Mic Check by Rhetoric: Volume 6

How one podcast episode got our brand strategy in line (and why you should listen, too).

A few months ago, the team and I fell down the rabbit hole that is Arielle Jackson's wealth of brand-building advice. This is the podcast episode that hooked us, but if you're more of the reading type, this blog post will do the trick. Not enough? Chris Lochhead - one of the genius author's of Play Bigger - is a must follow.

Their thoughts on category in particular have stuck with me. Whether we realize it or not, category is foundational to how we think about every business we interact with: before considering value propositions or differentiation, we ask ourselves if we need something in that category. If the answer is no, we move on. 

Arielle says that if you don't choose your category, your customers will for you. This isn't a winning strategy: customers will inevitably mis-categorize you, and effectively positioning your business will become impossible.

We're going through category definition exercises here at Rhetoric as we speak, so if you're reading this and thinking, "damn, I missed that boat," don't. Whether you do it before you bill your first customer or you do it after ten years in business, deciding which category you're playing in is a worthwhile (even mission-critical) exercise. 

- Raman
 

📚 Open tabs

What team Rhetoric is reading during those awkwardly-timed few minutes between Zooms. 

Here's a solid bookmark: a free, open source database of global data. If you're working on storytelling in any capacity, this resource rocks. 

More from Julian Shapiro: How to tell a great story. This is a great primer to read (and re-read) before recording a podcast, writing website copy, or creating your pitch deck. 

Writers' block got you down? Have a block of copy that reads like an AI assistant wrote it? Happily discovered Power Thesaurus this week, and it's been a game-changer for drafting pitch copy that lands. 

✨ New ways to present better

Here's what's going on at Rhetoric this week:

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❤️ Your friends can be great presenters, too

Found this useful and know someone who wants to up their speaking game? Want to help us banish the grip that flat, written text has over our lives once and for all? Or perhaps you just like cool hats?

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