The Brutal Reality for Brand Advertisers

I tend to be selective about the personal information I post on the internet. And while some may disagree with how close to the vest I am, I have my reasons. Many of those who disagree with me often point to the idea of branding and how putting out an “authentic story” of yourself is part of “building a personal brand.” Insert eye roll here.

However, one of the few things about myself I don’t mind putting out there is my background in economics and finance. My college degree is in economics and I had a Series 7 license at one point in my career.?

It also happens that I’ve recently been diving back into my library of investing books. My portfolio at a very well-known financial advisory service horrifically underperformed over the last year. The S&P 500 is up roughly 18% this year and my portfolio only gained around 10%. (For the math-challenged among you, that’s a 44.44% difference which is shockingly bad.)

But that’s what I get for not doing it myself. Laziness is expensive.

Now, I believe the Graham-Dodd approach to value investing is the best option for the do-it-yourselfer looking for an option besides dumping all your money in an S&P 500 ETF. This school of thought also happens to be championed by a billionaire you may have heard of named Warren Buffet.?

In the Graham-Dodd school, we look almost exclusively at the business itself. In other words, the day-to-day and even month-to-month fluctuations in the price of a stock are virtually meaningless to us. What we’re looking for is the long-term viability of the business underlying the stock.?

We’re looking for profitable companies with a competitive advantage that isn’t being reflected in the stock price — a.k.a. undervalued companies. I’m sure at this point, you’re probably wondering why I’ve been droning on about investing. I promise you that we’re about to land the plane.?

In his 1966 work, Breakthrough Advertising, Eugene Schwartz wrote something that all copywriters should have tattooed on their foreheads. “Copy cannot create desire for a product.”

But ask most brand advertisers today what they think about that (and by brand advertisers, I mean people who believe that branding alone is the primary difference between profitable and unprofitable businesses). If they're being honest, many of them will say Mr. Schwartz is just an old fuddy-duddy who couldn’t possibly have anything to say about modern sophisticated advertising.

Yeah, right…?

And here’s where we finally get to the promised land. A successful company is successful because it has a competitive advantage. And just like how copy cannot create desire. Copy cannot give a company a competitive advantage. It can only exploit the competitive advantage it already has.?

If the company you’re tasked to write for has no competitive advantage, no amount of “branding” will save that company from the throes of bankruptcy. Even if great copy boosts sales in the interim through an imagined competitive advantage, the effect is only temporary.?

It’s also why the overwhelming majority of copywriters make little or no money. “Personal branding” can’t change the fact that I can get what you offer from thousands of others posting their “stories” on LinkedIn. Most of you reading this probably won’t accept that. And I understand why. But reality always wins in the end. Lies are ultimately self-defeating.

But if I have swayed you and you want to know how to create a genuine competitive advantage, there are three options—high barriers to entry (usually through regulation), customer captivity, and proprietary formulas/technologies.?

For copywriters, customer captivity is the only viable option. You have to offer something no one else does. And for us, that thing has to be expertise.??

Now, this is intimidating for many people. Most people, unless they’re complete narcissists, don’t like to openly present themselves as experts. And we often look around and see all these people who seem to know so much.?

But fortunately for us, the emperor often has no clothes. The reality is that most people are too lazy to put in the work required to become genuine experts. The front they put on looks damn good, but if you poke and prod just a little, you’ll discover they’re complete morons.?

People with the most “authority” are often the dumbest of the bunch. There are psychological and sociological reasons for this. And while I can’t get into much detail, the phenomenon is widespread and predictable. Basically, stupid people don’t realize how stupid they are.??

As I said before, laziness is expensive. And if you’re willing to pay the expert tax up front (via hard work), life will be much more affordable.?

Sincerely,

Sean Ryan

P.S. Forward this to your friends.