I kicked off this newsletter from scratch 12 months ago, with no real plan of what our content would look like month-to-month, and just one simple promise that we would deliver ‘an agency newsletter you'll actually look forward to reading’.
My inbox was flooded with shockingly similar industry news and insights, and the comms all felt a bit flat and pretty cold tbh. There was no personality, no honesty, and no real human touch.
With the new year around the corner, I’m taking this opportunity to reflect and look back on a few bits from our Friends in the NORTH journey so far:
In classic clip show style, here are five takeaways:
1) The first step in the ascent
Putting pen to paper (or keyboard to screen in this case) is always difficult, but starting to build something entirely from scratch is daunting.
Have you ever begun work on a task, just to find yourself stuck staring into the abyss? An empty page, or blinding white Google doc?
I was deep in the abyss when I started this newsletter. I'd never really written anything in my own voice and I was extremely self critical.
Every new idea has to start somewhere, and often comes from nothing.
With a vision in mind, work backwards and break your goal down into small achievable chunks. Little victories will keep you motivated and on track in your ascent.
You'll be super proud of yourself when you look back and reflect on your journey in one month, six months, one year's time. This is just the beginning.
2) Talk less, listen more
Love them or hate them, it’s likely that your calendar is packed full of meetings. Some good, some bad, and some utterly pointless. So how can you ensure you’re getting the best out of them and those involved?
If you want input and creative ideas, then you need to create a safe space.
Get more out of your meetings:
Don’t rehearse what to say next in your head.
Stop checking emails, working on tasks, flicking through socials, replying to WhatsApp/ Slack and be present.
By listening and encouraging others, you’ll help grow both your team's confidence and their creativity.
Take long pauses after you’ve finished speaking to allow others the opportunity to pitch in.
To cater for introverts make sure to provide multiple ways for people to share their thoughts, like a simple Google sheet, comments in live chat, or follow-up email.
3) Rip it up and start again
Your first idea isn’t always a winner. Sometimes you just need to be honest and ask yourself:
What isn’t working for me?
It could be a number of things:
Your brand identity isn’t right and it’s affecting sales
Your core messaging isn’t resonating with your audience
Your team structure isn’t set up for success
Your customers don’t believe in your marketing plan
Your idea isn’t remarkable
Remember:
We shouldn’t expect to succeed with every idea or campaign
We should always listen to feedback, and the most valuable feedback comes from our audience
One of the smartest things you can be is wrong. Learn from being wrong and improve
Don’t ever be afraid to rip off the Band-Aid and start again
4) Show, don't tell
Back when I was 9 years old, I loved wrestling, but most importantly I loved The Rock.
I mean what’s not to love? He’s the people’s champ, had legendary signature moves, unbeatable one liners, and a fantastic set of sideburns.
In fact, I loved his haircut so much I attempted to copy it. I didn’t just tell the barber what I was looking for, instead I smugly pulled out my Rock wrestler figure and uttered - I WANT THAT!
When we’re trying to tell someone about something, it’s much easier to just show them.
The best marketing shows people the benefit of a product/ service instantly.
When Apple launched the iPhone 6, they didn’t slap ‘8-megapixel camera’ on their adverts, instead they showed what an 8-megapixel camera can do with their ‘shot on iPhone’ campaign.
They invited users of iPhone 6 to upload their best photos with the hashtag ‘Shot on iPhone’ to Instagram and Twitter. The best were chosen and displayed around the world on 10,000 billboards, with the simple tagline ‘Shot on iPhone’.
What’s your product or service's best feature and how can you best showcase it to your customers?
5) Create helpful content
Nobody likes to be interrupted!
Back in the ‘50s, as long as you had the cash, it was easy to get in front of people with your brand. When TV ads debuted in the UK in 1955, the majority of people still only had one channel, if they wanted to watch the box, they had no option but to sit through your ads.
Digital advertising is crashing hard!99% of Gen Zhit skip on an ad given the option, and 63% actively use ad blockers to avoid them all together. Google is phasing out third-party cookiesin Chrome by 2024, and Apple cracked down on advertisers and app developers tracking users with the iOS 14 update last year.
It's time to shift your weight from paid into organic and get behind content marketing
Here's what you need to do:
Work out the problems your customer needs to solve
Ensure your content is super helpful and informative
Create content for every step of the buyer’s journey
Be active in the channels your customers are active in
Avoid jargon, cut the fluff, and don’t speak like a robot
Make sure your content is always authentic and relevant to your brand
Repurpose your content - e.g. turn a blog into: an e-book, video script, social posts…
Rinse and repeat 🔄
Stop putting all of your efforts into selling your product/ service and share helpful content instead
