As someone who is a motivational speaker on creativity and marketing, it was a high honour indeed to be called a ‘Marketing God‘ by the super talented Ryan Holiday, in this wonderful Observer article.

Ryan is the brains behind the success of many PR sensations. He was involved in promoting the ‘The 4 Hour Work Week’ by Tim Ferris. So, I was thrilled that he asked to interview me for his column. I hope you enjoy the article.

I’ve managed quite a few, press, publicity and marketing coups in my time. You can view some here.

There are some key principles I’ve learned about marketing during my career:

‘MARKETING GOD TIP’ 1 : THE IMPORTANCE OF STORY

Journalists – and actually, humans in general, love a story. There’s a strong natural temptation when you’re launching the product or service. You think that everyone (including journalists and bloggers) will love your product or service in the same way you do. But, unfortunately the world doesn’t work like that.

It’s pretty rare for a journalist or a blogger to simply write about a product or service just based on the product or service itself. Rather, what they love are the stories around the product or service. What led to the launch? What are the difficulties in bringing it to market? How long did it take? Customers think of it? These are all interesting stories around the product or service you’re promoting.

TIP2 : CALENDAR HOOKS

I also use ‘Calendar Hooks’ to increase the chance that a journalist will cover my stories. Look at your calendar and find any public holidays. Then, see if you have any anniversaries in your company. Ties these to your launch and the press will be more likely to cover them.

So, I wish you all the best.

if you’re looking for someone who’s been described as a ‘Marketing God‘, look no further!