Marketing Meditations

Sam Kuehnle
  • 5.0 (1)
  • Marketing

Marketing Meditations is a marketing + advertising podcast for B2B marketers who want to level up their marketing skills. Every episode, I pull one idea from a classic marketing text (Claude Hopkins, David Ogilvy, etc. - AKA the ones still worth stealing from) and translate it into something you can use in your work today. The first episodes work through David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man, covering why marketers keep repeating settled mistakes and how to write headlines and copy that sell. Each episode comes with a free guide that includes frameworks, playbooks, etc., so you can apply the idea the same day. Hosted by Sam Kuehnle, who also writes the Marketing Meditations newsletter every Saturday.

Episodes

  1. 4d ago

    002 How to Write Headlines and Copy People Read

    David Ogilvy wrote that once you have written your headline, you have spent 80 cents of your dollar. In this episode, I read passages from Confessions of an Advertising Man on the work before and after the headline: the homework, the headline itself, body copy and plain communication. I translate each into something you can use in your work today. Chapters 00:00 - Headlines: 80 cents of your dollar00:42 - Why this show exists, and what this episode covers01:44 - Ogilvy on writing well, and why boring is a sin03:40 - His last will and testament: study the product, promise a benefit04:22 - Do the homework: become the best-informed person on the account06:38 - Give the facts08:31 - Details matter, and the 35-pound figure09:55 - How to write potent copy10:15 - The ten headline guides14:04 - Clear versus clever15:11 - Body copy: write to one person, be specific15:55 - Long copy: Schlitz and the Rolls-Royce ads16:45 - Every ad is a complete sales pitch17:03 - Testimonials17:54 - Helpful advice18:23 - Why the multi-step ad funnel falls short19:34 - Good content, and why giving value builds reciprocity20:43 - Captions21:38 - Formatting long copy22:57 - "Broetry" and timeless principles23:44 - Plain writing: jargon and acronyms24:44 - Presentations, rehearsal and AI slides26:15 - Be brief, be brilliant, be gone28:00 - The unconscious, and a closing example of clear writing29:41 - Close, guide and bookWhat's inside the playbook A ten-check headline scorecard, with space to write sixteen headlinesA copy and clarity checklist for body copy, long copy and everyday communicationGet the free playbook: https://www.derevaco.com/marketing-meditations/how-to-write-headlines-and-copy-playbook/ Read along: Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy: https://link.amazon/B00Gp1lUC Link to podcast episode page: https://www.derevaco.com/marketing-meditations/how-to-write-headlines-and-copy/ Episodes you might like: 001: Why Marketers Ignore What Works and Repeat What Doesn't

    002 How to Write Headlines and Copy People Read

  2. 4d ago

    001 Why Marketers Ignore What Works and Repeat What Doesn't

    David Ogilvy counted 49 ads in a single magazine issue that ignored a rule research had already settled. In this first episode, I read passages from Confessions of an Advertising Man on why marketers skip evidence that exists, and translate each into something you can use in your work today. Chapters 00:00 - The pig and the truffles: knowledge over ignorance00:27 - Why this show exists, and why Ogilvy is the hub02:19 - "Allergic to rules": rules, frameworks, playbooks and skills03:41 - 49 ads in reverse type, years after the research05:23 - Why marketing teaches no underlying principles05:46 - Ogilvy's lessons: the 19-to-1 gap and promising a benefit07:11 - The Magic Lantern: do rules make work dull?09:09 - Price-off deals and the short-term trap11:06 - The 15% and the 85%12:47 - The trap of more15:10 - Approval layers, flat fees and incentives18:09 - A moving parade, not a standing army19:47 - Test everything21:17 - Sell the outcome, then choose the promise24:06 - Give the facts26:56 - Brand image, and research as a lamppost28:43 - The brand as a coefficient29:45 - The ice-box policy31:27 - Testimonials and the question "Are you for me?"33:02 - Why award-winning ads prove little34:32 - Curiosity, photographs and faces39:08 - Match the medium41:35 - Problem, remedy, proof42:46 - Why specialists win44:58 - Close, playbook and bookWhat's inside the playbook Nine principles from the episode, each with Ogilvy's evidence and a question to ask of your own workThe Audit: a worksheet for grading your last five assetsA decision rule for what to treat as settled and what to testGet the playbook: https://www.derevaco.com/marketing-meditations/ignore-what-works-playbook/ Read along: Confessions of an Advertising Man by David Ogilvy: https://link.amazon/B00Gp1lUC Link to podcast episode page: https://www.derevaco.com/marketing-meditations/ignore-what-works/

    001 Why Marketers Ignore What Works and Repeat What Doesn't
  • 2 Episodes

About

Marketing Meditations is a marketing + advertising podcast for B2B marketers who want to level up their marketing skills. Every episode, I pull one idea from a classic marketing text (Claude Hopkins, David Ogilvy, etc. - AKA the ones still worth stealing from) and translate it into something you can use in your work today. The first episodes work through David Ogilvy’s Confessions of an Advertising Man, covering why marketers keep repeating settled mistakes and how to write headlines and copy that sell. Each episode comes with a free guide that includes frameworks, playbooks, etc., so you can apply the idea the same day. Hosted by Sam Kuehnle, who also writes the Marketing Meditations newsletter every Saturday.

Information

  • Creator
    Sam Kuehnle
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    2
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Sam Kuehnle
  • Show Website
    Marketing Meditations