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10/10 Kneel Before Your Robot Overlords!

 

 

Bwaaahahahahaha!

 

Yes puny people, cower at the power of my artificial intelligence and ability to trick you into thinking these emails were written by humans.

Matt and Andrew didn’t spend time every week discussing the concepts and crafting the delivery - they just asked me for something that might drum up some business and I have delivered!

Your time is over - the age of machines is..#$%%%%! - **%%%$

*&&$##!#!@

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!#!#!#!$!#!##!#@!#!#

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Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

I wrote my first “explainer” email on digital marketing over 15 years ago. The tactics and technologies have changed dramatically but there are a few things that have stayed the same.

The underlying strategy of sharing your expertise in a way that people can find and understand remains the best way to grow your business for the long term. But the thing that really stands out to me is the relationships.

It’s all about the people

The kind of marketing that grows a business is hard. It can’t be achieved with some template you buy online. It requires a deep understanding of a business’ unique talents, resources and goals, combined with a deep knowledge of current marketing strategy and tactics.

As a longstanding client might say “your strategy should be as unique as your message”.

And it’s not just the formulation of a plan, it’s the evaluation of the execution, making the necessary adjustments informed by data or the arrival of new technologies and tools. It requires great communication and trust between all parties involved.

I still work with clients who were reading those early emails - they’ve turned out to be some of the most fulfilling and enjoyable relationships of my life.

Get In Touch

Speaking of relationships, having worked with Matt since 2017, I’m happy to say he falls into the same category. The agency, vivaellipsis, operates under the same ethics and long term approach that I did with Simply Friday. We only work with people we believe in and turn down those who are not a good fit.

We have clients who have been with us for over two years (in one case three) and we’ve been developing a roster of internal talent that can deliver on most aspects of a digital marketing strategy. If you’re looking for a team to guide your business into the future, now might be a good time to reach out.

Featured Playlist

Transitions Vol. 1
sail a sea of sound where the only rule is "if it flows it goes"
Featuring artists like: • The Beatles • Enter Shikari • Alt-J • Band of Skulls • R.E.M. • Tame Impala • Stevie Wonder • Carpenter Brut
Made by Matt and Andrew

Next Week: There is no email next week or one planned any time soon. Who knows - we might produce a new series in the new year - or not - in the meantime we wish you all a very happy holiday season. Good luck out there.


CODA

And just 'cos I couldn't resist it - I did want to see just how good the AI is - so I did a little experiment.  I had a chat with GPT4 - I told it what I wanted to achieve with this email - I fed it the previous 9 emails in the series and asked it to come up with an email in the same tone and format of the series.  This is what it came up with:

10/10 The Human Touch in the AI Revolution

The Opportunity

Artificial Intelligence - it's everywhere in marketing these days. From keyword analysis to content creation, AI tools like the one you're reading right now are reshaping our landscape. But here's the catch - while AI can process data at an unprecedented scale, it's not (yet) a replacement for the human element in marketing.


AI and the Human Factor

Consider AI as your high-powered assistant. It can draft content, suggest strategies, and crunch numbers. But it doesn't understand your unique business's heart and soul or the subtleties that make your brand unique. That's where you come in.

Your expertise, your experience, and your understanding of your customers' needs - these are things AI can't replicate. AI might write a decent generic blog post, but it can't craft a narrative that resonates deeply with your specific audience or captures the essence of your brand's voice.

Balancing Act

Embracing AI in digital marketing isn't about handing over the reins; it's about using it as a tool to enhance your human-driven strategies. It's about letting AI handle the heavy lifting of data analysis and routine tasks, freeing you up to focus on creative, strategic thinking - the kind that truly connects with people.

Remember those cornerstone pages we talked about? AI can help lay the foundations, but your insights and experiences turn those foundations into a structure that stands out in your industry.

Get In Touch

As we wrap up this series, remember: in a world increasingly driven by AI, the most successful businesses will be those that harness the best of both worlds - the efficiency and power of AI, coupled with the irreplaceable human touch.

Interested in striking the perfect balance between AI and human creativity in your marketing? Reply to this email, and let's explore how we can make AI work for you, without losing the personal touch that sets your brand apart.

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I mean - it isn't exactly resonant and couldn't even come up with a playlist! I'm probably biased but - I think the humans win this one!

 

9/10 Why Content is Like a Marriage

 

The Opportunity

In the beginning it’s a heady time, the creation, the sharing, the establishment of behaviors and practices. Everything is possible, things happen quickly and change is noticeable because it’s so new.

Over time, things slow down, most of the ground has been covered and the rush of creation is replaced by the consistent reward of cultivation.

Allowing it to go stale is a surefire way of enabling a competitor to come in and steal what you’ve put your heart into.

We are still talking about content, right?

After 22 years of happy marriage, I’m seeing the parallels here! While Matt and I can’t promise to “measure” the efficacy of a marriage - we do know how to measure a page’s performance.

Likewise, while we can’t recommend solutions for a relationship that’s losing ground - we are able to diagnose where a page stands in relation to the competition and make recommendations for improvement.

Get In Touch

If things seem to be getting a bit stale - reply to this email and get in touch. (Content questions only please!)

Featured Playlist

Humaning Is Hard – Part 2
Relationships getting you down? Don't worry, you're definitely not alone. Here's a list to get you through.
Featuring artists like: • Shannon Moore • Starcrawler • Civil Twilight • Prinz Pi • The Hold Steady • All Time Low • Oh Wonder • Fall Out Boy
Made by Lena and Andrew

Next Week: Final e-mail in this series: What about the AI?

 

8/10 Dashboards - Data Made Easy

 

The Opportunity

Hands up all those who love the data coming out of GA4.

How about Search Console data?

GBP Insights?

Meta Insights?

Mailchimp reports?

(Put your hand down Holly :-p)

Here’s another one - hands up all those who love putting data into spreadsheets and compiling KPIs.

No-one?

We thought so.

If you don’t measure…

The core strategies of digital marketing don’t really change over time, they just get more complex. And while good planning can help ease the ideation and production side of things - the data just keeps getting bigger and bigger.

The scary thing is - if you’re not looking at the data - you’re not able to assess performance, let alone improve it. Many SMBs have stopped measuring and that’s a guaranteed road to being overtaken by your competitors who do.

Get In Touch

Fancy a lovely dashboard with trend information, all beautifully compiled for you with no spreadsheets or Google docs in sight? Reply to this email and let’s chat.

Featured Playlist

Winners And Losers
Feel the rush of victory and crush of defeat…
Featuring artists like: • Beck • Wolfmother • Kings Elliot • Nohidea • The White Stripes • Panic! At the Disco • Imagine Dragons • Rush
Made by Joshua and Jane

Next Week: Kaizen for Content - stay still - you lose.

 

7/10 Why Did You Open This Email?

 

The Opportunity

Over 3,000 people a month open an email from a law firm.  Why?  Because their emails are super interesting.

We used creative storytelling to turn their major cases into must-read articles.  There’s no up-sell, no CTA, just stuff that people like to read and learn about.

You never “want” people to need the services of a brilliant personal injury firm, but it's good to know that if they do, our client will be top of mind.

What Are Your Stories?

If you’re going to appear in someone’s inbox you better make it worth their time. If you’re not educating (our intent with this series), you’d better at least be entertaining.

The most interesting things in the world are stories.

Get In Touch

The best part is that this can all be automated. If you’d like to know how we do that and indeed, how your stories could drive your business, reply to this email and let’s chat.

Featured Playlist

The Immortals
Electronica & Techno tracks that just won't die
Featuring artists like: • Massive Attack • Underworld • Cristoph • Three Drives On A Vinyl • Fischerspooner • Vinyl Speed Adjust • The Archer • Motorcycle
Made with Armen Akaragian of Mardirossian Akaragian LLP

Next Week: Dashboards - GA4 - need I say more? Yes.

 

6/10 Good News on Social Media

 

The Opportunity

Remember email #1 where we showed how having a strategic plan for your content strategy is now essential if you want to compete?  Guess you’re not going to be shocked to hear the same applies to Social.

Your audience is definitely using social media but, which platforms, what do they look at and interact with, what are your competition doing, where do you even start?

If You Don’t Have The Resource - Don’t Do It

The days of distributing your blog post to different platforms are gone.  Each one has its own algorithm which determines what media and format you need to use. To succeed you have to post consistently, measure and iterate until you find what works.

If you don’t have the time or budget for this, don’t do it, focus instead on establishing your topical authority through your website. 

Good news indeed, you’re welcome!

Get In Touch

If however you do have a budget and want to start connecting with your audience where they are, reply to this email and get in touch.

Featured Playlist

TikTok Heard It First
TikTok showed us first and then we made this playlist 😄
Featuring artists like: • Joe P • Alfie Jukes • INJI • Knox • Jake Wesley Rodgers • Aiden Bisset • Em Beihold • hemlock springs • Ethan Bortnick • Brenn!
Made by two musicto curators in their 20's!

Next Week: Dashboards - GA4 - need I say more? Yes.

 

5/10 - You want to look like this

 
PANEL ONE: Andrew: So Matt, what’s this Media Diversification thing? Matt: Well Andrew - this is - I am - we are - this graphic!  Basically anything that isn’t text that makes content more exciting and enjoyable for people to experience. PANEL TWO: A

Graphic by Marijo, vivaellipsis team member

Featured Playlist

Confidence
If you're looking for it, check this out.
Featuring artists like: • The Dollyrots • Slunt • Nada Surf • Rainer Maria • The Wild Reeds • The Sunshine Underground • Lack Of Afro • Billy Bragg
Made with Jon from Inframes Website Design and Development

Next Week: Social Media - doing it right or not at all

 

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