Sometimes when I face a complex project, I tell the client that I’d like to create a ‘messaging map’ or messaging document to get their approval on key messages before I proceed. I often get the response “We don’t have time for that” or “Just work with what you see on our web page, the […]
Marketing in an age of transparency
by motoyen I got a phone call on the office phone the other day – the caller ID flashed an unfamiliar number. Before the third ring, I had done a search on the phone number, discovered it was a junk call, and decided not to answer. In the time it takes to answer (or not answer) […]
Crusading against random Capitalization
by cheesy42 I’m taking a break from marketing-related subjects to launch a campaign against random capitalization in the middle of sentences. It’s a tough job, but apparently someone has to do it. Some subset of the population has a compulsion to capitalize random words for little apparent reason. It’s almost as if they have a memory […]
5 reasons NOT to write like an academic
As schools everywhere are restarting and the latest crop of college graduates settles into new jobs, I thought I’d share a few of the harsh, early business writing lessons I learned on the job. I was an English major. When I entered the business world, I quickly found that what worked so well for me […]
Tuning requires listening – in music and marketing
Something magical happens in choral singing when everyone listens and tunes with each other – the tuning locks, the overtones all kick in, and the sound is transformed to wonderful. Although each individual may be singing a little softer, the overall effect is more powerful. What does this have to do with marketing, you might […]
Content Rules is an impactful … oops … great book on content marketing
It’s not often that I read a “business” book and find myself dog-earing pages and making little exclamation marks in the margins. But that’s what I did with my not-so-new-looking copy of Content Rules by Ann Handley and C.C. Chapman. While content marketing is becoming widely accepted as a marketing practice, it’s got a long […]