Archive of posts from May 2019

When we talk to the marketplace-and it listens-it’s trying to figure out who your message is for: them, or yourself?

• “# secrets to (desire) without (roadblock)” – The online marketing world is fixated upon ‘formulas’ like this which promise untold riches to all who use it. The focus? Yourself and your wallet. It is the bait, they are the fish. The market understands this. That’s why they’re skeptical.
• “Tell me about your problem” – This ‘formula’ is usually reserved...

What’s a million dollars worth if you don’t use it properly?

What’s a week of uninterrupted time to work if you don’t use it properly?

Misallocated effort is what holds us back:

• Having a great website, but only sending paid traffic to a drag-n-drop landing page that took only minutes to prepare. Where your message doesn’t shine through. Your mission is missing, as is the level of care you bring to your work. What if your site was able...

There are 3 paces of development. Which is yours?

• ‘The norm’ makes us the same. If there’s a desire to maintain the status quo, or to achieve a result that matches the median of society, choose this option. Warning: this is the risky option. In the marketplace, there’s no safety in numbers.
• ‘The difference’ makes all the difference. If there’s a vision to create something more substantial, such as a change in the market or culture, you must go...

…because it’s already been done:

• If you copy your competition’s marketing, it won’t work for you. Marketing isn’t about being the same, it’s about being different, better, unique, you. The more you copy, the less it works.
• If you use the same scripts as everyone else, it won’t work for you. The market has heard it before, the novelty is gone. The only solution is to be different, better, unique, you.
• The less you copy, but follow sound principles,...

What do you do with your weaknesses?

• Pretend you’re not: We can defiantly attempt–and fail–to cover up our flaws, thinking others won’t know our secret. They will. You’re doing nobody any favors.
• Give yourself a chance: Here we can commit to learning and growing, if it’s something we should be stronger at. But we must be patient with ourselves; this can’t be combined with the first option.
• Give it a chance: If it’s not something you should be doing,...

Does doing more make more results? There’s a better option to ‘more’:

• More often means less: Running the same advert more. The same messaging more. Chasing more mediocre-quality leads for your business. Trying more marketing strategies because you’re “only one away.” These are all ‘more’, but do they really give you more?
• Better often means more: Running a better advert. With better messaging. Pursuing better quality leads. Focusing on implementing the strategies you’re doing now–better–because you’re not “only one...

If you offer a product or service in the market, what makes it worth paying for?

• Better results? This is a statistical advantage worth pursuing, but we’re emotional creatures, us humans. We care about more than results, as much as we’d like to think otherwise.
• Better price? This is another statistical advantage, whether it means less–or more–expensive than its competition. With these, we’re still at the whims of what competitors choose to do in response.
• Better narrative. This is...

What is history? The stories we tell in retrospect. We have two choices when it comes to history:

• We can make history: We do this when we write the story that others tell. Every legend is a story told by someone. History makers make history by controlling the narrative and telling a story that spreads.
• We can let history forget us: If we don’t tell a story worth sharing, we don’t make it into the history books. Most companies...

Innovation sounds exciting, futuristic, lucrative. But without its bigger brother, it’s just a distraction.

What’s the big brother.

Messaging:

• Innovation without a strong message creates more distraction than progress. When we’re not clear on who we’re serving and how they need our help, we can’t innovate to their benefit. We’re as likely to go in the wrong direction as we are the right one.
• Innovation with a strong message creates progress for our company and those it exists to...

Along the road toward making a big, long-lasting sustainable impact with a business, folks sometimes get distracted:

Here’s what Shiny object syndrome looks like at work: I have yet another new product or service idea! And another! Look at this hip new software, we should try it right away! Now, there’s nothing wrong with improving your services or operations, but when they take your eye off your own brand, they become a weakness. Are you excited about your work, your...

What was every great empire built upon?

What one ingredient was present across every great empire?

Here it is: Empires Are Built On Simple Messages.

The messages that last are the messages we remember. Here’s an example:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness” – MLK. His message was one of heart and equal opportunity. Minorities and majorities alike needed a simple, clear message. MLK gave them one.

What’s your message? Have you made it simple enough to build an empire on?

To the outside world, sustainable brands do complex things.

But to those doing it all the time, it can feel simpler than it sounds, can’t it? When you know what you’re doing and you do a great job of it?

Well, here’s a thought: if it’s simpler than it sounds, why not make it sound simple?

See, it’s easy to make things complicated. Many of the marketing posts online are celebrated for how well they comprehensively cover an array of...

Does your sustainable business advertise?

Here’s a phrase you may be familiar with: “Don’t Set Off If You Can’t Afford The Gas”.

I first heard it when I first tried advertising. Oh how true it is.

Nowadays, our Creative team receives a lot of requests from sustainable brands for help with advertising campaigns. The reply they give is often very similar.

Here’s the first point.

Your communication skills must first improve: Everyone’s does. Yours does. Ours does. The market...

We attract what we’re close to:

• We can learn our way to broader thinking. E.g. reading books above our level allows us to get closer to the minds of those who came before us. Exposing ourselves to leading divergent ideas creates proximity to greatness.
• We can experience our way to broader thinking. Investing the time to network with great minds enables us to experience ourselves in a broader narrative. Exposing ourselves to other doing great work creates proximity to...

Did you know that the single biggest threat to your mission…is yourself?

• If you’re in need, you can’t help others in need to the level of your potential. Air hostesses insist you put your own oxygen mask on first for a reason.
• If your business is broken, it can’t help others to the level of its potential. If you can’t yet afford to support a cause and make an impact, it’s time to sort that out.
• If your commitment...