This is why I stopped talking about writing, and why you should too.

What I believe: The messenger is 80% (or more) of the message

For those who've known me for some time, it's no news that I've once had what seemed to many like a flourishing poetry career. I was recognised as a Foyle Young Poet by Poetry Society UK, won the Barjeel International Poetry Contest as a teenager and got offered a partial scholarship by Bennington College for my writing.

I also have a poem in a museum.

Okay. Why do I say these things?

I want you to understand the real cost of credibility when trying to build a brand for a particular thing. I occasionally get on Marketing sessions with business owners and I tell them their issue is that they're known for too many things and not trusted as an authority in what they should be known for. I tell them they should only speak about the one thing they earn from and associate with the things their target audience would like and it feels to them like I want to squeeze life out of them.

But I've been there. I've had to stop talking about poetry when I realised people do not take take business advice from poets. They only listen to poets when they talk about poetry.

Example: When I decided I wanted a personal brand known for business in 10 years, I started associating myself with business and only business publicly. I rejected requests to speak about poetry and even productivity.

I realised my poetry portfolio was not useful for my marketing career, so I started from scratch about 4 years ago. I am consistently trying to build authority as a marketer by attempting insane things in marketing ( I helped to sell 1m+ worth of digital products in just a day some weeks ago).

You get authority and credibility as a brand by continously associating yourself with one thing. Doing it and talking about it. Only one thing.

P.S. In a world of AI, I never want my Substack writings to pass through AI, not even for the editing. So, I want to apologise beforehand for occasional typographical erros.

P.S.S I have nothing against people who use AI for writings though. This is just my choice. I want to curate this space for people who want the rawness of my marketing ideas.