Creative Services, Thought Leadership
Tom Nixon
The Power of Storytelling

"Show me, don't tell me."

That is the art of effective communication.

What I learned in sixth grade holds true today. If you’re using your marketing content and messaging to TELL people why they should engage with you, nobody will relate.

But if you SHOW them—through storytelling, testimonial, metaphorical allusions, emotional connection—your story will resonate. And be remembered.

Allow me to show you how…

The Power of Storytelling
Thought Leadership, Creative Services
Tom Nixon
Don't Be a Hero

Who Is the Hero In Your Story?

If I told you my life story, would you care?

What if I asked you tell me your life story?

Eugene M. Schwartz’s The Brilliance Breakthrough: How to Talk and Write So That People Will Never Forget You should be (and often is) considered to be the “bible” of effective copywriting and storytelling. One of the many tenets Schwartz embraces is the notion of making the reader (or the customer) the hero of the story you’re trying to tell.

Too often, we put the capes on our own backs. And that’s where the writing falls short.

Don't Be a Hero
Thought Leadership, Podcasting
Tom Nixon
Let Content Be Your Praise Singer

You Don’t Have to Be in the Room to Gain Influence

Adrian Lurssen tells the story of when he went to see Nelson Mandela deliver an address in his home country of South Africa. He still draws upon the experience today, but in the most unusual context.

As Adrian has recounted this tale to Jay Harrington and me on an episode of The Thought Leadership Project podcast, he likens this notion of a praise singer to how we considers thought leadership content to work on behalf of the expert that shares it.

See how…

Let Content Be Your Praise Singer
Creative Services
Tom Nixon
The Marketing Holy Grail

The Parable of the Fisher King, and How It Applies to Your Messaging

One of my all-time favorite movies was Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, staring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl. The movie’s key lesson — as told through a parable — is one that I think applies to much more than just life and love. The parable of The Fisher King and the movie from which it is taken provide a useful allegory for effective messaging, positioning and branding.

In a key moment in the movie, Robin Williams’s character tells the story to Jeff Bridges’s character:

The Marketing Holy Grail

The Marketing Holy Grail

The Marketing Holy Grail

The Parable of the Fisher King, and How It Applies to Your Messaging

One of my all-time favorite movies was Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, staring Robin Williams, Jeff Bridges and Mercedes Ruehl. The movie’s key lesson — as told through a parable — is one that I think applies to much more than just life and love. The parable of The Fisher King and the movie from which it is taken provide a useful allegory for effective messaging, positioning and branding.

In a key moment in the movie, Robin Williams’s character tells the story to Jeff Bridges’s character:

A Messaging Parable

A Messaging Parable

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

A product innovator walks into an advertising agency...

He's invented the best hammer to ever hit the market. Now he needs the agency's help to tell the world all about it.

"What makes this hammer so special?" the creative director asks.

"Just look at it," the proprietor beams with pride. "It's a work of art."

"Why would anyone buy it?" the agency lead asks.

Don't Fake It. Make It.

Don't Fake It. Make It.

People aren’t interested in your words. They want your ideas.

Anyone can produce words. Even artificial intelligence can kick out fairly convincing-sounding words. But those aren’t ideas. At least not yours.

Ideas are the synthesis of available information, filtered through the prism of your unique perspectives and lived experiences, and delivered with proscriptive advice and personalized guidance. And the best ideas belong to the thought leaders among us.

Are your best ideas worthy of broader recognition? Let’s find out…

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Why Start a Podcast?

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Why Start a Podcast?

Why start a podcast?

For fame? Fortune? Celebrity? Unlikely…

If the question were reframed as "Why establish a content marketing platform that isn't about writing and reading, doesn't require video, isn't about SEO...but during which you can captivate the undivided attention of a listener for 30-45 minutes — and at the same time, yield enough content for multiple blog posts, a newsletter, several short videos and one long one, plus the naturally generated text that will improve your website's search engine visibility?"...

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Why?

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Why?

Marketing: For All Intents and Purposes

Why?

It's a simple question. So why do so many ignore it?

The Power of Why is no longer just a clever title for an impactful TEDTalk delivered by Simon Sinek...it's an obligation.

Curtis Hays and I dive deep into the importance of "intent" this week on the Bullhorns and Bullseyes #podcast — both from a messaging standpoint but, importantly, also from a search engine perspective.

So, if you've been ignoring my pleas to "LEAD WITH THE WHY" up until now, that is no longer just evasive procrastination...it's putting you behind your competitors in the all-important search engine competition.

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Podcast: LinkedIn Mastery

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Podcast: LinkedIn Mastery

Jay Harrington is president of the HARRINGTON agency and is one of the country’s leading consultants and strategists in the areas of legal marketing, PR and business development. His particular passion and profound area of expertise is building a network and growing an audience on LinkedIn to generate more and better new business opportunities.

In this podcast crossover event — Tom and Jay also separately co-host the Thought Leadership Project podcast — Curtis and they discuss tips for publishing thought leadership and content marketing on LinkedIn.Together, they explore the engagement metrics on the platform and the effectiveness of using LinkedIn as an advertising platform. They also highlight the importance of understanding your audience and narrowing your niche, as well as the need for sustained effort and consistency in creating thought leadership content on LinkedIn.