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  • More Tools Than Ever. The Needle Still Isn’t Moving.

    More Tools Than Ever. The Needle Still Isn’t Moving.

    What happens when an industry’s quality gate disappears—and why the same thing is happening to marketing right now.

    The following is reprinted from our Substackour Substack, Bullhorns and Bullseyes Bullhorns and Bullseyes, written by my co-host Curtis Hays of Collideascope…

    Every marketer I talk to right now has more tools than they’ve ever had in their career. Websites you can stand up in an afternoon. Free reach to anyone on earth through social. Now AI sitting on top of all of it, writing the copy, building the images, answering in seconds what used to take a week.

    And the needle is not moving.

    Not because the tools are bad. Not because the team isn’t trying hard enough. It’s because tools amplify whatever’s underneath them, and most of the time what’s underneath isn’t solid enough to amplify.

    Watch Now: Why Are We Stuck?

    I’ve been circling this problem longer than I realized. In 1998 I was working nights at a bank, running mainframe jobs on a Unix box, balancing transactions while the system chewed through its batch. There was a lot of downtime in that job, and I filled it writing. Not marketing. Just sitting with a hard question long enough to actually get somewhere with it, instead of reaching for the first answer. I never finished college. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was the first real practice I had at digging past the obvious answer to the true one.

    Tom Nixon, my co-host on Bullhorns & Bullseyes, has been circling the same instinct from a different direction for thirty years, across two novels and a career in advertising production. Neither of us invented this argument last week. We just finally said it out loud on air: we’re writing a book together. It’s called The Marketing Reformation.

    None of that is the point. The point is the argument underneath it. Every time an industry’s quality gate comes down, volume explodes and the average collapses. Record labels used to force a musician through years of proving they could actually play before anyone heard them. That gate came down, and there’s a line from Toto’s Steve Lukather that Tom’s heard attributed to him more than once: back then you needed real musicianship to make a world-class album, now all you need is a celebrity and a laptop. Advertising had the same gate. Mad Men-era agencies were full of their own sins, but at minimum they made someone do their homework before an idea reached a client. WordPress took the same kind of gate down for building a website. You don’t need a developer anymore, so you don’t get one, and now there are a hundred million websites that say nothing. AI is doing this to marketing right now, faster than any of the previous collapses.

    Tom put words to the distinction we keep circling back to on air: anyone can come up with an idea. The job was never coming up with it. The job is making the idea hold with the customer. Marketing’s default move is skipping straight to the coming-up-with part and calling it strategy.

    I wrote down a line from a Brian Clark newsletter a while back that’s stuck with me since: once you understand your wiring, you don’t choose your movement, you come to recognize it, because you understand which movements already resonate with who you actually are. That’s what this book is for me. Not a new idea. A recognition of one I’ve been circling since a bank mainframe in 1998.

    Tom’s friend Chuck Bean has a line he uses with clients constantly: you’re not arguing with me, you’re arguing with the data. That’s the whole discipline in one sentence. Find the customer’s actual truth first. Then, and only then, turn the amplifier on.

    I was raised Lutheran, and the title isn’t an accident. The Reformation wasn’t Luther inventing a new belief. It was a correction back to what people already, authentically believed, once the gatekeeper standing between them and it got out of the way. That’s what Tom and I think marketing needs right now: a correction back to the truth the whole apparatus was supposed to serve, before anyone turns the amplifier on.

    The prologue is written. The outline is locked. We’ve already got three or four chapters down, passed back and forth between us. We said out loud on air that we’re aiming for this year. Now we can’t renege.

    We’ll be publishing the deeper cuts here as we write. If you want to watch this get built instead of just reading the finished book, this is where that happens.

  • Make Your Content Engine Purr

    Make Your Content Engine Purr

    A New Model for Content Marketing in 2026 and Beyond

    Two years ago, simply showing up was enough.

    If you published consistently, demonstrated expertise, and shared thoughtful perspectives over time, you separated yourself from most of the market. Content marketing worked because not everyone was doing it well — or doing it at all.

    Today, everyone is showing up.

    And most of them are using AI to do it.

    That doesn’t mean content marketing is dead. It means generic presence is dead. The problem isn’t volume. It’s believe-ability.

    We are no longer just competing with other professionals. We are competing with artificial voices, auto-generated expertise, and an endless stream of frictionless content. Even if your ideas are legitimate and human-generated, your audience may assume they aren’t. And if they believe they can prompt the same answer from ChatGPT in ten seconds, why should they read your blog post?

    That is the real shift.

    The End of Serial Publishing

    For years, the standard prescription looked like this: pick a topic, write a post, publish it, and repeat next week. Over time, that steady drumbeat built authority and brand preference. When someone eventually entered the market for your services, you were top of mind.

    In theory, that still works. In practice, it now produces something far less satisfying: invisibility.

    When every piece of content stands alone, when each post resets the clock, and when nothing builds toward a defined outcome, you are not creating momentum. You are maintaining motion. The difference matters.

    If 2026 demands anything of content marketers, it’s this: stop publishing serially and start building strategically.

    Instead of thinking in weekly posts, think in 90-day arcs. Instead of asking, “What should we write about this week?” ask, “What outcome are we driving toward this quarter?”

    Content without a defined destination is now just noise with grammar.

    The Four “Purrs”

    If your content strategy is going to cut through AI saturation and audience skepticism, it needs four deliberate characteristics. Together, they create what I call The Four “Purrs” — and ultimately, the fifth and most important result. (Spoiler alert: it also rhymes with purr.)

    1. Purposeful

    Content must be aimed. Not vaguely. Not aspirationally. Specifically.

    It’s no longer enough to say, “Over time, this will build trust.” The strategy should define a measurable objective inside a defined window — typically 90 days.

    For example: one clear purpose is to enroll as many members of your addressable market as possible into a live webinar, workshop, or in-person event. That singular objective changes how you create content. Each post becomes runway. Each video becomes reinforcement. Each email becomes part of a sequence.

    You begin to see your audience more clearly as well. There are learners who consume quietly. There are lurkers you cannot measure but know are there. And there are hand-raisers — the persuadable segment who are willing to take the next step.

    Your content must give them something to raise their hand to. Purpose creates direction. Direction creates momentum.

    2. Persistent

    Consistency used to be enough. Now it must be consistency with intention. Persistence is different: it’s consistency with purpose.

    Persistence means narrowing your focus over that 90-day arc. Instead of writing about a dozen disconnected topics, you select one core tension: one problem, one theme, one drumbeat …and you’re going to approach it persistently from multiple angles.

    You explore it through stories, analysis, examples, frameworks, and commentary. You repeat the central idea without repeating yourself. By the time your culminating event arrives, your audience should not wonder what it will cover. They should be expecting it.

    Persistence builds familiarity. Familiarity builds trust. Trust makes persuasion possible.

    3. Persuasive

    Education is valuable, but information alone is no longer scarce. Transformation is.

    Professional services are typically purchased at a moment of inflection — when someone decides they can no longer tolerate the status quo or they finally choose to pursue an aspiration. Effective content moves people closer to that decision.

    This does not require manipulation or aggressive selling. It requires clarity. Your content should demonstrate that the current path has limitations, that an alternative exists, and that you understand the emotional and practical tension your audience is experiencing.

    If your strategy is purposeful and persistent, persuasion becomes a natural byproduct. You are not pitching constantly; you are preparing thoughtfully. Over time, the persuadable segment of your audience begins to consider change.

    4. Personal

    This is where the human advantage becomes unmistakable.

    Written content alone now competes directly with AI. Machines will always win on speed and scale. Humans win on presence.

    Video. Live webinars. Unscripted commentary. Podcasts. Real conversations. When people see you think in real time, when they hear your cadence and observe nuance in your delivery, your expertise becomes authenticated. You signal authorship. You signal authenticity.

    In an era of synthetic content, visible humanity becomes a differentiator.

    Personal content does not replace written content. It validates it.

    The Fifth “Purr” → Permanence

    When content is purposeful, persistent, persuasive, and personal, something powerful happens: it gains permanence.

    Instead of disappearing into the feed after 24 hours, your ideas stay in the market for 90 days. They build anticipation toward a defined moment — a live event, a webinar, a workshop, or a briefing.

    That event then becomes fuel for the next 90 days.

    You record it. You gate the replay. You extract short-form video clips. You generate companion blog posts. You develop follow-up emails. You create derivative assets that extend the lifecycle of a single idea.

    Your strategy compounds rather than resets.

    You are no longer producing isolated posts. You are programming reputation over time.

    The New Discipline

    The truth is, AI did not kill content marketing. It exposed outdated strategy.

    The brands that will win in 2026 and beyond will not be the ones producing the most content. They will be the ones building structured, human, outcome-driven arcs that culminate in meaningful engagement.

    The question is no longer, “What should we publish this week?”

    It is, “What are we building toward over the next 90 days?”

    Answer that well, and your content engine won’t sputter.

    It will purr.

    .

  • Mapping the Hero’s Journey

    Mapping the Hero’s Journey

    Your Customer is the Hero, Not You

    How familiar are you with Joseph Campbell’s now classic framework, “the hero’s journey?” You may not know it intimately, but if you’ve ever seen Star Wars, you’ve seen it in action.

    But it’s also central to effective content marketing strategy. Let’s explore…

    In summary, Campbell outlined the journey of a hero as a person living an ordinary life, but perhaps with an extraordinary gift or tragic event. As a result, they are called to adventure. So begins a journey. At the end, a happy resolution and a mission fulfilled.

    Back to Star Wars as the example, George Lucas tells the story of Luke Skywalker, the lowly farmer who discovers the force after his village and family are destroyed. That call to adventure — vengeance against the evildoers — leads to trials, transformation, and eventually a restored outcome.

    So how does that map to marketing?

    Followers of Campbell’s work point out, correctly, that customer is the hero in their journey, not the brand trying to sell that hero a product or service. When done effectively, the brand acts as the guide, the mentor, the path to resolution.

    Think of Obi-Wan Kenobi or Han Solo guiding Luke Skywalker; you’re helping the customer along their path. Kenobi provides education and a weapon. Han Solo transports Luke across the galaxy. They facilitate the hero; they don’t try to become the hero.

    Likewise, you shouldn’t be thinking first and foremost about selling a product. Primarily, we should relate to the customer’s problem and work to guide them towards a solution, ultimately achieving their desired outcome — which just happens to be your own.

    If we’re truly putting the customer at the center, seeing them as the hero, how do we effectively map out their journey? Let’s continue along on our journey…

    Mapping the Hero’s Journey

    Once you understand their hero’s aspiration, that emotional trigger that prompts their call to adventure, that feeling that says, “I can’t live like this anymore. I need a solution,” you can begin to articulate that you understand the hero’s motivation. That’s the WHY.

    After the WHY comes the HOW. This is when customers start looking for solutions, and if you’ve connected with them on a WHY level, you have them as an audience, and they will naturally look and wonder, “How will you solve my problem?” 

    In Luke Skywalker’s case, he asks Obi-Wan. “You fought in the clone wars?” Which translates to, you’ve been in my shoes? Obi-Wan then presents Luke with his father’s lightsaber. Here’s a tool that might help you solve your problem. You could use a blaster, (i.e., a competitor). But this lightsaber here is the more “elegant” solution.

    Now Obi-Wan has Luke’s attention. He starts educating. “For a thousand years, the Jedi Knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic….”

    As the conversation moves on, Luke wants to learn more about the force. He’s drawn completely into his new mentor. Obi-Wan has an audience…a disciple, even.

    Then comes the WHAT.  At the core, it’s the specific products, services, or actions your organization offers. It’s what you do or sell. The light saber is the WHAT. But Luke would never go looking for one if he didn’t have a truly motivational WHY.

    The Whats look almost indistinguishable from competitors’, feature for feature. But if a company connects deeply on the WHY and offers a truly differentiated HOW, then the WHAT, the actual purchase, becomes almost a given. Price becomes less of a factor because you’ve already built that foundational trust and connection.

    Use the Force (of Effective Content)

    Obi-Wan played the long game. He lurked in the shadows, making himself known to his audience for when the time was right. Luke was “in market” when he was called to his adventure. 

    That’s the crucial point of content marketing: it isn’t just about immediate sales. It’s about demonstrating expertise, establishing authority and gaining trust before a customer is actively looking, so you’re top of mind when they do need you precisely. Luke sought out “Old Ben.”  You want your brand to be known as the expert. When a problem does eventually arise, you’re the first one they think of. Which you could say is definitely playing the long game.

    So, what kinds of content actually work best for this long-game approach?

    Well, you tailor it to that hero’s journey. You tell stories. You use case studies, you educate, you hit them with content at different stages of the journey where those potential customers are on their learning and decision-making path.

    Your ultimate goal with content is building an audience of loyal fans who can’t wait for your next piece of content, your next product or feature.

    Fans of brands don’t need a hard sell. When the next iPhone is released, people will wait in line for hours to purchase their new device. Not just because it has a better camera or a faster processor. They could get that from Android. They buy from Apple because somewhere along the way, Apple established a level of loyalty and deep connection with an audience of true fans who couldn’t be pried away from the brand.

    What would that level of loyalty and deep connection look like for your brand?

    It’s a powerful idea to consider. Even more powerful to implement. 

    Listen and Learn

    In this latest Episode of Bullhorns & Bullseyes, Tom Nixon and Curtis Hays focus on something foundational to effective content deployment: Marketing isn’t about who can shout louder or who can outspend the competitive field in the arena of advertising. It’s about genuinely understanding your customers, aligning with their journey, and becoming part of their story. Not as the hero. As the helpful guide that gets them where they need to go.

    As you rethink your own approach to content marketing, ask yourself, who’s the true hero in your story?

    ▶️ Watch On YouTube: https://youtu.be/ab9-fIl1-SM

    🎧 Listen On Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5Qxv2Vr2lCPmhM4aiF3KAN

    🙏 Please Support Bullhorns & Bullseyes: Like, share, comment, & subscribe!

  • Map Messaging to Measurement

    Map Messaging to Measurement

    Model Behavior

    At first, most people don’t get it. But once it clicks, it becomes the most powerful methodology for messaging, marketing and media itself.

    By “it,” I’m referring to “WHY.”

    Until I’m blue in the face, I will die on the hill that effective messaging and copywriting needs to be structured in a very deliberate “WHY→HOW→WHAT” hierarchy. In other words, if you want your message to resonate and achieve its objective, you simply MUST lead with WHY.

    But not your WHY…theirs!

    Nobody cares about your WHAT—or even your HOW —until you’ve connected to their WHY.

    The Power of Why is not just a viral TED Talk by Simon Sinek; it’s a proven model for messaging hierarchy that directly maps to the tried and true Sales Funnel framework. In other words, the model of “WHY→HOW→WHAT” is specifically engineered to nurture a potential customer into the action of your choosing…but in the time of the customer’s choosing. Because that’s who’s going to dictate the timing of a potential next step…not your urgent “call to action.”

    The WHY can be better understood when framed as a buying motivation. Most often (in the B2B world) that motivation is rooted in pain…sometimes it can be gain. But understand: before a potential customer ever reaches your doorstep, they are motivated by their own problems or aspirations — NOT the features of your product or service.

    So why ask WHY? Because that’s the mindset your coveted client is already in; and you need to map to it in order to emotionally connect with that prospect.

    AIDA, RACE and WHW

    Tom and Curtis go into three essential frameworks for marketing success on their Bullhorns and Bullseyes podcast. The first is the tried and true sales funnel, which follows a person from Awareness, through Interest and Desire, then ultimately to Action.

    The RACE model, created by Dr. Dave Chaffey, is about planning, measurement, and aligning tactics with funnel stages: Reach, Action, Conversion and Engagement. Note how each metric in the RACE framework directly maps to a stage in the AIDA model:

    When overlaid, it becomes obvious why you should lead with WHY, support that with HOW, and then deliver validating WHATs, our universally adopted framework for messaging, copywriting, and pretty much everything we do here at The Creative Mill.

    Listen + Look + Learn:

    Watch the entire episode below. Listen and subscribe to the audio podcast here. Check out the fuller explanation of the concepts explored in this episode via the Amplify and Aim newsletter below the video.

    https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ixj6QsUNKVU%3Ffeature%3Doembed

    🎯 Amplify and Aim Newsletter

    Episode Recap: Model Behavior

    This lesson in brief: “You Can’t Skip the Funnel—But You Can Equip It…Then You Should Flip It!”

    In this episode of Bullhorns and Bullseyes, Tom Nixon and Curtis Hays geek out (in the way that only true geeks dare!) on three powerful marketing models that shape how they plan campaigns, create content, and measure success. 

    If you’ve ever wondered why some campaigns flop while others convert like magic, this episode is your masterclass in doing it the Bullhorns and Bullseyes way—from the top of the funnel to the flip at the end.

    Let’s break it all down…

    ∇📊 MODEL #1: THE OG SALES FUNNEL (AIDA)

    First up: a classic. Tom reintroduces the trusty old AIDA sales funnel—Awareness, Interest, Desire, Action. Though it’s been around since the 19th century, too many marketers still get it wrong today by trying to skip straight to the sale. (Looking at you, “Buy Now” Facebook ads shown to total strangers.)

    The funnel represents the customer’s mindset—not just the steps they take. It’s linear, even if the journey increasingly isn’t. People move from not knowing you exist, to knowing you exist, to wanting what you offer, to finally buying it. But you can’t rush that process…or cheat it.

    Key Point: Most failed campaigns are a result of skipping the early steps—awareness and interest—and pushing for conversion way too early. Want to close more? Nurture more.

    🏃‍♂️📊 MODEL #2: THE RACE FRAMEWORK (REACH, ACT, CONVERT, ENGAGE)

    Next, Curtis shares a modern framework he’s been leaning on for nearly a decade: RACE, created by Dr. Dave Chaffey.

    Where AIDA is about mindset, RACE is about planning, measurement, and aligning tactics with funnel stages.

    • Reach = Build awareness. Don’t measure conversions here—measure impressions, traffic, and engagement.
    • Act = Spark exploration. This is where educational content shines and you begin building trust.
    • Convert = Now it’s time to push for leads or purchases. But only now.
    • Engage = Post-conversion, turn customers into advocates who drive future reach and help you flip the funnel.

    Curtis emphasizes that proper planning sits above the framework. How much budget goes to each stage depends on where you are today. A startup? You’ll need to invest heavily in awareness. A mature brand? You may be ready to convert.

    Key Point: The most efficient marketing spend aligns your budget, your tactics, and your metrics to the right stage of the funnel. Do it wrong, and you’re lighting money on fire.

    💬📝 MODEL #3: WHY→HOW→WHAT

    Finally, Tom rolls out his own spin on Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle—tailored for messaging. The core insight? You need to align with your audience’s why, not your company’s.

    Here’s how the model maps onto the funnel:

    • WHY: The emotional driver. Pain, aspiration, purpose. Start here to capture awareness.
    • HOW: Your method. This is what separates you from competitors and converts interest into desire.
    • WHAT: The features. This is what you do—but by the time someone is deciding that they want your WHATs, you’ve already won them over with the WHY and the HOW…because every competitor has your same WHAT, but not your HOW…and you can bet that they’ve skipped the all-important WHY altogether!

    Curtis admitted he used to get this backward—he thought “why” was about defining your brand’s purpose. Turns out, the real power lies in identifying your customer’s purpose and showing them how you help them fulfill it.

    Key Point: “Nobody cares how awesome your product is—until they know you understand what they’re going through from a pain or gain standpoint.”

    💡 PRO TIPS AND FAVORITE QUIPS

    • “You can’t skip the funnel—but you can equip the funnel. And then, you should flip the funnel.” —Tom
    • “Don’t engineer for awareness then measure conversions.” — Curtis
    • “Marketing should be viewed as an investment, not an expense. So spend wisely.” — Smart Consultants Everywhere
    • When you skip steps, you’re not just burning money—you’re forfeiting valuable trust along the way….and that’s a currency all its own!

    🧠🛠️ Why This Matters

    Marketers often focus on tactics—ads, blogs, email campaigns—without a framework to tie them together. What Tom and Curtis lay out here is a way to plan smarter, message more effectively, and measure in a way that aligns with reality…not your perfect dream world.

    Whether you’re a startup or a century-old brand, if you want better results from your marketing, you need to align what you’re doing with where your customers are in their journey.

    AND IF YOU WANT YOUR CAMPAIGNS TO ACTUALLY CONVERT? BE A MODEL CITIZEN…EXEMPLIFY MODEL BEHAVIORS…AND APPLY A PROVEN MODEL FOR SUCCESS!

    🎧 Listen or watch the full episode on your favorite platform or at bullhornsandbullseyes.com. Bonus: You’ll find downloadable visuals that map it all out. Subscribe to Amplify and Aim here.

    💥 Until next time: Keep blasting that bullhorn 📢 — and aiming for the bullseye 🎯‼️

  • That’s a Wrap!

    That’s a Wrap!

    Lessons Learned from Season 2 of Bullhorns and Bullseyes

    Curtis and I wrapped the final episode of Bullhorns & Bullseyes this week. We broke some news, reflected on lessons learned, celebrated a star-studded roster of guests, and pledged to do something a little different and daring next year. And we hope you’ll be a part of it!

    One of the themes from Season 2 was the concept of storytelling. This time of year you see it everywhere you look:

    ‣ Seasonal nostalgia
    ‣ Stories that tug at the heart strings
    ‣ Vignettes that keep you longing for yesteryear
    ‣ Tearjerkers you kick yourself for falling for

    These aren’t advertisements…they’re brand builders. And they’re more effective and memorable than the 11 months prior pushing sales and promotions combined.

    Think about it: When you get caught up in a story, you can’t help but stick around to see how it ends. When’s the last time a commercial pushing 15% off accomplished that much? Something to consider for 2026….more on that to come.

    Until then, check out the episode below, find it and subscribe here, and read all about it below the video!

    About Last Week…

    75 Episodes, Two Seasons, One Big Realization

    We never set out to build a marketing community. We just wanted to tell Mario’s story.

    But here we are, wrapping up Season 2 of Bullhorns & Bullseyes with 75 episodes behind us, a roster of marketing legends as guests, and something we didn’t expect: proof that authentic expertise shared consistently builds something bigger than a podcast.

    It builds authority. It builds relationships. It builds business.

    How It All Started

    Two years ago, Curtis asked Tom to write a case study about their 7-year relationship with Mario D’Aquila’s Assisted Living Home Care Services.

    Tom called back with a different idea: “Their journey is so detailed, I don’t think a case study can capture it all. Let’s tell the story on a podcast.”

    That conversation launched Bullhorns & Bullseyes. The first three episodes were Mario’s marketing transformation story.

    Now Mario’s appeared 5 times out of 75 episodes and just announced he’s starting his own podcast. The student becomes the teacher.

    The Unexpected Guest List

    What started as one client’s story became something we couldn’t have predicted. Season 2 alone featured:

    Marketing legends: Mark Schaefer on AI and humanity, Brian Clark on content marketing evolution, Gini Dietrich with the PESO model

    Industry innovators: Jesse Flores on the future of AI agents, Janet Tyler on agency transformation

    Storytelling experts: Kristian Alomá on narrative psychology and customer interviews

    Privacy attorneys, acquisition specialists, and business builders who shared practical insights you can’t find anywhere else

    Tom called it “a who’s who list of heavy hitters in the marketing industry.” But here’s what we learned: they didn’t come on because we’re famous. They came on because we’re genuinely curious about what works.

    The AI Thread That Ran Through Everything

    Season 2 became accidentally prophetic about AI’s impact on marketing.

    Mark Schaefer showed us how to add humanity to AI tools without losing efficiency. Jesse Flores painted a picture of an agentic web where websites become conversation partners. Gini Dietrich explained how AI search is changing the discovery process entirely.

    But the real insight came from Brian Clark: “Expertise and wisdom combined with AI is the secret component.”

    The marketers winning aren’t the ones avoiding AI or blindly embracing it. They’re the ones using AI to amplify their hard-won expertise and human judgment.

    The Tractor Story That Explained Everything

    Sometimes the best marketing insights come from the most unexpected places. Curtis’s story about buying a $35 tractor gas nozzle became the perfect example of how modern customer journeys really work.

    He saw a Facebook ad. Got a coupon but wasn’t ready. Watched organic YouTube reviews. Waited for the right color to come in stock. Eventually bought direct from the website.

    Zero attribution in any traditional system. Perfect customer journey in reality.

    Gini called it “a perfect PESO model customer journey” – paid advertising, earned reviews, shared social proof, and owned conversion path all working together.

    The lesson: Stop trying to control the customer journey. Start being present everywhere it might happen.

    What We Learned About Authority

    Here’s what 75 episodes taught us about building business authority:

    Consistency beats perfection. We missed some weeks. We had technical issues. But we kept showing up with valuable conversations.

    Questions matter more than answers. The best episodes weren’t lectures. They were explorations of real problems with people who’ve solved them.

    Stories stick better than strategies. Curtis’s tractor purchase taught attribution better than any framework. Mario’s journey showed DISC assessments in action better than any theory.

    Community builds itself. We didn’t set out to build a marketing community. We just kept having interesting conversations with smart people. The community formed around shared curiosity.

    The Business Impact We Didn’t Expect

    Neither Curtis nor Tom planned for podcasting to become a business strategy. But here’s what happened:

    Relationship acceleration: Guests became partners, advisors, and friends faster than traditional networking ever achieved

    Authority establishment: Industry leaders started referencing episodes in their own content and keynote presentations

    Business development: The conversations opened doors to opportunities that cold outreach never could

    Knowledge consolidation: Teaching forced deeper understanding of concepts both hosts thought they already knew

    Mario put it perfectly: “I actually hear a lot of folks say, ‘Oh my God, you work with Curtis? You work with Tom Nixon?’ So there’s something to this podcasting.”

    The Season 3 Tease

    Curtis revealed they’re working on something different for Season 3 – possibly a mini-course format that goes deeper on specific topics rather than just interview-style episodes.

    And yes, there will be a new hat. Curtis is taking his daughter shopping at “the Boot Barn” to find the perfect Season 3 headwear.

    Some things change. Some things stay the same.

    The Gratitude List

    Both hosts emphasized gratitude as they wrapped Season 2. Not just for guests who shared their time and expertise, but for listeners who engaged, shared, and applied what they learned.

    Tom’s reflection: “Thank you to the listeners and viewers and commenters. We appreciate it and you’ll have more opportunity to comment and let your voice be heard next season.”

    The podcast became a dialogue, not a monologue. That’s what made it work.

    What This Means for Your Business

    The Bullhorns & Bullseyes experiment proves something important: In an attention economy, the businesses that win are the ones that earn attention by genuinely serving their audience.

    Not with slick production values or celebrity guests, but with consistent curiosity about real problems and real solutions.

    The framework isn’t complicated:

    • Find topics your ideal customers actually care about

    • Have honest conversations with people who’ve solved those problems

    • Share insights without holding back the best stuff

    • Show up consistently, even when it’s inconvenient

    • Trust that authority builds itself when you focus on serving others

    Curtis and Tom didn’t set out to become marketing authorities. They just kept asking good questions and sharing what they learned.

    Two seasons and 75 episodes later, they’ve built something that generates business, creates relationships, and serves a community.

    All by deciding to tell one client’s story and never stopping the conversation.

    The Season 3 Promise

    The announcement is clear: they’re coming back with sponsors, new formats, and continued commitment to practical marketing insights you can actually use.

    But the real promise is the same one they’ve kept for 75 episodes: show up with curiosity, share what works, and trust that serving your audience well creates business results.

    Season 3 launches with new energy, new formats, and the same commitment to honest conversations about marketing that actually works.

    The question isn’t whether you should start your own podcast. The question is: What expertise could you share consistently that would serve your ideal customers?

    The Bullhorns & Bullseyes story shows that when you focus on serving others with what you know, everything else follows.

    See you all on the flip side!

  • Don’t Leave Out the Best Part of Your Story

    Don’t Leave Out the Best Part of Your Story

    Just the Facts, Ma’am?

    “A guy falls in love with two women and ends up picking the wrong one.”

    ***

    My daughter hates the way I press her for details whenever she shares things about her day to me.

    “Tell me about that,” I might press.

    “I just did,” she’d reply.

    No, you didn’t, I press on (if I dare). You told me the outcome of what happened. What matters to me is how you got here from there. The storyarch.

    Maybe that’s just the storyteller in me. Details matter. Overcoming adversity matters. The hero’s journey matters. I’m not just interested in the destination.

    👉 Something to keep in mind as you formulate messaging and marketing for your business: Don’t just tell people what you sell or do…show them how it will get them from where they are today (frustrated, overcharged, underserved) to where they want to be tomorrow (happy, satisfied, fulfilled).

    Less boring selling. More storytelling.

    As for that “story” I “told” at the beginning of this post?

    “A guy falls in love with two women and ends up picking the wrong one.”

    That is, if my daughter had her way, a retelling of two full seasons of Severance on Apple TV+.

    Kinda misses the point, doesn’t it? Leaves a lot out. Doesn’t really connect in any meaningful way.

    Case in point.

    (Ironically, Severance is my daughter’s favorite show right now. Maybe I’ll share this with her…)

  • Don’t Be a Hero

    Don’t Be a Hero

    The story you’re telling isn’t working.

    And it’s probably because you’ve chosen the wrong hero.

    Kristian Alomá just flipped everything we thought we knew about storytelling in marketing. His insight? We don’t buy products because of features and data. We buy them because of the stories we get to tell ourselves after we own them.

    That’s worth unpacking.

    When Data Met Psychology

    Curtis started this conversation from his usual place—the data. He’s spent years connecting marketing metrics to sales numbers, trying to tell complete stories through spreadsheets. But something was missing.

    “I always thought branding was a function of marketing,” Curtis said. “Create logo, create colors, those types of things. Then I realized that brand actually sat on top of marketing.”

    That shift changed everything. You can’t write ad copy until you understand why people really buy. And that’s where Kristian’s work gets fascinating.

    The Narrative Economy Will Have Winners and Losers

    Kristian has a PhD in psychology, specializing in consumer identity. His research led him deep into narrative psychology—the field that studies how we understand ourselves through stories.

    Here’s what he discovered: People don’t just buy things because the specs say it’ll solve their problem. They buy things because of the stories they get to tell about themselves as owners.

    “I buy Apple computers,” Kristian said. “I’m a Mac fanboy. Whenever I buy a new one, I feel a little bit more creative. Now, I don’t do anything differently than if I owned a Samsung. But I feel creative. I feel cooler.”

    The product didn’t change him. The story he told himself about being an Apple owner did.

    This isn’t manipulation. It’s human nature.

    Why Your Customer Is the Hero

    Here’s where most companies get it wrong. They position themselves as the hero of the story. (Sound familiar? It’s been a core theme of Season 2 of Bullhorns and Bullseyes!)

    “Look at our amazing features. See our incredible results. We’re the solution to all your problems.”

    But that’s not how psychology works.

    Your customer is already the protagonist of their own story. They’re trying to make sense of their lives, their choices, their identity. When you barge in as the hero, you’re competing with their need to be the center of their own narrative.

    Instead, what if you became the guide that helps them tell a better story about themselves?

    The Stories We Tell Ourselves

    This gets deeper than most marketers are willing to go.

    “People create, tell, consume, and craft stories to make sense of their lives,” Kristian explained. “Make sense of the things they do, who they are, the relationships they have.”

    Your customers are doing this constantly:

    “I’m a generous person because I give to this charity.”

    “I’m a creative person because I own this laptop.”

    “I’m an eco-friendly person because I bought this kind of car.”

    Some of these stories might not even be true. But they don’t have to be. They just have to feel true to the person telling them.

    Your job isn’t to create these stories. It’s to create platforms where customers can tell better stories about themselves.

    The Interview Truth

    Tom and Curtis have been wrestling with how to capture these stories from real customers. Surveys don’t work nearly as well to get the true story. CSAT scores miss the point.

    “’What are the questions going to be’ is the wrong question to ask,” Kristian said about clients wanting to pre-screen our customer interviews. “It’s really what stories do we want to try to get.”

    Tom described his process: “I recently talked to three clients in one day. Every interview was different, even though the map was the exact same, because they said something that I could hear their voice quiver. And I knew that was a scab to pick at.”

    You can’t script authentic discovery. You have to listen for the emotional moments and follow them.

    The goal isn’t testimonials from your favorite clients telling you how wonderful you are. The goal is understanding the transformation your customers went through and how they think about that change.

    The Legacy Mistake

    Most established companies make this error: they hide their history.

    They think talking about how long they’ve been around makes them seem old or outdated. So they focus on being cutting-edge and innovative.

    Wrong move.

    “I think a lot of organizations will hide and get embarrassed of their legacies,” Kristian said. “But that legacy is often where your best stories live.”

    Your history isn’t a liability. It’s proof that you’ve been helping customers tell better stories about themselves for decades.

    The Creative vs. Technical Divide

    Curtis had one of those light-bulb moments during this conversation. He’s been living in the data world, trying to prove ROI and optimize campaigns. But he realized something was missing.

    “I felt like truth was hidden in the intersection between the marketing data and the sales data,” he said. “But what I’ve learned is you have to tell the story before you can come up with ad copy. We have to understand actually why people buy before we can make any of these other decisions.”

    Math and magic. Data and narrative. They work together, but story comes first.

    You can’t optimize what you don’t understand. And you can’t understand buying behavior without understanding the psychology behind it.

    Your Story Audit

    Here’s where to start. Ask yourself these questions about your current messaging:

    Who’s the hero? If it’s your company, your product, or your founder, you’ve got work to do.

    What story do customers get to tell about themselves after they buy from you? Not what you want them to say about you—what they get to say about themselves.

    How does your legacy support their story? Your history isn’t about age. It’s about wisdom, reliability, and proven results.

    Then find a few customers and actually talk to them. Not a survey. Not a form. A real conversation where you listen for the moments their voice changes, where you hear emotion, where they reveal the transformation they went through.

    Don’t ask what they think about your product. Ask about their life before and after. Ask about the moment they realized they needed to change something. Ask about who they became because of that change.

    The Next Chapter

    The narrative economy isn’t coming. It’s already here.

    Your customers are already telling stories about themselves. The question is whether you’re helping them tell better ones. Or figuring out where you fit into THEIR stories…not the other way around.

    Start with understanding who they want to become. Then position your company, your product, your service as the guide that helps them get there.

    The hero’s journey isn’t about you. But you can be the mentor that makes their transformation possible.

    What story do your customers get to tell about themselves because they chose to work with you?

    Article republished with permission, originally appearing in the Amplify & Aim newsletter.

  • Storytelling Meets “Why Ask Why?”

    Storytelling Meets “Why Ask Why?”

    The Power of Visual Storytelling

    By now, if it’s two things you know about me, it’s this: I wholeheartedly believe in the power of storytelling…and I believe that the most powerful story begins and ends with WHY.

    A perfect example of both of these in action is this video. It’s not a testimonial; it’s a story. Do you find it to be more effective than a mere quote (that could’ve been a manufactured fabrication) on a website?

    Can you spot those three acts here? WHY-HOW-WHAT?

    [Disclosure: I played a very small role in the concept development phase of this video.]

    It’s effective for a number of reasons, not least of which is because it’s true…but because it’s a true STORY!

    Stop asking your customers for testimonials, and start asking if they’d be willing to tell their stories!

  • Only the Brave

    Only the Brave

    Audacity Is a Survival Skill (Especially in B2B)

    Let me start with a confession. Every time I say something clever like “don’t build your brand on rented land,” I’m likely quoting someone smarter than me. Someone like Mark Schaefer, for example..

    In our latest Bullhorns and Bullseyes episode, Curtis and I sat down with Mark to talk about his newest book, Audacious: How Humans Win in an AI Marketing World.

    And wow… this wasn’t a “tips and tricks” episode. It was a mindset shift, entirely..

    Here’s the big idea:

    👉 Merely “competent” marketing is no longer good enough. We must be excellent. We must be human. And we must take chances.

    The experts keep warning us that, “AI is coming for your job.” Maybe so, maybe not…but only the parts of your job that are safe, predictable, and repeatable. AI can’t replace the part that’s unique to you as a living, breathing person with lived experiences: the bold, the human, and the emotionally resonant.

    Which is exactly why Schaefer makes this case: audacity is no longer optional. It’s essential.

    So what does audacious marketing actually look like?

    It’s not about gimmicks. It’s not being loud just for the sake of it. It’s not brash for the sake of bravado.

    It’s this:

    ✅ Courage over conformity
    ✅ Storytelling that evokes something real
    ✅ Disrupting who tells your story, where it’s told, and how it spreads

    As Mark put it: “If two-thirds of your sales are happening without you, the best marketing isn’t grabbing the bullhorn to shout from the hills how great you are…it’s handing it to someone else.”

    Read that again.

    The 20% That AI Can’t Touch

    We talked a lot in this episode about the 20%—the part of your work that’s irreplaceably human.

    For Mark, that’s his voice. His stories. The humor, the heartbreak, the hard-earned wisdom AI can’t fake. It’s what turns content into connection.

    And in B2B? That’s your edge.

    The safer your industry feels, the more ripe it is for disruption. Ditch the pandemic of dull. Show me. don’t tell me. Be the story your audience feels, not the spec sheet they scroll past.

    One Last Thing…

    You don’t need a Super Bowl budget to be audacious. You need guts. You need empathy. And maybe a cowboy hat. (Looking at you, Curtis.)

    So here’s your coffee-fueled call to action:

    👉 Listen to the episode.
    👉 Ask yourself: are we being competent… or compelling?

    Because in a world of “meh,” the bold brand wins. And Mark’s got the receipts.

    🎧  [Check out  the full episode with Mark Schaefer at bullhornsbullseyes.com]
    📘  [Grab Audacious at BusinessesGrow.com]

  • Better words, not fewer.

    Better words, not fewer.

    I keep seeing people advocate for shorter content.

    (including many I respect)

    Tight and concise. Shorter sentences. Less is more. Limited attention spans, and all of that.

    Yet movies keep getting longer. Three-hour stage plays have become the norm. People will binge their favorite TV programs for hours on end in single sittings.

    We don’t crave short. We demand great.

    In fact, if you’ve gotten this far, I suspect there’s a reason. You could have stopped at four words. I suspect many did. But some of you kept going.

    And that’s what you want your writing to do: invite the reader to keep going.

    My best writing instructors never put word-count parameters on assignments — minimum or maximum. “It needs to be as long as it needs to be,” they would suggest. “No longer, no shorter.”

    Make it great. It might be short and sweet; it might be deep and immersive. But it needs to be great, first and foremost.

    And look: This post just happened to be short!

  • Less Pitching, More Empathy

    Less Pitching, More Empathy

    “The art of effective copywriting is not to convince people of something they should know, but to ensure them that what they do know matters to you.”

    — Me. I wrote that.

    By this, I mean to say: Too many fall into the trap of expecting their marketing copy to convince an audience to buy from them, based on features and not on outcomes. The website messaging pitches the features…without connecting to benefits. The brochure brags about speed. Storage capacity. A variety of colors and finishes.

    What if none of that matters to the prospective client or customer? What if, instead, the prospect cares first and foremost about their own pain, challenges or aspirations? Rule of thumb: If you’re leading with product features in your marketing copy, you’re talking right past the client or customer.

    Show Me Where It Hurts

    The best way to connect with customers is to demonstrate that you understand them. This is next to impossible if you haven’t taken the step of asking them what they truly value…what problems they need solving…why they are on the hunt for a new product, solution or service in the first place.

    WHY>>HOW>>WHAT. That’s the quickest pathway to convert a website visitor to an interested prospect. Demonstrate that you understand what matters to them; show them how you help others relieve the pain or achieve the gain; and then lead them on a journey that helps them self-select the product or service in your warehouse.

    Show me, don’t tell me. Comfort me, don’t sell me.

  • 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 to 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.

    Real World Example

    Let’s say you’re writing an email to promote a time-management webinar. Here’s how the message might look if the writer is positioned as the hero of the story, versus the reader.

    Writer-Focused Approach

    “Our team has spent months crafting this webinar to showcase our expertise in time management. We’ve developed a proprietary method that combines advanced scheduling techniques and task prioritization strategies, which we believe are groundbreaking. Join us to learn more about what we’ve created.”

    Why It Falls Short:
    This approach is all about the writer—their effort, their methods, and their belief in their expertise. It doesn’t directly address what the reader will gain or how it will solve their problems.

    Reader-Focused Approach

    “Are you constantly battling an overflowing to-do list? Imagine reclaiming hours in your day while accomplishing more with less stress. In our free webinar, you’ll discover simple techniques to prioritize your tasks, streamline your schedule, and take back control of your time. You deserve a system that works for you—join us to make it happen.”

    Why It Works:
    This version immediately taps into the reader’s pain points (stress, lack of time) and offers a tangible benefit (reclaiming hours and reducing stress). It emphasizes the reader’s needs and outcomes, making it far more compelling and relatable.

    Takeaway:
    To shift the focus from the writer to the reader, always frame your content in terms of the reader’s problems, desires and benefits. I call this “pains and gains.” The reader is hard-wired to imagine himself or herself as the hero of their own story…even if you’re going to swoop in and ultimately save the day.

    End of Story.

    Eugene Schwartz’s The Brilliance Breakthrough isn’t just a guide to writing; it’s a roadmap to human connection through language. By applying its lessons, you can craft messages that not only resonate with your audience but also leave an indelible mark.

    Whether you’re writing to inform, persuade, or inspire, remember Schwartz’s core principle: writing is about making your ideas unforgettable. Through clarity, empathy and storytelling, you can unlock the full potential of your words—and, in turn, your audience’s imagination.

    Now go on. TELL US THAT EMOTIONAL LIFE STORY. BUT Remember…

    don’t be a hero.