The Marketing Miracle Diet
Philip VanDusen ??
Branding Consultant | Creative Entrepreneur | Creative Professional Coach | Founder, Brand Design Masters, BONFIRE | Brand Strategy | Graphic Design | Content Creator | YouTuber | Podcaster | Speaker | ECD | VP of Design
I’ve always been a tall person.
But for most of my life I was also pretty thin and could eat just about anything I wanted. It never affected me much.
My wife, Beth hated me for it.
But then, I hit middle age.
Slowly the proverbial ‘spare tire’ made an appearance. The progression was sneaky, a pound here, a pound there.
I just hadn’t been paying attention.
At 6’3” I’d always hovered around 185 lbs. But I realized somehow I had ballooned up to 225. None of my pants fit. Something had to be done.
So I asked Beth what I should do. She suggested that maybe I start counting calories.
Calories mattered? Who knew!
So I said to myself what any techie middle aged guy would say: “There’s gotta be an app for that!”
I found an app where you enter in everything you eat and it totals the calories so you can control your intake.
To tell you that I had no idea at all how many calories were in food would be an understatement.
Did you know a Hostess Apple pie, (which up until then qualified as ‘health food’ as far as I was concerned) has over 500 calories? That’s 1/4 of what my TOTAL daily intake was supposed to be!
So I counted. I paid attention. I tracked my numbers and put in the work.
And guess what? In just a few months I lost 40 pounds and got back down to 185.
So what does losing weight have to do with branding and marketing?
Maybe you have been using the same marketing tactics for years.
Running the same ads. The same copy. The same platforms.
Your results slip a little, a couple fewer leads each month,a little less engagement. Nothing dramatic.
Just a slow leak of branding effectiveness.
And suddenly you realize your brand has gained 40 pounds and is eating Twinkies on the couch at 11:00am on a Thursday.
Analytics really matter? Who knew!
So what’s the solution?
You start paying attention. Start tracking your numbers. Put in the work by changing some behaviors.
...I wish I could say that there is an app for that.
But there isn’t.
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resources
Every Time Zone: Have business around the globe and struggle to tell your client when that meeting is in their time zone? This is the bomb. Crazy Plus: when you slide the timeline you get a completely unique URL you can cut and paste to send to your clients.
Sleep Machine: White, brown, pink noise are all the rage. We all know we can’t be at our working-world best if we aren’t well rested, cool, calm and collected, yes? Sleep machine lets you mix together your perfect combo of ambient sounds and then save them to use over and over. I double-love this app. Free and paid levels.
Pantone Studio: I didn't know that they had a Pantone app for the iPhone, but they do, and it's awesome - and free. Designer? Marketer? A must have for when you can't find the damned Pantone fan - which for me, is all the freakin' time.
The Daily Mockup: This site saved my bacon this week when I had to pull a bunch of mockup rabbits out of my hat for a client at the last minute. High quality and best of all, free
FreeSound: Free database of audio snippets, samples and recordings for use in your videos, podcasts, or other media projects.
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recommended
In uncertain times, having control of your digital assets is essential. Even as organizations tighten their belts, investing in marketing remains good practice. READ
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watch
Maybe you're new to personal branding - or maybe you feel like you're a pro. Either way, I guarantee you'll learn something new from this personal branding overview. WATCH
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listen
In this episode, Richard talks about why now is the time for creative pros to improve on how they are using the platform. He also shares actionable insights about the "art" of commenting and using LinkedIn to build true relationships. LISTEN
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read
At a time when almost every brand has a social media presence, your followers should feel like they’re a part of something, where they can connect with like-minded folks and form a personal bond with your brand. READ
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watch
Check out 11 more graphic design trends in my annual report on YouTube. "Iridescence" is being seen in email marketing, technology marketing, in the sportwear industry, in iconography systems in print and in AR and VR. WATCH
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books
Clare shares a simple 5-step process you can use to wave goodbye to those secret 3am fears that you might be 'found out', how to connect with your true confidence and how to become the leader you were born to be. GET IT HERE
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quote of the week
"If I always did what I was qualified to do, I'd be pushing a broom somewhere." ~ Kamal Ravikant
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courses
Brand Strategy 101, our signature course shows you exactly how to use proven strategic branding processes with your clients so you can land bigger projects, increase your fees, get paid for thinking and become a highly valued business partner.
When you enroll you get immediate, life-time access to all the course videos, checklists, downloadable tools and resources.
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Resources We Recommend
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Join Us On Facebook
If you're a creative professional or entrepreneur looking to leverage the power of brand strategy, design and marketing to build your personal brand or business, I invite you to join us in the Brand Design Masters Facebook group. It's private, but free and there are a ton of awesome 'peeps there to network with, share inspiration, ideas and get all your questions answered.
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Philip VanDusen is a branding thought leader and principal of Verhaal Brand Design an agency that leverages strategy and design to build brand equity for companies and entrepreneurs. Get more from Philip in his brand?muse newsletter, his industry leading YouTube channel or connect with Verhaal Brand Design on Facebook.
Branding Consultant | Creative Entrepreneur | Creative Professional Coach | Founder, Brand Design Masters, BONFIRE | Brand Strategy | Graphic Design | Content Creator | YouTuber | Podcaster | Speaker | ECD | VP of Design
2 年Clare Josa - hope you see a little bump for your book...;-)
$9bn+ in sales. I build brands that customers chase after. If you're done wasting ad dollars, let's talk. Make your brand a magnet, not a money pit.
2 年Philip, you're truly a master at storytelling. Loved this. Just as we evolve as we learn, so should our branding. Nothing could be worse for selling than a stale brand that has stagnated.
Marketing Professional | Creative Services
2 年This a very similar conversation that I've had with past clients. So many of them want to run the same copy *forever*, and that's just NOT feasible. Eventually your ads and content keep showing to the same people and they WILL walk away from you if they see too much of the same. Great insight, Philip!