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All Posts By

Scott McKelvey

Apr 01
How You Know It’s Time To Find A Different Copywriter

How You Know It’s Time To Find A Different Copywriter

By Writing & Content Marketing

Flaky. Unreliable. Arrogant. Incompetent. Long-winded. Unresponsive. Disheveled. These are just a few words I’ve heard people use to describe copywriters who didn’t live up to expectations. To be fair, most of these words could be used to describe any number of service providers who don’t cut the mustard, but especially creative professionals. Here are some real red flags that you should be able to spot early in the process of choosing a copywriter. If you notice these red flags, do yourself a favor and choose someone else. The aggravation – and the content – likely won’t be worth it.

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Mar 05
Fear-Based Marketing: Effective or Evil?

Fear-Based Marketing: Effective or Evil?

By Marketing Insights & Strategy

Fear is one of our most primal emotions, instilled from infancy. When my dad said I better stop crying or he’d give me something to cry about, do you know what I did? I shut the hell up. Yes, our natural instinct to avoid danger or harm is a powerful motivator and influencer of behavior. Always has been, always will be. Not surprisingly, marketers caught on to this fact decades ago, whether they were selling financial services or personal hygiene products. And while many marketers took a respectable approach, others went straight for the gutter.

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Feb 05
Why Storytelling Done Right Will Captivate Your Audience

Why Storytelling Done Right Will Captivate Your Audience

By Writing & Content Marketing

It’s no secret that the art of storytelling is becoming a more and more popular approach to marketing. Organizations are finally moving away from hard selling in favor of compelling stories that draw people in by making an emotional connection. But why? Aside from a universal numbness to soulless, self-serving sales messages, we’re living in an age in which content sharing drives business success, from SEO to relationship building. Here are some reasons why storytelling matters.

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Jan 08
Is Van Damme’s Volvo Video Worthy Of The Hype?

Is Van Damme’s Volvo Video Worthy Of The Hype?

By In The News

I’ve seen a lot of praise heaped upon the Volvo Trucks video featuring the “Epic Split” by Jean Claude Van Damme. But does award-winning creativity mean bottom-line success? As of this writing, the video has been viewed more than 64 million times. But how does that translate to sales? Here are some thoughts on attention vs. conversions. I’d love your opinion, too!

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Nov 06
Hitting 'Em Where It Hurts: The Power Of Pain Point Marketing

Hitting ‘Em Where It Hurts: The Power Of Pain Point Marketing

By Marketing Insights & Strategy

Pain sucks. Yes, pain can make us stronger, it’s a necessary part of life, yada yada yada. But let’s be honest. Nobody likes pain, whether it’s emotional, physical or mental.
It’s in our nature as human beings to avoid pain and seek pleasure whenever possible. Not every instance of pain revolves around a life and death situation. One person who’s headed for a messy divorce could be stressed about finding an attorney. Another person could just be annoyed about not being able to find good sushi. Find out how you can capitalize on this powerful motivator

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Oct 23
7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hit Publish

7 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hit Publish

By Writing & Content Marketing

When you’re ready to publish your latest stroke of brilliance, it’s common to have an itchy trigger finger. Never before has the wit and wisdom flowed so effortlessly and elegantly from your brain to the screen. But will your audience feel the same way? Here are some important questions that you should ask every time you’re ready to publish content, so that it will reflect well on your company and bring business your way instead of sending customers off.

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Oct 07
The Single Biggest Blunder A Business Can Make

The Single Biggest Blunder A Business Can Make

By True Stories

Let me start by sharing the shortest story ever. I once went to KFC and was told they were out of chicken. I was pissed. The end. The moral of the story? KFC committed the single biggest blunder a business can make. KFC may have the luxury of repenting, but do you? Read more to find out about their mistake and how you can avoid it.

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Sep 16
Tear Up The Death Certificates: These 4 Marketing Platforms Are Alive

Tear Up The Death Certificates: These 4 Marketing Platforms Are Alive

By Marketing Insights & Strategy

Headlines that channel the grim reaper are usually lame, overly dramatic gimmicks designed to get more clicks. Readers who fall for these headlines learn that something isn’t actually dead. The world of marketing is not immune to these types of articles. In fact, they’re painfully popular. Here are a couple of things that have occasionally (or often) been pronounced dead but that are still quite alive and even vital to a good marketing plan.

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Sep 04
7 Ways Content Marketing Can Help You Close Sales Faster

7 Ways Content Marketing Can Help You Close Sales Faster

By Writing & Content Marketing

I recently got involved in a Linkedin group discussion about an article that equated content marketing to giving away free stuff. It claimed that a large segment of the population doesn’t place much value on this type of content – blogs, articles, white papers, e-books, etc. If you want to get the order, the article claimed, you need to do some human selling. What really bugged me – and disturbed me, quite frankly – is the perceived disconnect between content marketing and the sales process. Here’s why content marketing is so important.

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