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On May 16, 2018 By In Business Blog, Open Sky Copywriting

Distilling Experience Into Advertising for Your Small Business

As a small business owner, how do you create marketing that is potent and persuasive without breaking the bank?

From advertisements alone, your target market is exposed to thousands of messages every day. Putting a number to it is difficult. Researchers have said anywhere from 100 to 5000 ads per day. When you think about it, almost everywhere we go, physically or digitally, there is advertising.

Corporations have entire departments with seasoned professionals devoted to winning your attention. They employ research and data firms to find out as much about you as possible. Then they spend thousands, even millions on buying ad space in all the places they think you’ll be.

For this reason many small business owners back away from marketing and rely solely on referrals. But you can have potent marketing without investing all of your profit into media buying.

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On May 15, 2018 By In Book Reviews

C. S. Lewis: Living In the Collision of Myth and Reason – Part One

Part One of a Four Part Review of C.S. Lewis: A Life by Alister McGrath

Narnia was one of the only fantasy series I was allowed to read growing up. And as a kid, the BBC movies from the 80s were incredible. I saw them before reading the books. They inspired my imagination. I wanted to be Peter. There are four kids in my family, so drawing comparisons between each Pevensie child and each of us Arndt children (mostly because of our ages) was easy. (more…)

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On May 9, 2018 By In Business Blog, Open Sky Copywriting

Bill Gates’ Secret to Being Useful From 1996

In 1996 Bill Gates said that content would be the future of the internet. Nearly 20 years later, we can see that he was bang on. In fact, the internet is flooded with content: games, articles, cartoons, videos, memes, podcasts, music, streaming audio and video, and web apps.

To the annoyance of many, corporations have begun to catch on to this as well. We get bombarded with content that just doesn’t matter to us. But any smart organization knows that if they are going to provide an attractive user experience, they have to provide content that matters to the user.

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On May 6, 2018 By In Book Reviews, Business Blog

Selling In Tough Times: The Sales Book that Makes Me Want to Sell

Take market share. Serve a specific need. Work hard to beat the competition. Nurture long term relationships. Understand your business cycle. Sell yourself out of a sales slump.

I’m sold. As much as I hate being sold to, I love the idea of selling. There’s a frontier attraction to engaging people, fielding objections, turning their skepticism into enthusiasm, and striking up a win for both sides. (more…)

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On May 2, 2018 By In Open Sky Copywriting

Rhythm In Your Content Marketing Mix: Creating an Engaging Content Strategy

The traditional marketing mix follows the 4 P’s model: price, product, place, and promotion. But marketing within that model requires some finesse. Especially in your content marketing mix. So give your marketing some rhythm.

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Ready Player One Book Review - Joel Arndt

On April 29, 2018 By In Book Reviews

Ready Player One: Proof of the Power of Nostalgia

SPOILERS ALERT

Ready Player One is fun. I smiled a lot. There’s a strong nostalgic pull to it, which I think may be the leg it rests on. Because after that, it’s not really an outstanding story. If you’re looking for an easy read that gives you a safe ride down memory lane and through some genuinely enjoyable environments, then pick up a copy from the library and give it a week (if you’re the busy sort).

I won’t worry about summarizing the plot here, because you can find that in a thousand places by googling “Ready Player One.” So if you haven’t read the book yet and intend to, don’t read on. Spoilers ahead. (more…)

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On April 25, 2018 By In Business Blog, Open Sky Copywriting

Create Advertising People Want to Read; Think Like a News Editor

In advertising, relevance is king. The message of the ad has to matter to your audience. The same goes for news agencies. If the news story isn’t relevant, it won’t get ratings or readers.

How news editors pick stories for each issue will teach you a lot about how to develop your next advertising campaign.

You can make your advertising sound like “breaking news” or a big announcement, but I’m talking more about how news editors pick stories that their audience wants to read or see.

How do you craft advertising that your audience wants to see?

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The Three Body Problem Book Review - Joel Arndt

On April 22, 2018 By In Book Reviews

The Three Body Problem: Grand Sci-Fi. Intimate Story.

It’s violent, but not vulgar. It uses hard science and hard emotions. The Three Body Problem is a grand scifi that plunges into granular detail. Its range of scope is astounding when you look back at it. From the Cosmos, to the subatomic. From individuals to whole societies, cultures and civilizations. How Cixin Liu ushered the plot along with very little friction is worth more in-depth study. But for now, I want to gush on what hard working fun this story was. (more…)

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On April 13, 2018 By In Book Reviews

BOOK REVIEW: Kenobi

Star Wars is one of my favorite stories, from Episode 1 to Episode 8. The saga is only as good as it’s characters. Kenobi gives us a look at one of the coolest characters in the whole series, Obi Wan Kenobi.

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Small Business Marketing - The Coffee Shop Principle - Joel Arndt

On April 10, 2018 By In Business Blog, Open Sky Copywriting

Small Business Marketing – The Coffee Shop Principle

Whether you like it or not, you don’t have a business without the right attention.

Small business marketing fails when trying to grab everyone’s attention all at once. It’s like being in a coffee shop, shouting at everyone to buy your product. It can work if someone there is desperate for what you’re offering. But mostly you’re going to piss people off.

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