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.
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…
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.
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…
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:
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.
Here's the uncomfortable truth: your content strategy just died. And you probably don't even know it yet.
The symptoms are everywhere. Your blog traffic is flatlining. Social shares are down. Email open rates are stuck. But the real problem runs deeper than vanity metrics.
AI collapsed the marketing funnel.
People don't browse anymore. They don't click through 10 Google results. They don't share your carefully crafted LinkedIn posts. They ask ChatGPT a question and trust the first answer they get.
If you're not in that short list of sources, you don't exist.
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 that 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:
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.
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.
Here’s how you get to great…
This is accomplished (or not) in the headline, in the opening sentence, and in the first three paragraphs. (I call this “The Why Section.”)
Failure to do this renders the rest of the piece irrelevant—no matter how good the content may be.
Here, skim for yourself…
— 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.
Your job as a thought leader is not to create content; it’s to deal in intellectual property.
So says Jay Acunzo, author of Break the Wheel and a brand messaging strategist.
People can get words from anywhere these days. Thanks in part to AI, we are no shortage of content. But what the world will continue to seek out is expertise. Fresh ideas. New approaches to solving problems.
And if the content you’re publishing isn’t delivering on those needs, it might as well just be words on a page. In fact, it is.
