Mark Levy's Page

Accidental Genius

A new and thoroughly revised edition of marketing and positioning genius Mark Levy, which helps readers unleash their inn...

  • Get What You Want By Finding a Spot That’s Unoccupied

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Get What You Want By Finding a Spot That’s Unoccupied

    When I was nine years old, I fell in love with baseball and dreamed of playing first base. To aid me in my dream, my dad bought me a first baseman’s glove. When my friends and I gathered after school for an informal ball game, everyone knew to stay away from first. That was my spot. Then somet...

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    May 4, 2016

  • How to Increase Your Work’s Value, Without Much Effort

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    How to Increase Your Work’s Value, Without Much Effort

    One morning awhile back, I awoke early and wanted to know the time, so I reached for my iPhone. Inadvertently, I hit the button for Siri, which triggered the message: “What can I help you with?” Now, up to that point, I had rarely used Siri. Frankly, I’d forgotten she was part of my phone, so ...

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    April 12, 2016

  • You Have Twenty Books in You

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    You Have Twenty Books in You

    Whether you are planning a book, or are in the midst of writing one, I have some advice that could be a life saver. That is: Don’t look at this current book as the only one you’ll ever write. If you do, it’ll mess with your head. How so? If you’re convinced this is your only book, you’ll stuff...

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    April 12, 2016

  • Look At Your Business As If It Were a Book

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Look At Your Business As If It Were a Book

    Coming up with a persuasive marketplace differentiator for your business can be difficult. One reason why: Since your business is your livelihood, creating its differentiator seems like a life-or-death decision. You tense up, thinking: “This differentiator of mine has got to be a one-of-a-kind...

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    April 12, 2016

  • Free PDF: “List-Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership”

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Free PDF: “List-Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership”

    Share This Post: Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

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    July 13, 2015

  • The Vanessa Williams Rule

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    The Vanessa Williams Rule

    In the mid-1990s I conducted interviews for a small entertainment newspaper. The editor was a friend who knew my tastes, so he gave me assignments I’d enjoy. I interviewed a pre-Titanic Leonardo DiCaprio, a rapper-turning-actor named “Marky Mark” Wahlberg, the art-house rocker Jim Carroll, and...

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    March 6, 2015

  • “That’s a post”

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    “That’s a post”

    The other day I was on the phone with my friend and colleague, Nettie Hartsock, discussing our backgrounds as writers, when I mentioned an assignment I’d worked on that hadn’t turned out as planned. Fifteen years earlier, a newspaper editor asked me to interview beauty-queen-and-singing-star V...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Breaking a Solution Ahead of Time

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Breaking a Solution Ahead of Time

    When it comes to business practices, what you’re confident about today may be proven wrong tomorrow. I’ll explain. When I was a kid, I’d go to the candy store and spin the squeaky, revolving rack of comic books to see if it held a new issue of “Sergeant Fury,” “Captain America,” “Iron Man,” “S...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Creating Content the Frankenstein Way

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Creating Content the Frankenstein Way

    I was in the library doing research on Viktor Frankl — the concentration camp survivor who went on to write one of the world’s most influential books, “Man’s Search for Meaning” — when I punched his name into the automated inventory system. The titles of  his books appeared on the screen . . ....

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    March 6, 2015

  • Writing a Sticky Title

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Writing a Sticky Title

    Let’s begin with a quiz. Below you’ll find a list of book titles. All are genuine titles from published books – except for one. See if you can spot that lone non-book-title. 1. “Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership” 2. “Curious George and the Pizza” 3. “Soon I Will be Invincible” 4. “The Confident...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Business Guidance from the Future

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Business Guidance from the Future

    I asked my friend, Jake Jacobs, how business was doing, and expected a mechanical response, like “Things are good” or “Can’t complain.” Instead, he told me he’s having the most profitable twelve months he’s had in twenty-five years as a consultant – and that’s in a down economy. This year, in ...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Writing an Elevator Speech “Lifelike in the Extreme”

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Writing an Elevator Speech “Lifelike in the Extreme”

    To prepare for a workshop I’m giving, I’ve spent hours doing exploratory writing on how to create an elevator speech. On the page, I’ve asked and answered questions like, “What’s an elevator speech supposed to accomplish?,” “What are the best ones I’ve heard?,” and “What are the worst ones?” I...

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    March 6, 2015

  • Free eBook: “List-Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership”

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    Free eBook: “List-Making as a Tool of Thought Leadership”

    Share This Post: Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on Facebook share via Reddit Share with Stumblers Tweet about it Subscribe to the comments on this post Tell a friend

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    March 6, 2015

  • How You Tell a Brand Story Matters

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    How You Tell a Brand Story Matters

    Sometimes it’s easier to learn positioning and branding lessons when we look outside our field. Let’s look at a lesson from the world of fast food. Then we’ll see how it applies to our brands as consultants and thought leaders. A few days ago, I was eating at my local Quiznos sub shop, and a ...

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    March 6, 2015

  • The Best Brand Story is Often Informal

    Mark Levy posted a blog post

    The Best Brand Story is Often Informal

    Sometimes your best brand story isn’t the one you think it should be. It’s one of your throwaway stories; an informal anecdote everybody else loves, but you don’t think twice about. I’ll explain. I recently stopped by a pet food store. Outside sat a brand representative at a table full of a ty...

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    March 6, 2015

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