Quick Marketing Advice

email marketing is dead.

it’s supposedly been dead for a decade now.

for a dead practice, it sure is breathing very heavily.

333.2 billion emails are sent per DAY.
if you’re like most people and breathe 12 times per minute,
that means 17.5 million emails will have been sent by the time you take in one breath.
(possible mantra for my next meditation)

I’d be curious to know how many of those emails are spam,
how many are promotional,
and how many are from your accountant that hasn’t yet learned that emails have a “body” and not all of the information needs to be written in the subject line.
or is it just my accountant? 🙂

it’s not just email marketing,
it’s facebook advertising,
it’s search engine optimization,
and whatever new thing will be the thing when you read this picking.

it’s not the tool
it’s the consumer.

they’re getting smarter (as they should,)
they’re learning about the psychological tricks marketers use (as they should,)
they’re deleting, reporting and unsubscribing (as they should.)

people opt-in because they have a problem and they believe you have the solution.

they believe that once they leave their credentials, they’ll find closure and NOT a barrage of email sequences and invitations to BUY NOW before the offer goes away.

similarly to online dating, the email marketing bar is reaaaaally low,

next time your prospect opts-in, inspire them with something hopeful and give them something useful,
ideally the thing you promised you’d give.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 236 of the year, there are 130 days remaining of 2022.

everyone loves a good hero’s journey:
writers, poets, composers, filmmakers, actual heroes…

and marketers.

think of Robin Hood for a moment,
as classic of a hero’s journey as they come:

I. nobleman gets captured in a fight;
II. he returns home after some time, expecting to find things as he’s left them;
III. instead he discovers an usurper had taken his place;
IV. the sheriff is also taking advantage of the people;
V. he then decides to become a vigilante and fight against those forces.

your garden variety “good versus evil” storyline we all know and love.

why do they work so well?

it’s hopeful, it shows that change is possible (even for little ol’ you,)
and that you can overcome great obstacles, defeat your enemies and get the girl, on your way to achieving your goals.

who wouldn’t want some of that?

now think of Robin Hood, the marketer…

“this is what’s happening to you and you might not even know it! join me and I’ll help you against the bad guys!”

meaning…

“mainstream skin care is mass produced, packed with harmful ingredients and they even test on animals! buy from me and your skin will thank you for it. I hike 20k and handpick the ingredients myself, play classical music to relax the leaves and manually grind them with the mortar and pestle.”

you’ve seen a million of these examples online, especially in small businesses,
a lot of influencers seem to be latching on to this arch as well.

it works.
it works well.
it provides a narrative we naturally understand and can get behind.

there are hundreds of tropes you can draw inspiration from, which one’s yours?

Sidenote: Story selling is a new buzzword to mainstream marketing, but the concept (to my knowledge) was first popularized by Colin Theriot, one of my mentors, who I’ve learned this from in 2017. Check out his work if you want to learn more.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 230 of the year, there are 137 days remaining of 2022.

the person that creates the product is typically the worst person to sell the product;
there, I said it.

entrepreneurs are so passionate about their product that they start the business inside themselves, and not out there, in the marketplace.

nobody cares about your product, except you and maybe your mom.

what qualifies you to sell to that market?
what is their problem?
what is the pain associated with that problem?
what is the cost of them living in this pain?
is your offer the solution to their problem?

no matter how good your product is,
if in their mind the problem has no cost, then the solution has no value.

“People don’t want to buy a quarter-inch drill, they want a quarter-inch hole.” – Theodore Levitt.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 224 of the year, there are 143 days remaining of 2022.

the bigger it gets,
the bigger the team,
the lengthier the list of software,
the more money,
the more responsibilities,
the more forceful the pressure to make (more) money,
the more we lose track of the obvious.

Obvious Adams by Robert Updegraff is a pillar book in marketing, we should all revisit with every trip to the bathroom.

if you haven’t yet read it, the premise of the book is “keep it simple, stupid”

writing must be simple,
product must be simple,
offer must be simple.

simple ≠ easy.

I found my most favorite example of this rule in a very unlikely place…

a farmer’s market in romania.

much like every other country, romania has different areas known to produce the best X product.

portugal has porto wine.
colombia has coffee.
dăbuleni has watermelons.

as a result, seemingly every single watermelon sold in romania comes from dăbuleni.

which makes me think that the sellers are either
A. lying or
B. lying.

I can tell you from personal experience that there’s nothing funnier than seeing a sea of watermelons at the farmer’s market with well designed “dăbuleni” signs on them.

as if screaming “I’m special, just like everyone else”

(the above is a great metaphor for what happens with most products in the market at the moment)

if all watermelons come from dăbuleni then no watermelons come from dăbuleni.

so what does this watermelon grower do?

something genius.

he takes a copy of his ID, that clearly states his city of residence, dăbuleni, and amplifies it 100 times over to create a massive banner.

he had the biggest queue in the whole market, here’s the legend in action.

keep it simple, stupid.

today is day 196 of the year, there are 169 days remaining of 2022.

more than high-end luxury items,
or extremely specific niche products,
or poorly reviewed, cheap commodities,

the hardest thing to sell, by and large is… prevention.

regardless of how problem (or solution) aware the prospect is, selling the cure has always been easier and more profitable than selling prevention, why?

1. seeking instant gratification is a classic human animal trait if ever there was one
2. temporal and reward uncertainty – am I really going to obtain pleasure (lose weight, get a raise) if I go through perceived pain (eat less, exercise, take on this project) in X time?

professionally? I’ve never been mad at impulse buyers in my life (especially the kind that don’t ask for refunds)
personally? I’ve been navigating my life based on this one aphorism I’ve learned from John Williamson:

short term pleasure = long term pain
short term pain = long term pleasure

when in doubt, always choose good fuel for your engine.

and if you ever find yourself in a position in which you have to sell prevention, whether to yourself or to others,

ask yourself this:
“what is the financial and emotional cost that I will pay if I let things continue the way they have and don’t change?”

then list out the consequences…

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 181 of the year, there are 184 days remaining of 2022.

I talk…
a bit too much,
(or a lot of bit, depending on who’s asking.)

from a very young age, the force and plentitude of sounds that would come rushing out of my mouth the second I’d barge home from school, would never cease to amaze my parents (and their, now sensitive, ear canals…)

fast forward 3 decades and, to this day, talking remains my main indulgence, a weakness I’ve consciously chosen to embrace.

much like a dieter who wishes to continue eating their favorite foods but is compelled to find a healthier alternative,
I too, had reached a compromise

I wouldn’t talk less,
but I’d talk better

I’d pay attention to cues,
I’d make it about them,
I’d educate and entertain…

but most importantly, I’d listen,
I’d become a storyteller;
and of the many labels sewed on me, this one’s my favorite.

it’s a life skill I’ve brought with me to work,

every time I write copy, I imagine taking the reader out on a walk…
we’d start with the promise of an easy, relaxing walk, surrounded by gorgeous scenery, to which most people agree to.

the more complex and boring my words grow into, the faster and more difficult the trail becomes.

with my mind’s eye, I visually draw an image of them having to duck under tree branches, sky’s pelting them with rain, a steep incline is visible in the distance…

and unless my avatar is a fan of Spartan races, they won’t last on my imaginary trail very long.

expecting the viewer to make an effort to understand your offer is one of biggest mistakes I see brands make…

storytellers have figured out how to keep an audience’s attention for hours, it’s not so much the length, but the clarity and resonance of your message that makes you heard.

in a world full of beautiful trails, make sure yours isn’t put on mute.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 180 of the year, there are 185 days remaining of 2022.

“do what you have to, but don’t make it salesy”

salesy.

as someone that’s worked in marketing for over 10 years, this is a very familiar sound to my ears.

especially coming from new clients,
typically said with a very strong sense of (misplaced) righteousness.

we learn to navigate such comments because we know that what the client actually means to say is…

sell it, but don’t make it look like you’re trying.
sell it, but don’t be inauthentic.
sell it, but don’t do it too well.

and what they really, really, really mean to say is…

sell it, but don’t lie.
sell it, but don’t make me look bad.
sell it, but don’t be needy, pushy or bitchy.

ah! well that is a completely different word to salesy.

selling brings clients.
not new colors, not features, not fairy dust,
selling.

we sell, ALL the time.
most of the time we sell ourselves, our values and opinions.

and if you really do think, that your thing is going to be the thing that can move the needle for someone, it is then your moral obligation to sell.

I’ll see you tomorrow.

today is day 178 of the year, there are 187 days remaining of 2022.