Maxton Gilchrist⚡️

A LinkedIn poll by Highbrook suggested that 55 per cent of content marketing people have worked on projects that involved more than 30 rounds of amends. A senior content executive says of a previous gig: “I once had the pleasure of a V21. There was a brief along the lines of needing ‘something modern, but with a classic twist’, and the feedback was to ‘make it, you know... pop’. Different people in different departments and all giving final feedback. And it was probably only for a single page.” Amends on creative work are nothing new. The King James bible was revised by 47 scholars and there exist manuscripts with amends in the margins. And this is the word of a deity. Moreover, there were still typos. One version omitted the word "not" in "Thou shalt not commit adultery", making it "Thou shalt commit adultery." Numerous rounds of feedback on less holy content can lead to unintended consequences, such as destroying the character of the piece, making it bland and uninteresting; missing deadlines; letting errors creep in; and generally sucking the life out of the project. This is not only a creative problem, but also a return on investment problem. Internally, if this many people are spending this much time making amends, they are not performing other tasks. Feedback is, of course, essential. Everything needs to be accurate; everyone needs to be happy. But 30 rounds is excessive. That means something has gone wrong. Let’s talk about ways to avoid a stakeholder version of Game of Thrones: 👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 Clear and consistent communication across the organisation (and with agencies) about the aims and desired outcomes of the project. That could (one day) include a face-to-face onboarding meeting. Meeting people helps. ⚠ A clear and simple brief, approved by all stakeholders. ✔ Prior agreement between stakeholders regarding implementation of the brief. 🦁 Permission to challenge assumptions about how the brief will be implemented. ♥ Prior agreement about tone of voice and style – preferably including a style guide. ⛔ Key stakeholders who agree to prioritise feedback and meet deadlines. ➡ Setting the expectation that stakeholders will supply clear, presecriptive and consolidated feedback. ✅ Hiring trusted creatives. 🐪 Limiting the number of stakeholders authorised to give feedback. At Highbrook, we try to get all amends done in two rounds. That’s not always possible, of course, but it concentrates the mind if a piece of writing or creative is not regarded as a perpetual work in progress.  And that’s it. Fewer amends? Amen to that. For more insights and lighter look at modern comms, sign up to our newsletter https://lnkd.in/dzerik3 #marketing #contentagency #clientfeedback #delay

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🤩 Lisa's Feedback on My Google Ads and Facebook Ads Services I'd like you to please dive into Lisa's testimonial video where she shares her experience working with me on Google Ads and Facebook Ads campaigns. Based in Australia, Lisa discusses the effectiveness of my strategies, the impact on her business growth, and how our collaboration has exceeded her expectations. Gain valuable insights from Lisa about the results achieved through our digital marketing efforts. Rahulsocialadvertising.com #ClientFeedback #TestimonialTuesday #DigitalMarketingSuccess #AdsCampaigns #BusinessGrowth #HappyClients #MarketingResults #ClientExperience #FacebookAds #GoogleAds

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Marketing often gets a bad rep... 'It's just a waste of money.' 'It's all smoke and mirrors.' 'There's no real ROI.' And I get it [I really do since I worked in many agencies prior to LeadKing Digital Pty. Ltd. who promised the world and didn't deliver on them.] But here's the thing: marketing done *right* is none of those things. It's about driving real results, connecting with your audience, and ultimately, growing your business. That's why at LeadKing Digital, we're all about treating your business like our own and becoming part of the team so we can get you the results you want. 3️⃣ things we do differently: 1️⃣ We view marketing as a holistic function and ensure that your brand, marketing, and sales strategies are seamlessly aligned. It's not just about flashy ads or catchy slogans; it's about developing a comprehensive approach that resonates with your target audience at every touchpoint. 2️⃣ Transparency and accountability aren't just fluffy words - we live and breathe them. How? We show you the dashboards, use data to make decisions, and keep you not only up to date with insights into the performance of your marketing efforts but actually work with you to make them work. You'll always know where your money is going and what results it's generating. 3️⃣ We're all about adaptability and innovation. Marketing landscapes are constantly evolving, and we're committed to staying ahead of the curve. Whether it's leveraging the latest Google Ad features or refining our strategies based on market trends, we're always striving to deliver cutting-edge solutions for our clients. Not sure if your current marketing efforts get you the results you want? Send me a DM and say hello :) #MarketingStrategy #Marketing #BusinessGrowth #DigitalMarketing

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3 Lessons From The Godfather Of Advertising Dan S Kennedy was at his ‘No-BS’ Best 👇 Last month I took the timeout of my busy schedule to cross off a bucket-list item… To meet this old cranky dude who spit absolute facts for 3 days straight. Sharing 40 years of advertising and direct response wisdom. I flew all the way to Dallas, Texas for it. At considerable cost. From a time and money perspective. And it was worth every penny. Here were my 3 biggest takeaways from the Godfather: 1/ The Majority Is Almost Always Wrong The super successful are in the top 5%. That means that 95% of the rest aren’t super successful. This is an unpopular opinion… Especially in today’s society. But it’s extremely important if you operate in the results economy. (AKA the real world) There are always going to be winners and losers. And I want to be on the winning side. So you must be willing to ignore the opinions of 95% of people out there. And block out their opinions… And instead rely on objective facts and results to make great advertising. 2/ One Is The Worst Number In Business Businesses built on ONE of anything are destined to fail… Let me explain… Most businesses that we see in our space… Are built off only one lead source. Maybe it’s referrals… Cold emails...  LinkedIn DMs... Or a veteran BDM who can’t do anything in the business except sell… But that’s all they’ve got. Just a reliance on ONE thing. And when that thing breaks. The business breaks. So you must diversify. Because diversity = stability. Once you stop relying on one… - Staff member - Supplier - Service line - Traffic source It gives you complete peace of mind. And your business is no longer built on a house of cards. This is especially true in marketing and business building. Never forget… One is the most dangerous number in business. 3/ Use Blunt Instrument Instead Of Surgical Tools I see this all the time. People running AB tests on stuff that doesn’t work. They blurt out excitedly… ‘We should test that!’ No… Not really. You can’t optimise ZERO. It’s way easier and faster to get the sledgehammer out. And change things up radically in your marketing. New Offer. New Copy. New Campaign. New Audience. New Team. These are the blunt instruments at your disposal to get where you want to go faster. If you want to make serious improvements… Get the sledgehammer out. ______ Getting out and taking some time to myself was also equally awesome. Feeling refreshed and recharged. And I’ve got a whole bunch of mental models to use to grow my business. I got 77 pages of notes from the conference… If you want me to share some more takeaways - let me know in the comments. ✌️ Matt Craike  ☝️Building world-class lead generation campaigns for businesses that want to double their sales in the next 12 month.

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The downfall of most (almost all) lead gen agencies is chasing the wrong metric. Number of calls booked. From a client perspective this does make sense from the outset. You pay your agency a fixed fee each month and they will deliver a minimum number of calls booked in the calendar. But this metric drives the wrong behaviour - and the wrong outcomes. Even with poor copy and lazy targeting, if you send enough cold emails and Linkedin messages you will eventually get some people that put their hand up and say yes to a call. But where things fall down is when that person turns up to the call, they: Aren’t the decision maker Have no idea why they’re on the call Have no idea who they’re speaking to Were never going to buy in the first place If you set your outbound agency this KPI, you’ll just end up with a calendar full of unqualified calls. The real metrics to focus on are lead quality, pipeline value generated, and revenue won. Anything else you’d add? #outbound #leadgeneration

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Directors - the way decision-makers buy products and services has shifted over the last few years. A LOT... Most of their decision-making is done BEFORE they even speak to your sales team 🕵️‍♂️To prove the point...How do YOU make high-ticket buying decisions? You go to the internet first and learn about options through Social Media, websites & videos. Right? You only speak to a salesperson once you’re reasonably sure what you want The same is true for selling your B2B services online...

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Leveraging data + localised insights should be a priority for real estate professionals looking to differentiate themselves from the competition. If you're tracking data internally, it's an opportunity to leverage those localised insights against a macro picture. Data is power. And in this instance it's also invaluable content for yourself, vendors, buyers and the media. There are more interesting stories to tell than whether listings are up (or down). #content #PR #property #data

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When money is tight, don’t ditch your influencer marketing campaign. I was recently hired by an overseas company to source two particular influencers for an Australian campaign and was paid upfront. After searching for the required criteria across my network I created a list of 15 content creators who I thought would be perfect and gave my recommendations on the top two. The company agreed and they were hired. And then they were fired. The company has said the budget has been blown so they were cancelling their influencer marketing strategy. This was a bad move for two reasons: 1. Reputation - 15 influencers were keen to follow the success of this campaign and if they bailed word would spread in influencer land - fast. 2. The success of this business relied upon customers buying through social media. Killing your influencer marketing spend is a sure fire way to dry up your revenue stream. Thankfully I was able to convince this company to continue with the campaign and surprising they found the budget very quickly. Lesson: In today’s online marketing landscape protect your influencer marketing budget as all costs.

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3 interesting stats on social media marketing (exclusive to Australia) You can utilise these stats to enhance your business's social media marketing strategy. ------ 1) 43.6% of Australians used social media to seek brand information. Notably, this figure steadily rose from 30.3% in February 2022 to 38.3% in February 2023 and is now at 43.6%. This upward trend emphasises the significance of establishing an online presence for your business with consistent posting. ------ 2) 63.3% of Australians aged 13 and above have a LinkedIn account. It has the third-highest penetration rate of all social media platforms after Facebook and YouTube. My prediction is that LinkedIn will only grow more. The only potential downside is the following: ------ 3) 59% of LinkedIn users return fewer than 3 times weekly. The implication could be that users may need to post new content several times a week to ensure that it gets in front of most users in the infrequent number of times they visit the site. ------ Follow me if you want more non-nonsense marketing stats, tips, and advice. I intend to post every day moving forward :) 

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Bit of advice for people starting agencies or with relatively young agencies. But actually anyone running an agency. Focus on implementing resourcing + timesheets. Don't just focus on timesheets. They are historic, a ballache to get people to do and need someone to look at and check to get value from. Resourcing can be somewhat controlled by one or a few people. It can help you understand the future and mostly rely on getting good information. Don't spend a lot of money on a system for timesheets, spend time and money on a solid resourcing tool or even a spreadsheet that does it. Resourcing = timesheets that havent been done yet. So if people dont do their timesheets at least you can fall back on the resourcing plan. For those of you who have worked with me. Of course I still love timesheets but resourcing is much more powerful data if you can get it right. #timesheets #finops #resourcing

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Here's my Claim to Fame.. I Founded Australia's First, & most in-depth Marketing Audit Service. Ironically, That’s not even a Joke.. I started my Marketing Firm (IDYL Marketing) with a vision to Redefine the Marketing Landscape that thousands of Aussie Businesses find themselves stumbling through every single day. With the Digital space rapidly evolving, navigating the Marketing world online can become beyond a full time job for small businesses to face. I remember a moment during the early days of Launching my Marketing firm where I was engaged in a client discover call, talking with a family operated boutique Business based in Adelaide. From a Branding sense, they had everything; the eye-catching logo, the high quality products, even the friendly customer service. But the one thing they didn't have was any clue on how to reach a Digital Audience. It was during this conversation with them where I felt their initial hesitation, that I straight out them to describe their dream outcome. This was their response.. "What we really want is to be able to follow a Roadmap designed especially for our Boutique Business that word for word details every step to take & obstacle to avoid without having to outsource our entire Marketing department for Thousands $$ each month" That was it! I had found the opportunity I was looking for! I went away and started work on designing a Business model that encapsulated every element of what was described, along with blending my own knowledge of the Auditing world into one unique service offering. "Creatives Auditing" A week later I returned to the Boutique Business. It took less than 5 minutes for them agree to go ahead with having a Creatives Audit done on their Business. I left no stone unturned; - I analysed their Organic Social Media Content performance, - I completely assessed their Website Branding & SEO, - I reviewed their Paid Ad Campaigns, comparing performance metrics amongst industry standard & local competitors, - I assessed their Conversion Funnels set in place, - I ensured Colour Schemes & Fonts matched across their entire Digital presence, - I reviewed their Copywriting language & CTA wording, - You name it, I did it! I then compiled these findings into a detailed report, addressing every Improvement Opportunities & Strategy Weaknesses. I developed a Tailored Roadmap that detailed each step the Boutique should take to turn their Digital presence into a Marketing Powerhouse. 💰Guess what.. in 60 days they Tripled their Customer Acquisition & nearly Quadrupled their Revenue for the Month. One week goes by, I Partner with a Ecommerce Brand & offered the same service.. 💰They Doubled their Revenue within 3 Months! I had found my unique service! 21 Months later, I've partnered with Apparel Brands, Personal Trainers, Fitness Centres, Cafes, Boutiques, the list goes on.. And that's how we became Aussie's most in-depth Marketing Audit Service! #CreativesAuditing #Marketing #Entrepreneur

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Had your eye on Copywriter In Your Pocket? I've got an extra bonus available only for the rest of this week. First, let me remind you that we're still in the beta phase, which means you can join now for just $100 - which is a significant saving off the full price of $250, which is how much this will be once all the modules are complete. But I've also got another bonus up my sleeve. If you sign up between now and Sunday at midnight, I'll offer you a personalised Loom video review of your sales page. Here's how it works: ✅ Join Copywriter In Your Pocket before Sunday at midnight for the beta price of $100. ✅ Use the system to write a sales page for your offer ✅ Send it through to me before the end of July, and I'll record a detailed video review, offering specific feedback and suggestions to improve your messaging I'll show you how to edit the output to make your copy more compelling, address potential objections, and strengthen your message. Link to join in the comments :)

Pet peeve post here. If you are going to run a hyper-localised paid media campaign, I implore you to make sure your creatives are actually relevant to the location. Too often I see/hear hyper-localised ads that are completely wrong for the place they are running in. It is very irritating and doesn’t paint your brand in a good light, it comes off as lazy and careless. This by the way applies to both B2B and B2C, it concerns everyone who has some sort of involvement in Paid media. I find it wonderful that most platforms now allow you to be this focused on a region and even a city, it allows you and your brand to run a campaign, promotion or event that affects only that location. It is an incredibly powerful tool in our arsenal as a marketer. But it falls on you - the marketer - to pay attention to these things. I know it can be a lot to juggle but take it slow and get it right then not. So please - 1 - Make sure that you run your campaign at the right location and focus for your desired effect. 2 - Make sure the creative you is the right one for that location - use preview tools available in most, if not all, ad platforms that have that functionality. 3 - If you are creating a lot of campaigns all for other locations with unique creatives for each - double check it before sending it live or even better ask a colleague to check it for you so you get a second pair of eyes on them. 4 - After it is live for a while check the engagement and response - mistakes can happen so if you see people reacting negatively or finding your ad irrelevant - check the creative it might have to do with that. Or check the audience it might not be right. There you go rant over - have a nice week. #paidmedia #localisationad #Growth

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Welcome....to The Tortured Copywriters Department.* Tracks include: Feast or famine You didn't read the terms of service (but you definitely clicked 'agree') 30 Day payment terms Two rounds of amends is plenty This could have been an email 'I've made a few tweaks' Please don't ask me to hop on a zoom Ghosting is not cool Thinking time is included in the quote Everything I've done is awful until you tell me it's not Typos are a sign of a creative mind Could you leave me a testimonial? (No worries if not) ----------- Hiya! I'm a #freelance conversational and creative #copywriter/copy consultant who wants to help you connect with real people and let the personality of your business bloom. That's what Blossom Tree Copy is all about. If you're looking for someone who takes LI seriously though, then, as Bob Dylan once said. it ain't me, babe. 🌸 -------- *I am so, so sorry.

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This pic's a text message from Mark, a hair colour specialist in Melbourne. Mark recently opened his own salon. You can imagine the pressure of: → Having rent to pay, → Finding your own clients → Managing overheads. He reached out because he wanted to run Instagram ads. I took a deep dive into his business. Explained to him why SEO would be more beneficial: → It belongs to him → It bears fruit sustainably in the long run → His website is an asset he can resell with the business later Mark is a reasonable person. He took one day to think about it while he reached out to 2 other agencies. The next day, we had another chat. The other 2 agencies proposed Instagram ads that implied: → Extra budget on top of agency fees to pay for ad spend → When you stop the campaigns, everything hits the bottom again He told me how much SEO was better after thinking about it. I understood it so well, in fact, that he was selling me my own service almost 😅. We went through the numbers. He could afford my service if it brought him 2 new customers per week in the long run. He took a leap of faith in trusting me. We started immediately. → I optimised his Google business profile → Found the right keywords for his website homepage → Edited metas, Google titles, main headings → Created a piece of content for him I also installed a Meta pixel for him so he can run his own retargeting ads on Facebook and Insta on a very low budget to grab low-hanging fruits and increase his ROI without having to pay an agency for it. That was a couple of weeks ago. Mark just texted me. Even though July is his quiet month, he's already got 3 new clients this week. Who said #SEO takes forever? Now the goal is to make this sustainable, but honestly, how good is that? Helping a mate build his business and find serenity with a stream of clients who come from his website and his business profile is priceless. Small wins like this one are the best. He gets to focus on what he loves instead of wearing 192 hats at the same time. And he's got fantastic reviews. He's a genius when it comes to colouring long hair. Thank you, Mark, for your trust. This is just the beginning.

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The standards in copywriting have fallen to an all-time low. This has been fuelled by several factors. First, the new breed of creative people coming into the business are not taught the fundamentals of advertising copy, let alone direct response copy. Before the big agencies were gobbled up by the big financiers, agencies like JWT and Ogilvy invested millions upon millions of dollars in training. That has now shrunk to hundreds and hundreds of dollars. Secondly, there has been a myth spread, especially by the social media platforms, that no-one reads copy anymore. Meta’s Creative Shop promotes the idea that copy in your facebook ad should be short. One sentence and no more than one paragraph. They also propound that people only have an attention span of 8 seconds, the same as a goldfish. So your videos should be under 8 seconds, too. But the evidence shows that is simply not true. We recently ran a series of ads for an EV car brand. The ads with the longest headlines and longest copy did exceptionally well. The best performing facebook ad achieved a 3.69% Click Through Rate. Many marketers have jumped on the bandwagon of short copy and 3 word headlines - and insist their ads conform to these mythical restrictions. This has led to less engaging, mediocre advertising. The stuff that consumers ignore and swipe past with the flick of a thumb. #performancemarketing #advertising #marketing #directresponse #directmarketing #data

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Influencers, if you are struggling to secure brand deals do THIS... Samuel Weidenhofer posted one piece of content just over 24 hours ago that now has 6million views. Sam is currently travelling around Australia creating content for brands, living his dream life and today also had to find time to squeeze in an interview for 7News. Sam has brands paying him money. Big money. How? Because he has made kind content the heart of everything that he creates and that's why brands want to work with him. Check out these stats: 1. Content with higher-than-average emotional responses generate 23% of sales spikes (Nielsen). 2. Four out of five (81%) emotionally connected consumers promote brands to their closest circle and spend more on the brand too (Netimperative). 3. 82% of top-performing companies are paying closer attention to the human experience online (PWC). If you want to secure brand deal after brand deal, bring kindness into your content. Want to know how? I am creating a free mini-course on how to add kindness to your content and bring in 6figures in brand deals. DM me if you would like access. Congratulations Samuel Weidenhofer. #influencer #influencermarketing #influenceragency #kindness #kindnesscontent

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Standing by the value of creative work takes guts …but it’s a turning point. Starting out in the business of ideation, we all need to build portfolio, reputation and clarity in our offering. Once you have built that confidence in your process, believing in your offering must be underpinned by believing in the value of your work.

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