🙅Brands refuse to make their mark

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Top of the morning… Hope something good happens to you and your people today. If not, we’ll try again tomorrow.

Our Feature Story is a simple one today. Or it should be simple, anyway. But some businesses refuse to do this simple thing. I understand why for some products but content marketing should always have more branding ingredients.

After I drop that story on ya, dig on into the following sections:

• The Knowledge Base (Top U.S. magazines & growth)

• Self Help 

• Facts & Stats (what to put in emails)

• Get Hacking (be unsexy)

Now, let’s pop the top on the Feature Story.

Make Your Mark (or be unknown)

Somehow, I got roped into collecting pottery. Mostly coffee mugs, but I’m sure the boss will expand her — I mean our collection to other items. 

These pieces of pottery are cool, in all honesty. 

I have no idea how the artists make them out of what looks like mud to me. Clay or something, maybe kryptonite for all I know.

As beautiful and artistic as these pieces are, most are missing something — the maker’s mark, aka branding.

Except for one brand that does it the best, which I’ll show you in a minute.

Subtle Branding Ain’t Enough

I’d say 40% of the mugs I look at in stores and art booths don’t have any branding at all on the pottery. 

Another 50% of them have a subtle mark on the bottom. But the mark usually tells me nothing!

I see subtle things like:

• Initials

• Basic symbol

• First name

• Unreadable scribbling 

If I want to order another one from the artist or pottery business, I don’t have a way to find them.

Maybe that’s why so many starving artists are buying bread with EBT cards. Kidding. They use EBT for Mountain Dews and Swishers at shady gas stations 😎. 

Branding Isn’t a Dirty Word

I get that artists don’t want to “sell out.”

But it would be nice to sell more of their art, right? Same goes for content marketing, which I’ll get to in a second, but first, look at the photo below to see how to make your mark.

Everyone in the top half of Georgia has heard of Mark of the Potter (1,900 Google searches monthly). Most of us North Georgians have been to the shop too, I’d bet. 

Part of the reason is word of mouth and the quality of their work. But also, they put their mark on the face of the pottery! 

• They’re not “ashamed” of their brand

• They’re not fearful of “selling out”

• They’ve no mental blocks keeping them from tooting their own horn (aka selling)

Plus, this company has the perfect location that makes the visit worthwhile even if you don’t buy anything.

Let’s jump to content branding now.

Branding Your Content

Hopefully the mini-report below will give you more insights on branding your content. I just wanna point out how most content is not branded very well, if at all. 

I could do better at it myself. I’m as rushed as anyone who’s creating content. 

Yet, making time for content branding is worth it (create a system for it before starting a new project).

A good example of how and why you should add branded elements to your content? 

YouTube videos.

Watermarks may’ve “gone out of style” but I’d stick a watermark in every video I made if I were a YouTuber to let new viewers know this is MY brand. 

Especially since other Tubers are taking snippets of videos and re-using them without permission on their channel. A watermark won’t solve that problem, but at least gives your brand a chance to get noticed.

Doesn’t have to be a watermark. Could be a unique, consistent background if you record in a studio. Could be you wearing the same cap or hat or hairdo in every single video. 

To show how powerful branding is in videos, just notice the hundreds of YouTube Ads that mimic Joe Rogan’s studio look—with the burgundy curtain in background. 

That look is KNOWN. And these ads are using that branded look to give their ad authority and make it look like organic content. 

The Bottom Line on Branding

Everything your business produces gives you the chance to burn your brand into people’s minds. 

Don’t hesitate to take advantage of these opportunities. 

Even if you feel as an artist, you’re above that. Even if you feel like small branding efforts inside videos or IG photos won’t make a huge difference. 

Every branding effort matters. Now, soak up the following mini-report on branding…

Branding Notes

Strong branding increases business value by:

• Providing more industry leverage

• Creating stronger investment opportunities

• Adding monetary value to the company 

Pricing Power

High brand recognition lets businesses use value-based pricing, allowing them to command premium prices. This frees a business from some limitations of basic supply and demand principles. 

Customer Relationships

Branding creates meaningful connections with customers by:

• Emphasizing specific feelings and experiences

• Delivering consistent emotional responses

• Building long-term customer loyalty

Customer Loyalty

When customers have positive experiences with a brand, they’re more likely to:

• Become repeat customers

• Become brand advocates

• Recommend the brand to others

Simplifies Marketing

Strong brand recognition allows focused marketing efforts by:

• Reducing need to explain company identity

• Enabling more efficient product marketing

• Allowing targeted messaging to specific audience segments

Branding Recommendations 

1. Ensure consistent branding across all touchpoints

2. Create memorable brand elements that resonate with target audiences

3. Maintain brand quality standards across all products and services

4. Regularly measure brand recognition and impact (tools to help you)

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Self-Help

Two job skills they won’t tell you to work on in school.

1. Be fun

2. Be loyal

Fella named John worked for my dad for like 25 years. John was a hot mess, did lots of stupid stuff on the job, and wasn’t that great of a painter. 

But he always had a steady job with my dad because John was fun to be around and as loyal as any person I’ve met. 

BTW, those two skills will also help you fit in with families you marry into.

Facts & Stats

Bonus: The optimal word count for long-form sales letters in 2024 is _______? Answer at end of email.

Get Hacking

A specific strategy to implement today

In Monday’s Inbox Hacking, I showed off a “non-buttoned-up” direct mail ad that caught my attention and I kept it in my house because it was not buttoned-up. Physical mail pieces stay inside a prospect’s home for about 17 days on average (last study I saw).

Anyway, this direct mail piece was unattractive and kinda hard to read. 

It’s goal wasn’t to be sexy. It was to make me pause to look at the ad. I did. And held onto it. 

So that’s today’s hack. For the next 30 days, test ads, videos, and emails that are not 100% perfect. 

The main reason to try this is because your message will stand out. 

The other reason is to be authentic (aka, not perfect), which can help your brand overcome society’s lack of trust in organizations, brands, government, etc., which is at an all-time high and getting worse.

Inbox Hacking is read by high-steppin’ marketers like yourself at Gartner & Red Wing Shoes. Please share this newsletter to spread the word.

Shane McLendon, Copy Kingpin 

Bonus answer from Facts & Stats section:  2,000-2,500 words is the optimal length on long sales letters (Nielsen Norman Group 2024)