[box border=”full”]Today’s guest post is by Susan Silver, who is celebrating her third year as a contract copywriter and is accepting new business. She has written for several online publications on the topics of social media, marketing, and pop-culture. She is a weekly contributor to the popular website 12most.com[/box]
There really isn’t a person alive who has not been touched by marketing in some way. You might believe in a philosophy to “just do it” or recognize that a pink ribbon means the company donates money to breast cancer. There have been follies, but there have also been human triumphs.
Marketing at its heart is a business about changing people’s lives . How? Through slogans, entertainment, design, and promotional activities. Marketers take products and find the people who can benefit from them the most. When done well, the community is happy to receive the message because it is a solution that makes their lives better.
What it means to be marketer varies based on personality and style. That is why it is a human business. We can learn a lot by how someone conducts themselves in the world. That is why I find IdeaMensch such an inspiration. I learn from app builders, entrepreneurs, designers,writers, social do-gooders, and a community of awesome people.
10 Inspiring IdeaMensch Interviews For Marketers
1. Brian Morrissey
Brian Morrissey’s interview was a welcome surprise. Without Digiday I may not have found my career path. As a fellow writer I respect his talent and his point of view on marketing. He has the distinguished achievement of writing about the digital aspect of marketing for a decade.
2. Jay Dokken
Jay Dokken is the co-founder of agency Design Commission. What can a marketer learn from a designer, a lot! Design is an important part of communication. Colors, space, fonts, curves, etc. all give a different feeling and flavor to our work. When I write for digital publication I take into consideration many design elements and how it will be formatted on the website.
3. Seth Godin
Alright, I had to add him. Seth Godin is arguably the king of online marketing. That isn’t why he makes this list. It is his bravery in innovation that stands out. He puts himself out there and doesn’t shirk from presenting his ideas to the audience. Plus, he wrote a book about embracing our weirdness. I totally dig that message.
4. Brian Norgard
Brian Norgard is the founder of Namesake , a community I was member of. I found myself talking to many members of the “Lean Startup” movement. They told me about the long hours it takes to run a successful business. What seems to keep them going is the meaning associated with their dreams. It was nice connecting with them and talking about my own.
5. Joe Miller
Joe Miller is the founder of Print a Forest. I was really impressed by the simple solution for a big problem. The company offsets paper use by planting 75 trees per every tree used to print. As stated in his interview, “In this way we could turn 4 billion pages, into 40 million trees.” What if we could turn our passions into solutions like this? I like re-reading this one to remind myself to take simple but effective steps towards my goals.
6. Bridget Hilton
As founder of Jack’s Soap, Bridget Hilton is saving lives. Again a simple solution to a big problem, the death of children under 5 due to germs. I think marketer’s get caught up in the shiny new thing, but something as simple as a bar of soap still sends a strong message. Grand gestures aren’t always the best solution.
7. Reinier Evers
Reinier Evers is just giving away business ideas. Yep, you guessed it. I subscribe to the Springwise newsletter and get a weekly update on some of the most interesting entrepreneurs out there. Ideamensch and Springwise give me ways to interact with a community full of diverse thought. It gets my creative mojo working with inspiration from all over the world.
8. Bre Pettis
I am adding the Founder of Markerbot in hopes that I can get one. Well, that isn’t going to happen. Why Bre Prettis really makes this list is because he has created an accessible version of a powerful technology. It is entrepreneurs like this who are going to change the world. Technology leads to new ideas and innovation.
9. Joe Hyrkin
I was blown away going through the archives and stumbling on this interview with Joe Hyrkin. Not only does he have years of experience working in digital, but he has an awe and respect for his relationships. His insights into Flickr & Gaia are invaluable.
10. Brianne Burrowes
Brianne Burrowes is the founder of I Want Her Job, a site that profiles successful women and how they landed their dream jobs. One of the greatest gifts I have gotten from IdeaMensch is the discovery of Brianne’s website. For someone trying to switch careers, I Want Her Job has been a great resource. I think more than anything it has taught me that there isn’t just one path to success. It is a journey and it starts with taking the first step towards what makes you happy.
I have only been a member of the IdeaMensch community for about a year, but I am a proud supporter. Ideas take root in ways that we don’t always comprehend. It is because they are so uniquely human. Everyone, not just marketers, can take away their own message from the archives.
Who has inspired you? Have they been profiled on IdeaMensch yet?
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.