Adam Fairhead
Is marketing getting easier or harder?
Most would say harder…
And they’re right. If by harder they mean “different and I hate change.”
But it’s actually simpler than ever.
Despite the competition. Despite the changes.
Here’s why:
Sure, there are algorithms…
But they’re only there to show people more of what they like. So if you’re not showing up, you didn’t show enough people that they like it yet. That’s all.
Gatekeepers used to...
Adam Fairhead
To increase referrals,
Just increase this one number:
‘R’ (used to track viruses, but also referrals)
- If every customer refers 1 more: R=1. - If 1/10 customers refer 1 more: R = 0.1. - If 1/100 customers refer 1 more: R = 0.01.
Lesson? The easiest way to grow is to increase ‘R’.
Adam Fairhead
What makes ‘perfect’ product/service?
3 things:
- It’s WHAT we want. - It’s HOW we want it. - It’s unignorably good.
That’s it.
Whoever achieves those three things best, wins.
Focus on the fundamentals, champ.
Adam Fairhead
EVERYONE knows what great marketing looks like.
…Except marketers (here’s why):
Before becoming a marketer:
After becoming a marketer:
- Sends cold, templated, mass emails
Start with the customer.
Build what they want, how they love to receive it.
Make it unignorably good.
There’s still practically...
Adam Fairhead
If I could sum up AI content in one sentence?
It would be this:
“AI is a good Robin, but a bad Batman.”
- Batman has the vision - Batman has the experience - Batman is who they call
- Robin helps investigate - Robin helps analyse evidence - Robin helps solve mysteries
But no Batman? No Dynamic Duo.
Lesson: Keep your suit on and get a sidekick.
’Cus sidekicks are awesome.
Adam Fairhead
Developers that use JS for everything miss the benefits certain languages bring to different requirements (such as Go or Rust, for instance).
There doesn’t have to be a ‘winner’. You can use multiple programming languages.
Designers that use their favourite template for everything miss the benefits of thinking through challenges, and obscure decision-making with boilerplate.
There doesn’t have to be a ‘winner’. You can use multiple design languages.
Artists routinely debate which tool is best, be it Photoshop,...
Adam Fairhead
Business Gurus like flashing their big MRRs at you.
But you know what works better?
(And by ‘better’ I mean ‘actually works’)
- Solve, don’t sell. - Present, don’t flash. - Edutain, don’t teach. - Illuminate, don’t dazzle. - Delight, don’t complete. - Overdeliver, don’t overbook. — Zip up your pants, don’t guru.
Which do you think is most lacking out there?
Adam Fairhead
Who’s the best marketer in your business?
Even in a company of one, it should not be you.
But wait… If no one loves your business more than you do… How could it possibly be anyone else?
Because the best marketers are always:
Your customers.
But there’s a problem: Most businesses have no clue how to ‘recruit’ their customers as effective marketers.
There are a few ways… today we’re going to cover the best way. Integrating edutainment into your attraction,...
Adam Fairhead
What’s a ‘brand melody’?
(And no, it’s nothing to do with audio!)
But it has everything to do with how a brand ‘sounds’.
Y’see. we remember melodies.
We hear the first few notes = we recognise the tune.
When you ‘hear’ a brand, you know:
- what you’re about to learn - how you’re about to feel - how good it’s going to be
But it’s NOT always a good thing.
It could mean:
- you’ll learn basically nothing - you’re about to feel...
Adam Fairhead
The only thing worse than getting your niche wrong…
Know what it is?
Having ‘everyone’ as your niche!
When you choose wrong, you:
Those are all transferrable skills.
But when you choose ‘everyone’, you:
When faced between ‘none’ or ‘wrong’
Choose...
Adam Fairhead
My first passive income in 2007,
Was 65,536² of something really weird:
A ‘virtual underwater shopping adventure’:
Weird huh? (Cool though imo 😂)
But it taught us big lessons:
This unlocks blue oceans.
Even in saturated markets.
Even when you think there’s...
Adam Fairhead
Y’know your customers can be your salesforce?
That’s suppose to be a good thing, unless…
…you totally misunderstand the assignment like Sedgwick 😏
But seriously:
If there’s ever a recipe for share-ability, it’s that.
Adam Fairhead
Ignoring ad targeting features?
= “Let’s speak to everybody, thus nobody”
Using overly broad ad copy?
“Let’s speak to everybody, thus nobody”
Underestimating ad visuals
= “Let’s just do what others do, thus not stand out”
Not A/B testing ad elements
= “It’s fine to not explore what our people truly want”
Skipping analytics review?
= “It’s fine to not explore what our people truly want”
Ads should be expressions of care and fiduciary responsibility.
Adam Fairhead
Marketing = what you say while in the room.
Branding = what they say when you’re not.
These words often get mixed up in a lot of other things. But that’s really all they boil down to.
Now. Doing the exact same thing as everyone else can mean you’re marketing.
But it definitely means you’re not branding.
Here’s why:
If you say the same thing as everyone else, they won’t say anything about it when you’re gone.
Ergo, there is...
Adam Fairhead
Is there a ‘secret’ to irresistible marketing?
Nah. No secret. But there are patterns. 3 of them, in fact.
Since the market’s inundated with content, why not follow them?
After all, you don’t just want to be seen. You want to be unforgettable. So this week, we’re diving into the three key elements that make that happen. They’re not new-fangled things. They’re timeless. Just like you’re about to be:
Talk to them. Learn their...
Adam Fairhead
Sometimes time doesn’t feel real.
If I multitask, time goes fast. Not much gets done.
If I go deep with uninterrupted singletasking, time goes slowly, and lots gets done.
A fast day with little to show for it.
Or a slow day with lots of progress and time left to spare.
We may not literally be bending time.
But it’s the next best thing if you’re creating work that matters.
Adam Fairhead
“Are my competitors better than me?”
“Are they delivering way better product/service than me?”
“Are they smarter marketers or salespeople than me?”
“Or just way smarter in general than me?”
Unlikely.
More likely they’re one of the following…
Listen…
Adam Fairhead
Don’t want to be a replaceable hype-man?
You need Evergreen Ubiquity.
Being your company’s ‘hype-man’ means…
But ‘Evergreen Ubiquity’ draws folks in…
Adam Fairhead
Here’s 3 truths across ALL marketing.
Don’t be guilty of missing any of them:
Example: Free samples of tasty, healthy chocolate that makes you lose lbs.
We’re not here to make boring templated asks.
We’re here to make lives empirically better,
safely, and give them a blast doing it.
(P.S. sign me up for that...
Adam Fairhead
What is creative success?
Or success as a creative?
Most define it all wrong:
You’ll encounter people online who will make you feel like you should be ‘achieving’ more. ‘Doing’ more. ‘Turning over’ more. Being ‘featured’ more.
More more more.
And they all miss the point entirely.
The point? That which you set out to achieve in the first place.
Some set out to create for fun after the day’s responsibilities are complete.
Some set out to...
Adam Fairhead
I enjoy gardening on the weekends.
It makes focus so much easier during the week.
If you think your time is worth $30/hour, or $50/hour, or $100/hour, or $200/hour…
…Make sure you keep doing things you could pay someone $10–20/hour to do.
Gardening is a great example.
Feel how much effort goes into an hour.
Feel how much your back aches after an hour.
Notice how much sweat is on your brow after an hour.
So...
Adam Fairhead
Is there anything worse than a relationship ending?
You can probably think of a time that happens. Ughh. Yowch.
Exhausting to think about.
If your product had feelings, it’d probably feel the same way about customers who leave.
And we can’t have that.
There are 3 ways you can use edutainment principles to increase customer retention for your product or service. Your product’s feelings are at stake:
Adam Fairhead
I was asked this question recently.
Pondered it… and I figure it this way:
Marketing is the voice you share while in the room.
Brand is the voice residue you leave behind in their minds.
Adam Fairhead
Which of these 4 choices is best?
Most ads/content are 3.
Most good content is 1.
Most things we look forward to are 2.
The opportunity is clear, isn’t it?
Adam Fairhead
See if you can spot the pattern here:
Protect your focus as though it’s a newborn lamb, friends.
Adam Fairhead
Which is more fickle in your business:
Your target market, or algorithms?
Optimise for those who’ll stick by you.
Adam Fairhead
Different types of leverage:
Solo operator wants to stay solo, so uses as many time-saving tools as possible to maximise leverage while staying solo.
Solo operator wants a small team, so delegates as many SOP-based tasks to others as possible to buy back time.
Solo operator doesn’t want to be solo, so shares the load with others who help figure out the problems together.
None of these are right or wrong.
But if you don’t know your own goals, you...
Adam Fairhead
How is creating less… actually creating more?
Creating ‘less’ means you create ‘better’.
And ‘better’ is more highly valued by the market.
If you want your work to be more highly valued…
If you want more from your creativity…
Create less.
Adam Fairhead
We’re told we should be making great offers…
But look at your own behaviour. Is this true?
Here’s what you may notice:
OK offers: no claims, average terms, no bonuses.
Good offers: big claims, great terms and great bonuses.
Great offers: no claims, average terms, no bonuses.
Wait… how can OK and Great be the same?
Let’s find the answer in some examples:
Let’s take a designer toy collector.
If their favourite artist...
Adam Fairhead
Is your business growing properly?
Clients regularly ask this about their own businesses.
Here’s how to calculate the answer:
1) Define ‘right-size’
‘Bigger’ is not a size.
Choose an actual size.
2) Define the optimal experience
What do customers want to hear?
What do customers want to receive?
How would customers love to receive it?
3) Is #2 moving you toward #1?
If Yes: stop stressing 😎
If No: change #2
Produce an...
Adam Fairhead
Nobody wants to sign up for your product.
Nor refer others to sign up too. How do we fix this?
One way is to gamify your onboarding:
Reward behaviour you want repeated
If you want them to do it and leave, optimise for that.
If you want them to enjoy it and share, optimise for that.
Make them look good in front of peers
If you want them to tell nobody, try bribing them.
If you...
I create a newsletter called GrowthCandy. Each issue shares one idea to help build and spread your work, delivered as a short comic. Fast to read. Easy to apply. Hard to forget!