Creating Content That Sells with Simon Lamey (010)

About this Episode

Experience what it feels like working with big and small brands with Simon Lamey. He tells us about how it is important to work with people who have the same passion as you and how to do proper content marketing with what he calls the "Emotional Acupuncture". Building and creating a business is not a walk in the park, and having a mentor who will guide you in your journey is not an expense, but an investment.

"Content Marketing isn't just about "being present", but it is the ability to establish a genuine connection with your target audience, maintaining a good relationship with them and nurturing it in the right way. Simon Lamey has proven ways on how to do it with passion so your customers can eventually turn into your "Brand Evangelists"."

Show Highlights

6: 49 - Ari: Can you tell us a little bit more about what you do, please?

7:07 - Simon: At the moment I sell marketing advice, one-to-one consultancy typically through agencies to their bigger clients, but I also sell my time via online communities.

8:12 - Ari: I saw when you were up and coming you were just getting into the business you started out by working for Saatchi & Saatchi a that I pronounce that right? Anyways, you're working for this big advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi and you started off doing Adverts for cement.

8:32 - Simon: Yeah, that was my first account, I wasn't even the guy who could do the Creative. I was the guy who was the project managing it they call it account manager. It was even duller than that.

9:40 - Ari: What are some of the bigger brands that you've worked with?

9:46 - Simon: Coca Cola, Honda, Social media with Coca Cola . I've worked with so many. The reason I'm pausing is because that I think I've worked for 220 brands....

10:31 - Simon: It's just incredibly Cutthroat. So it was a big reason why I went to well the big reason it was another factor that why I went to work for myself because I think I lost the sense of meaning if you like the feeling of meeting going to work for people and working for bigger companies who can do stuff to people's lives.

12:58 - Ari: I wanted to know what lessons have your learned from working with these huge brands?

13:04 - Simon: I guess one is how disloyal people are and you can't force people to be more loyal than they are. There's a phrase which is called polygamous loyalty.

15:48: - Simon: Pretty much every other business I know wants to grow quickly. They're not happy with it. They haven't found their limit of what they can handle if you don't reach new customers , you just try and reward people who are existing customers only, you know, you can't always get them to buy more.

16:26 - Ari: Before you would said that a lot of people are unable to get people to be loyal but I had this like thought when you said that I was like, but with the right, I don't even want to know if it was a brand here, but with the right outlook and the right attitude, I feel like you could technically Inspire loyalty.

17:15 - Ari: There's an old story here on this side of the pond. I don't even know if it's true, but it doesn't have to be true with the feelings that it evokes. You know, there's an old story that there was a Nordstrom's that opened up in a like a mall and a lady walked in and she was like I want to return this tire and the guys like....

18:27 - Ari: The healthiest breakfast on the planet. Can you tell us about this?

18:36 - Simon: Of course, I highly recommend it. So every morning, I have this breakfast that was inspired by a fitness instructor.... He's got a guy called Mike Dolce..
He's amazing guy and he lives in California and he trains MMA fighters. And this is the breakfast he gives them but it's I've adapted over the years but it is phenomenally healthy and I claim it's the healthiest.

20:26 - Ari: The project that you're currently working on, you call it the Brainwheel. Can you describe what the Brainwheel means and can you just tell us a little bit more about this initiative that you're working on?

20:35 - Simon: Yeah, of course, of course a the brain will is it all originates from and I was talking to a guy called Michael Shawn who he said he had a problem with about why it's about why but why is it that the customers go to the competition even though he's got a much better product or service.

25:58 - Ari: Can you describe how to do content marketing that gets clicked in not ignored?

26:02 - Simon: That's exactly the emotional acupuncture that's how to do it so, this is a that's a great question. So this was the presentation actually I did a few weeks ago as well. So in order to do that, it comes down to having the right message. I think the easiest way to think of it is the Facebook ad. I know Facebook isn't is so pure content ideally it should be organic but the principles are always the same..You have to connect with your audience straight away.

26:35 - Ari: Absolutely. Yeah, really important. It's really what I talk about with people as well, I'm talking about my own marking my own bringing the more that I can essentially make myself into almost an IBM type choice that are off I can be that's just going back to that old saying nobody ever gets fired for hiring IBM.

31:35 - Simon: It's not got a good track record. So it's like the same with content if you want some contents really travel far, find a horse that's proven, you know people like it.

31:50 - Ari: What are some of the reasons that the competition will get the customers even though the other companies are making the better product?

32:06 - Simon: Yeah, One of them is size and it's very difficult if you're small because there's something called the double jeopardy law which means the...

32:38 - Simon: So they studied data from hundreds of years. It was hundreds of brands in different countries. Well, it is quoted as a law and but there are ways to work around that.

35:32 - Simon: I always say you gotta start with anger and rage.... I think you do have to start and creating Superior product with rage. Rage is where you start.

35:50 - Ari: I think that maybe sometimes there are others, you know passion love inspiration. Rage can save a life. Hey, I recently did an interview with somebody who used rage literally to save his own life

38:18 - Ari: A lot of companies are shifting to almost all digital marketing. Is it best to do that?

38:31 - Simon - It depends on your size first of all. I think if you are a small starter, I think you have to start offline.

40:00 - Ari: You've mentioned a number of times these Marketing Science Institutes, what are we learning from these new wave of evidence-based marketing science that's changing really the fundamentals of how we would market a business?

40:17 - Simon: There's so many interest , sort of many revolutionary things that are comin out that the bigger brands are getting access to...

40:55 - Ari: IPA's one of the bigget institutes that's coming out with this information?

41:59 - Ari : "I'm not one of those marketers who promise you gold mansions and black panthers. So I am just wondering what's the dream with gold mansions and black panthers?

42:08 - Simon: You see those cheesy clickfunnel things saying I will teach you something that will make you rich....

45:58 - Ari: Did you have any moments of like a huge failure in your life, Can you think of anything else that you are willing to share?

46:17 - Simon: One was about 4 years ago where I set up a business called The Green Fastlane and I want people to go Green. The problem is that it is a really good idea but it wasn't a business idea.

48:13 - Ari: Once you realize that this was not going anywhere. What did you do specifically to overcome it to get past it?

48:22 - Simon: I tried another wacky idea which was to try to make vegan protein shakes.

49:15 - Ari: How did you begin to move mentally away from this mental mode of failure?

49:30 - Simon: Yeah it is. I mean you need a great teacher however successful or unsuccessful. You need a great teacher. That was my first fantastic step.

55:32 - Ari: What would you say is your most successful moment today or one of the most successful moment?

59:18 - Ari: What one concrete piece of advice that people can put into play now to help them move in their Way To Greatness?

59:24 - Simon: Don't look at the competition, Keep your eyes focused. Keep focused where you are.

Originally recorded 3/18/2019