http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/ The latest Blog feeds from www.markmywords.co.nz en-us Sat, 18 Apr 2026 16:38:38 +1200 Rocketspark http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/160843/is-authenticity-still-the-best-strategy-for-brands/ There is a question that has become the foundation of modern brand strategy. It goes something like: who are you, really? What do you stand for? What is your authentic voice?And this has worked. Brands that leaned into vulnerability, relatability, and unfiltered honesty cut through the noise of an overcrowded marketplace. We like them. Authenticity became the gold standard.But also, in a way, authenticity has drifted. What began as honesty has sometimes become something messier or even emotional... Tue, 24 Feb 2026 13:11:49 +1300 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post160843 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/158720/why-ethical-messaging-means-remembering-context/ I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what we actually mean when we talk about “ethical” messaging.Not ethical in the compliance sense, or the performative sense. But ethical as in: how we speak to people when we’re trying to sell something, and what we assume about them when we do.I keep noticing how often sales messaging relies on certainty. You must do this. This is the only way. If you really cared about your business, your health, your growth, you’d already be doing this. Why aren... Wed, 14 Jan 2026 09:44:54 +1300 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post158720 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/158594/where-smart-brands-are-placing-their-bets-for-2026/ Every new year, the marketing world gets busy forecasting big shifts and declaring the death of various strategies. But if the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that things can change quickly and often in directions we didn’t expect. Making 'predictions' feels slightly absurd, but it’s still useful to pause, look at what’s happening in real time, and pay attention to the signals going on around us.Instead of trying to guess where the entire industry is heading, I’m more... Mon, 12 Jan 2026 09:20:38 +1300 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post158594 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/154584/write-for-who-youre-becoming-not-just-who-youve-been/ It's easy to approach writing your website copy and brand messaging as a retrospective exercise, a tidy summary of what’s already been achieved, or a way to neatly articulate what the business currently does.But your brand story can also be a declaration of intent, an act of self-definition or a commitment to the future you're creating. Rather than describing where you are, your messaging can help shape where you're going.You get to decide who you want to be known as, what you want to sta... Tue, 21 Oct 2025 13:15:46 +1300 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post154584 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/153367/why-blogs-still-matter-in-the-age-of-ai-search/ If you’ve been watching the rise of ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini, Copilot and the rest, you’ve probably noticed the shift: fewer people are heading straight to Google. Instead, they’re asking AI to surface answers, resources, and even experts to follow.That shift has made a lot of business owners and marketers ask the question: are blogs still relevant?The short answer is yes — just as much as ever. If you want to be surfaced by AI platforms, positioned as a thought leader, and recommende... Thu, 02 Oct 2025 12:41:01 +1300 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post153367 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/152851/closing-the-empathy-gap-in-marketing/ Marketers have been told for years that the fastest way to capture attention is to “agitate the problem.” Make the pain vivid. Remind people of what isn’t working. Turn up the heat until they’re uncomfortable enough to buy.It’s advice that has worked in the past, at least if the goal was to trigger a short-term response. But the world has changed. Audiences are more informed, more sceptical, and more discerning about who they give their attention to. They know when they’re being prod... Fri, 26 Sep 2025 09:40:41 +1200 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post152851 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/152197/can-ai-hear-what-we-feel/ I was recently invited to join a debate about whether AI is eroding human resonance. I couldn’t make the event, but the question has been sitting with me. It’s easy to see the benefits of AI: speed, scale, efficiency, access to knowledge. But when we talk about resonance, about what really connects us as humans, AI has limits we shouldn’t ignore.Because while AI can hear what people say, it cannot hear how they feel.... Mon, 15 Sep 2025 10:21:12 +1200 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post152197 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/149697/what-if-the-soft-stuff-is-the-most-powerful-part/ When I talk to clients about their personal brand or business story, they often start with the obvious: qualifications, achievements, experience. The LinkedIn-friendly highlights. The job titles. The certifications. The milestones that make us feel like we’ve “earned” the right to be trusted, listened to, or respected.And while those things matter, they’re not the whole picture. Especially not for women.We’ve been taught to lead with what’s measurable. To rely on external valida... Wed, 30 Jul 2025 13:22:10 +1200 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post149697 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/147916/from-weblog-to-growth-engine-why-blog-no-longer-cuts-it/ When you hear the word “blog,” what comes to mind?For many people, it conjures images of personal diaries from the early internet days. Recipes with long-winded life stories before you finally find the ingredients. Travel journals detailing every gelato consumed in Rome. Opinion pieces and fluffy brand updates tucked away on a half-forgotten page of a website last updated circa 2020 with an update during that unprecedented time.And while there’s nothing wrong with that, it dramatically und... Mon, 30 Jun 2025 13:52:29 +1200 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post147916 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/post/147675/your-next-best-lead-magnet-isnt-another-pdf-spoiler-its-a-quiz/ Be honest: how many downloaded PDFs are still sitting unread in your inbox? Your audience is just as tired as you are of PDFs. Not because your freebie isn’t valuable. But because attention spans have shifted. We’re overloaded with information, we expect instant answers, and we’ve all downloaded things we never opened again.People are getting stingy with their email addresses these days. And fair enough. We've all been burned by too many downloads that promised the world and... Tue, 24 Jun 2025 14:11:38 +1200 http://www.markmywords.co.nz/blog/#post147675