Why I Write

I get a fair amount of feedback on what I write, whether it is in #WashingtonTechnology, #GovConWire, #LinkedIn, #BloombergIndustry or my books.

Frequently people will ask how I put out so much stuff, and recently people have asked if I use #ChatGPT.

The answer to the first part is, I write because I am compelled. I started writing stories when I was quite young, wrote for the college newspaper (opinion with attitude- what a surprise), and have been writing in one form or another for decades.

When I got into the government contracting arena, there was lots of stuff I wanted to write about, but it wasn’t until I started my business that these thoughts started to become action. I penned a few articles for business trade publications in the 1980s, started my own newsletter around 1991, kept submitting articles to business trade publications, and finally started writing for GovCon trades.

My public seminars led to my first book (Government Marketing Best Practices, 2005), the first of nine books. There are more coming…

When I see something cool, I want to write about it. When I have thoughts on GovCon marketing or some other aspect of our market, I write about it. I write nearly every day and I keep and refine the good stuff. And I have several people who will review prior to publication to verify that it is good and offer valuable insights to improve the article.

In the fall of 2021, my friend and BD guru Mike Lisagor called and asked if we could do a book together. I told him I already had a few projects in the works. He replied that all I had to do was select 25 of my favorite evergreen articles and he would do the same, and we’d publish on Amazon Kindle- no new writing necessary. We have known each other primarily through our articles for thirty years, reading and commenting on the others’ work.

How to Win in the Government Market came out in January of 2022.

When my mentees pushed me to update Government Marketing Best Practices, I agreed IF several of them would do chapters for me. So between my mentees, the Ideation group (part of Government Marketing University ) and my personal network, I have 11 co-authors, including 6 mentees, for Government Marketing Best Practices 2.0.

Some weeks I will write 1 or more articles, other weeks, just posts. I try to get Nick Wakeman (WashTech) an article every month.

The second question is do I use ChatGPT or other AI tools? The short, abrupt answer is no.

I tried once, asking ChapGPT to give me an overview of thought leadership. My first article on LinkedIn 9 years ago was on thought leadership, and I was writing about it before and since.

ChatGPT gave me a synopsis of thought leadership that included direct quotes from my own work, without acknowledging the source.

My friend Larysa Nica and I were talking and she was asking about my writing because it has helped educate her on certain aspects of the government market. She asked if I ever used ChatGPT or AI. I explained what I just said above, and I added that I have a certain edge, attitude, that often comes through when I write.

Her response? “Mark, you are your own ChatGPT!” And we both laughed.

But WHY I write is a little more complex.

When I started writing for GovCon no one else was writing about marketing to the government. Searching Amazon back when my first book came out, the only book I saw on government contracting was Carl Peckinpaugh’s Government Contracting for Services, published January 1, 1997. Funny because I know Carl and we did some things together in the early days of ACT/IAC.

But why do I write? I write to share my thoughts, but more importantly to spark conversations and get feedback.

Without feedback I am not sure if I am on or off target, if I am being insightful or stating the obvious, or if my writing just goes unnoticed.

I thrive on feedback both when I write and when I speak, and it makes me strive to add value to our market and to grow.

This is also why I encourage other people to write, to overcome their fear of putting their opinions out there and being judged. I push those I mentor, 11 very bright women, to share their thoughts because they are smarter than me. The goal is market discourse, exchange of ideas, to get people to learn something new or consider a new idea. When we all do that, the industry continues to grow and get better.

So if I may ask a favor….some feedback please!

Not that I have an opinion…

Wanna talk? Get on my calendar: https://calendly.com/markamtower?

Co-authors for Government Marketing Best Practice 2.0- please comment on why you write!

Sheri Ascencio, MBA Chelsea Meggitt Joyce Bosc Carl Dickson Stephanie Geiger Katie Helwig Larry Letow Christopher Parente Stacey Piper Eileen Rivera, MBA Janet Waring