Brian Ouellette

9:07 AM Tuesday. Two advisors. Same message from a top client: “Told a friend about you.” One had an ODP™ link. One did not. 1:18 PM Friday. One closed dream client. The other? Crickets. Why’d one win?👇Click below

"The best clients come from referrals, there is no exception."

Brian Ouellette, a University of Washington graduate, began his career on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) as a runner before returning to Seattle to build his private client practice at PaineWebber. In 2000, he became the Market Commentator for Q13 FOX News This Morning, reporting live daily for over 3 ½ years and making more than 3,000 live TV appearances during one of the most significant boom-and-bust cycles in stock market history.

In 2004, he sold his book of business and founded Shoewallet Active Gear, a product featured on NBC's Today Show, CNN, NY1, and over 250 radio stations, as well as in publications like Shape and Runner's World. Shoewallet produced private label versions for Boeing, the Department of Defense, Skechers, and more across the U.S. and Canada.

In 2010, after reading Sports Illustrated’s "How & Why Athletes Go Broke," Brian recognized the urgent need for athletes to have better advisors. This led him to create Pro Athlete Direct™, an education-based marketing service for advisors to help athletes manage their finances, taxes, legal matters, and real estate needs. His experience helped him develop a system that allowed advisors to build strong connections with sports agents and their athlete clients, guiding them in making strategic financial decisions.

Brian has coached a range of trusted advisors across the U.S. and internationally, including former pro athletes, Barron's Top 100 advisors, Forbes Top Wealth Advisors, and top-producing realtors.

After over 20,000 hours of coaching and R&D, the AskMyAdvisor® referral app was born. This software provides trusted advisors—financial advisors, attorneys, realtors—with a simple way for their top clients to connect them with the people in their lives, making recurring referrals effortless.

“Let’s get straight to the point. After a career as a financial advisor and a coach to the industry’s best, I turned to software for one reason: I discovered how to increase referrals by 800%. The secret? Strip away the complexities that kill referrals. Focus on one thing—a single, exclusive pathway for referrals, accessible only by the top 20% of your client and COI relationships. This approach isn’t just a shift from the old way; it’s revolutionary. And it led directly to the creation of the AskMyAdvisor® Method & OS. Once you see it, you won’t just use it—you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.” – Brian Ouellette

Learn more at tip.askmyadvisor.co/webinar

Founder

After 10 years & +20,000 hours of R&D, we have built the first Q&A app for you (accountants, attorneys, financial advisors, realtors) to share with your top 25 clients to strengthen those relationships & tap into new ones, quickly. 

How does it work? AskMyAdvisor Referral Method Software provides client-facing accountants, attorneys, financial advisors, realtors, venture capitalists, and other trusted advisors with a frictionless method of retaining and growing their best clients. By using the software, they can avoid tech overwhelm, resulting in 5-10 times more referrals on a recurring basis, while working only with clients they love.

It's a simple solution to the problem, "Oh, you've got to call my guy!" Or,  "My financial advisor's great, email her." 

Instead you just share your dedicated URL (format follows: askmyadvisor.app/YOURNAMEOFCHOICE) as a dedicated channel to Q&A where your top clients & the people in their lives can easily ask their questions, get second opinions, etc. 

Members also receive the Phone App (for instant notifications allowing our members to reply to questions within minutes) & get access to The Network. 

This is our private community of our advisor members, who are elite accountants, attorneys, financial advisors, realtors from the US & abroad, to come together. 

This is a private think tank.

Think of it as a Facebook Group  on steroids (BTW, it's our community built from the ground up, so no FB login).

ATTN: Established (3+ yrs) accountants, attorneys, consultants, financial advisors, realtors, and other trusted advisors.

You agree that referrals are king, yes?
(If that is not an emphatic yes, skip this post.)

So why do “good referrals” die?
Not because people are lazy.

Because the handoff process to refer is a mess.
Email intro?
Phone number swap.
Who contacts who?
Advisor taking referrals?
Can non client ask a question?
Endless back and forth...

All of it is confusion wrapped in different ways.
 
Which leads the referral to...
Dead on arrival from one 🤬dirty word: delay.

The good news, we found the fix.
Fix: Have a standard for all referrals.

Have One Direct Path (ODP) for all referrals.
One path to you. One standard.
One link. One controlled flow.
One thing to remember instead of 10.

In an emergency, how many options are there? One.
You call 911. That's a standard.

Referrals should be no different, but they're are.

What happens with one direct path?
One link replaces the steps, questions and confusion that cause delay.

Fixing this one killer, what happens?
More referrals. Faster. Cleaner. No chasing.

Want the full One-Page PDF Blueprint based on this (image)?

Comment PDF and I will send it.
Just had coffee with Nate Short about this exact topic (I'll send PDF your way!)


P.S. Per this post, who is the first person who comes to mind? 
Using the toolbar to share makes it easy to send their way. 
Worse case, you let them know you're thinking of them. 
Better case, you help them remove this referral killer.

Founder, The AskMyAdvisor® OS. 🔐SOC 2 compliant software. Advisor built for Advisors. “Referrals are king. Delay is the killer. One link removes delay. That is all.”

𝐈𝐟 911 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫* 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬, people would die. Seriously.

𝐈𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬:
You have an emergency.

But instead of dialing 911, you have to:

→ Dig through contacts
→ Guess which number to call
→ Wonder who reaches out to who
→ Leave a voicemail
→ Hope someone responds

Absurd, right?

911 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝.

One number.
No thinking.
No delay.
Lives saved.

𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬.
Client polls show 90% say they would refer their advisor.
But only 10% actually do.

That missing 80%?
They do not forget you.
They get stuck.

Confusion = delay.

𝐃𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐬.

No clear process.
No single path.
Too many options.
Too much friction.

𝐌𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 "𝐰𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫" 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫.

It is worse.

Two paths split attention 50%.

Ten paths kill it completely.

We found the fix.

𝐖𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐃𝐏™

It is one standard.
One clear referral path.
Not two. Not ten. One.

𝐓𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐫 𝐲𝐨𝐮:
Clients and advisor friends share one link.
Zip their lips.
That's it.

No confusion. No delay.

Standards create action.

Clarity converts.

𝐅𝐮𝐧 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭
Referral are King.
Advisors spend over $50B/yr. on sales and marketing.
Yet, still miss the king killer: Delay.

Remove delay with one direct path the game changes.

Not in weeks or months.

In about 10 minutes.

𝐓𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐝𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐢𝐭, 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐎𝐃𝐏™
DM me or comment below: "one link"


P.S. While reading this, who is that one advisor friend who came to mind?
Before sharing it, here’s what happens when you ping them...
𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞: you show you're thinking of them.
𝐁𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞: you help them.
𝐁𝐨𝐧𝐮𝐬: you’re the one who put the AskMyAdvisor® Method on their radar first.
Either way, it’s worth a ping.

*𝘈𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘴, 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴, 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘴.

No alternative text description for this image

Most SaaS companies need days or weeks of work to earn one sales call.

Ads. Posts. DMs. Emails. Webinars.
Then the call.
Then maybe a customer.

We flipped that.

None of the above. 

Instead it’s one self serve path in 90 seconds.

First value lands at 37 seconds.

Steve Gordon  Bill Cates, Unlocking Exponential Growth  Pierre Herubel Wes Bush … a few simplifiers who understand this. 

We release in less than 72 hours.
Message me, or comment VIP to get on the early list.


P.S. Reserve your private AdvisorOneLink🔑 when you get on the list. Format is:
askmyadvisor.app/your-name
One link. No delay. More referrals.

The avg. COI (per person) is now 600+. This is a combo of Facebook, x, Instagram, LinkedIn, Substack;)

So think about this…
10 clients, advisors, friends of yours have a reach of 6,000
25 a reach of 15,000+

That’s there size of an arena!Birds of a feather flock together.

Moral of the story… if you want to replicate your top 10 client and advisor relationships? Get more intros/referrals from them.

Easiest path to do this. Standardize how referrals get to you. 

Like 911 is the standard for emergencies. Have one standard path all referrals reach you. 

Not two. Not 10. Just one. We call it one direct path.

Open article: Brian Ouellette (@askmyadvisor) by substack.com

My marketing career in 28 sentences:

1. Quit job at Sam's Club to start an eComm business

2. Borrow $40k from my dad

3. Lose $35k in the first four months

4. Realize you suck at marketing

5. Spend $4k+ on useless marketing courses and masterminds

6. Use your last $300 to buy Breakthrough Advertising (yes, it cost $300 in 2013)

7. Read the book three times in 2 weeks

8. Make $200k in 6 months

9. PayPal shuts down your account and keeps half the money for another six months

10. Quit eCommerce and spend a year reading, thinking, and writing

11. Start freelancing and get fired from your first client

12. Double down on consulting and double your rates

13. Get three retainers and feel on top of the world

14. Blow up your retainers by taking on too much work

15. Get so stressed you get shingles at 26 years old

16. Take a month off to heal

17. Get hired as a full-time content marketer at an agency

18. Spend a year and a half learning the ropes of content marketing

19. Start a content marketing consulting business on the side

20. Get so busy you have to quit your agency job

21. Marketing starts to make sense

22. Close a 6-figure content marketing deal with a big brand

23. Rethink everything you knew about marketing

24. Design a "unified theory" of marketing and put it together into a 20,000-word PDF

25. Get better results for clients and yourself

26. Post about your experiences on Twitter and LinkedIn

27. Build a following of people who are interested in what you're doing

28. Learn to deal with haters and trolls

---

Want a content engine that converts right off the bat and positions your brand for the long term?

Shoot me a DM.

Josue Valles

Founder at The-Flyer-1™

The best creative work doesn't come from staring at a blank page. It comes from staring at two different things and finding the connection between them. It comes through curation, synthesis, and lateral thinking.

Subscribe for weekly frameworks 👇

https://curationlabs.substack.com/

I build curated assets that last.

If you're a founder or C-level exec looking to build your personal brand, I can help you build a curated library of assets that'll help you grow fast without sacrificing quality.

If you're a consultant or agency who wants to incorporate curation into their marketing arsenal, I offer a 12-week workshop where I guide you through my entire process.

Want to learn more?

Send me a DM.

If the world's biggest brands were 100% honest, what would their ads say?

1. Apple

"You will pay a 40% premium for this phone because of the color of text bubbles."

2. McDonalds

"Calorie-dense sustenance available in three minutes. You are here because you are drunk, broke, or in a rush."

3. Google

"We are an advertising firm that offers you free tools in exchange for a complete log of your location, curiosity, and private thoughts."

4. RedBull

"An elevated heart rate in a can. We are a marketing company that outsources beverage production."

5. Coca-Cola

"A mixture of carbonated water and high-fructose corn syrup capable of eroding tooth enamel and contributing to Type 2 diabetes."

6. Nike

"Marketing athletic excellence while outsourcing manufacturing to the lowest bidder in developing nations."

7. Zara

"Clothes designed to fall apart after six washes so you are forced to buy the next trend."

8. Louis Vuitton

"We sell coated canvas at a 2,000% markup to signal your social status to people you do not know."

9. Visa

"We take a 3% tax on almost every transaction in the global economy."

10. Starbucks

"A milkshake disguised as coffee, serving as a socially acceptable sugar addiction for adults."

What else would you add? 👇

Honest Advertising

David Ogilvy built a $363.2 million advertising empire with one secret weapon: writing. In 1982, he sent this internal memo to 3,000+ employees that's better advice than anything you'll find on LinkedIn today:

Here's his exact advice:

"The better you write, the higher you go in Ogilvy & Mather. People who think well, write well. Woolly minded people write woolly memos, woolly letters and woolly speeches."

Then he gave them 10 rules:

1. Read the Roman-Raphaelson book on writing. Read it three times.

2. Write the way you talk. Naturally.

3. Use short words, short sentences and short paragraphs.

4. Never use jargon words like reconceptualize, demassification, attitudinally, judgmentally. They are hallmarks of a pretentious as*.

5. Never write more than two pages on any subject.

6. Check your quotations.

7. Never send a letter or memo on the day you write it. Read it aloud the next morning - and then edit it.

8. If it is something important, get a colleague to improve it.

9. Before you send your letter or memo, make sure it is crystal clear what you want the recipient to do.

10. If you want ACTION, don't write. Go and tell the guy what you want.

---

Most business writing today is terrible, and AI is making it worse. Ogilvy understood that clear writing is clear thinking, and clear thinking builds better businesses.

P.S. Which of these 10 rules do you break most often? I'm definitely guilty of publishing stuff the same day I write it. What about you? 👇

Anyone who communicates ideas for a living should read Made to Stick at least once a year. I distilled the book from 304 pages to 7 principles that changed how I write, think, and sell new ideas:

1. Fight "The Curse of Knowledge"

Once you know something, you can't imagine not knowing it. You subconsciously tune your frequency to "Expert," using jargon and skipping foundational steps. 

To win, write like you are explaining things to your smart but impatient grandmother.

2. Simple: Find the Core

Proverbs survive for centuries because they pack maximum wisdom into minimum words. "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" beats a 500-word essay on risk management. 

Southwest Airlines didn't have a 10-point strategic plan; they had one proverb: "THE low-cost airline." If a decision didn't help them be the low-cost airline (like serving chicken salad), they didn't do it. 

If you can't explain your value prop in one sentence after three beers, it is too complex.

3. Unexpected: Break the "Guessing Machine"

Violate expectations. Instead of "excellent customer service," say "We don't answer emails on weekends because we want our staff to love their lives." Instead of a statistic about safety, show a safety video that gets interrupted. 

4. Concrete: Use "Velcro"

Never say "we offer high-performance solutions." 

Say "our battery saves you 47 minutes of charging time per day." 

The Heaths use the example of the "kidney heist" urban legend. We remember it because it has a bathtub, ice, and a note. It is visceral. Stop selling "solutions" and sell "bathtubs and ice."

5. Credible: The "Sinatra Test"

You don't need a PhD to be credible; you just need to pass the "Sinatra Test": 

If I can make it there, I can make it anywhere.

If you catered a dinner for the White House, you don't need to tell me your food is safe and delicious. The credential speaks for itself. Don't drown people in statistics. Give them one immense, verifiable proof point. "We power the security for the Pentagon" beats a 20-page whitepaper on encryption standards every time.

6. Emotional: The "Mother Teresa" Principle

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If I look at the one, I will."

Stop trying to get people to care about "the industry" or "the metrics." Make them care about one person. Don't say "We help companies reduce turnover." Say "We help the VP of HR stop dreading exit interviews." 

Lead with the feeling, then justify with the logic.

7. Stories: The Flight Simulator

A great story is a flight simulator for the brain. When you tell a story about how a problem was solved, the listener mentally rehearses that success.

So walk the prospect through the simulation: "Imagine it's Monday morning. You open your laptop. Instead of 50 unread tickets, you see zero. You pour your coffee..." You are letting them "practice" the solution before they’ve even bought it. 

TAKEAWAY

Test your current messaging against these 7 rules.

If it fails half of them, rewrite it.

In 2014, I found a book so rare I had to pay $900 for it. The author, Gene Schwartz, died in 1995. But it's still the best marketing advice I've ever seen:

The book is "Breakthrough Advertising" by Gene Schwartz. 

Back in 2014, they weren't printing new copies, so you had to buy it from a reseller. I paid $900 for a beat-up paperback that looked like it survived a hurricane. These days you can buy it for $199 or so. 

1. Sell at the identity level

People want to become someone who doesn't need your product anymore. A founder buying productivity software doesn't want better time management. They want to become the type of person who naturally prioritizes the right things. Sell the identity shift, not the tool.

Just look at Marlboro. They didn't sell cigarettes - they sold the rugged, independent identity of the "Marlboro Man." They sold that same identity for 30 years straight. 

(Not endorsing the product, just analyzing the marketing.)

2. Match awareness levels or die

People exist at 5 different levels of awareness. Some don't know they have a problem. Others know the problem but not the solution. Others know both but don't know you exist. Your message HAS to match their awareness level or it bounces off. 

3. The most sophisticated markets buy based on mechanism, not results

When markets mature, everyone promises the same outcomes. Weight loss, more revenue, better productivity…boring. 

Sophisticated buyers want to know HOW you deliver those results differently. 

They're buying your unique mechanism, not your generic promise. So, if you’re in a mature market, spend more time refining the HOW instead of the WHAT.

4. Amplify existing beliefs instead of changing them

It's easier to amplify what people already believe than to change their minds. If your audience believes "networking is everything," don't try to convince them otherwise…show them how your product amplifies their networking. 

If they believe "content is king," position yourself as the kingmaker. 

Swim with the current of their existing beliefs, don't fight against it.

---

When it comes to books, I typically look for old ones, especially if they're still popular in inner circles. They're usually founded on principles, and principles never change.

While everyone's reading "AI Marketing for 2025" and "TikTok Growth Secrets," the fundamentals haven't budged in decades.

Some other books worth reading:

1. Made to Stick - Chip & Dan Heath
2. Scientific Advertising - Claude Hopkins
3. Contagious - Jonah Berger
4. The Copywriter's Handbook - Bob Bly
5. Oversubscribed - Daniel Priestley
6. Obviously Awesome - April Dunford
7. Tested Advertising Methods - John Caples
8. Thinking Fast & Slow - Daniel Kahneman
9. Purple Cow - Seth Godin
10. The Brain Audit - Sean D'Souza

What else would you add? 👇

The state of LinkedIn content in 2026 👇

Founder, CurationLabs | I write about communications, branding and the creator economy, and how ideas from other fields can make us better at them

Found this 1980 ad about writing clearly. 45 years later, it's still the best writing advice I've ever seen:

1) Know exactly what you want to say before you start

Most people start writing and figure it out as they go. That's why most writing sucks. Thompson says outline first, write second. Revolutionary concept, apparently.

2) Start where your readers are, not where you are

Don't assume people know what you know. Meet them at their level of understanding, then bring them along. Most "experts" write for other experts and wonder why nobody gets it.

3) Use familiar word combinations

Thompson's example: 

A scientist wrote "The biota exhibited a one hundred percent mortality response." Translation: "All the fish died."

Stop trying to sound smart. Start trying to be clear.

4) Arrange your points logically

Put the most important stuff first. Then the next most important. Then the least important. Seems obvious, but most people do it backwards.

5) Use "first-degree" words

Thompson says some words bring immediate images to mind. Others need to be "translated" through first-degree words before you see them.

"Precipitation" => "Rain"
"Utilize" => "Use"
"Facilitate" => "Help"

6) Cut the jargon

Thompson warns against words and phrases "known only to people with specific knowledge or interests." If your mom wouldn't understand it, rewrite it.

7) Think like your reader, not like yourself

Thompson asks: "Do they detract from clarity?" Most writers ask: "Do I sound professional?" Wrong question.

---

This ad is from 1980.

The internet didn't exist. Social media wasn't even a concept. But the principles of clear communication haven't changed.

Most people still can't write clearly because they're trying to impress instead of express.

If the world's biggest brands were 100% honest, what would their ads say? (Part 2)

1. YouTube: "You wanted to watch a 30-second clip, but first, here are two 15-second unskippable ads for car insurance."

2. Microsoft: "Our software is mandatory for corporate employment. It will decide to restart your computer during your most important presentation."

3. Spotify: "We pay musicians fractions of a penny per stream so you don't have to buy albums anymore."

4. Procter & Gamble (P&G): "We own 65% of the items currently under your bathroom sink under 40 different brand names."

5. Tesla: "A battery company that sells cars. You are essentially beta-testing our software on public roads."

6. Pepsi: "We are the beverage you settle for when the restaurant does not have Coke."

7. Burger King: "You are only here because the McDonald's drive-thru line was too long."

8. Frito-Lay (Lay’s/Doritos): "Bags that are 40% potato product, 60% nitrogen gas, and coated in engineered powder to ensure you cannot eat just one."

9. PayPal: "We are holding your money for 'security reasons' for the next 180 days. Good luck reaching customer service."

10. BP / Exxon / Shell: "We knew about climate change in the 1970s and spent decades funding disinformation campaigns so we could keep selling oil."

11. Disney: "We own your childhood nostalgia and will monotonously remake it into live-action until it holds no emotional value."

12. Lego: " The most painful thing you will ever step on."

13. Gillette: "We sell razor handles at a low cost so you will purchase our proprietary replacement blades."

14. Rolex: "Mechanical timepieces that maintain high resale value due to artificially controlled supply chains."

15. Nvidia: "We accidentally powered the global AI revolution while trying to make video game water look more realistic."

16. Sephora: "We sell hope in a jar. You will spend $80 on a cream that is mostly water and glycerin."

17. EA Sports (FIFA/Madden): "We release the exact same game every year, but you must pay $70 to update the player roster."

18. Harley Davidson: "We sell cosplay costumes and noise machines to dentists who want to feel dangerous on the weekend."

19. Rolls Royce: "A car for people who do not drive themselves."

20. Purdue Pharma: "We told doctors our opioids were non-addictive. We were lying."

Honest Advertising - Part 2

It pisses me off that people frame using AI as some sort of cheating or moral failure. There seems to be this idea that if you aren't bleeding over your keyboard, you aren't working. Refusing to use a tool doesn't make you holy, and using one doesn't make you a villain.

I mean, you can love the creative process (I do) and still recognize that not every single task requires blood, sweat, and tears.

If you have great ideas but struggle to get people to pay attention, here’s 8 books that will make your message impossible to ignore:

1. Resonate by Nancy Duarte

Most presentations are boring because they lack conflict. Duarte analyzes great speeches (from MLK to Steve Jobs) and reveals the underlying structure: a constant toggling between "what is" and "what could be." It turns a presentation into a movement.

2. The Pyramid Principle by Barbara Minto

This is the gold standard for McKinsey consultants for a reason. Most people bury the lead. Minto teaches you to start with the answer first (BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front) and group your supporting arguments logically. If you pitch to executives, this is mandatory reading.

3. Nobody Wants to Read Your Sh*t by Steven Pressfield

The title hurts, but it’s true. Pressfield teaches the ultimate lesson in empathy: readers are busy and distracted. You have to earn their attention with every single sentence. This changed how I view the "hook" in every piece of content I create.

4. Made to Stick by Chip & Dan Heath

The "Curse of Knowledge" is the single biggest enemy of communication. Once you know something, you can't imagine what it’s like not to know it. This book provides the SUCCESs framework (Simple, Unexpected, Concrete, Credible, Emotional, Stories) to make your ideas impossible to forget.

5. Influence by Robert Cialdini

You can’t move people with logic alone. Cialdini breaks down the 6 scientific principles of persuasion (Reciprocity, Commitment, Social Proof, Authority, Liking, Scarcity). This isn't about manipulation; it's about understanding the psychological shortcuts the human brain uses to say "yes."

6. On Writing Well by William Zinsser

"Clutter is the disease of American writing." Most communicators use fancy words to sound smart. Zinsser teaches you that simplicity is the ultimate sophistication. It taught me to strip away every word that serves no function.

7. Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

Most brands position themselves as the hero. Miller flips the script: The customer is the Hero; you are the Guide. If you confuse, you lose. This framework clarifies your message so customers listen.

8. Show Your Work! by Austin Kleon

Most creatives wait until the idea is "perfect" to share it. Kleon argues that the process is as interesting as the product. This book helps you get over the fear of self-promotion by teaching you to become a documentarian of your own learning.

---

What else would you add? 👇

Over the last 12 years, I have published thousands of pieces of content (no kidding), and I can tell you with certainty that 90% of them were bad or mediocre. But that was the price of admission for the 10% that changed my career.

The gap between your taste and your talent is where most people quit. You know what "good" looks like, but you can't produce it yet. This is what Ira Glass refers to as the "Gap." There is no shortcut across. You have to fill the gap with a massive volume of work. You have to produce bad work to get to the good work. 

Keep going.

It's never too late to chase the "stupid" idea. The side project you talk about at dinner parties but never start because it "doesn't scale" or "isn't serious." Do it. Trust me, the energy you get from working on something you actually love will bleed over into everything else.

In 1978, architect Frank Gehry was drowning in safe, boring projects that paid bills but killed his soul. So he bought a pink bungalow and did something that would either make or break his career. Here's what happened:

1) He stopped trying to please everyone

Gehry wrapped his house in corrugated steel, added chain-link fencing, and made the kitchen floor tilt at 7.5 degrees. While other architects were horrified, artists and film directors got what he was doing.

2) He alienated his corporate clients on purpose

The same work that drove away his "sensible" clients became a beacon for people who wanted something extraordinary. Within 5 years, he stopped taking corporate work entirely.

3) He turned his weirdest ideas into premium services

His new clients - museums, concert halls, foundations - didn't just pay more. They gave him complete creative freedom because they valued his distinctive approach.

4) He used controversy as marketing

His neighbor's lawsuit over the "ugly" house? Best marketing he ever got. Today that house is studied in architecture schools worldwide.

5) He proved that distinctive work attracts the right clients

The math isn't: Good Work = More Clients
It's: Distinctive Work = Right Clients

6) He made his constraints into features

Those tilted floors and metal walls weren't mistakes. They were signals to his real audience - people who wanted something nobody else could deliver.

7) He learned that pushing away wrong people finds the right ones

By refusing to water down his ideas, Gehry attracted clients who appreciated exactly what made him different.

---

Most of us live in a prison of our own making.

We water down our ideas to please everyone and call it "being professional."

But Gehry proved that your weirdest ideas might be exactly what the right clients are looking for.

I was looking at this campaign from WLM (West London Mission) and it’s honestly a piece any communicator should study. Here's why:

The ads introduce a "dad of two" who is "excellent at conkers" or a girl who takes "two and a half sugars" in her tea. From a design perspective, your eye is likely drawn to the bold red text first: "He is... sleeping in the park". You see the "Label" immediately.

But the layout physically forces the grey text to interrupt that label. It wedges a human reality directly between the subject ("He is") and the condition ("sleeping in the park").

This creates instant cognitive dissonance. The ad doesn't ask you to be empathetic. No. It forces your brain to reconcile two incompatible facts: How can a Brentford fan who is good at conkers also be sleeping on the street?

Ironically, the confusion creates empathy.

My takeaway: 

You can't destroy a bias just by arguing with it. You have to interrupt it with a detail so specific and human that the label no longer fits - a tiny, undeniable detail (a "conker") that makes a stranger feel real.

10 old-school ads every copywriter must study:

1. Volkswagen "Think Small" (1959)
Turned a hated car into a counter-culture icon.

2. U.S. School of Music "They Laughed When I Sat Down..." (1926)
The headline became a cultural meme for a century.

3. Rolls-Royce "At 60 miles an hour..." (1958)
Sales jumped 50%.

4. Avis "We're only No. 2" (1963)
Turned a massive deficit into profit in one year.

5. Sherwin Cody "Do You Make These Mistakes in English?" (1918)
Ran successfully for 40 years.

6. Gary Halbert "The Coat of Arms" (1970s)
Mailed 600 million letters. Built a fortune.

7. Joe Karbo "Lazy Man's Way to Riches" (1973)
Sold 2.7 million books.

8. Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends..." (1930s)
One of the best-selling books in history.

9. Listerine "Halitosis" (1920s)
Revenue grew from $115k to $8M.

10. Patagonia "Don't Buy This Jacket" (2011)
Sales rose 30%.

What else would you add? 👇

Founder, CurationLabs | Exploring the intersection of Media, History, and the Creator Economy.

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