MAY 2026

Hey friend,

When there's so much information, news and content at our fingertips, is it any wonder that our attention is so sparse?

It's not that we have less of an attention span, it's that we know there is much to get through. Our first decision is whether to spend our time looking further than the first few seconds of the video, past the subject line (thanks for opening this email) or to read more than the first couple of lines.

I love a long, convoluted story, a proper tale, but we know that a slow start is a problem today.

When you look at this, it's not a surprise that clickbait does so well. As a business, clickbait can result in negative sentiment towards you, but let's find a better way, namely surprise and intrigue.

Charlie has written about an ad on the London Underground that got his attention by surprising him. A little bit of intrigue in a subject line may well result in more opens. It means we have to think about how a member of our audience is likely to react and create something that contributes towards that action before considering the ultimate call to action in the content itself.

When customers use a search engine today, they are often presented with an answer. If they believe that answer, they are possibly going to accept it without any further investigation, without looking at the citation and the source - your website. Resulting in not visiting your website.

Perhaps, if the answer that is provided by the search engine (or AI) is unexpected, the visitor is more likely to investigate the source and click the link to your website.

Does that mean we should be putting outrageous claims on our website or writing about weird stuff that is nothing to do with who we are? No, but it does mean we all have to be more creative in what we write and how we write it. Boring and same is not an option.

Impact has to be made first (nothing new here) and in the most unlikely places. It's time to think about how you can bring in other channels into your marketing mix that perhaps you have neglected, or maybe even never considered. Is it time for the billboard ad? Advertise on radio/TV? Become a commentator on the radio - you might be surprised at how easy this is.

I don't want to use the phrase 'think outside the box', but maybe you need to appear outside the box that your audience has put you in so that they go 'Huh?' and pay attention to the message you then give.

Need help with coming up ideas? Music to my ears! Reply to me directly, I'd love to talk ideas.

Good health and best wishes,

Paul

Paul Ince

CEO

LikeMind Media

TEAM SPOTS

Members of the team share things they've seen that you may find interesting and helpful.

You told us you like being signposted to interesting things, not necessarily just our stuff. We like to be helpful so here you go!

FROM CHARLIE

How do you cut through the noise?

With so much content, literally everywhere you look, how do you make an impact?

Create a two-part advert on the tube that compares your real business to a fake business that insults the customer with negative stereotypes of the industry. So that I, a super-observant creative marketing professional, will see it and write a blog about it to give you takeaways for your marketing. Well, that and to help people send money abroad.

Wise sends money across the world. An industry that has some stereotypical issues that would naturally infuriate a customer. For example, their recipient waiting ages ( “up to 8 days! With enough luck it might take 3. Or 1. Who knows?”) for their money and the business sending it not giving a proverbial poop about it.

When that lack of due care and attention for their customers is smacking them in the face in a seemingly genuine advert, that’s impactful. It makes them look again and take it all in.

However, their rage at this flagrant disregard for their concerns is quickly quelled when they look at the other half of the advert for your real business simply stating, “or wait as little as 20 seconds.”

That’s how you make an impact.

Here’s the full blog if you want to know what you can take away for your business:

Click here to read Charlie's blog

FROM SARAH

What are people saying online about you?

What are people saying about your product or service online, and how do you compare with your competitors?

This question is very important.

Before committing, people want to know what they are buying and who they're buying from - especially if it's for the first time.

Let's say a company is looking to invest in a new email marketing tool.

First, they head to Google and search, "Constant Contact versus Mailchimp" or "Drip email marketing reviews".

Second they open up CoPilot and ask, "[COMPANY] is looking to invest in a new email marketing tool. We're currently using the free version of Mailerlite. Can you compare 3 of the most popular tools, comparing price and the different features they offer. We have around 2K email subscribers, but hoping to grow this by 10% each month".

Due to the intent of these queries, Google and AI will be pulling information from review style articles, review websites (think Trustpilot or Google Reviews), forums (Reddit, Quora) and your own website.

Questions to ask here is (1) am I visible in these places and (2) is the information correct?

Search for mentions of your brand in places like Reddit. If someone has answered a question, but it's incorrect, politely correct the mistake - and make sure to answer any questions that have been left unanswered.
Search for threads on Reddit where people are looking for advice on a relevant product or service, and provide information of why they should consider what you have to offer. What is your USP?
Look online for review style articles about your product or service. If you're missing, find the author and ask that you be considered (giving compelling reasons as to why).
Maybe you're already mentioned in a review style article but the information is out of date. Again, find the author, and ask them to update the information (telling them what is incorrect).
As part of your sales process, make sure to ask customers for a review on Trustpilot, Google Reviews, or your chosen platform.
On your website, make sure you clearly list the features of your product or what is included in your service, along with price, and answers to common FAQs.

FROM JP

Just one word can have a massive impact

You’ve heard the phrase “One picture can paint a thousand words”, but have you ever given any thought to what impact one word can have?

Just one word in your marketing or ad campaign can act as a shortcut to something much bigger or deeper, depending on the context in which it is used.

Or it can elevate a previously established slogan to a whole new level. Think Nike going from ‘Just do it’ to ‘Just’, or Apple inching ever so slightly away from ‘Think Different’ to just ‘Think’. It’s pretty impressive, although it’s important to bear in mind that they are two huge brands we’re talking about.

But still, one simple word can set a tone, or trigger an emotion or tell an audience how to feel before they’ve even begun to process the message.

I remember reading once that 'one word doesn’t explain, it cues. And in marketing, the right cue can be more powerful than a paragraph'. I like that.

It’s a classic case of how less can sometimes mean so much more. So think about, and then see if you can try it somewhere. I’d be really interested to hear how you get on.

SPOTLIGHT: ADOBE ACROBAT STUDIO

This section is in partnership with Adobe Acrobat, who we've started working with to find better ways of being more productive, while maintaining credibility and integrity.

People mainly think of Adobe Acrobat in terms of the PDF reader, but I've been discovering there's much more to it. One feature I've started to use is PDF Spaces. This is where you can upload multiple files into a PDF Space and use Adobe Acrobat Studio to analyse all of them together.

Think about uploading project definition and scope files, tender requirements, terms and conditions and pitch decks all in one place in order to ask questions about whether they're all consistent and put you in the best place to win a deal.

If you're an audio kind of person, the podcast feature will give you an audible summary of your PDF Space and the information within in a private 'podcast' - a great way to hear how files fit together.

I went on a call recently where PDF Spaces were being used as a helpful follow up to a training session, webinar or consultancy call, to allow someone to interact with the content. Imagine having a lead magnet that allowed your prospect to interact with your cornerstone content. I'm going to try to use this with our imminently released B2B Buying Decisions report - watch this (PDF) space!

Want to see it?

Click here to check out Adobe Acrobat Studio

Any Questions?

Have a question about content creation, customer journeys or their behaviour? We'd like to address real world conundrums. Or you can share a tale of how your actually got some great results - we'd love to feature you.

Reply to this email with your question or story.