Thought Leadership, Creative Services
Tom Nixon
Why Ask Why?

Model Behavior

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.

Why Ask Why?
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

Creative Services

Announcing My Teamlance

Announcing My Teamlance

The Un-Agency Model of Delivering Marketing and Advertising Services

Brian Clark calls it the “teamlance” model.

As with just about everything in life, the old model is being democratized and decentralized in the world of marketing and advertising. While the big-agency model is still the right fit for many, others are discovering a new way of client service that offers the best of all possible worlds: experience, bandwidth, resources, flexibility and affordability.

Today we are announcing that we have entered into an informal (and even undocumented) partnership of the teamlance model with a long-time collaborator, Curtis Hays and his team at Collideascope. Meet the rest of the team here.

Brands can turn to teamlancing to maximize the flexibility of their operations with self-managing creative resources that are specialized, right-sized, and timed to their changing needs, whether project-based or for the long term.

The Write Path to Better Thinking

The Write Path to Better Thinking

Guest Writer: Trudi Roth

The following originally appeared in the Further newsletter, which I highly endorse and what remains one of few things I read each and every week. Do yourself a favor and subscribe.

Written by the outstanding Trudi Roth, this piece captures my own thinking about the future and purpose of writing better than I ever could. With her permission, I reprint it in its entirety here.

As someone who makes her living by writing, you might think I’m petrified that AI will decimate my career.

Honestly, machines don’t scare me. It’s the foolish humans who are okay with completely abdicating their ability to think, communicate, and solve problems that I find alarming.

Know Your Value. Then Sell It.

Know Your Value. Then Sell It.

Follow your passion?

Maybe. But I’ve always found that to come off as a bit hokey. It’s easy to say if you’re one of the 0.1% of people who hit it big, strike it rich, or achieve fame and fortune. “Follow your passion. That’s what I did, and now look at me!”

But you know who else followed their passions? The 99.9% of people who you’ve never heard of. Following a passion wasn’t enough for them. Most who pursue stardom fail, then move on to something else as Plan B.

That something else is known as “the real world” by many. Myself included.

Here’s what Kenny Loggins suggests…

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Who's the Hero in Your Story?

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Who's the Hero in Your Story?

Too often, the language we tend to use in marketing and advertising puts ourselves as the hero in the journey — the one coming to the rescue of the client or customer.

When, in reality, the client, customer or prospect truly only cares about his or her own journey…their own challenges, aspirations and coveted conquests.

Continue reading to see how this story can have a happy ending for you and your marketing efforts…

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To Sell a Story, You Must Tell a Story

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To Sell a Story, You Must Tell a Story

What’s more convincing: If I told you how many times I’ve helped a client out of given problem, or if I told you a story about the person I helped yesterday?

Too often, we litter our marketing copy with statistics—facts, figures, bullet points, specs, product lists, empty promises—when we should be telling stories. Stories are magical tools that convince people that what you claim to be true is actually rooted in reality. Stories make people feel. They make people care.

There is an old quote, often misattributed, that is taken from a work of fiction: “The death of one man is a tragedy. The death of millions is a statistic.” Here’s how you can apply that logic to your marketing messaging…

Show Me, Don't Tell Me

Show Me, Don't Tell Me

“Show me, don’t tell me.”

Those were the words a younger, deflated Tom Nixon read written in red atop his recently submitted creative writing assignment. The admonishment, coming from my sixth-grade teacher, would be a recurring theme in my life.

The lesson that first I learned in grade school, and kept relearning throughout life, would become a valuable asset in career as a content creator for businesses and professional services firms.

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The Secret to Great Content

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The Secret to Great Content

Content is becoming an ever-more-critical component to the marketing ecosystem. But as more and more content is being generated, good content is becoming harder and harder to find. Meaning, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to create content that stands out and sinks in. Quantity can actually beget quality, if you know where to find it…