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Blogging + Interpersonal Chemistry Drives Ad Agency New Business

Peter · January 13, 2015 · 1 Comment

This is my 400^th blog post. Why 400? I Am Driving Interpersonal Chemistry.

First of all, I enjoy writing. I started this blog when I published my first book, “Boomercide: From Woodstock To Suicide”. The blog also supports the marketing of my agency consultation business and my second book, “The Levitan Pitch. Buy This book. Win More Pitches”.

Beyond the fun of writing and expressing my views on the advertising industry, the blog’s primary purpose is to act as my main marketing vehicle for my ad agency new business consultancy (and marketing ‘guinea pig’ to learn more to help my clients).

Last year, 32,111 people visited the blog and viewed 70,202 pages. My blog posts were marketed across LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and in guest blog posts on websites like AdPulp, Agency Post (now HubSpot) and Advertising Week.

The blog, guest posts and my book on pitching have also made me new friends that have helped expand the reach of my marketing program. Guest blogging got me a speaking gigs at conferences like HubSpot’s Inbound conference and the publication of my book made friends like Mitch Joel who invited me to be a guest on his 9-year-old “6 Pixels of Separation” podcast. Mitch has over 64,000 Twitter followers.

Michael Gass of Fuel Lines advertising agency new business fame gave me this great review (which he promoted onto his 71,000 followers)

I possibly have read every book about agency pitches and none come close to the rich, detailed information and guidance that you will find in this book, The Levitan Pitch. Buy This Book. Win More Pitches, written by Peter Levitan. The book lives up to its title. I highly recommend that every advertising, digital, media and PR agency principal read it. (Yes, go ahead, you can Tweet this.)

All of this activity resulted in my working with advertising agency clients on three continents. As you can see, the blog has been read in virtually every country. I even had 5 views in Syria. [Read more…] about Blogging + Interpersonal Chemistry Drives Ad Agency New Business

The Video: How To Write An Advertising Agency Book

Peter · December 8, 2014 · Leave a Comment

My HubSpot Inbound Conference Video: “The Advertising Agency Book – From Idea To Publication in 6 Months”

Here is a video of the talk I gave at HubSpot’s Inbound 2014 conference. Watch my presentation to find out how to write an advertising agency book by mid 2015. Yes, you can do it.

The video will show you how to get a good head start on adding this special arrow to your new business quiver. I discuss the multiple benefits of writing a book; that it can be done relatively quickly (I wrote my 65,000 word The Levitan Pitch, Buy This Book. Win More Pitches. in less than 6 months); how the book will drive your thought-leadership program and how your agency is particularly well set up and well endowed to get a great business-building book out the door.

Writing is a good thing

As I’ve written before: I got the speaking gig at Inbound 2014 because I write for HubSpot’s Agency Post. Using thought leadership to gain broad awareness of your agency is, well, its a very good thing. Here’s my earlier post on the value of guest posting: “Why I Guest post On Agency Post.”

Here is my dedicated post on writing an advertising agency book and how it can be used for new business outreach. The post includes the PowerPoint presentation I used in the following video.

To help you find the gems in the 30 minute talk, I’ve put some highlights below.

Video Timelines

This are approximate…

Intro: :00 to 1:30
6 Months, Really?: 1:30 to 3:00
The how to: 3:00 to 7:00
Mistakes: 7:00 to 10:50
Objectives and Strategies: 10:50 to 25:00
Recap: 25:00 to 30:00

OK, Buy The Book – I wrote my book for you. I want you to win more pitches.

If you read the book you will pitch better than your competition.

Here’s more:

You will mange your agency’s pitch process much better.
You won’t burn out your employees.
You will plan better.
You will reduce your pitch budget.
You will strategize better.
You will arrive better prepared.
You will present better.
You will win more pitches.
You will retire earlier.

Buy multiple copies of the book as Christmas / Hanukah gifts right here: Amazon

Buy the “How Not To Win A Pitch” poster here: Society6

Are You More About ‘Likes’ than Being ‘Liked’? PR Master Peter Shankman Lays It Out.

Peter · November 24, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Some Thoughts On Social Media and Real Life ‘Liked’ Vs. ‘Likes’ From PR Master Peter Shankman

I spoke at HubSpot’s enormous Inbound 2014 conference in September. This was without question the largest advertising conference I’ve attended. It consumed the entire Boston convention center. I was told that there were around 7,000 people attending. The draw was Hubspot’s leadership in inbound marketing and a fantastic list of speakers.

I had two favorite moments. One was a ‘comedy central’ (and insightful) monologue and the other was, yes, about me and how I wrote my new book from idea to published in just 6 months.

1 – An Interview With Peter Shankman – The Funniest Man In Marketing

PR master Peter Shankman was one of the most insightful speakers at Inbound 2014. Peter drove a large audience of marketers and advertising agency types into fits of hysteria during his 45-minute talk about being a smart (and nice) marketer. His staccato monologue was all stand-up and included only one slide. It was a rare PowerPoint-free and very funny experience. I hope that HubSpot puts the talk up on its website soon.

Peter discussed the marketing power of good customer service and how he built the online PR tool HARO and sold it 3 years after launch. Most businesses and, in the case of the marketing-oriented Inbound audience, advertising agencies dream of creating a service or product that can be sold. He did it.

Peter’s latest book, “Zombie Loyalists”, will be out in January. In the meantime, visit the book’s website.

Peter, tell me a bit about your Inbound talk.

It was a lot of fun. A smart marketing audience like that hears a lot of about social and metrics, scale and analytics, but to be able to talk to them a little bit about the basics of customer service and being nicer to your audience and how that actually generates more revenue than almost everything else combined is a lot of fun. I love being able to share that insight.

You’re saying that just being nice is a forgotten marketing tool?

Thanks To HubSpot, Ad Contrarian & Advertising Week

Peter · September 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment

Making Friends Is Good Business

I was on a plane from Portland to Boston yesterday. I spent some of the time reading John Jantsch’s new book “Duct Tape Selling”. He is a big fan of making friends with bloggers and other industry influencers to advance your own brand awareness and authority. I make friends and it works.

I am here to speak at HubSpot’s Inbound 2014 conference. I am up on Thursday speaking about how advertising agencies (and all B2B marketers) can write and publish a book in 6 months. True. I’ve done it twice. You can see my presentation here.

I was invited to speak because of my guest posting relationship with Agency Post, an advertising industry blog that was purchased by HubSpot. The strategic friendship with Agency Post delivers awareness for my advertising agency consultancy and now this connection to the all-powerful HubSpot marketing machine.

I am also a friend of San Francisco’s Bob Hoffman. Bob is the best selling author of “101 Contrarian Ideas About Advertising” which is Amazon’s #1 selling advertising book, “The Ad Contrarian” and “The Ad Contrarian” blog, which was named one of the world’s most influential advertising and marketing blogs by Business Insider.

Today Bob published a blog post about my book. Actually, he published the interview I did with him about his views on advertising agency pitching.

Bob makes 7 points about pitching. I’ll riff on the headlines. You’ll have to visit Bob’s blog to see what he wrote.

Or, if you really want to get the full Levitan Pitch treatment (and all of my interviews with experts)… buy the book.

Here’s Bob on pitching:

You can’t be everyone’s girlfriend: Simply put, don’t’ pitch everything that walks.
Do what you tell your clients to do: Look and sound different from your competitive agency set.
Be clear on your objective at each stage: Run your pitch like a strategic marathon, not a sprint. Read Bob’s words to see what I mean.
Make the presentation you want to make, not the one you’re asked to make: Be authentic.
Only let the good presenters talk: Bring your best. The one’s that will win.
Have a strategy and stick to it: Run a smart, strategic presentation.
The best new business program is a good reputation: I’ll use Bob’s word here… Duh!

I also write for Advertising Week Social Club. Because of this, I am going to Advertising Week New York as a journalist. This is a major conference and I will be able to promote my book to industry leaders. I am also starting to work with them to see if I can put on a program at Advertising Week Europe.

I could go on about the obvious benefits of making friends but I suspect that you get it.

However, there is one key point I have to make.

Your relationships need to be a two-way street. Make friends to make friends first and the goodies will flow. Follow rule number 8:

Do Not Be Obnoxious.

Now, be my friend by signing up for my newsletter below. I promise that I will reward you with smart thinking every week.

Agencies, Man Your Website Videos

Peter · August 15, 2014 · Leave a Comment

I wrote about the power of guest posting recently. Here is my latest guest post on the Advertising Week blog. The post is all about why advertising, digital, design and PR agencies need to put their agency story up on their website using = an agency video.

The genesis of the post is based on insights gathered from my book. Virtually everyone I talked with (agency CEO’s, clients, agency search consultants) say that interpersonal agency to client chemistry is a key factor in agency selection. My point — start building chemistry with you website.