Well, Hello Dolly!
“Eighty percent of the people in the world are fools and the rest of us are in danger of contamination.”
~Horace Vandergelder, Hello Dolly
How to conduct a competitive analysis
Since we’re all working from home more these days, it’s a perfect time to work ON your business. With the perspective gained from being outside your office walls, spend some time looking objectively at your marketing communications. This process, known as a marketing communications audit, covers all your internal, external, traditional and digital communications and puts it in perspective of your market position, your market audiences and your business goals. (more…)
The rule for a better pitch
How briefly can you tell your company story? Can you boil what you do, who you do it for, and why, into a pitch that is interesting and relevant to the listener?
In a pitching workshop I teach for the Pappajohn Venture School, I teach start-ups how to turn their value proposition and a snapshot of the company’s operational status into an exciting story they can tell in six minutes or less. (more…)
10 tips for a better Zoom
Video conferencing apps like Zoom are convenient and allow us to hold meetings from virtually anywhere, but the online experience doesn’t always make the best impression. Give your Zoom presentations every advantage by following these 10 tips.
Twelve Tips for Video and Podcasting
There was a time when it seemed everyone needed a blog. Then they were all jumping on YouTube with video podcasts. The algorithms have changed, and neither are the in-bound content silver bullets they once were, but that doesn’t mean they’re not a good fit for you. If you’re trying to establish yourself as a subject-matter expert, build a closer connection to your target audience, or just love to teach, ’casting may be right for you.
How to run a business — or what I learned from a bull rider.
I travel a fair amount for business. Once, on a connecting flight from LA to PHX I sat behind a young man who had just finished a week at a bull riding school. Tall and rail-thin, he stood out in the crowd of business travelers with his crisp white t-shirt and black hat. With a thick southern drawl, I listened as he started to tell his seatmate about bull riding and his aspiration to make it big.
The five steps to more effective self promotion
When you’re a small business, the world of self-promotion can seem overwhelming and confusing. But the secret to taking your marketing from boring to brilliant is surprisingly simple—and can be found within the phrase itself: Self. Promotion.
Tell a better story
Brand stories are important for telling people who you are and why that’s important. But when you infuse your stories with real life they become more powerful.
The S&P 500 is a Brand Killer
With very few exceptions, I don’t work for publicly traded companies. Or companies held by venture capital firms. Or companies built to flip.
That means most large corporations, including the Fortune 500 and most high-tech darlings, are off my radar.
Why would I do that? Those companies have the largest budgets. They often have high aesthetic, and they understand the need for effective marketing and communications.
Because with very few exceptions, nearly all of them are slowly killing their brands and nothing marketers can do will change that.
Four ways to keep your email subscribers happy
An email inbox is a private space. In my personal inbox right now, I have a conversation with a friend about weekend plans, an Amazon shipping notification for my daughter’s birthday present, a communication with my accountant, and a weekly update from my favorite blog. These are all valuable communications to me, and some contain sensitive details like credit card information.