Today, I typed the words “bad marketing” into the almighty Google search bar, and I received 1,340,000,000 results in 0.51 seconds.
Wow, that’s a lot of bad marketing, I thought to myself.
Hmm…maybe this is the perfect summation of the current state of marketing!
But since I’m an optimist at heart, I decided to type the words “good marketing” into Google and received 3,640,000,000 results in 0.44 seconds.
You see, there are lots of good folks out there in the marketing universe that seek to understand the truth…
…it’s out there but getting harder and harder to find.
Like I always say, the marketing buzzards have ruined it all – they’ve spoiled the sacred marketing water of life for everyone and made it close to impossible to believe and trust anything anymore.
Take a deep breath…breath in, breath out. Feel better? I do.
Let’s take out the leaf blower and blow all of this toxic smoke out of the room, and use a first principles reasoning approach to all of this, shall we?
On the most basic, simple, yet all-powerful level…
…Good marketing is showing up…
…Bad marketing is not showing up.
You see, we can debate for 10 years straight, but at some point, you have to start.
And that’s the point.
So, before you attempt to dive into reading, researching, and filtering through the 4.98 billion search results that Google has so graciously bestowed upon you at light speed, do this instead…
…show up…
…show up consistently so you can create a frequency (habit)…
…show up with purpose, clarity, and empathy…
…show up seeking to serve, advise, nourish and heal…
…show up with an insatiable curiosity to understand those you seek to serve…
…and just keep showing up.
Message
Speaking of bad marketing, here is something to consider.
There are a lot of marketers and brands out there that focus primarily on the medium or channel of distribution – for example, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest, TikTok, online/offline media, etc.
This is bad marketing.
The focus should always start and end with the MESSAGE.
The message is what “makes and breaks” marketing.
And with unlimited digital distribution in today’s marketing, the internet has created an enormous wasteland and cesspool of bad messaging, (and therefore bad marketing.)
Maybe that’s why 4.98 billion results are available when you seek to understand the “good” and “bad” in marketing.
But now there is a problem.
And it is bad news for everyone, because now consumers have to sift through the morass of shitty messaging online, resulting in a complicated and confusing marketplace.
The silver lining here is that there is a tremendous opportunity for those that emphasis and over-index on great messaging.
But don’t forget the first principle of good marketing starts with a commitment to showing up. No dabbling, no one-offs, and no quitting!
And remember that great marketing starts and ends with the message.
If you want to learn how great marketing, aim to be a master of the message.
Pay close attention to the copyrighting legends of the past – they had to do it before the internet…
…with only a typewriter, envelope, return envelope, and a stamp…
…and wait patiently for the results…refine the message…and do it again…and again…
…while losing millions and millions of dollars testing their copyrighting and learning what actually motivates and then activates the human condition.
A marketing clue for you – while the world is in a constant state of change and various stages of disruption, one thing remains constant…
…human behavior.
Yes, all of the noise out there makes it harder to be heard, so make damn sure that when it’s your turn to speak, your MESSAGE is __________________.
And don’t rely on suspenseful, catchy, and cleverly worded cliffhangers to magically unlock the secrets to marketing riches…
…because the answer isn’t a word or catchy phrase.
It’s a journey of self-marketing-discovery…
…and if you show up enough…
… you will eventually get a turn to speak.
To your forthcoming mic drop…
Happy messaging.