I’m really tired of people telling me no one reads anything anymore. “Copywriting doesn’t matter.” “Long copy is dead.” Those are the same Chicken Littles who post headlines on LinkedIn like “Social Media is dead,” “Content Marketing is Dead,” and “Advertising is Dead.” They’re just hype mongers and click-bait peddlers. A prospect recently told me […]
Who reads long copy these days? The hungry ones. Read More »
Most business owners and CEOs have no idea how to hire the right marketing person. They just don’t know what to look for. I’ve seen many smart business leaders churn through dozens of people before they find a match. The revolving door gets costly. Most businesses rely on small, efficient teams of people for all
How to hire the right marketing person — the first time. Read More »
A lot of small businesses have been driven out of business by big box stores over the years. If you’re running a retail chain like Walmart you can spend a half a billion dollars a year flooding the airwaves with advertising in order to sway public opinion and build credibility for your brand. Small companies
How to build credibility for your brand, one chapter at a time. Read More »
When it comes to belt tightening, most marketing managers have it all wrong. The minute the boss gives them the bad news… “gotta cut your marketing budget” they go straight to the list of tactics and start chopping off the bottom of the spread sheet. Not a stylish trim around the ears, more like a
How to cut your marketing budget without hurting your brand image. Read More »
There’s so much buzz about AI in marketing I need a bee keeper’s suit just to write this. The marketing world is swarming with articles, opinions, podcasts and videos about how AI’s going to change world completely. I’m sure they’re right. Most of the publicity is positive, touting the time savings and efficiency that Ai
Ai in marketing — The amazing potential and real limitations Read More »
Cadillac stole my tagline. Back in 2004 I wrote “Be Iconic” to support my name change from AdWords to BN Branding. That tagline was a critical element in my decision to go with that brand identity. “Be Iconic” worked perfectly in context with the name and the mark. It has staying power because it sums
Words matter! Why your brand identity needs a tagline. Read More »
I get a lot of questions when people I tell people I have a branding agency… “What, like golf hats and branded water bottles?” “No, it’s not branded merch. It’s branding services… You know, like brand names, logos, ads, signs, trade show booths, event graphics… Anything that will improve your image and help
6 good questions about branding agencies and their owners Read More »
Let me tell you a story about the problem with most sales pitches. There’s not enough problem. Sales people like to jump very quickly into the features of their latest, greatest high tech solutions without first making sure that their audience actually FEELS the problem. Sometimes you gotta remind people how much it hurts before
How to sell your great new solution — pile on the problem! Read More »
Ever since the COVID pandemic every category in the e-commerce industry has been growing like a weed plant. Everyone wants to know how to make their products look great online so they can cash in on the ecommerce gold rush. Small, family-owned boutiques are starting their own online operations; Bricks and Clicks, it’s called. Manufacturing
Putting your best foot forward – How to make your products look great online. Read More »
If you conducted a poll of 100 people like myself who develop brands for a living, 99 would tell you that naming your company is the hardest piece of the brand identity development process. Naming is way harder than designing logos or writing brand narratives. Naming a business is harder than naming a baby. Naming
Naming your company – Why is it so dang hard to do well? Read More »
