Marketing Advisor, Mentor, & Educator

Kevin C. Whelan

marketing

Write for the platform

I write differently on LinkedIn than I do on Twitter or email.

That’s because each channel is different. The audience is different. The context and expectations are different.

And so my writing naturally is different, too.

For example, I am writing this in my actual email client because I know most people will read this via email. It naturally helps me write for an email audience.

It’s a weird hack, but it’s true.

When I open LinkedIn, I naturally say and write different things. It’s not super conscious, either. It just happens.

The platform we write for shapes the form and style of our writing.

You can see an example of that in my post on LinkedIn today. I don’t typically post stuff like that.

It’s fine to cross-post your ideas on other platforms, but it’s even better if you can write for each platform in the way they’re uniquely designed.

Not niched down enough

Do you keep meaning to write for your blog but never get around to it?

And when you do sit down to write something, are you stumped about where to start?

If so, there’s a good chance you’re not niched down enough.

The smaller you focus, the easier the topics will flow.

In fact, all of your marketing will come more easily to you.

Counter-intuitive but true.

Where is the line?

We’re all tempted to chase revenue.

No matter how much you have, you will usually accept more opportunities that come your way if they present themselves.

At least for a while.

The problem with chasing revenue is that it has opportunity costs. Most importantly, it often limits your ability to build the business you really want.

Maybe you accept clients that require a lot of your time to deliver a result. Or you have to reinvent your entire process to get a result.

Or, maybe you offer a service that isn’t even profitable! But it’s revenue, right?

We all do this for a while. And it’s good to take on whatever work you need to survive.

But once your essentials are covered, maybe it’s time to stay a little hungry to allow you to build a business that you and your ideal clients love.

Where’s the line for you?

5 ways to level up your strategic messaging skills

Clearly communicating the value of your products and services is essential to getting people to buy from you.

This is what strategic messaging is all about.

That’s why I invited Billy Broas to present on just this topic next week for members of my email list, the Mindshare Community, and any other marketing professionals who wish to join (feel free to bring a friend!).

Billy Broas is a marketer and copywriter who has worked with some of the top online course creators and coaches, including the likes Tiago Forte, David Perell, Ali Abdaal, and Ryan Deiss.

On Friday, March 11th at 12pm EST/9am PST, Billy will present on his 5 Lightbulbs Messaging Framework for about an hour, with some room for Q&A at the end.

You can register for free here: https://lu.ma/mindshare-x-billy

Here’s how Billy describes this framework:

The Five Lightbulbs model creates a supportive structure for your marketing message. Using this system, the messages you write will provide value to your prospect and tie back to your core messaging.

That second part is important. Each piece of marketing content should advance the sale. When we take this approach—and turn on all the Lightbulbs—we notice a number of benefits, including:

  • Attracting more serious buyers and fewer tire-kickers
  • Having customers who “get it” and don’t question everything
  • Enjoying less friction and higher conversions when the pitch is finally made

During this session you will:

  • Draw the framework along with Billy (bring something to draw with—coloured pencils are ideal)
  • Run your product (or a client’s) through the framework and see how it strengthens your marketing message
  • Hear the ways Billy is using the framework with clients & his vision for its future

One of the common reactions from entrepreneurs and marketers who learn this model is a feeling of relief.

They are relieved because they finally feel a sense of control over their marketing. And because they know how everything ties back to their main goal: Getting a new customer to say “yes.”

Does this sound interesting to you? 

Register here and feel free to bring someone who may also be interested: https://lu.ma/mindshare-x-billy

Everything is feedback

Paying attention to feedback from your target market is critical to your growth.

If you’re not getting any feedback, that’s a form of feedback.

If you’re getting positive feedback, that’s a form of feedback.

If you’re getting critical feedback, that’s a form of feedback.

If you’re getting lukewarm feedback, that’s also a form of feedback.

You can either fight against what you’re seeing or you can keep shifting what you do until most of the feedback you see is positive.

You’ll never get perfect feedback on everything, but you can remain detached so you can see the feedback you’re getting for what it is.

Keep your eyes wide open so you can shape and grow your business.

Where real innovation comes from

It’s hard to innovate if you’re paying too much attention to your competitors.

The best you can hope to do by watching them is to differentiate.

And while differentiation is a smart strategy, innovation is what will make you a market leader.

Real innovation comes from working with your ideal clients, not from watching your competition.

Strive to serve your ideal clients better and better every day. Remove any pre-conceived notions about what your business can for them. Think outside the conventions (and limitations) of your peers or industry.

You’ll be more able to innovate—and therefore lead—when you watch your ideal clients more closely than your competition.

Show, don’t tell

Most people don’t know what you do. They’re not even sure if you can help them.

It’s your job to help them understand it, and the best way to do that is to show, not tell.

Consult a little during the sales calls. Open up your methodology Trello board to an interested prospect. Teach what you know as part of your marketing. Give away templates. Build case studies.

Words won’t sell what you do. Showing people will.

How I plan to write and publish a book

I’ve decided to start writing and self-publishing a book.

Actually, it’s mostly written already. I’m selecting my “best” 100 posts from the last year—I have 365 posts to choose from—and turning it into a book.

I’m hiring someone to help me organize, edit, and refine the posts to make it into a worthwhile read for marketing advisors.

There will be more to it, but that’s the general idea right now. It could turn into something else, who knows.

I think I’m going to use Tablo to help me do it. I heard about it via Paul Graham and it seems like a great combination of convenience and quality.

If you’re thinking about writing a book, check out Tablo to see if it’s right for you.

And if you’ve written and self-published a book before, any advice you have is appreciated!

Hit reply and let me know what you think.

My unofficial definition of strategy

There’s a lot of definitions of strategy.

None of them are particularly clear or obvious. So here’s the way I think about it:

To me, strategy is about having one or more insights that you believe will give you a competitive advantage if applied, making many of the tactical decisions easy or obvious.

How you get to those insights is a story for another day. It might be a combination of research, data, knowledge of the market factors, product-related, instinctive, or any combination thereof.

The key is that when you have these insights, it’s easy to recall them and use them as a lens to make tactical decisions. They should also make a self-evident case for how they might help you win.

That’s a good a definition of strategy as any, in my eyes. It’s not the “right” definition, but it works in practical terms for the strategy work I do with my clients.

So what conscious (or unconscious) insight (s) drive your business and marketing tactics?

What’s your strategy?

Belonging to a genre

In Seth Godin’s book, The Practice, he talks about belonging to a genre. It’s been a while since I read it, so I’ll riff on the concept a bit because it’s an interesting way to view the world.

Belonging to a genre means being similar to people or things in an existing category. You quickly “get it” when you see something that belongs to a genre you’re familiar with.

Bob Marley was part of a genre of reggae artists. Jaws is part of a few genres, including cult classics and classic thriller films. Tony Robbins is part of a genre of motivational speakers.

All genres are made up of peers who do similar things but have their own unique angle or perspective.

Belonging to a genre makes it easy for the market to understand you more quickly. They have a context to place you in.

And with that context, they can more easily see where you stand out or are unique.

It’s the difference among people within a genre that that compels people buy or engage. We want things belonging to a genre we like, but we choose which ones to engage with based on their differences.

It’s good to belong to a genre. The question is, what genre do you belong to, who are your peers, and how are you unique?