Super Bowl ads show the axes of content effectiveness

Super Bowl ads show the axes of content effectiveness

Maybe you saw the football game last night. You probably noticed the commercials. Some were funny and sharable. Some were effective for the brand. But not that many were both. If you talk about your product, you’re probably being boring. If you try to be funny or cool, you risk wasting effort, leaving the viewer mystified about…

How to launch a book
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How to launch a book

If you want a great book launch, your focus after completing the manuscript should be on promotion and relationships. Great books sell, but they don’t sell themselves. The traditional publishing process has three stages. In the first stage, you create a proposal and pitch the book to publishers. In the second stage, you complete your research and…

To be precise, Social Media Marketing is just mostly dead

To be precise, Social Media Marketing is just mostly dead

My comments on the death of social media marketing generated a lot of reaction, both on my blog and on Augie Ray’s. I was wrong to suggest that it’s completely dead. It’s only mostly dead. Here’s some context. My work on social media began in 2008 with large corporate clients who hoped to use social media like blogs…

Please stop french-kissing your site visitors

Please stop french-kissing your site visitors

I’ve begun to resent the efficiency of Web marketing. Specifically, I’m annoyed with how intrusive sites have become as they treat visitors like leads instead of people. I was talking to my friend and marketing expert Jeff Ernst about it. Here’s my problem, as I described it to him. Marketing automation now requires knowing and routing…

VMware / Deloitte “native advertising” makes delicious waffles
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VMware / Deloitte “native advertising” makes delicious waffles

If you like sausages, don’t ask how they’re made. But I’m happy to explain how waffles are made, including this piece about CIOs from the Wall Street Journal, titled “CIOs Redefining Role to Fuel Integration, Innovation.” VMware, the technology company,  wants to impress CIOs. CIOs read articles in the Wall Street Journal‘s “CIO Journal” section. But…