Unveiling the Secrets of the Marketing Game: 3 Lessons Learned From Working With One of The Top Marketers In The World

3 Lessons Learned From Working With One of The Top Marketers In The World

After almost a decade of a successful career, I left it behind to face challenges that would become one of my most significant learning experiences. Although the space right after the end of anything is terrifying, I realized that I was the one who could write my story and take myself to where I wanted to be.

I found ways to write articles, poems, and books despite facing more hardships than I'd like to admit. In early 2022, I announced I quit coaching, and when I hit publish on social media, I was hit with likes, comments, and questions.

Then George Bryant, a marketing expert, hit me up on Facebook to chat about his upcoming event. He asked if I'd be willing to support them as part of the staff, and I eventually accepted with no clear expectations of what to expect.

As David Crosby once said, "You do not get to choose the events that come your way nor the sorrows that interrupt your life. They will likely surprise you, catching you off guard and unprepared."

It took me a few minutes to realize that I was about to learn one of my most important lessons yet. We can never control life, but we always have the power to control how we respond to challenges. If we trust ourselves enough in the unknown, we can navigate life's difficulties and emerge stronger individuals.

Reflecting on my journey as an entrepreneur and the lessons I've learned while working alongside one of the best marketers in the game, I realized that the key to building and scaling a successful business is not just having a large social media following or spending more money on advertising. Instead, it's about mastering the discipline and skill of understanding the psychology of persuasion, building solid relationships, and telling compelling stories. These ingredients lie at the heart of every successful brand and business.

Working with George, I gained a deep appreciation for the power of relationships in business. The intricate web of connections that hold successful entrepreneurs together is often overlooked, but it's essential to achieving effortless precision in branding.

For entrepreneurs looking to build and scale their businesses, I encourage you to develop your skills in building relationships, telling stories, and understanding the psychology of persuasion. These timeless principles have driven success in business for centuries, and they will continue to do so for many years to come.

Let's Dive In...

1 - Prioritize Relationships over Money

Today's world is bombarded with information from various sources, making it tough to grab anyone's attention. But fear not, dear reader, because you're here, reading this, which proves the power of relationships in today's digital age.

Social media was created based on the idea of relationships, so sharability is a crucial metric to consider when evaluating your growth. But how do you differentiate yourself and build a solid brand when everyone competes for the same thing?

The answer is simple: prioritize relationships. When creating any type of content, think about what having a good relationship with your audience looks like. It's not just about posting content and trying to engage with your audience. You need to be the one that prioritizes the relationship. This means building trust, understanding, and shared values.

George Bryant, a master at relationship building and marketing, showed me that relationships must come first, regardless of how great your content is. They are essential to amplifying your brand's reach. Even if you don't have a large following, you can still scale your business using a relationship-based approach. I've seen George scale businesses without many followers and explode bigger brands, all through the power of relationships.

Ironically, despite living in a highly connected world, we are becoming increasingly disconnected. Therefore, it's crucial to strike a balance between providing valuable content and establishing an emotional connection with your audience. Doing so can help combat these epidemics and foster a more connected and engaged community.

By prioritizing relationships first, you differentiate yourself from the competition and encourage your audience to engage with and share your content with others. So, start focusing on building relationships, and everything else will come next. Remember, content is king, but relationships are the throne on which it sits.

2- The Psychology of Persuasion

In today's digital age, attention has become a scarce commodity. With so much information available, you only have a few seconds to capture someone's interest and keep them engaged. Unfortunately, many entrepreneurs make the mistake of trying to sell to their audience before they're ready to buy. It's like skipping all the dates and hoping for a home run; it hardly works.?

Everyone in your audience is on a journey from being completely unaware of whom you are to becoming a loyal customer. And it's your job to guide them on that journey by understanding their level of awareness and creating content that resonates with them.

To get started with the basics, I have provided an adaptation from Eugene Schwartz's model of audience awareness, which includes four stages: Totally Unaware, Symptom Aware, Problem Aware, and Action Aware.

In the first three stages, your focus should be on creating brand awareness by connecting with your audience through blog-style posts and brand story content. But you also need to educate and engage your audience by providing core lessons and anecdotes to help them make informed decisions and deliver micro-wins. This builds trust in your brand.

To achieve this, you need a content strategy that shows the correlations between symptoms and their current paradigm. You can do this through podcasts, blogs, or short videos like reels and TikToks. By doing so, you demonstrate that there is a better paradigm that could be more fulfilling for them.

If you want your content to convert, it needs to speak to your prospect's soul. Stick to this one cardinal rule: your prospect has to see themselves in your headline before they can buy from it. Make it their headline, problem, and state of mind at that moment. Otherwise, you're just going to get lost in the algorithms.

3- Storytelling Magic?

Our brains are hard-wired to crave the allure of a good story. Just look at your screen time on social media – the average person aged 18-24 spends over two hours on it! That is why understanding the science of storytelling can help you capture and keep the right kind of attention.

After seeing George Bryand explode brands, I'm convinced that storytelling is the secret to grabbing and keeping other people's attention.

Once you know the "whys" behind the "rules" of storytelling, you can intelligently bend them to your will. Take the Monomyth by Joseph Campbell, for example – it's the superhero of plot structures, with 17 parts that track a hero's journey from their call to adventure to their triumphant return.

But don't worry if the Monomyth isn't your thing. There are plenty of other storytelling models and techniques out there for you to experiment with. The key is to practice, refine, and continually improve your storytelling skills. With dedication and effort, you can become a master storyteller and take your entrepreneurship journey to new heights. So, break the rules like a pro, and tell a story that captivates your audience!

What's Next?

Learning from one of the best email marketers in the game has taught me that successful marketing requires a deep understanding of your audience, a mastery of persuasion psychology, and a keen ability to tell engaging stories. These are not just tips and tricks; they are the foundations of effective marketing.

By tailoring your email campaigns to your audience's needs and desires, addressing their pain points and aspirations, and using storytelling to keep them engaged, you can create marketing campaigns that capture and retain their attention.

Remember that effective marketing is not just about creating content but also understanding the science and art behind it. By building deeper relationships with your audience, understanding the four stages of audience awareness to guide your content creation, and using storytelling to structure your campaigns, you can create effective and enjoyable marketing for your audience.

Whether you're new to marketing or a seasoned pro, keep these principles in mind: focus on your audience, tap into the psychology of persuasion, and tell compelling stories to grab and hold their attention. Doing so lets you become a master marketer and take your business to new heights.

PS—

I will be writing weekly articles here and building my own copywriting business. If you have questions about converting your audience via email or social media, feel free to message me here, and we can chat. Otherwise, stay tuned for next week's article.