A Handful of Marketing Tactics

Patrick McFadden • December 3, 2013

Here are some marketing tactics I’ve been using and seen used with a lot of satisfaction. These marketing tactics should all be considered for promoting your product, service or website online and offline. Notice how more than half of them are free.

MINI- MEDIA

1. Marketing Plan

2. Marketing Calendar

3. Identity

4. Business Cards

5. Note Cards

6. Personal Letters

7. Telephone Marketing

8. Toll- Free Number

9. Vanity Phone Number

10. Business Directories

11. Postcards

12. Post Card Deck

13. Classified Ads

14. Per Order/ Inquiry Advertising

15. Free Ads in Shoppers

16. Circulars

17. Community Bulletin Boards

18. Movie Ads

19. Outside Signs

20. Street Banners

21. Window Display

22. Inside Signs

23. Posters

24. Canvassing

25. Door Hangers

26. Elevator Pitch

27. Value Story

28. Backends

29. Letters of Recommendation

30. Attendance at Trade Shows

MAXI- MEDIA

31. Advertising

32. Direct Mail

33. Newspaper Ads

34. Radio Spots

35. Magazine Ads

36. Billboards

37. Television Commercials

E- MEDIA

38. Email

39. PDFs

40. Interest Groups

41. Forums

42. Online Bulletin Boards

43. List-building

44. Personalized Email

45. Email Signature

46. Canned Email

47. Bulk Email

48. Audio/Video postcards

49. Domain Name

50. Website

51. Landing Page

52. Merchant Account

53. Shopping cart

54. Auto-Responders

55. Search Engine Ranking (Alexa)

56. Electronic Content

57. RSS Feeds

58. Blogs

59. Podcasting

60. Publish own e-newsletter

61. Ads in other e-newsletters

62. Write Ebooks

63. Provide Content- Other Sites

64. Produce Webinars

65. Joint ventures

66. Word-of-mouse

67. Viral Marketing

68. E-Bay / Auction Sites

69. Click Analyzers

70. Pay Per Click Ads

71. Search Engine Keywords

72. Google Adwords

73. Sponsored Links

74. Reciprocal Link Exchange

75. Banner Exchanges

76. Web Conversion Rate

INFO- MEDIA

77. Knowledge of your Market

78. Research Studies

79. Specific Customer Data

80. Case Studies

81. Sharing

82. Brochures

83. Catalog

84. Business Directory

85. Public Service Announcements

86. Newsletter

87. A Speech

88. Free Consultations

89. Free Demonstrations

90. Free Seminars

91. Publish Article

92. Publish Column

93. Author a Book

94. Publishing-on-Demand

95. Speaker at Clubs

96. Teleseminars

97. Infomercials

98. Constant Learning

HUMAN- MEDIA

99. Marketing Insight

100. Yourself

101. Your Employees and Reps

102. Designated Guerrilla

103. Employee Attire

104. Social Demeanor

105. Target Audiences

106. Your Own Circle of Influence

107. Contact Time with Customers

108. How you say Hello and Goodbye

109. Teaching Ability

110. Stories

111. Sales Training

112. Use of Downtime

113. Networking

114. Professional Title

115. Affiliate Marketing

116. Media Contacts

117. e­Mail List Customers

118. Core Story- Solution to Problem

119. Create a Sense of Urgency

120. Offer Limited Items/ Time

121. Call to Action

122. Satisfied Customers

NON- MEDIA

123. Benefits List

124. Competitive Advantages

125. Gifts

126. Service

127. Public Relations

128. Fusion Marketing

129. Barter

130. Word-of-Mouth

131. Buzz

132. Community Involvement

133. Club and Assn Memberships

134. Free Directory Listings

135. Trade Show Booth

136. Special Events

137. Name Tags at Events

138. Luxury Box at Events

139. Gift Certificates

140. Audio-Visual Aids

141. Flipcharts

142. Reprints and Blowups

143. Coupons

144. Free Trial Offer

145. Guarantee

146. Contests and Sweepstakes

147. Baking/ Craft Ability

148. Lead Buying

149. Follow-Up

150. Tracking Plan

151. Marketing-on-Hold

152. Branded Entertainment

153. Product Placement

154. Radio Talk Show Guest

155. TV Talk Show Guest

156. Subliminal Marketing

COMPANY ATTRIBUTES

157. Proper View of Marketing

158. Brand Name Awareness

159. Positioning

160. Name

161. Meme

162. Theme Line

163. Writing Ability

164. Copywriting Ability

165. Headline Copy

166. Location

167. Hours of Operation

168. Days of Operation

169. Credit Cards Accepted

170. Financing Available

171. Credibility

172. Reputation

173. Efficiency

174. Quality

175. Service

176. Selection

177. Price

178. Opportunities to Upgrade

179. Referral Program

180. Spying

181. Testimonials

182. Extra Value

183. Adopt Noble Cause

COMPANY ATTITUDES

184. Easy To Do Business With

185. Honest Interest in People

186. Telephone Demeanor

187. Passion & Enthusiasm

188. Sensitivity

189. Patience

190. Flexibility

191. Generosity

192. Self Confidence

193. Neatness

194. Aggressiveness

195. Competitiveness

196. High Energy

197. Speed

198. Maintains Focus

199. Attention to Details

200. Takes Action

Thank you, Jay Levinson  for this amazing list.

About the Author:  Patrick McFadden is a  marketing consultant/coach  for small businesses and organizations. He is also a featured marketing contributor to  American Express Open Forum  and has been named a marketing thought leader for small businesses.

By Patrick McFadden May 2, 2025
Everyone is scaling outputs. Almost no one is scaling judgment.
By Patrick McFadden May 2, 2025
Ask anyone in tech where AI is headed, and they’ll tell you: “The next leap is reasoning.” “AI needs judgment.” “We need assistants that think, not just answer.” They’re right. But while everyone’s talking about it, almost no one is actually shipping it. So we did. We built Thinking OS™ —a system that doesn’t just help AI answer questions… It helps AI think like a strategist. It helps AI decide like an operator. It helps teams and platforms scale judgment, n ot just generate output. The Theory Isn’t New. The Implementation Is. The idea of layering strategic thinking and judgment into AI isn’t new in theory. The problem is, no one’s been able to implement it effectively at scale. Let’s look at the current landscape. 1. Big Tech Has the Muscle—But Not the Mind OpenAI / ChatGPT ✅ Strength: Best-in-class language generation ❌ Limitation: No built-in judgment or reasoning. You must provide the structure. Otherwise, it follows instructions, not strategy. Google DeepMind / Gemini ✅ Known for advanced decision-making (e.g., AlphaGo) ❌ But only in structured environments like games—not messy, real-world business scenarios. Anthropic (Claude), Meta (LLaMA), Microsoft Copilot ✅ Great at answering questions and following commands ❌ But they’re assistants, not advisors. They won’t reprioritize. They won’t challenge your assumptions. They don’t ask: “Is this the right move?” These tools are powerful—but they don’t think for outcomes the way a strategist or operator would. 2. Who’s Actually Building the Thinking Layer™? This is where it gets interesting—and thin. Startups and Indie Builders Some small teams are quietly: Creating custom GPTs that mimic how experts reason Layering in business context, priorities, and tradeoffs Embedding decision logic so AI can guide, not just execute But these efforts are: Highly manual Difficult to scale Fragmented and experimental Enterprise Experiments A few companies (Salesforce, HubSpot, and others) are exploring more “judgment-aware” AI copilots. These systems can: Flag inconsistencies Recommend next actions Occasionally surface priorities based on internal logic But most of it is still: In early R&D Custom-coded Unproven beyond narrow use cases That’s Why Thinking OS™ Is Different Instead of waiting for a lab to crack it, we built a modular thinking system that installs like infrastructure. Thinking OS™: Captures how real experts reason Embeds judgment into layers AI can use Deploys into tools like ChatGPT or enterprise systems Helps teams think together, consistently, at scale It’s not another assistant. It’s the missing layer that turns outputs into outcomes. So… Is This a New Innovation? Yes—in practice. Everyone says AI needs judgment. But judgment isn’t an idea. It’s a system. It requires: Persistent memory Contextual awareness Tradeoff evaluation Value-based decisions Strategy that evolves with goals Thinking OS™ delivers that. And unlike the R&D experiments in Big Tech, it’s built for: Operators Consultants Platform founders Growth-stage teams that need to scale decision quality, not just content creation If Someone Told You They’ve Built a Thinking + Judgment Layer™… They’ve built something only a handful of people in the world are even attempting. Because this isn’t just AI that speaks fluently. It’s AI that reasons, reflects , and chooses. And in a world that’s drowning in tools, judgment becomes the differentiator. That’s the OS We Built Thinking OS™ is not a prompt pack. It’s not a dashboard. It’s not a glorified chatbot. It’s a decision architecture you can license, embed, or deploy— To help your team, your platform, or your clients think better at scale. We’ve moved past content. We’re building cognition. Let’s talk.
By Patrick McFadden May 2, 2025
In every era of innovation, there’s a silent bottleneck—something obvious in hindsight, but elusive until the moment it clicks. In today’s AI-driven world, that bottleneck is clear: AI has speed. It has scale. But it doesn’t have judgment . It doesn’t really think . What’s Actually Missing From AI? When experts talk about the “thinking and judgment layer” as the next leap for AI, they’re calling out a hard truth: Modern AI systems are powerful pattern machines. But they’re missing the human layer—the one that reasons, weighs tradeoffs, and makes strategic decisions in context. Let’s break that down: 1. The Thinking Layer = Reasoning with Purpose This layer doesn’t just process inputs— it structures logic. It’s the ability to: Ask the right questions before acting Break down complexity into solvable parts Adjust direction mid-course when reality changes Think beyond “what was asked” to uncover “what really matters” Today’s AI responds. But it rarely reflects. Unless told exactly what to do, it won’t work through problems the way a strategist or operator would. 2. The Judgment Layer = Decision-Making in the Gray Judgment is the ability to: Prioritize what matters most Choose between imperfect options Make decisions when there’s no clear answer Apply values, experience, and vision—not just data It’s why a founder might not pursue a lucrative deal. Why a marketer might ignore the click-through rate. Why a strategist knows when the timing isn’t right. AI doesn’t do this well. Not yet. Because judgment requires more than data—it requires discernment . Why This Is the Bottleneck Holding Back AI AI can write. It can summarize. It can automate. But it still can’t: Diagnose the real problem behind the question Evaluate tradeoffs like a founder or operator would Recommend a path based on context, constraints, and conviction AI today is still reactive. It follows instructions. But it doesn’t lead. It doesn’t guide. It doesn’t own the outcome. And for those building serious systems—whether you’re running a company, launching a platform, or leading a team—this is the wall you eventually hit. That’s Why We Built Thinking OS™ We stopped waiting for AI to learn judgment on its own. Instead, we created a system that embeds it—by design. Thinking OS™ is an installable decision layer that captures how top founders, strategists, and operators think… …and makes that thinking repeatable , scalable , and usable inside teams, tools, and platforms. It’s not a framework. It’s not a chatbot. It’s not another playbook. It’s the layer that knows how to: Think through complex decisions Apply judgment when rules don’t help Guide others —human or AI—toward strategic outcomes This Is the Missing Infrastructure Thinking OS™ isn’t just about better answers. It’s about better thinking—made operational. And that’s what’s been missing in AI, consulting, leadership development, and platform design. If you’re trying to scale expertise, install judgment, or move from tactical to strategic… You don’t need a faster AI. You need a thinking layer that knows what to do—and why. We built it. Let’s talk.
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