Boston, Sunday morning, September 8, 2019
What's new, Pussycat?
I'm freshly back from Cleveland, from the annual phenomenon that is Content Marketing World. It's where 4,000 marketers, writers, creatives inhale and metabolize all that's new and newfangled in content marketing.
In Cleveland, I told the story of Bun, a wild rabbit who lives in my backyard. (That's him above.) I spent the summer trying to nurture Bun into a friend, and because I'm a marketer my Bun campaign became my personal Rabbit Marketing-Conversion Story.
Along our conversion journey, Bun taught me that being relatable is a content superpower. It's better to be relatable and real than it is to be perfect and polished. Because relatable is approachable in ways that perfect is not.
Don't you want your company, your brand, your product to feel 1,000% approachable to the people who matter most? No matter how "serious" you (or what you sell) might be?
That's true in marketing. It's true in writing. It's true in life, too.
Relatable means that you infuse your marketing and writing with point of view and perspective.
You show your personality.
You celebrate the actual people behind the brand.
You talk to your prospects as peers.
You take some risks.
You tell the truth.
You probably screw up sometimes.
You might repel some people. But you'll rally others around you.
Tina and Mindy
Tina Fey is my writing and performing inspiration, idol, hero. I'm a Tina Fey Superfan.
Last year, Tina gave the closing keynote at Content Marketing World. I got to meet her, and it was the very best moment of my life. Because... again: SUPERFAN. (
Look at my crazy-excited-face from then.)
This year, Mindy Kaling was the closing keynote speaker in Cleveland. And when Mindy walked on stage... well, I was happy enough to have a front-row seat. But I wasn't exactly levitating: I like Kelly Kapoor. But she's not my Tina, you know?
But by the end I was a Mindy Superfan, too. Because... Mindy is so ridiculously relatable.
- Mindy doesn't view her work as something that has some sort of moral value; she does stuff because it's funny and her friends like it.
- She publicly made a bunch of charitable donations for her birthday in part because of how others would admire that.
- She's competitive.
- She bought her prom shoes from DSW.
- She feels guilty because one of the six phrases her toddler daughter knows is "mommy busy."
- She said: "My ego is huge."
Some of that probably makes her sound like a jerk. But on stage it didn't. And she wasn't: She was funny and brilliant and wise. She was relatable because she was unapologetically real.
Let's review that through a marketing lens: I was exclusively a Tina Fey gal. Now, Mindy has converted me, too. That's the power of Real.
That's the sweet spot for all of us as marketers and writers, isn't it?
Mindy and me: Two new best friends. We're already coordinating outfits.
* * *
1. Writing & Marketing Advice from Mindy Kaling
➕ On fueling her inspiration:
When Mindy feels uninspired, she checks out what other people are working on—maybe a show everyone's been raving about.
"And usually it elicits either two reactions," she said. "One is, that's amazing; I have to get off my ass and start working.... And the other is, that's so overrated. I could do that. And both [reactions] I think are helpful to my creative spirit."
➕ On negative comments and reviews:
She reads them, even if a lot of her friends do not.
"You can't take the good without the bad. I want to know when fans of my work feel let down. So yeah, I pay attention."
➕ On fear:
"When you're scared, that's when the most memorable things happen."
➕ On having a consistent vision:
Whenever she's tried to do something just because it might be a hit—not because she loves the concept—she doesn't have the passion to work on it.
"Like Big Little Lies. Big Little Lies is so good, why am I not making Big Little Lies?" Because the show about wealthy moms in southern California is not her. "I only do stuff that feels true to me. Whenever I've tried to copy someone else or go into someone else's lane, I've always failed.
➕ On researching before writing:
"Research to me as a writer has really set me free creatively."
2. How to Unsubscribe from a Marketing Newsletter
Marketer and cartoonist Tom Fishburne knows what's what:
Email marketing is one of the most abused marketing tactics around. Too often, permission is distorted, content is treated as an afterthought, and success is tied to short-term metrics.
I love panel 5 the most: "Are you sure you're a quitter?"
RELATED 👉 👉 👉 Don't hide the Unsubscribe
Most companies camouflage the unsubscribe button at the footer of the email, in microscopic print. But I love how my friend Chris Penn's newsletter doesn't hide the unsubscribe button in the footer. Instead, it shows up in the center of his weekly email, wearing its party pants.
Why would Chris actively encourage people to unsubscribe? Because a strong list is a list that's full of people who want to hear from you—not a bunch of people who can take you or leave you.
It's not the size of the list, it's the quality of the list. We hear this all the time. We know it intellectually. So are we acting on it?
3. Under the Influencer
Software giant Adobe is doing B2B influencer marketing right. Rani Mani heads up social influencer enablement there, and her conversation with Kerry Gorgone at MarketingProfs is Fire.
Hear what Rani has to say about getting B2B influencer marketing right by playing to an influencer's strength, balancing internal and external influencers, and whether to pay or not pay cash-money.
Listen in.
4. School's Paradise: Elizabeth Gilbert's Free Writing Academy
Author Elizabeth Gilbert's friend was thinking of taking a writing class. To save her money, Liz posted her own 10-step writing "academy" on Instagram.
The first lesson is most relevant for Marketing:
Tell your story TO someone. Pick one person you love or admire or want to connect with, and write the whole thing directly to them—like you're writing a letter. This will bring forth your natural voice. Whatever you do, do NOT write to a demographic. Ugh.
I relate hard to #9:
Every writer starts in the same place on Day One: Super excited, and ready for greatness. On Day Two, every writer looks at what she wrote on Day One and hates herself. What separates working writers from non-working writers is that working writers return to their task on Day Three. What gets you there is not pride but mercy.
5. School's Paradise 2: The MarketingProfs B2B Forum
Two events define my fall: Content Marketing World, and the MarketingProfs B2B Marketing Forum.
We talked about the first item on my list already. Now let's review the second. It'll be in D.C. And if you're in B2B marketing you simply have to be there with me, Kara Swisher, Neen James, and Jay Baer. Jay and I might wear matching suits. (This Instagram moment will not happen again.)
6. Eyes Up Here 👀
CONTENT TOOLS
Two content marketing tools I used this week.
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World's simplest png tool: When you need to make the background of an image transparent for a presentation or post or IDK but you just do.
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Words to Time: When you need to know how long it will take to read a speech or presentation. [Thanks Carmen Hill for reminding me of this!]
DEPARTMENT OF SHENANIGANS
Milwaukee marketer + Total Annarchy reader Josh Van Den Berg keeps a "jargon jar" in his office. When anyone in his company "tries to leverage, massage, or utilize anything..." they pay into it. And how often do people have to pay up? He said: "I hope to retire early."
LOVE LETTERS
Shouts from around the internet.
Thanks for reading this far. Thanks for your kindness and generosity. See you on September 22!
XOXO,
Ann
PUBLIC EVENTS
If I'm coming to your town, let's meet!
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