Jonathan Bostrom's Common Sense Marketing BlogJonathan Bostrom's Common Sense Marketing BlogI am a professional copywriter with a strong interest in seeing how marketing applies to everything. But marketing is one of those areas that is subjected to a lot of misconceptions. Fallacies. Misunderstandings. I try to cut through the nonsense and
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What do you do when people complain?
2008-05-20 16:26:00 Brenda and Gerald Moran like to take cruises. And apparently, they like to complain. Royal Caribbean - the line they sailed with six times in the last three years - banned them for life. Apparently the Morans complained a bit too much. They had some experiences worth complaining about, but they would not stop; even when the ... More About: People
What is genius?
2008-05-19 23:33:00 “I’m not really a genius. It’s just common sense.” I’ve heard that from more than one supposed “genius.” Which begs the question… What is a genius? Is it someone who can cover a chalkboard with complex equations and understand them all? Is it someone who can fill pages with eloquent prose that rambles on and on and ... More About: Genius
Online headlines? Just wondering?
2008-05-08 16:00:00 Almost all internet sales copy seems to begin with a massive headline. Like this: Maybe it’s just me, but I rarely read those headlines. I just see that huge, intimidating chunk of text and decide to move on. Not that it’s bad to have that amount of information right off the bat, but isn’t there some way ... More About: Online , Headlines
YouTube videos and popularity
2008-05-05 23:55:00 YouTube videos… a marketer’s dreamworld. With a simple YouTube video, anyone or any product can become an overnight celebrity. As a result, it’s no surprise that lots of theories have been invented to explain the popularity of certain videos. In my opinion, every single explanation and theory completely underestimates the true compexity of creating something popular. There really is ... More About: Videos , Youtube , Popularity
Doing the unexpected
2008-05-01 19:57:00 Yesterday I wrote about the concept of “purple cows.” I said that a purple cow is only a purple cow if people actually care about it. Which brings up an interesting question. What do people care about? There is no universal answer to this question. Each business has it’s own answers. Still, there’s a common characteristic that makes ...
The cow theory
2008-04-30 15:25:00 I love Seth Godin and his concept of the “purple cow.” In his book, Purple Cow, he tells a story about a drive through the countryside… through farm fields filled with black and white cows. He tells how boring they got, and how, after a while, you forgot they were even there. “But what if,” he asked, “what ... More About: Theory
Perfect is never perfect
2008-04-26 00:00:00 “Perfect ” never works. Because nobody likes perfect. Perfect is boring. Perfect is annoying. Perfect avoids risks. But people like to try to be perfect. They think perfect is safe. That slick salesman tries to be perfect… but you don’t buy from him because he’s a slick salesman. Instead you buy from the guy who isn’t perfect ...
Complexity isn?t cool
2008-04-24 18:52:00 Why is it that so many people seem focused on making simple things complicated? I suppose that’s a fairly easy question to answer: it’s an ego boost. But how stupid. Complexity never wins; it’s always the brilliantly simple that takes the cake. One of my favorite quotes is this one from legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus: “Making ... More About: Cool
Changes
2008-04-23 15:09:00 If you read my blog at all, you’ll notice that things look a little different here. I’ve decided to make a few changes to simplify my website - and improve the quality of information on it.
Hello world!
2008-04-23 02:18:00 Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging! More About: World , Hello World
How PLC affects copywriting
2008-02-19 16:20:00 Product Life Cycle - or PLC - is what marketers refer to when talking about the succession of stages a product goes through. If you haven’t ever thought of this before, consider the evolution of cell phones. When cell phones were first released, you didn’t have to do much to sell them. People were fascinated by a cell ... More About: Copywriting
Superbowl ads
2008-02-07 16:40:00 Well, since the last time I posted, some very interesting events have occured. Not least of which, the Superbowl , and the annual collection of advertisements that have become as much part of tradition as the halftime show. (And I should mention that I didn’t actually watch the Superbowl… but I did watch the clips of some of ...
Technical Difficulties
2008-01-25 06:06:00 Apparently, this site has been experiencing some very annoying technical problems - and completely unbeknownst to me. Fortunately, someone was gracious enough to alert me to the existence of the problems. I’m currently working to get things fixed, so I’ve temporarily got a default site theme set up. I’ll be getting things back to how they should be ... More About: Technical , Technic
I?m lovin? it?
2008-01-18 17:00:00 As we all know, McDonald’s has gained a reputation over the years. (Not necessarily in a negative way.) What I mean is, they are positioned very specifically. Years of doing things the same way has planted a rigid image in all of our minds of what McDonald’s is. Ever since Ray Kroc saw the first McDonald’s ...
Brand new FREE ebook!
2008-01-17 15:27:00 So far, this U.S. Presidential election has seen some interesting events - but none more fascinating than the massive grassroots support of one relatively little-known candidate. You wouldn’t believe the extent many of his devoted supporters go to. Which begs the question: What is his marketing strategy? The answers to that question and more are in my ... More About: Free , Ebook , Brand
Who are you kidding?
2008-01-15 14:22:00 Here’s something that really irritates me - and it’s running rampant on the Internet… Inflated estimated values of products. For example: Buy Our New Ultra-Slim Doohickey Now! Buy For Only: $300 $15 That’s Right! This Product Has A 300 Dollar Value And We’re Giving It To You For Only 15 Bucks!!! My question is, who are you kidding? Here’s the thing. If ... More About: Kidding
The Cockroach Hall of Fame
2008-01-14 17:11:00 In Plano, Texas, there’s a little pest extermination store that’s gotten national - even international - attention. But it hasn’t gotten this attention for pest extermination. Instead, this place is known as “The Cockroach Hall of Fame .” In this little store, the owner, Michael “Cockroach Dundee” Bohdan, has turned his fascination with bugs into a mini-museum, filling it with ...
Mr. W
2008-01-11 17:44:00 This is an advertisement from a German energy company: I have to say, I really like this ad. It does an incredibly good job of giving personality and life to something that’s not even visible. It builds a connection on an individual level that the energy industry is so often devoid of. And besides that, it’s ...
Dumb and dumber
2008-01-11 05:14:00 Copywriters are always preaching the gospel of simplified writing… some even go to the extent of saying that you should never write above the level of an average sixth grader. Master marketer Seth Godin recently posted an interesting thought about this on his blog (here). He questions the reasoning behind this whole idea. I think the issue here is an over-correction of a real problem. As all ... More About: Dumb
The real basis of marketing
2008-01-09 15:56:00 “I do not regard advertising as entertainment or an art form, but as a medium of information. When I write an advertisement, I don’t want you to tell me that you find it “creative.” I want you to find it so interesting that you buy the product. When Aeschines spoke, they said, “How well he ... More About: Marketing , Real
Panasonic?s new monster
2008-01-08 15:58:00 Amid all the enthusiasm about the “green” movement, with corporations and individuals alike “going green” right and left, you gotta love the fact that our amenities keep getting bigger and more extravagant. TVs for example. Panasonic has recently unveiled a new, behemoth television set. 150 inches across, this beast makes you wonder if you have ... More About: Monster , Mons
Write Faster, Write Better
2008-01-07 17:08:00 I wrote the following book review for the latest issue of my ezine. But I thought that I’d also post it here, in case you don’t get my ezine: “We all wish we could write faster. And we could all probably write better than we do now, don’t you think? That’s what attracted me to this book, Write Better, ... More About: Aster
The latest in ?personal media? technology?
2008-01-04 21:18:00 If you’ve ever wanted to be a radio talk show host, it appears that your time has come. Several internet based companies have recently started offering a service that allows you to create your own show to air on internet radio. The main company offering these services - and pioneer of this new industry - is BlogTalkRadio. BlogTalkRadio was ... More About: Personal , Media , Technology
Permanent ink - permanent message
2008-01-03 15:46:00 I seem to have an irritating habit of finding “powerful marketing secrets” in all kinds of odd places. Yesterday it was a disrobed, guitar-playing cowboy. Today, it’s… tattoos. Yes, tattoos. Last night I read an article about the rising number of people wishing to removing their ink. It seems that a huge percentage of ink-bearers get “tattoo remorse.” They ... More About: Message , Permanent , Mess
What a naked cowboy can teach us about marketing?
2008-01-02 18:45:00 Well, I now return after a week of festivities. The Christmas season is over… It is now 2008… And it’s time for me to start blogging again. I bring an unusual story today - but one that is illustrative of an powerful idea. In Manhattan’s busy Times Square, amidst the bustling crowds, the bright lights, and ... More About: Marketing , Cowboy
New FREE Ezine
2007-12-21 16:12:00 Just a quick heads up… I’m now offering a brand new ezine, to be sent out on a monthly basis. To subscribe, just enter your name and email address on the left. My plan is for this ezine to be a combination of writing and marketing tips, ideas, stories, quotes… hopefully it will be helpful. One more ... More About: Free , Ezine
Simpleology multi-media blogging course
2007-12-21 01:10:00 I’m evaluating a multi-media course on blogging from the folks at Simpleology. For a while, they’re letting you snag it for free if you post about it on your blog. It covers: The best blogging techniques. How to get traffic to your blog. How to turn your blog into money. I’ll let you know what I think once I’ve had ... More About: Media , Blogging , Multi , Multi-media
Creative new Nike ad
2007-12-20 18:01:00 I guess it’s redundant to say “creative” new Nike ad… Nike has established a reputation for producing unique and clever TV spots. Still, I love their latest: More About: Creative
True genuineness
2007-12-19 13:05:00 Yesterday I wrote about how being genuine is really the best marketing policy. I want to take that a step further. A lot of companies and individuals think they can change others’ opinions (positioning) of them by just saying they’ve changed. They think - in the case of companies - that they can just run a ... More About: True
Genuineness is the best type of marketing
More articles from this author:2007-12-18 17:00:00 You know, I keep discovering more and more that the best path to success is by being genuine. By just being who you are and focusing on that. In marketing it’s so easy to think you have to pretend to be something that you’re not. That just isn’t true. Some of the most successful people ... More About: Marketing , Type 1, 2 |
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