Small Talk: A Blog
Small Talk: A Blog
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The Prompt That Changed My Mind (And My Marketing)
AI moves fast enough to make anyone feel like a beginner. Socrates famously put it best: “I know that I know nothing.” Just when you think you’ve mastered a tool, a new shift proves how much room there is left to grow. AI is redefining itself by the second. Over the past few months, my…
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Accountability Matters
Our garbage disposal unexpectedly died Saturday night. We noticed a burning, metallic odor when we came home from an evening of shenanigans and traced the offending scent back to the kitchen sink. After disabling the disposal at the breaker, I did what most middle-aged people do in situations like this: credit card in hand, I…
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The Pay-to-Play Trophy Trap: Why Fake Awards Are Killing Your Credibility
We’ve all gotten the emails. Or the glossy direct-mail postcards arriving with all the subtlety of a leg lamp in a crate. “Congratulations! You’ve been selected as a Top Professional!” It feels like a scene straight out of A Christmas Story. You’ve won a major award! Except there’s one tiny catch: to claim your shiny…
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Are Business Cards Really Dead, or Just Evolving?
Over the past month, I attended two trade shows of considerable size. Trade shows are always a fascinating experience for me. As a marketer, I not only get to learn from what other companies are doing, but I also get to interact with marketing managers, hear their perspectives on industry trends, and share a few…
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Why We Ditched Fancy Job Titles for Real Results
Fifteen years ago, when I left a long career in corporate America to found The Small Marketing Agency, I knew I wanted to build something fundamentally different. In the corporate world, I was constantly vexed by the traditional “I-Thou” hierarchy. I’d meet a Vice President of Marketing, a CMO, or another senior executive with an…
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The Revenge of the Writer: Why the Next Era Belongs to the Wordsmith
We’ve all watched the tectonic shifts of power over the decades. There was an era when the world was run by physical presence-the jocks, the commanders, the imposing figures who dominated through sheer weight of authority. Then came the digital revolution, and power shifted overnight. The nerds inherited the earth. Software engineers, data analysts, and…
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Habits feel safe. Habits are not strategy.
Twenty years ago, I worked for a company that had a list of five core guiding principles. If you asked me to recite all five today, I’d probably give you a blank stare. But one of them stuck. In fact, it didn’t just stick-it became a cornerstone of how I view business and leadership: “There is always a better way.” It’s easy…
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The Power of Your Brand’s Voice
When most business owners talk about “branding,” their mind immediately goes to the visual stuff: logo tweaks, hex codes, and whether that fresh shade of navy looks sufficiently trustworthy. Visuals matter, but if your brand is just a pretty shell wrapping a generic, corporate voice, you’re missing out on the single most effective business tool…
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Stop Speaking “Marketing”: Why Plain Language Wins Every Time
I have a confession to make: I know idea what a “KPI-driven, cross-platform, omni-channel ecosystem” is. I just refuse to say it. Too much of the marketing industry is built on a foundation of jargon designed to do two things: impress and confuse you. It’s meant to sound sophisticated, technical, and expensive. But all it…
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The Power of the Prompt: Why AI Needs Your Feedback to Be Useful
There is a common misconception about AI being a “set it and forget it” solution. You type in a request and your AI of choice spits out an answer. Done. If you’re treating AI like a vending machine, you’re missing the real value. Seriously. At The Small Marketing Agency, we’ve found that the best output…
Go Small, Grow Big.
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