Why Story Power
How to Attract Attention – The Jesus Way
Here’s a parable about parables… …with a lesson that can help you attract attention for your marketing messages and inspire people to act. In the Bible’s Gospel of Luke, someone asks Jesus, “…who is my neighbor?” Jesus answers with the story of a “certain man” who was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and “fell among…
Read MoreHow 1 Pic and 3 Words Transform A Boring Log Into a Romantic Tale
My friend Cabanne Howard (a great marketing strategist) sent this picture to me the other day… It’s a closeup of this Duraflame log… Cabanne thinks it’s a great example of story-powered marketing. And she’s right. Feeble marketing focuses on features. Better marketing focuses on benefits. The best marketing — story-powered marketing — promises transformations. A Duraflame log features sawdust…
Read MoreA Tale of Two Posts: One Inspiring, The Other a Yawner
Here’s a tale of two blog posts — both covering the same topic: Why your business needs a customer support playbook and how to implement one. In one corner we have a treatise. Here’s how it starts: Building and managing a help desk in your organization can either become a triumphant, effective tool or end…
Read More40 Years Later, I Still Remember This…
I was cleaning out a closet the other day and found an old biology textbook. As I paged through it, I was struck (stunned, saddened) by how little I remembered. Then I got to the chapter about animal biology… …and my memory clicked: “Kids prefer cheese over fried green spinach.” That’s the little story I…
Read MoreCool Tools to Remove Background and Apply Effects to Photos
Last week, I shared “5 things you might not know about me…” on LinkedIn. The post included this picture of me… A few people told me they liked that picture, and they suggested I use it as my profile picture — instead of the one I was using. “Sure, why not?” I thought. But before…
Read MoreConventional Lunacy You Must Ignore
I read some marketing advice last week that was SO bad I had to share it with you… …so you can add it to the top of your “Do Not Do This!” list. It came from a so-called marketing “expert” in one of those fancy-shmancy magazines for entrepreneurs. The article contained dos and don’ts for…
Read MoreWhy You Shouldn’t Be Afraid of Fear in Your Marketing…
A few months ago, my wife and I woke to a loud “thud.” She thought the sound came from inside the house… …and, for her, that meant trouble. “What was that!?” she asked, sounding a little frantic. We live in the city and crime is a thing so I don’t blame her for worrying. I…
Read MorePriceless Marketing Lessons Courtesy of President Trump
I gotta hand it to President Donald J. Trump. Love him or hate him, El Presidente just did many of us a favor. He shut up the “TikTok-is-the-Next-Big-Marketing-Thing” crowd. (Search for “tiktok marketing next big thing,” and you’ll find them). On Friday, he issued an executive order banning TikTok in the USA, effective next month. …
Read MoreHow to Land More Business With Less Selling
I read a definition of “marketer” yesterday that may be the best I’ve ever seen.It came from Troy Broussard, one of my favorite marketers and a top-notch product developer. He co-created Learnistic, the mobile platform on which I run the Story Power Marketing app. He said a marketer is “a person that creates such a strong…
Read MoreThe Salty Popcorn Marketing Method
I miss movie theater popcorn. A large bucket. Plenty of salt. None of that fake butter. On a good day — especially if my wife grabs a few handfuls from the first bucket — I go for the free refill. Ahhh…such fond pre-pandemic memories. When the movie theaters reopen, I’ll rush back… …not because I…
Read More