Paul Scrivens’ Post

I quit marketing and got better at marketing. In 2023 I made a full-time transition from adland into the world of real estate. On the surface, it seemed like a 360° switch from a strategist to a sales person. But I beg to differ. I think the experiences as a self-employed entrepreneur running my own business has made me a better marketer. Here’s what I’ve learned as a marketer in 2023: 1️⃣ Think like a client when spending $$ Those in adland would know how much it hurts spending days developing an amazing idea but later hearing - “not enough budget”. Well, it hurts even more when the money comes from your own pocket. I’m not going to lie, it pains me to kill the countless ideas that got me excited. I now think big, and scale it down - evaluating whether the idea can still exist on a smaller scale. 2️⃣ Use marketing to drive business growth Remember Binet & Field’s Long & Short of things? Well, admittedly I tend to prefer working on brand building campaigns - its where we can flex our creative muscles most, isn’t it? My perspective changed when my ‘client’ is now a budding start up with close to $0 sales (aka me). Sure, brand building activities are fun; but its no fun when you have no sales too. Finding that balance is so much harder in practice. 3️⃣ How to market an undifferentiated product As a realtor you have to market your services and the property you're selling. In both cases its imperative to identify points of differentiation, tangibilizing the intangible, or to create a new product altogether. It’s really when on the ground that I truly appreciated the effects of marketing, and how nudges can work in your favour. 4️⃣ A greater appreciation of cross disciplinary teams & skills Those who worked with me knew how much I appreciate working with other teams - believing in the power of synergy rather than working in silo. But being an entrepreneur without deep pockets means reducing that to a one-man-team (or 2, sometimes). I had to juggle the hats of a strategist uncovering the best opportunities, a media planner deciphering the best channels to work on, and the creative to bring the idea to life. Not being able to rely on my team meant more self-learning. Finding the tools that can help me the most - thank god for Canva, Capcut, ChatGPT (hmm the new Cs?). It also made me appreciate the importance of having team mates with different skillset for better productivity. ------ These experiences are why I believe I’m an even better marketer than last year. I'm also looking forward to execute even more exciting ideas in 2024!

Originality or Efficiency in Marketing? To anyone not knee-deep in the marketing world, it might seem like business promotion (ads, banners, websites) should be super unique. Everything should dazzle and move. Instead of a regular site? A 3D game! Instead of an ad? A short film! In the minds of many, every business should feel like it’s straight out of a sci-fi movie — think space rockets, plasma engines, the next big iPhone app, or a cure-all potion. Here’s my two cents: If your business or product is super ordinary, you’ll need an extraordinary marketing strategy to capture the market. But if what you’re offering is truly one-of-a-kind, you might want to try keeping your promotion straightforward and efficient. Why, you ask? The more unique elements in your business, the riskier and more unpredictable it gets. Chaos can rise to such a level that forecasting and planning become a real challenge. And with more chaos, you’ll need way more resources to hit your goals. That’s why a chunk of your venture should be straightforward and yield results. Creating content? Sure, you can try different things without burning a hole in your pocket. But when it comes to business, tweaking products or services can demand significant resources. But hey, For small businesses not looking to pour in huge resources, start with proven, straightforward strategies for sales. Stay ahead by constantly analyzing your competitors’ moves, improving your product, and always trying to be that 5–10% better in every aspect. This way, collectively, you’ll stand out without having to reinvent the wheel. Start small. Prioritize manageability. Find a business process that works and then scale that success. So, if you’re starting from scratch and you’re dreaming of a super unique website with animations galore, an ad that’s super intriguing yet confusing, or a groundbreaking product with never-seen-before features, just weigh your options. Start simple, get that rolling, and then see where the journey takes you. What’s your take? What’s more crucial: being original or being effective?

Tons of people stumble at marketing strategies because they rely too much on outdated tactics. Innovative and data-driven strategies are your golden ticket. Here’s an 8-step framework that has transformed DTC brands, amplifying their reach and doubling their ROI. 1. Reverse-engineering Write down your desired revenue goal and margin %. Add 30-40% to your margin to get a pro-forma net margin number. Then add 10% to that for a contingency. This gives you a sales target. It should be scary 2. Research Humans constantly want more. It’s a good thing. But remember, they don’t know what they want. Your job as a product leader is to solve problems at scale, and research is how you uncover the biggest problems The “blue oceans” Identify the biggest problems in your category by searching Reddit, Quora, Trustpilot, and Google Bard. 3. Offer Simply, how you solve the problem for people Give me X, and I’ll solve Y for Z time period (which saves you A, B or C in time) Make your offer that simple. Focus on the cost of inaction vs the cost of action. 4. Creative Produce 10x more creatives than your competition. Here are 6 types you can do with Canva: Scientific: Talk about your unique ingredient or formulation in a simple infographic. Founder Story: People want to know the story behind you and why you're doing this. Review Snippet: Copy and paste your most liked reviews on a screenshot of UGC or stock photo. Comparison: Use a half-and-half show to show how your product is better than the competition. Editorial: Screenshot any PR placements, trade show awards, or other accolades. Customer Testimonial: Use videos or written testimonials from satisfied customers. 5. Copy Focus on your headline and use strong action verbs to bridge the gap between your product and the customer's desired outcome. You cannot create desire, you can only channel it. You have to think about people’s dark sides. What do they need in life? Don’t overcomplicate it. Sex. Sleep. Food. Water. Breathing. Excreting. Status. Fun. Find the biggest lever for your brand and start there. 6. Hype & Engagement Respond to every comment on Instagram, customer service email, and product review. Program mini-moments of brilliance in your transactional comms to customers. 7. Customer Experience Ask customers about their order delivery, inform them about your brand story, show them targeted product reviews, and give them ways to follow you. Then, ask for repurchase on your terms.

Whether your product, service, or a knowledge based brand or business, you probably get this wrong too. Stop talking about me, mE, ME! in your marketing... A lot of what marketing is and branding is is building or trying to be the top of a certain category. Whether it be product category, service category, knowledge category, most marketers have focused on trying to single out their brand as the best or even the only one that should be chosen in a category. BUT, that isn't what customers want. You have to be able to give customers choices because they feel better when there's choices. And at that point, your brand should, if it really is good, dominate naturally as the best in your category. (with good marketing of course) It isn't about singling yourself out among the others like you anymore. It's now more about singling yourself out to your target audience. You need to speak to your target audience, meet them where they're at, and seeing what problems they have, speaking to those problems then presenting the solutions one of them being your brand, products, services, whatever. 1️⃣ The first step to finding out who your target audience is, is by knowing what their buyer type is, but that's just at the start. 2️⃣ You need to go deeper and really speak to them, I mean that literally, ask them questions, know what makes them tik. 3️⃣Master Content Funnels: This is how you'll organize the content you put out and how you'll format the big-picture content pieces you plan to release. Here are the basics. Top of funnel: What makes them interested in what you're saying; Middle of funnel: What makes them learn more about you; Bottom of funnel: what Makes them buy, what makes them keep buying. Learn what moves them along to these different funnel levels. 🎯That's why I always talk about content frameworks, not the 3-4 content pillars BS that's so 2018. I'm talking about a map, from your customers current state to their desired future state, which hopefully involves them buying from you, and how you can take them from the former to the latter. Stop making it about you, start making it about your customer. If you've been wondering about these things, or if you need help with branding and content marketing strategy and implementation, send over a DM and let's chat!

How to become better in Marketing? 🤔 Part 11/300 To thrive in marketing, it's vital to welcome #creativity and think beyond traditional methods. ➡️This means coming up with innovative and unique ideas that capture attention and set you apart. (Like you're creating a compelling campaign that easily resonate with your audience and drive better results). ✍️ Big Idea: Unleashing Creativity for Impactful Marketing -- Focus on this (Important Part) -- 🔑 Example: Imagine you're a #marketingstudent working for a startup that sells eco-friendly cleaning products. ▪️ Applying the concept of embracing creativity, you decide to think outside the box for your next campaign. ▪️ Instead of a typical ad showcasing the products' benefits, you come up with an idea to create a fun and engaging video series featuring animated characters that represent the cleaning products. ▪️ Each character has its unique personality and superpowers that relate to the product's functionality. ▪️ By sharing these videos on social media, you capture the audience's attention with the creative storyline and humorous interactions among the characters. ✅ RESULT -- This unique approach sets your campaign apart from other traditional #advertisements in the market. Did you get it? If not, no worries, here's another example because I got you 😎👌 ➡️ Another example, for you to encourage user-generated content. ▪️You decided to launch a challenge where customers can submit their creative cleaning-related videos. ▪️Now the winners will receive your products as prizes. ✅ RESULT -- This interactive campaign not only boosts engagement but also spreads brand awareness as people share their videos online. 📌REMEMBER - "Embracing creativity means daring to be different." ⚠ Disclaimer: The information provided is purely educational and general in nature. ⏩ Again, this is Student Marketer - Marketing made simple, let me show you how! 👉 Follow me for more! 📌Join our FB Community: https://lnkd.in/g6E8cfD7 📌Follow my FB Page: https://lnkd.in/gyqh2YTV 📌 Follow me on on Instagram: https://lnkd.in/gRmTfivh 📌 Follow me on Threads: https://lnkd.in/giuXe8n6 📌 Connect with on LinkedIn: https://lnkd.in/gKn_bH4K 📌 Subscribe to my YouTube channel: https://lnkd.in/gKd_b5A5

A few weeks ago I wrote about how I creatively worked my way into a partnership with THE Jordan Peterson. This week, I want to breakdown how I launched his course that did $18,000 in the first 15 minutes. While most creators are looking for the secret shortcut to launching a wildly successful course - the answer is really just doing the “obvious boring” things in the right order. Let’s first address the elephant in the room - Jordan Peterson has a massive audience. I won’t pretend that this wasn’t a major factor in the success of the course but a big audience doesn’t always = a big win. My previous company, Increase Media, had been working with Jordan’s team on content marketing for a while so, when they wanted to launch a course, it was a natural fit that we would support on the marketing side. Let’s talk about the boring obvious things that make millions: 1️⃣ Research Most creators think that premium video and polished materials are what make or break a course - but more often than not, it’s the small things. Pricing, while seemingly innocuous, is actually a major piece of the success puzzle. We decided to give the course away for free to the 200 people live in the audience when the course was being filmed to acquire deep insights on perceived value. Not only did this help us nail the pricing but also provided us with early testimonials that helped sell it before it was even launched. 2️⃣ Sales It’s critically important to talk to your customers pre-launch. From these conversations and reading testimonials we were able to craft a compelling customer voice that appealed specifically to our target market. While there are many great course platform tools, we chose Kajabi and built the course sales page with the exact language our early customers used. This really sped up the sales process and helped a lot when it came to customer success and FAQ process. 3️⃣ Marketing The MOST important part of launching a successful course is marketing. It doesn’t matter how good your material is, how great the video quality is, or how beautiful the branding is - if no one knows about your course, no one will buy it. Our marketing plan revolved around video clips from the course because Jordan Peterson is a very distinct and well known individual. While “talking head” video isn’t required, we found that videos perform better than static pictures and text posts. Many creators are afraid of paid ads but this tactic is what helped the course reach $8M+ in revenue. It’s worth taking the time to figure out how to run paid ads or hiring an expert to lead this effort. All in all, launching a massively successful course is simple - but not easy. If you want to explode on the scene and win big, it’s important to do the work. Even when the steps are boring and obvious, following the proven path is the key to major reward.

Origin of marketing (1450 -2023)🕰️💻 🕰️Imagine stepping back in time, to a bustling Mesopotamian marketplace circa 1500 BCE. Traders hawk their wares, not just by shouting, but by using clever symbols etched on clay pots, each promising quality and value. This, my friend, is where the seeds of marketing were sown, long before billboards and social media ads ever dreamed of existing. 📜Fast forward a few millennia and Johannes Gutenberg arrived with his revolutionary printing press in 1450. Suddenly, information explodes! Pamphlets and flyers become the hottest gossip, spreading news of wondrous new gadgets and potions all across the land. Mass marketing takes its first wobbly steps. 🛍️But wait, there's more! In medieval market towns, a word begins to catch fire: "marketing." It's not some fancy corporate jargon but simply describes the art of getting your goods from farm to table (or loom to the living room). These medieval entrepreneurs were the original marketing gurus, masters of bartering and persuasion. 🏰Then came the Industrial Revolution, a whirlwind of smokestacks and steam engines. With factories churning out products faster than ever, businesses needed new ways to stand out. Brands were born, advertisements screamed from every corner, and salespeople honed their silver tongues. Marketing transformed from a quaint whisper to a booming megaphone. 🚂But the 20th century brought a twist. Consumers weren't just passive audiences anymore; they were picky, demanding, and oh-so-powerful. Market research became the new treasure map, guiding brands toward what people truly desired. Ads evolved from brash boasts to heartfelt stories, and brand loyalty became the ultimate prize. 📊The digital age arrived like a runaway comet, dragging marketing kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Websites blinked awake, social media platforms sprung up like mushrooms, and data, oh glorious data, became the new gold. Online marketing boomed, personalization reigned supreme, and interactive experiences blurred the lines between seller and consumer. 🤖Artificial intelligence whispers sweet nothings in our ears, virtual reality promises immersive experiences and personalized campaigns threaten to know us better than we know ourselves. One thing's for sure, the story of marketing is far from over. It's a tale of human ingenuity, technological leaps, and the eternal dance between seller and buyer. Get ready to be amazed by the next chapter in this ever-evolving saga. 🍿Remember, marketing isn't just about flashy ads and persuasive slogans. It's about understanding human desires, shaping narratives, and connecting with people in meaningful ways. It's a story that's been unfolding for centuries, and it's a story we're all a part of, whether we're buying, selling, or simply watching the world go by. P.S. - It took me 4 hours to create this video but worth a shot.⏳ #marketing #originofmarketing #marketanalysis #marketgrowth #marketers

People don't follow funnels the way marketing wants you to think they do. They don't happily enter at the top and skip on down, holding hands and humming your brand tagline until they get to your 'offer'. I don't care how pretty your Canva templates are. They are all over the place. They come and they go. They get distracted by some pretty flower and then they come back again eventually. (or not) Buzz Buzz. I say leave the funnel in that kitchen drawer. You know the one...with the can opener and the elastic bands, and think of it instead like an ecosystem, where it's your job to give them all the resources & nourishment they need to thrive- in whatever environment you have chosen (your niche/ specialty). Funnel frameworks are useful for categorizing your content and making sense of your marketing, but they are not so useful when we think about what makes people walk away from their laptops, find their wallets and peck in some numbers. Look at your own buying behaviour as an example of this. I for one have purchased stuff without a funnel. I sometimes consume a piece of marketing and it takes me two years to circle back and maybe consume another piece. I also, sometimes read one google doc and pull out the credit card. It's all over the place. What determines the frequency of my return? 🍄 How much I resonate with what is being written. That's it. I am happy to skip the funnel if I KNOW that something is for ME. It's like this- Imagine you are at a busy party and someone says your name out loud. Your RAS (reticular activating system) picks it up over the cocophany because your brain is laser focused on that group of sounds. When you have a specific problem and someone starts talking about it, helping you with it and making you feel seen the same RAS activates. Apply this to marketing. The only way to stand out from the crowd is to know who it is you are addressing so specifically that they are laser-focused on you. Then you don't have to yell. Thoughts? 🪄D🪄 _______ PS 👋Hi, I'm Diliana (call me Deeee) ✍🏼 I'm a B2B copywriter & content chief 🍄 Let's elevate the conversation-->Join me for weekly micro-doses on content marketing, business & creativity

Who needs fancy ads when you can win hearts (and wallets) with valuable content? 👀 I recently spent a weekend diving down a content marketing rabbit hole (yes, it's a real thing!). I was initially overwhelmed by all the "how-to" articles and conflicting advice. But then, I came across a fact that surprised me a lot: 97% of B2B marketers use content marketing. 🔥 That's a surprising number, and it got me thinking: if everyone's doing it, how can my content stand out? But the next question came to my head, how do we make key takeaways? Then I researched this question on Google. After a few hours, I came to know that content marketing isn't a magic bullet for just B2B companies or established brands. It's a powerful tool for everyone. Anyone can create valuable content, regardless of budget. It builds trust and establishes you as an authority, no matter your industry. It attracts new customers and strengthens relationships with existing ones, leading to more sales and growth. ⚡ For e-commerce stores, it can educate customers, increase conversions, and boost satisfaction with product reviews, tutorials, and buying guides. For service providers, it can showcase your expertise and build trust with valuable blog posts, videos, or social media content. For new businesses, it can attract early adopters, and save money compared to traditional advertising. For established it keeps your audience engaged and solidifies the brand image. For Individuals & Leaders, it can help you become a recognized authority in your field and attract new clients or followers. It can help all businesses of all sizes. 📈 But….But….But.. Before you go, if you're hungry for more marketing hacks, hit that follow button for fresh insights delivered straight to your feed. 🤝 #contentmarketing #socialmediamarketing #content #marketing #digitalmarketing #leadgeneration #business #startup

I’m scared to start marketing I don’t know If It Will Work Out If You sound like this story read this post till the end… “I’ve been running my business since November 2021, but until early this year(2022) I wasn’t using my website to sell stuff, rather 3rd party sites(Amazon, eBay). I run a memorabilia business where I do private signings with actors and then sell the signed items, including allowing pre-orders so people can get exactly what they want (quote, personalization, poster, pen color, etc.) before the item is signed. I have been posting the signings in different autograph groups on Facebook and since May, I’ve done like 120-130 sales ($65,000) which is great to start but I want to keep growing. I have a TikTok of over a 100k followers, but I haven’t posted on it for about 9 months or so due to focusing on the business. I don’t know why but every time I think about posting something that is related to the business, I get anxious and end up never doing it. . .” Remember: “Scared money don’t make no money” Read that again…. “Scared money don’t make no money” If You’re like StylesYT (That’s the name of the business) There’s something You should know there’s nothing bad about selling In fact the Bible in Proverbs 14:23 says “All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty” (For those who have certain beliefs 😶) So If it’s shit, it will get buried by the rapid cycle of socia media. Content doesn’t last more than a day just so You know. It’s faster than the news cycle. You might be lucky to get clicks on Your ads or even sales. You know what’s scary? More than 50% of audiences stop watching a reel or video beyond the 3-4 second mark. Instagram’s insight data shows that no matter how good or shitty a reel is, 50% move on after 4 seconds. Crazy right? Then there’s no need for You to be scared about jumping into marketing But…. Note this before You start running paid Ads: You don't need to gamble $50k to run a successful Ad. If it works, it'll work even better with $100-500, if it doesn't then it would have been worse with more funds. Marketing has diminishing returns according to investment, a common mistake made by new businesses and companies is that they think spending more brings more profit, (Not always the case) the ROI worsens the more you spend on a given Ad. Make $100-500 mistakes, make 10 of them, not simultaneously, make each failure then fail another attempt until You get familiar with what failed but had potential and what was just money in the drain. If You want to avoid the trail and error of testing what Ads will work for Your Business…. Make sure to reach out to me Emmanuel Udeze by sending a DM “Cash Paying Customers” Connect with me if You’re interested in knowing how to run Ads that convert, copywriting and marketing. And Remember “Scared Money don’t make NO MONEY”