30 Failed Startups, One Final Bet: John Rush Story of Survival
John Rush, CEO, UnicornPlatform.com Built & sold my first startup in 2009.Over the next 13 years, I invested all that …
Start a business with reality
“You don’t start with a business idea and then try to make it a reality.You start with your reality and …
Everyone says “the offer is everything.”
Everyone says “the offer is everything.”Cool. But how many of you actually test: Price anchorsPayment structuresGuaranteesBundlesUpsellsThe same product, restructured, can double your …
Great products and distribution
Everyone talks about “great products.”Nobody talks about distribution. The iPhone wasn’t the first smartphone.Coke wasn’t the best-tasting drink.Facebook wasn’t the first …
What is Marketing Focus?
Take one task in your hand and wholeheartedly focus on giving your best without hopping onto other tasks. Even that one …
Things to consider before creating a product
1. You shouldn’t sell a problem people don’t have.2. If your market is crowded, you must find a way to …
Spotting an opportunity is one thing, but…
Spotting an opportunity is one thing, but acting on it makes all the difference. Seth Godin had a small box with …
No idea truly belongs to you. So what?
No idea truly belongs to you. Just because it comes to you doesn’t mean you’re the first to experience it. But you …
How to learn marketing
Doing marketing is the single greatest way to learn marketing. You start with what you know—even if you think you know …
No entrepreneur wants to fail
No one plans to: 1. Create a terrible business2. Launch a terrible product3. Build a terrible website4. Design a terrible landing …
10 Sanity Metrics in Business
1. Revenue growth – actual increase in sales over time2. Profit margin – how much money you keep after costs3 …
Here’s a list of 10 vanity metrics in business (that often look good but don’t guarantee real success):
Number of social media followersNumber of likes or reactions on postsWebsite traffic (without tracking conversions)App downloads (ignoring active usage)Page views …
What is considered as “normal” in Marketing
Trial and Error ApproachFailed Products Failed CampaignsPoor Landing Pages Poor Sales CopyPoor UXPoor PositioningLow Email Open RatesPosts with 0 LikesTechnical …
Sanity vs Vanity in business
This is what Andrew Gould shared on X.com On Thursday I posted about a copywriting workshop I was teaching. It only got …
Here’s what Eugene Schwartz said about copywriting
“Copy is not written. If anyone tells you ‘you write copy,’ sneer at them. Copy is not written. Copy is assembled …
Failure publicly is the new marketing
Failure is the new marketing. Thanks, @Mark , for showing us that failure is normal even when you have a …
Don’t ask for permission, take it
Life doesn’t ask your permission to bring you here. So stop asking for permission—start taking responsibility, but never forget the sacrifices …
If you want people to value your time, stop giving it away so easily.
Put a price tag on it. Create a small book to address all the questions. Create a YouTube video if you …
Founders need to know when to give up
Knowing when to quit is a skill anybody can develop. As far as start-ups are concerned, founders need to know when …
How to create great customer experience that matters to your customers?
Speak with your product development team and ask them to list out all the they think their customers might use …
Free tools and free courses are great marketing.
Free tools and free courses are the best way to show your intention to help your prospects. No one will sign …
Speak in a way they can understand
“If you are a tourism brand looking to attract foreigners, do you have your website available in your local language?” …
This is how influencer shine without losing their soul
If an influencer tries a product given by a brand and genuinely loves it, and then shares their unfiltered experience …
What Is Newsjacking?
Newsjacking is the art and science of injecting your ideas into a breaking news story so you and your ideas …
Expose your vulnerability now to succeed in business
To test your ideas with existing tools is the greatest gift of the 21st century. But an abundance of tools doesn’t …
Thinking about negative consequences and taking positive action creates industries
Security industry is born of “what if someone breaks in”Backup services are born of “what if my data gets lost”Legal …
Get better at doing than explaining
The curse of modernity is that we are increasingly populated by a class of people who are better at explaining …
The Right Way to Think About AI and Your Future
If you are always starting from how AI is going to replace you, then you will often be in panic …
You don’t learn marketing by reading a marketing book
You don’t learn marketing by reading a marketing book cover to cover or going through a business book. That kind of …
Remove Free Plan
If you really want your customers to take you seriously, remove the free plan. A free trial is enough, or you …
Reality of Execution
What works once may not work again. What works in one situation may not work in another. Reality is complex, so …
As a Marketer this is what you need to do
As a Marketer: You need to write even when no one is reading.You need to send DMs even when the answer …
Enough is the greatest business strategy.
There is a small shop in Tirunelveli, a district in Tamil Nadu, India. For more than 125 years, they have been …
Think Like a Salesperson
When it comes to advertising, think like a salesperson with only a few seconds to grab a client’s attention. This mindset …
IT Movie – Red Ballon Campaign
In the movie IT, Pennywise the clown, with his red balloon, plays a menacing role that terrifies viewers even in …
How to Win Big at Marketing
Have a strong appetite for figuring things outTake small bets without breaking your budgetFilter out the best ideas you want …
One-to-one communication is the most important of all.
With AI on the rise and algorithms constantly messing things up, your posts won’t reach all your followers. Email marketing is …
Who is the real entrepreneur?
No one becomes a real entrepreneur without being punched by reality multiple times. Entrepreneurship isn’t something you can learn solely from …
Marketing is Science.
Curiosity drives us.We test, fail, and iterate.Data guides our decisions.Assumptions are questioned.Insights turn into action.Collaboration multiplies results.Small experiments change everything …
How small companies can win against big corporations with marketing
Big corporations are always fearful of making mistakes, which really forces them to go for pain-free, loss-free solutions. In reality, …
Faber-Castell – “True Color”
Faber-Castell True Color shows exactly what you can create with their products. Their intended audience includes both children and adults with …
Harley-Davidson – Rider’s portrait
Harley-Davidson used their parts and accessories to create a rider’s portrait. A passionate biker who dreams of owning a Harley-Davidson will …
‘Neighbors’ – FedEx Campaign
To demonstrate their global reach, FedEx used continental maps as buildings to highlight their ability to deliver across different parts …
What will you do if you see Cheetah resting on top of streetlights
If you’ve seen the tree signs on streetlights, you might have given them a hard look. But what if a cheetah …
Airbnb – Floating House Publicity Stunt
In 2015, to celebrate a new law in London allowing people to rent their homes for 90 days, Airbnb created …
Bob Moesta on focusing on the demand side over supply side
To uncover demand, you must understand way more than who your customer is. What’s causing them to make a purchase? …
Orange France – Reversal of Expectations
How did they flip the script? At the beginning of the video, you see legendary football players from the men’s team. But …
Cart abandonment emails are a great way to win back sales
Cart abandonment emails are a great way to win back lost sales and encourage customers to complete their purchases. With Compelling …
Marketing on a shoestring budget
GeekSquad, during their early days, didn’t have much to spread the word about their story. So they customized the soles of …
UNICEF campaign – Dirty water Campaign
“What if those bottles of water you waste money on were filled with dirty water?” This UNICEF campaign encouraged people to …
Marketing is every bit of contact your company has with anyone in the outside world
Marketing is every bit of contact your company has with anyone in the outside world. That means a lot of …
Atlanta’s Glide Pizza pulled off a genius marketing stunt.
Perfect example of Guerrilla Marketing. Atlanta’s Glide Pizza pulled off a genius marketing stunt. (Here’s the video) A guy ran around wearing …
How to Be Antifragile in Marketing
Have No Ego – You will look like an idiot if your idea fails, and that’s okay. Marketing is about …
Investing in Health, Not Just Healthcare
Investing more in healthcare by: Inventing new drugsCreating innovative equipmentFunding researchOpening gymsLaunching healthcare startupsDeveloping new wellness supplements every yearThis isn’t the …
You Are Not Selling Cake, You Are Selling Memories
Celebration cake design matters more than taste. People who buy cakes for special occasions want the day to be remembered. Whether it’s …
Marketing is dabbling with crazy ideas.
Marketing is just dabbling with crazy ideas in reality. Even if you don’t hit a home run, you still need …
Why Scarcity Defines Luxury?
Luxury brands should never try to scale because being abundant is the only way to reach more people. But when everyone …
Pet Food Isn’t for Pets
Pet food is for humans because even if your pet eats it, you are the one buying it. That’s why it …
Failing at a Startup Doesn’t Mean Entrepreneurship Is Broken
Dagobert is an indie hacker who created Logology.co with his wife to automate logo creation for users. During the first few …
Now, website domains are a great place to build a business
Here’s what Dharmesh Shah Co-Founder, CTO of Hubspot.com says An incidental impact of vibe coding and agentic coding: Website domains are …
How People Become “Known” in the Online Space
Every post, every piece of content, every video they share connects deeply with their audience because it’s genuine and relatable. They …
You can’t prompt your way to becoming an expert
AI really helps people who already know what they are doing. But for others, it has created the illusion that …
Email Marketing = Permission Marketing
Email Marketing = Permission Marketing. The term, coined by Seth Godin, means this: “Permission marketing is the privilege (not the right) …
Who needs to think like a marketer in an organization
CEO must think like a marketer.CTO must think like a marketer.CMO must think like a marketer.Product Manager must think like …
Why Now is the best time to start on your own terms
“Giving Yourself Permission Is Easier Than Getting It From Others” There’s no point in history when giving yourself permission to start …
Healthy Food has a marketing problem
Healthy food has a marketing problem, and most companies are ignoring it. Food brands keep obsessing over how to sell the …
Small Experiments, Big Results
Word of Mouth Marketing is the single most powerful marketing tool, after all. Although you don’t have complete control over …
How to Design a Pricing Page That Converts
Learn to create pricing page like @basecamp Plans are super clear—easy to spot differencesHonest, no-BS descriptions help you pick fastFeatures in …
To succeed with marketing, you need to understand these principles.
Truth: People can smell snake-oil tactics from miles away. @IKEA always does what they stand for. Even their ads speak …
Heavy competition is the playground for marketing.
Don’t stress about competitors or worry that your customers already have plenty of options. In fact, competition can be an …
What plays a huge role in marketing
“No money on advertising is not equivalent to no money on marketing.” Product creation plays a huge role in marketing. Please …
Why do you need to be an upstream marketer?
Heroism is revered worldwide, a phenomenon deeply rooted in mythology through to the present day. The need for a “Save …
Create something worth talking about.
This is a perfect example of fanocracy. Peter Askew (@searchbound), affectionately known as “Onion Guy” by his customers, received this …
Marketing is not something you do at the end
Marketing is not something you do at the end. A great product is great marketing in itself. The product always …
Pain-Free Marketing Doesn’t Exist
As companies grow wealthier, they increase their marketing budgets. The most experienced marketers often resist trial and error because they …
Observation is Key in Marketing
A salesperson selling hospital beds spent a day observing patients. They quickly realized that simply understanding the hospital’s needs wasn’t enough. They …
The Real Measure of Business Health
Profit is sanity. Revenue is vanity. Revenue alone doesn’t show the full picture. Profit is what keeps your business sane and …
Marketing is Nonlinear
Marketing is nonlinear. You don’t have to follow a strict sequence. You already know why you started. May be your personal frustrationComplaints you …
Never Sugarcoat Anything
Never Sugarcoat MarketingMarketing is challenging and governed by complex underlying factors. Successful companies and influencers make it look easy, but …
I want to buy a mattress
Customer: I want to buy a mattress.Competitor 1: I sell mattresses.Competitor 2: I sell mattresses.Competitor 3: I sell mattresses.Competitor 4: …
Scarcity in Marketing
There are two types of product scarcity commonly used to boost sales: Scarcity based on quantity – for example, “Only two …
The European Union has a marketing problem
The European Union has a marketing problem. It continues to act as if nothing has changed, ignoring realities such as declining …
The core principles of marketing don’t change
Even in the age of AI, the core principles of marketing don’t change. Why? Because it’s still humans making the …
Marketing is always out of syllabus.
Marketing is always out of syllabus. Charlie Munger once told this story: In a rural Texas school, a teacher asked, “If there …
How to find a SaaS Idea
Great insights from @Pauline_Cx on how to find a SaaS idea? → Read 1-star reviews of existing tools→ List what sucks→ …
Customer Experience Rule: Stop Adding, Start Removing
Removing friction often matters more than adding features. Users get frustrated by anything that slows them down or makes a …
Marketing is a puzzle solved by the real world.
When Peter Askew tried building a business around VidaliaOnions.com, it wasn’t just luck that helped him. After a lot of …
You Can’t Miss the Hit
Are you even a marketer if you haven’t been punched by the market at least 50 times? “Even if you think …
The internet hasn’t made marketing easier
The internet hasn’t made marketing easier just noisier.It’s like having more walls to throw spaghetti at to see what sticks. Before …
There should be enough of a market
Pieter Levels @levelsio One of the most important things I’ve ever read was this by @shl “The market you’re in will …
Commodities Become Brands When You Tell the Story
Socks are a commodity, but @LittleMissMatch knew how to market standing out. Mattresses are a commodity, but @Casper knew …
The Value of an Outsider’s Eye
From time to time, seek opinions from outsiders to gain a fresh perspective on how things really work. Being too deeply …
Three Types of Marketer
Fragile Marketer: Who relies on social media followers, SEO, and getting Google sales rep advice to run Google Ads; ignoring …
Did you know the potato once had a serious marketing problem?
When Antoine was a prisoner of war, he discovered the nutritional value of potatoes. But at the time, they were …
Electric Village “Appy”: Renault’s Powerful Marketing Campaign
Despite 93 percent of French people believing that switching to electric cars requires more infrastructure, better autonomy, or living in …
Marketing is full of probabilities
Probability is not a mere computation of odds on the dice or more complicated variants; it is the acceptance of …
Don’t become a commodity
Once you become a commodity, even a price increase of 50 cents will be perceived as expensive by customers. Example: Supermarkets Many …
Status goes deeper than you think
Status is basically your perceived position in a social hierarchy how much respect, admiration, or influence people believe you have …
Don’t underestimate or overestimate marketing
Don’t underestimate or overestimate marketing. Always give it the respect it deserves. If you underestimate it, you’re going nowhere. Many entrepreneurs still believe …
Who is the real SEO Expert?
SEO Expert: This is how you can rank your website.Google: Everyone has a plan until they get hit by my …
“Are You Really in the Game?”
Are you even a marketer if your campaign has never made any sales?Are you an investor if you’ve never lost …
Anyone can do marketing
Anyone can do marketing, if they have Brain — to think strategically and creatively.Common sense — to keep things practical and …
Difference between Customer service and Customer experience
Customer Service = ReactiveCustomer Experience = Proactive Your primary job is to anticipate customer needs and address them before they come …
Tinkering goes a long way in marketing
Marketing is the only profession where, even if you don’t know what you’re doing, simply tinkering with your product based …
You will only find when the wind goes down
When the wind dies down, it’s easy to tell which is a bird and which is just paper. The same …
Learning Marketing is a never ending process
Marketing is one of those fields where, even after 20 years of experience, you might still not know exactly how …
It’s never too late to learn marketing.
After getting hit by Google’s algorithm changes, many content creators and entrepreneurs have started relearning the basics of marketing. Before the …
Everything is straightforward until you know…
Selling is straightforward until no one replies.Marketing is straightforward until you don’t get any results.Copywriting is straightforward until no one …
Marketing is a conjoined twin of innovation
Marketing isn’t something you do at the end—it’s woven into your entire story The reason behind your innovation (your story)How you …
Svet Dimitrov Advice on Copywriting
1. Embrace Active Voice Active voice makes your writing clear and dynamic. Which directly engages with your readers. Examples: – Turn …
Marketers still fail to understand what Claude C. Hopkins had said
Even after a hundred years, most advertisers still haven’t grasped Claude C. Hopkins’ core insight 1. Advertising is salesmanship …
The Story Behind the Barcode: From Beach Sand to Checkout Lines
When a distraught supermarket manager complained to the dean of Drexel Institute of Technology about slow-moving checkout queues costing him …
How to Use Anchoring as a Tool to Influence Customer Behavior
“Which would you buy? A dress shirt priced at $60 or the very same dress shirt, priced at $100, but …
Freedom to Shop: The Story of Self-Service and the Invention of the Shopping Cart
New approaches will never be embraced by everyone at first. If you need unanimous consent, you’re not going to move …
Soweto’s Book Café: A Birthright to Read
When Thami Mazibuko returned to Soweto six years ago, he discovered that there were very few bookstores in his township …
How This Ice Cream Owner Sparked Change in His Neighborhood
In Washington D.C.’s Petworth neighborhood, a small ice cream shop is serving up freshly made cones with a generous spirit …
This generous hairdresser gives you 30% discounts for reading books in his salon
A hairdresser named Pon Mariappan in Thoothukudi wants to encourage more people to invest their time in acquiring knowledge through …
Tall Man, Big Hearts, Small Projects from South
Peter Askew is the kind of person who has always believed in giving more than receiving. He worked as a marketing …
This coffee shop has gone to an extreme edge to change people’s behavior
Trying to change people’s behavior is a core part of marketing. But when a business relies too heavily on this …
A Customer’s Worldview Matters More Than Obsessing Over ‘Brand Purpose’
Marketers and businesspeople still cling to the illusion that people care about their brand’s purpose instead of making a real …
Seth Godin Quotes
“Think big. Start small.”“Waiting for perfect is never as smart as making progress.”“The only thing worse than starting something and …
Restaurant strategy is more important than chicken strategy
Most marketers have started asking, “What is your LinkedIn strategy, Facebook strategy, Instagram strategy, or Twitter strategy?” instead of asking, …
Purpose Brands Vs Popular Brands
There are only two types of brandsPurpose BrandPopular BrandWhat is a Purpose Brand? A purpose brand serves as a two-sided compass …
Extra Mile: Delight your Customers
“Don’t just satisfy your customers, delight them.”~ Warren Buffet.Just think, how many companies’ products have you used or consumed over …
How to Innovate and How to Market
To innovate a product for people, you need to understand their 1. Wants and NeedsDistinction between Wants and Needs:Wants: Desires or …
Intermarché – I am an ‘Ugly’ fruit, eat me!
For years, consumers were led to believe that only picture-perfect vegetables deserved a place in their shopping carts. Misshapen or …
Positioning as a Service
How can you differentiate yourself when your products and services are very similar to those of dozens of restaurants in …
Great Example of Reciprocity
Cialdini’s first principle of persuasion asserts that humans have an innate tendency to reciprocate favors and repay debts, essentially treating …
Get Rid of the Free Mindset
Get rid of the free mindset because when customers pay for your product out of their own wallets, it sends …
How customer’s form opinion about quality?
Customers form opinions about quality based on their experiences, yet many companies merely use the word ‘quality’ as a marketing …
StoryBrand Framework – Examples
📖✨ Unlock the Power of Storytelling for Your Business! 🚀 Dive into the StoryBrand 7-Part Framework – a roadmap to captivate …
Google Pixel: Break the Mold
Teaming up with the powerhouse marketing agency Anomaly, Google Pixel has launched a groundbreaking campaign featuring 3D anamorphic DOOH! Anomaly brought …
BBC Dracula: Clever Interplay of Shadows and Stakes
To herald the arrival of Dracula on BBC screens, the creative minds at BBC Creative have been hard at work …
1 Video > 1000 Pictures
Move beyond the realm of a thousand pictures and delve into the dynamic world of video creation with tools like …
Understand Your Customer’s Worldview
Until you know your customers worldview, marketing is a conundrum. Instead of making a serious effort to know their customer’s …
Volkswagen Park Assist: Hedgehog and Fish
Looking to position your product as the star of your advertisement? Highlight how it helps the lives of your clients! Take a …
EastPak: Powerful way to convey their warranty
In a world where products often come with limited warranties, EastPak has emerged as a trailblazer with its groundbreaking 30-year …
New Balance: Bridging Digital & Physical Worlds
In the ever-evolving landscape of marketing, one brand has seamlessly bridged the gap between the digital and physical realms by …
LittleMismatched – Gone To The Edges
Seth Godin about LittleMismatched.comIn the world of socks, conformity has long been the norm – until LittleMissMatched.com came along. If …