Keep it Simple: It’ll Still Be Delicious

Marketing, , ,

Does complexity bug you?

It bugs me too.

Why does business have to be so complex? Some of us try to sell complex products that customers don’t want. Or at least they don’t want the complexity. We use bloated marketing language to convince them to buy. We use management speak, jargon and gobbledegook.

Sometimes the complexity creeps up on us. We add stuff to our products to keep pace with our competitors. Then they add more stuff. And then guess what? We’re stuck in a spiral of complexity and no one benefits.


I’m on holiday in Barcelona. Taking a short break. The dish you see in the picture is a plate of Iberian cured ham, truffle oil with garlic and tomato bread.

That’s it.

  • Iberian ham.
  • Truffle oil.
  • Garlic bread.

And it’s one of the most delicious meals I’ve had in ages. Maybe years.

So good I went back to the same restaurant two evenings in a row and had the same dish again.

Some chefs may have chosen to add complexity to the dish. Some chips perhaps? Peppers lightly fried? Corn salsa? A sauce?

Anything added would have taken away rom the awesome simplicity though. It was tasty. Yummy. Delicious as it was.

Keep your products simple. Keep your language simple. Avoid bloat.

It’ll still be delicious.

And your customers will come back for more.

Now it’s your turn:

If you need help with your marketing get in touch. Perhaps I could talk you through my 7 steps to simpler business copy. Or help you work out a simple marketing strategy.

Just Answer: How to come up with shed loads of ideas for Blogs, Videos and other Content.

Marketing

You write articles for your business. You might make videos or podcasts.

Do you ever find the ideas drying up?

Maybe because you’re busy. Or you have other things on your mind.

Sometimes it’s because we fall victim to the Curse of Knowledge.

What’s that?

We assume our customers know as much as we do. That they know our jargon and terminology. Or at least they know the basics. So we avoid answering what to us are the bleeding obvious questions.

And yet answering those questions lets you create great content.

Check out this session with me, Pascal Fintoni and Leon Howe talking about coming up with shed loads of content ideas. It’s all about back to basics. Brevity and simplicity.

Just answer!

We chat about:

  • Overcoming the Curse of Knowledge.
  • Creating content for your customers and not for you.
  • Finding a unique blogging voice. Or video voice.
  • Using tried and tested structures like, “Problem. Agitate. Solution”.
  • Other tricks and apps you can use to pile up ideas.

I really enjoyed appearing on Pascal’s show – The Content Marketing Studio – you can click here to visit his site.

Now it’s your turn:

What are your tips for coming up with content ideas? Please share them here or on social media.

Ian Fraser on Writing about RBS the Bank that Broke Britain – MPAF94

MPAF Podcast, , , , , ,

The financial crisis of 2008 rocked the world.

Institutions collapsed. Economies tottered on the brink. In the UK the Royal Bank of Scotland fell. The Government had to step in and bail the bank out.

My guest today wrote a book called Shredded about the bank’s failure. Although triggered by the September 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, it was largely the consequence of its pursuit of scale for its own sake.

Listen to Ian’s story of how he came to write the book. He describes how RBS became a rogue institution with few qualms about “misselling” financial products pursuit of profit, a cavalier disregard for the law and a warped idea of its own financial skills and strength.

Hear about the lessons the whole financial services industry can learn from the Bank that broke Britain.

That’s all right here in episode 94 of the Marketing Protection and Finance Podcast.

RBS the Bank that Broke Britain

Who is Ian Fraser?

Ian is a journalist and broadcaster specialising in corporate finance, financial services and economic analysis.

A contributor to the FT, Sunday Times, Sunday Herald and many other titles, Ian wrote the definitive account of the rise and fall of The Royal Bank of Scotland in his book Shredded: Inside RBS the Bank that Broke Britain.

Links:

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