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 […]
Pomp, circumstance, and inspiration
I’ve spent a fair amount of time in the last week listening to graduation speakers. In all honesty, these speakers are probably wasted on many of the graduates, who are already looking ahead to the next thing, without the perspective yet to absorb the advice. But the speeches are inspiring for the rest of us […]
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 […]
What the writer wants from a product messaging document
My last post highlighted the top 5 reasons to create a product messaging document. But I neglected to say what should go into that document. The actual form and scope of a product message document can vary. I’ve seen 100+ page PowerPoint slide decks created by marketing consulting companies as part of a ‘positioning’ engagement. […]
Top 5 reasons to create a product messaging map
I was talking with a client the other day, who told me that he’d gotten some pushback for creating a product messaging document. Some people didn’t understand why he was spending the time creating an internal messaging document rather than diving right in to creating the outbound content. It may seem that I am stating […]
When graphics don’t work
Despite being a word person at heart, I love good graphics, and am always trying to find ways to incorporate them in my work. However, I sometimes run into a ‘graphics for graphics sake’ mentality that can be counterproductive. For example, I hear “Just add a couple graphics and it’s good” or “Can’t we just […]
