I had an interesting phone conversation yesterday with Evan Schuman, founder and CEO of The Content Firm. I had requested use of a whitepaper from his site. I want this blog to deliver relevant and useful information, so I dig deep when researching for it.

Evan’s concern was that I dug too deep. The whitepaper I was interested in is several years old. He didn’t want… Continue reading Walking the Tightrope and Making It Look Easy...

This is a follow-on to the last post, ‘Honest and Transparent Marketing’. A buddy of mine pointed out that what successful marketers do is not just compile and deliver the unvarnished truth. It’s much more complex than that. And he’s right. There’s a lot more that goes into it than just straight reporting. There are a number of necessary steps and inputs that result in content that’s relevant and useful… Continue reading Subliminally Persuasive...

This topic’s been brewing in the back of my head for a couple of years, ever since I read ‘All Marketers Are Liars’, by Seth Godin. It bugged me then, and I find it even more irksome now.

To be fair, the title is meant to provoke and the book is more about story-telling than making false claims. Godin’s premise is that perception trumps reality. For example, wine tastes better in… Continue reading Honest and Transparent Marketing...

One of my favorite books of the last year is the Heath brothers’ Made to Stick. It discusses in depth the various attributes that make ideas and messages stick in our minds. I’m working on a case study for a software client. The majority of the information gathering/interviewing process is done. I’ve written many case studies, and I have the format down (situation/problem, solution, benefits). ‘Sticky’ as the brothers define it, is understandable, memorable, and effective in changing thought or behavior. Exactly what a case study should be, so I think I’ll use the six Made to Stick principles to turbocharge this case study’s effectiveness. Continue reading Sticky Case Studies...