Most people think marketing is about visibility. It’s not. Marketing is about control.
If you don’t force attention, you don’t get it. If you don’t frame the conversation, someone else will.
I didn’t learn this in some marketing course. I learned it directly from two of the most influential – and disruptive – media tacticians in modern history while I was a journalist.
One of them once told me personally in 2013:
“It’s better to be too sensational than not sensational enough.”
He was teaching me about writing headlines early in my journalism career – but I took it as the entire psychology of influence. That one principle shaped my entire philosophy—not just in marketing, but in execution, branding, and life itself.
The other, the master of viral headlines, told me directly:
“You’re a top headline writer.”
These weren’t just compliments. They were confirmation that I had learned a skill most people never master—the ability to grab attention and never let go.
Let’s break down what I learned from these two giants, and why it’s the single most important marketing skill anyone can have.
If You’re Not Sensational, You’re Not Being Seen
Most marketers play it safe. They write “clear” copy, optimize for “best practices,” and avoid anything that might be “too much.”
That’s why they fail.
One of the media titans didn’t build his empire by being subtle. He built it by understanding one thing: People don’t engage with mild content.
The Lesson:
- Mediocre messaging disappears. Extreme messaging forces action.
- Your audience should either love you or get a rise out of you—indifference is death.
- The market is too noisy for weak positioning. If you don’t demand attention, someone else will.
How I Apply This:
- When I write marketing copy, I don’t ask, “Is this professional?” I ask, “Will this punch someone in the gut?”
- When I create ad headlines, I don’t write, “5 Tips for Better SEO.” I write, “Google is Stealing Your Traffic—Here’s How to Take It Back.”
- Every campaign I run is designed to make people feel something—urgency, excitement, fear of missing out—because emotion drives action.
Headlines Are Psychological Weapons—Use Them Correctly
One of the titans didn’t just post headlines. He engineered them for maximum emotional and intellectual impact.
A weak headline:
“Stock Market Down 2%.”
His style headline:
“WALL STREET PANIC: STOCKS CRASH AMID GLOBAL UNCERTAINTY.”
One is information. The other is an emotional event.
His headlines weren’t always the most “accurate” summary—they were the most effective way to frame reality.
The Lesson:
- A great headline doesn’t just describe—it commands attention.
- Headlines must create curiosity, urgency, or emotional reaction—or they fail.
- The most powerful headlines don’t just report—they tell the reader how to feel about the information.
How I Apply This:
- Every landing page, ad, or social post I create follows this rule: If the headline doesn’t make you stop, the rest doesn’t matter.
- I test headlines ruthlessly—if a headline isn’t performing, I rewrite it aggressively.
- I structure headlines to create a question in the reader’s mind that they can’t ignore. Example:
- Weak: “How to Improve Your Marketing.”
- Powerful: “Your Marketing is Costing You Thousands—Fix It Now.”
Influence is a War for Framing—Control the Narrative, Control the Market
The titans understood something most marketers miss—facts don’t matter as much as framing.
Two ways to present the same information:
- “80% of businesses fail within five years.”
- “Only 20% of businesses survive—here’s how to be one of them.”
The second turns fear into a call to action. That’s how framing works.
The Lesson:
- People don’t process information neutrally—they respond to how it’s presented.
- Control the frame, and you control the perception of reality.
- In marketing, you don’t just sell a product—you sell the way people should think about it.
How I Apply This:
- Instead of saying, “Here’s a product,” I say, “Here’s a system that fixes the exact problem you’re facing.”
- Instead of describing features, I frame them as the solution to an urgent pain point.
- If I’m launching a campaign, I don’t let the market define me—I define the market and force the audience to follow my positioning.
I learned the latter as a journalist when I could take local news stories and go viral with them by reporting them to a national – and sometimes international – audience.
Execution is Ruthless—Hesitation Kills Momentum
The titans both moved fast, iterated in real time, and never waited for the “perfect” moment.
The Lesson:
- Speed beats perfection.
- Hesitation is the enemy of influence.
- Most marketers lose because they wait too long to launch.
How I Apply This:
- When I needed a job, I launched 56 job applications in one push—because waiting for the “perfect opportunity” is a loser’s game.
- In marketing, I constantly test, iterate, and optimize live—because real-world feedback beats overthinking.
- I don’t hesitate to disrupt, challenge, or reposition if the data tells me to.
Final Thoughts: Why This Philosophy Wins
Most people try to “get marketing right.” I don’t. I make sure marketing works.
That means:
Forcing attention, not hoping for it.
Engineering headlines that demand engagement.
Controlling the narrative instead of reacting to it.
Executing without hesitation.
The titans built some of the most powerful attention-hacking, message-amplifying, and influence-driving systems ever seen.
They weren’t “marketing.” They were controlling reality.
And that’s the level every brand, business, and marketer should be aiming for.
If You’re Not Controlling the Narrative, You’re Being Controlled – Take Back the Power NOW
If your marketing isn’t forcing attention, it’s being ignored. If your headlines aren’t engineered for impact, they’re worthless. If you’re not controlling the narrative, you’re being controlled.
At Firemist Digital, we don’t follow best practices—we create them. We build high-impact marketing systems that demand attention, drive conversions, and dominate markets.
