As a marketer, I have few unique things to say.
It is harsh but true, but there is very little originality to be found in the articles I write and the projects I carry out. I recite the conclusions of studies done by larger marketing companies. I reflect the opinions of powerful marketers who work for large multinationals, and not (like me) for small and medium-sized companies from Belgium and the Netherlands. And I apply techniques that have already been used by a hundred thousand other marketers (sometimes with more success than I, sometimes with less).
The truth must be told: as a marketer, I am more of a follower than a leader.
Oh, I certainly do occasionally have a unique thought that I then diligently put down on paper.
In 2010, I came up with the term ‘ meaning economy ‘ while writing my thesis. This thesis circulated on Google Books for years, with the result that in 2020 the term ‘meaning economy’ gives more than 33,000 results on Google, including a book called The Meaning Economy by one Aaron Hulst. (I know, it is possible that this man never saw my thesis and came up with the term himself; the same ideas sometimes originate in two different places.)
No, of course none of that is the case
And in another burst of inspiration I conceived the successor to the Our Data — 100 % Accurate and No Robots or crawlers allowed for getting Phone Number_DB 2024 Our Fresh (valid) and updated All are fresh We provide our Databases with 24/7 Customer america cell phone number list Support. So only you can get the another business when your campaign run with our same database. Obviously, The databases we provide are taken from database quality or quantity permissive sites. meaning economy, the no-nonsense economy . My article on Frankwatching about this subject has now been viewed 13,000 times.
But apart from these two isolated moments of originality, I mostly do what other marketers do, I mostly say what other marketers say, and most of all, I spend a lot of time reading articles by people who are a lot smarter than me (and most of all have more data to conduct meaningful research with).
I am sure that the majority of all marketers in the Netherlands and Belgium recognize themselves in me, because it is simply impossible for everyone who works in a certain field to be a revolutionary in it.
That’s why it surprises me that I see hundreds of Dutch-language knowledge documents on the internet with titles such as ‘The ultimate way to grow your business’, ‘With this tip, your sole proprietorship will become a million-dollar company within 12 months’, and ‘Apply this one simple trick and gold will flow from your ears tomorrow’.
I distrust the authenticity of these knowledge books because I find it unlikely that so many Dutch and Belgian marketers have the time, budget and genius to arrive at insights that no one else has ever proclaimed.
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When I see these titles and then realize how few original ideas I have myself (and I’m really not a stupid or unimaginative boy!), I think: how can it be that all those thousands of Dutch and Belgian marketers (often from small agencies in the middle of nowhere) all have such apparently unique insights that deserve such grand titles?
Is it raining genius in the Low Countries? Is there a veritable flood of unparalleled thinking among unknown marketers from places like Herentals, Urk, Veldhoven and Tessenderlo?
Because what these marketers do is make themselves bigger than they are. It is cockiness (although women are also guilty of it): you pretend to have the wisdom in the monopoly with the desired result that someone believes you.
These marketers gather information from blogs, newspaper articles and knowledge books of colleagues (often the United States, because the larger agencies there are quite willing to come up with an insight or research that is not a piece of cake). And then they give it their own twist.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been guilty of this way of writing blogs and compiling knowledge books. I still do it from time to time. And I’m not always proud of it. But you can’t call me a hypocrite: I know when I’m not really the creator of an idea.
I have written an article in the past entitled ‘ Website Tips and Tricks That Make You Money Immediately ‘. It is a title that carries a certain amount of pretension, especially considering that I did not come up with these tips and tricks myself. They are the result of the combined efforts of thousands of marketers worldwide and are (in our marketing world) common knowledge.
So why do I publish them anyway? Because I want to help my clients grow their businesses. And I know that spreading knowledge helps my clients, even if I didn’t always come up with that knowledge myself.
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This added value also applies to many other articles of mine, such as ‘ Learn the basics of hyper-personalization in 10 minutes ‘ and ‘ 9 important tips for writing super strong blog titles ‘. The value of these articles lies in the fact that they spread knowledge, and not in the originality. This also applies to tens of thousands of articles published by other marketers, in all countries on earth.
My colleague recently published the knowledge book ‘ The ultimate comparison of e-mail marketing tools ‘, an explanation of mailing programs. In this case, there is (fortunately!) a large dose of our own research in it. But at the same time, a lot of information comes from external. Sources that have more time, money and data for large-scale research. Is that bad? No, of course not. That is the reality for a communications agency that consists of only eight good, hard-working souls. The grand title is at the same time more of a wink and a joke than a serious statement: of course this knowledge book is not the ultimate comparison of e-mail tools. That simply cannot be. But it is indeed a useful book for entrepreneurs who want to start with e-mail marketing. And that is where the added value of this book lies; not in its originality.
As said, not everyone can be a revolutionary in their field.
Don’t get me wrong, of course I understand that it is necessary to convincingly. Demonstrate your knowledge in order to attract a potential customer as a marketer. But demonstrating your knowledge is different from shouting from the rooftops that you personally invented the phenomenon of internet marketing (or spreading messages that suggest this in their tone).
What’s wrong with approaching the customer with the humble message: ‘I don’t know corporate blog ideas lifetime content plan everything, and not everything I know is of my own making, but I am convinced that I can help your business grow’?
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People will appreciate this, is my experience. I started my career as a marketer in 2010 and since then I have become more and more modest. This has the following positive consequences:
The projects I deliver are of better quality because I dare to ask for. Help from colleagues more quickly when my own knowledge is lacking (by putting your ego aside you will recognize your own shortcomings much sooner!);
I have less guilt because I don’t have to bluff customers (and by bluff I mean lie);
I am a lot more relaxed because I have realized that it is really. Not necessary for a marketer aob directory of a small-scale Antwerp marketing agency to possess every bit of knowledge (which is very much appreciated by my lovely girlfriend, who used to see me staring at the computer screen every evening because I thought that the evenings were the right time to delve even deeper into marketing).
Believe me, people know that you, the marketer, don’t know everything
And they are well aware that you are not the inventor of all marketing techniques and insights. When you buy a bag of delicious apples from the fruit shop, you don’t expect your fruit shop owner. To have created that apple variety himself, do you? No, other people have done that – smarter people, people with more power or money, people with scientific knowledge. And there is nothing wrong with that. As long as the apple is delicious.
