Jason Oakley
I actually find myself enjoying ugly, unpolished marketing more these days. And I think it has to do with all of the over-designed things that come from AI.
Landing pages, one pagers, infrographics, they all feel to … bedazzled?
At first glance it looks really good, but when you get down into the meat of the content, it’s a lot of crap. Like the design has pulled the wool over your eyes.
The real test is how ugly can you make something that is still super compelling, used by every rep, converts like crazy, is just effective. The sign that the actual content is good.
There's a popular grocery chain in Canada called No Frills. The idea is that they keep prices lower by stripping away store decor, service counters, and other extra amenities. None of the frills you don't need, so they can focus on delivering the most important thing well.
I also think that there's something calming about a simple design that doesn't have a lot of frills. Like it takes less mental energy to process. And when you think about internal documents, this is true even more. It's like having a simple UI on a product.
Side note: This actually makes me think about my own shortcomings as a PMM, or probably better, the mistake I made (and continue to make at times) in my career. I sometimes focus on polish and "pretty" over substance. The slide looks great. It's consistent with all the others. But it's not saying ANYTHING!
So many times, I've looked back on a first pitch deck made by a founder during the early days of a business and I'm always jealous of two things: How simple it looks and how effective it is.
So that’s why these days I'm asking myself, “how can I simplify content and internal documents to just what’s necessary?”
How do I cut the other crap I'm doing and focus on what matters. All the way down to the document level. How do I cut the frills and deliver better on what matters.
And I think that’s how you should be thinking about your job as a founding or solo PMM.