In workshops I often challenge digital sellers to distill their ideas, selling points and customer challenges into as few words as possible. In one very trying exercise, the goal is to boil down your sales e-mail to 140 characters. It's amazing how powerful and incisive written words can be when they're carefully rationed.
These exercises inevitably make me think of the "Six Word Stories" website, a concept so clean and simple it needs no explanation. Submissions range from tragic ("Man cries holding his dog's leash") to streetwise ("Tanline on his ring finger? Goodbye!") to whimsical ("Apathetic prophet makes a pathetic profit".)
This week's Drift is proudly underwritten by NextMark, which helps you boost your direct ad sales by giving you a steady flow of qualified, actionable sales leads without the hassle of RFPs! To learn more, visit www.NextMark.com/compass.
Since I normally enjoy a generous word count every week (the average Drift comes in around 500 words), I thought I'd challenge myself to write a series of "Six-Word Business Stories" about familiar themes in our industry. Enjoy, and please share your own in the comments section.
Programmatic Buying: Hysteria about RTB. Now look deeper.
Native Advertising: Fluoride in Digital Water Supply. Drink!
Clickthrough: Freddy Krueger in our accountability nightmare
Mobile: Your mobile strategy? You're asking NOW?
Viewability: Can't ignore what you can't see.
Google: George Orwell spinning in his grave.
The Conference Circuit: 15 minute celebrity, 300 times annually.
Trading Desks: Exhausted Wizard behind curtain. Don't look!
Banner Ads: Distribution system. Just needs some imagination.
Integrated Marketing: It happens. For better, or worse.
Digital Sales: After gold rush.... learning to dig.
Social Media: Human Growth Hormone for Worthy Campaigns.
The Drift: Back to 500 words next week!
Do you lead a digital sales organization? Want to compare notes and ideas with your peers in a structured, collegial environment? Save a seat at the Upstream Seller Forum on Thursday June 27th in New York. Networking dinner on Wednesday June 26th is included. For more information call Tamara Clarke at 802.985.2500 or visit www.thesellerforum.com.
