I’m introducing you to three letters: RFM
They stand for Recency, Frequency, [...]
I’ve marketed my way through enough recessions to recognize the pattern; marketers stop playing games, and start spending their money very, very carefully.
In the past, that meant a lot of my ad budgets were switched to less-glamorous media like inserts, card decks, etc.
Today, the rush is on to find the most effective, affordable online media [...]
When you’re selling a corporate product that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, you need to reach executive buyers (Directors and VPs).
The bad news? There’s no shortage of gatekeepers and roadblocks between you and your quarry, and you’ve got to put your sales rep in the office of a qualified executive, and do it quickly.
So [...]
“Google Says Blogging is Dead” one headline screams, while BusinessWeek asserts blogs are being “Twitterized” — that blogging’s apparently too-thoughtful posts are being replaced by shallower, less-thought-intensive bursts of information.
Are blogs dead? Should my clients reconsider my advice to build and populate business blogs — and offer 140 character micro-thoughts instead?
Should I be planning for [...]
I recently conducted a pair of Messaging Platform interviews with clients. I was struck by how good they are at their core competencies.
And how most market like it’s still 1991.
It’s not a knock so much as a reality. Marketing has changed more the last five years than it did the prior 50.
Anyone would have trouble keeping up – especially in [...]
If I convince my readers of anything, it’s that the copywriters who add value beyond the words set themselves apart from the herd.
Part of adding value means staying current, and intelligently applying new marketing developments to your clients’ situation.
For example, John Jantsch of Duct Tape Marketing posted a note about a hosted “click-to-call” service for [...]
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