Communication

“Money (That’s What I Want)” is a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong.

“The best thing in life is free
But you can give it to the birds an’ bees
I need some money, Need some money.
Oh yeah, what I want”

Are the best things in life free? Free in the sense that they don’t cost money?

Faith. Family. Friends.

We’re often conned into  thinking money increases those things. Not true. On the contrary, money can devalue those things that truly do matter. Then, why do we chase it so hard? Why do we concentrate so much effort in marketing our stuff, selling our stuff and thinking about marketing and selling our stuff?

Because it’s money that we want! And we’ll do whatever we must to get more of it. We don’t care what we ruin or who we ruin…as long as we get to push more of our stuff.

Marketing ruins everything. Eventually.

Pinterest launched an invitation only beta in March 2010. By the end of 2010 it was open to the public. Within 30 days ebooks and videos were released extolling the virtues of Pinterest for marketing. Today, I suspect there are millions of Pinterest boards focused solely on peddling products, services and information. That dazzling picture you click on may have nothing to do with the hyperlink.

Oh, that recipe looks delightful. Click on the picture.Bam! You’re now staring at a sales page for a fitness-based info product.

Marketers ruin everything. Eventually.

Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Pinterest. The big 4 of social media (at least at the time of this writing) are dominated by regular people, not marketers. That’s why marketers pounce on them like a Serengeti leopard on injured prey.

Famed bank robber Willie Sutton said, “Go where the money is…and go there often.”

Marketers go where the people are, go there often and they stay there, taking it over, like cousin Eddie in National Lampoon’s Vacation movies. Marketers intrude every space where people congregate. Sooner than later, they ruin it…filling it with endless disgusting sales pitches.

Marketing ruins anything with any value. It’s happened to postal mail, telephones, fax, cell phone text, email and social networks. Whatever comes next will surely experience a similar fate. All the cool ways invented to help us communicate with each other get soiled by marketing messages.

Go check your email inbox right now. Count how many messages out of 10 are from real people you really know. Let’s include the emails you get from business people you really know! Don’t count the messages in your junk or spam folder. Just check your “real” inbox. I’m betting 80-90% of it is from people you don’t really know or care about.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Writing and speaking in the active voice is more powerful than the passive voice. Big surprise, huh?

“The line drive golf ball shattered the car’s windshield.”

Or…

“The car’s windshield was shattered by the line drive golf ball.”

Yes, that first sentence conveys more power. More action.

It’s hard to break the habit of using passive voice. It’s just easier to be like that lazy ferret in the picture.

No effort.

Brevity is also hard.

George Bernard Shaw wrote, “Sorry for the letter, I didn’t have time to write a postcard.”

“I’d have written a shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.” That quote is attributed to both Blaise Pascal and Mark Twain. Whoever said it got it right.

It takes time to be brief. Being concise demands greater effort and more upfront time.

Editing is hard.

But worth it.

Active voice. Short sentences.

Combine them for a powerful two-punch communication combination.