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  • Sometimes Simple is Hard

    I recently read Chip and Dan Heath’s new book – Made To Stick and even interviewed Chip (nicest Stanford PhD I’ve ever met) for an upcoming segment of the Duct Tape Marketing podcast The subtitle of the book is “Why some ideas survive and other die”. They may be a bit dramatic for your marketing ideas and messages but I think you can apply the notions uncovered in this book to many aspects in your business, including your core marketing message.

      Their book reveals 6 attributes that the stickiest ideas seem to have.

    1. Simple
    2. Unexpected
    3. Concrete
    4. Credible
    5. Emotional
    6. Stories

    The one that resonates with the marketing me the most is simple. I think getting things simple without simply dumbing them down is an art and takes work. I’ve always loved the quote I’ve heard attributed to Mark Twain – “I would have written a shorter letter if I would have more time.” Entrepreneurs, heck business people in general, suffer from too much information and sometimes the wrong information about their products and services. This makes it hard to communicate the one thing anyone should care about, but that’s the ultimate marketing challenge.

    Get Made to Stick (it features a stunning use of Duct Tape on the cover – good year for books with Duct Tape themes I guess) and start rethinking the ideas and messages you have – think simple.

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    Posted by: John Jantsch on Jan 16, 07 | 12:12 pm
    Category: Marketing Strategy | Tags:

    Comments
    • Totally agree. The best messages are always conveyed in a simple manner, easy to understand yet profound. It also provokes emotion and gives the reader a gem to take home.

      Daniel
    • I pondered this list in terms of which of the six could least be taken OFF the list and the idea remain sticky. I would have to say "unexpected." There's nothing worse than an expected story from someone marketing something to you in my opinion.
    • John Jantsch
      Mark,

      I think you are right, though I think of it more in terms of a nice surprise.

      John
    • Simple is difficult. I think that's the reason most blogs are too darn long for their market (blog readers tend to skim). Writing short, concise posts like you do is difficult.
    • I agree - simplicity wins.
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