In this, the 40th episode of Poetry in Marketing, I'm tackling a hard truth for business owners:

All CEOs learn

They do not define their brand...

Eventually.

If you’ve built a business around something you love, something you’re great at, something that feels deeply personal, this might be hard to hear. But here’s the reality: your brand isn’t for you.

In this episode, I talk about the shift every successful business leader has to make: from building a brand based on personal passion to shaping a brand around what the marketplace actually values. Because if you only see your business through your own lens, you might love it… but your customers won’t.

This week on Poetry in Marketing, I’m coming to you inspired by a conversation I had with a tattoo artist… in Scotland.

Your first job is

To fall in love with the problems

Your customers have.

In this episode, I share a simple but powerful truth: great marketing doesn’t start with talking about yourself... it starts with understanding your customer. What are they trying to accomplish? What’s frustrating them? What would make their experience better?

The tattoo artist I met had it figured out without even realizing it; aligning his hours, messaging, and approach to the needs of traveling customers. That’s what great marketing looks like.

If you want more business, stop leading with what makes you great and start by deeply understanding the problems you’re solving.

In this episode of Poetry in Marketing, I’m leaning into vacation mode... But more importantly, a fundamental truth that a lot of business leaders get wrong:

Great copywriting

Provokes the strongest feelings

Not the deepest thoughts.

We like to think that more information leads to better decisions, but that’s not how people actually buy. In this episode, I break down why emotional connection beats information overload every time, and why trying to “cover all the bases” in your messaging often backfires.

Whether you’re writing a website, a blog post, or a sales pitch, the goal isn’t to make people think harder: it’s to make them feel something.