mistakes

The Worth of a Dali

2023-10-16T14:38:10+00:00By |

A picture is worth a thousand words. Confucius told us that. Or did he? Actually, Fred Barnard made up the saying to promote the use of images and called it “a Chinese proverb so that people would take it seriously.”

Your Competitors Are Bastards

2023-10-16T14:26:16+00:00By |

Business is like writing. You have to find your own style and stick to it. Stop worrying about what the competition is doing. They're all bastards. Get inspired by things they don't understand.

The Marketing Funnel Cloud

2023-10-13T18:18:11+00:00By |

I hate funnels. The thing we call a Marketing Funnel is really just a shorthand to remind us that no customer goes from “I don’t know who you are” to “here, take my money!”

The Asymmetry of Trust

2023-10-16T16:27:31+00:00By |

You’re thinking about buying something and an acquaintance says, “Don’t do it; I bought that / hired them and it was a total waste of money. I got screwed.” Generally speaking, we believe them.

How We Decide to Purchase

2023-10-16T14:56:51+00:00By |

Amateur ad writers assume everyone makes decisions based upon the same criteria they use. This causes them to unconsciously frame their messages to reach people exactly like themselves.

Building a team that wins

2023-10-16T14:26:44+00:00By |

There’s no doubt that great businesses have equally great employees. But they also have their share of Bubba’s, Jim-Bob’s, and Tina-Marie’s. We never talk about those guys. If you ever lost sleep over a dumbass thing an employee did, you probably have a Bubba on your team.

Are Your Ads Gossip Worthy?

2023-10-16T16:27:50+00:00By |

You probably read this and thought: that’s an unrealistic expectation. Kind of like expecting an ad to “go viral.” Who gossips about ads, of all things? And why would anyone want people gossiping about their brand?

Avoid Scrapbooking Your Brand Visuals.

2023-10-13T18:45:36+00:00By |

A “scrapbook company” doesn’t have the emotional connection to your brand that you do; so they give you a templated product that looks like everything else. Unremarkable.

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