What Richard Laurence Baron Taught Me About Marketing ... and Life - Resonance Content MarketingResonance Content Marketing

What Richard Laurence Baron Taught Me About Marketing … and Life

Dec 2011

If you’re not a member of the Houston marketing community, the name Richard Laurence Baron probably doesn’t ring a bell.

If you are, then you’d probably agree that if the role of Elder Statesman can be said to exist among us, Richard would have to have been it.

A brilliant copywriter and marketer—actually he preferred the term “ad guy”— through and through, Richard became a friend, a mentor, a willing source of help and advice to all he met, novices and veterans alike. He volunteered tirelessly with local organizations and took a deep, hands-on interest in the rapidly changing world of the marketer.

You’ll notice I speak of Richard in the past tense. On December 29, 2011, my dear friend and mentor died peacefully at home while, of all things, talking on the phone.

Yes, Richard was a communicator to his very last breath.

I met Richard—or “RLB” as he signed his emails—just a couple of years ago. He reached out to me on LinkedIn with a message that went something like “Hey, young whippersnapper, I just came across your profile, and it looks like you and I have a lot in common. Let’s get together for lunch and talk shop.”

We did meet for lunch, and I became an instant member of the RLB Fan Club.Richard was a giant of a man, both in stature (he probably stood about 6’7″) and in spirit.

Talking to RLB was like getting a shot of oxygen: his indefatigably positive outlook and passionate curiosity about the world around him was contagious.He was a fantastic sounding board for ideas and always a wonderful source of advice … not always asked for, but unfailingly appreciated.

I could go on and on about Richard’s awesomeness, but the purpose of this post issharing the lessons I learned from him. A complete list could fill several books, but these are the first few that come to mind.

1. Be yourself boldly. Richard had a passion for (in no particular order) Hawaiian shirts, road trips, fine art, good beers, and pretty much anything that aroused his curiosity. He shared his passions freely and they became an integral part of his persona, both on his superb blog Signalwriter and in personal interactions.RLB was who he was and made no apologies for any of it … much to the delight of those who knew him.

2. You can’t go wrong with humility. On the flip side, Richard was a deeply humble man (though his wife might disagree) who would much rather enchant you with a good story than impress you with his accomplishments. RLB laughed at himself often and without restraint. His distinguished career was strewn with awards and accolades … but to Richard these seemed to be nothing more than a few among many colorful tiles that helped make up the Technicolor mosaic of his life.

3. Be a hub of conversation. While I never saw Richard perform as a speaker, I did attend several panel discussions on which he served as moderator. He was brilliant at it. He guided the conversation subtly, allowing the panelists to shine each in his or her own way, interjecting his own questions or comments only when the conversation began to lag. And in doing so, he unintentionally stole the show every time.

4. Change happens—get on board or get left behind. With a long and distinguished career in traditional advertising behind him, Richard could have easily rested on his laurels and coasted into retirement (whatever that would have looked like) as a respected print copywriter. But he didn’t. When the tide began to turn towards interactive marketing, RLB embraced the challenge with his trademark passion and curiosity. He became an effective and sought-after Web writer, schooling himself on the finer points of SEO, usability, and content strategy as he went along. And he was never afraid to ask a “dumb” question.

If you’re still with me, I apologize for the length of this post, but when one writes a tribute to a guy like Richard, one could fill a thousand pages and still not do him justice.

I’m still trying to deal with the fact that 2012, and all years that follow, will be a year without Richard—without his booming laughs, his bear hugs, his rapier-sharp wit and his brilliant insights. But that sadness pales in comparison to the joy and gratitude I feel when I say “He was my friend.”

Thanks for everything, Richard.

Note: A Celebration of Life will be held for Richard on Saturday, January 7, from 1 to 5 pm at The Pavillion on Gessner, 2500 North Gessner, Houston, Texas 77080. In lieu of flowers, his family asks that you make a donation to your favorite charity.

Our Clients Are Saying

Increased our likes and interaction rates

Working with Rachel was a delight. Not only does she communicate very well, but she provided valuable insight about our social media platforms and followers. We have much better engagement with our fans and followers, which increased our likes and interaction rates.
Increased website traffic, New Lead Generation

We were experiencing a lack of internal resources to consistently maintain the Ustream blog. So we turned to Resonance Content Marketing to write blog posts on current industry topics while maintaining a consistent tone with the brand. The result is increased website traffic, new lead generation from gated assets on blog, and better educated/qualified leads. And I now have more time to spend on marketing strategy with the confidence that the content we push out is extremely well written and engaging.

Rachel is an amazing writer and has really managed to create engaging and relevant blog material on topics that aren’t always super interesting. On many occasions, she has been able to quickly turn around one-off requests and the results are always top-notch. She has also helped guide our content strategy based on her expertise in content marketing, which has been a huge asset to our team.
Added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks

Rachel took the overwhelm and stress out of writing content for my marketing campaign! When I approached Rachel, I was really concerned that I wouldn’t have the time to focus on writing copy for a lengthy marketing campaign that included sales pages, solo emails, newsletters and social media updates. Well, let’s just say I’m glad I hired Rachel because I couldn’t have done it without her support and expertise. I loved how she used my voice and words to craft content that helped me reach and attract my ideal client. As a result of working with Rachel, I added 5 figures to my business in less than 4 weeks, hundreds of new social media followers and exceeded my sales and list building goals! You know your marketing copy is working when you hear someone say, “I see you everywhere”. Thank you Rachel for helping me not only get seen by my ideal clients but get paid!
Produced ROI Result

Form.io needed someone who could grasp the complexities of our product, capture the subtlety of our differentiating value propositions, and convey them in the right voice for an exacting customer audience…. Resonance delivered, by crafting a multi-faceted online content marketing strategy that drove traffic and conversion, producing the ROI result we were looking for….
Social Media Ranking Better Than Ever!

We are so happy to have hired Resonance for our social media needs. We spend most of our time serving our clients and studying our field so we can provide the highest quality possible. We no longer worry about our social media, as we have total confidence in the wonderful work Rachel and her team have accomplished.

Our social media is active, promoted, and is ranking better than ever! People often comment about what they see on our Facebook page. Resonance has added a creative, and artistic twist to our social media that is appealing and captivating to our audience. This has allowed me more time to work with my team and clients, so I can focus on service towards the people that help our business grow.

I know there will be wonderful content on Facebook, and that Rachel will answer to posts, comments and questions as soon as a comment arrives. I am often impressed at how quickly she responds! Thank you Resonance! I highly endorse Resonance and encourage companies who need social media strategies to work with Resonance! You won’t regret it!
One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.

My company had little or no time to spend on social media. Our needs were to ensure a steady stream of posts across three platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter) by harvesting and re-purposing content from our own site and news streams. So I contacted Rachel Parker of Resonance Content Marketing.

The result was two-fold. Not only did our ranks of followers grew steadily, the steady drip, drip, drip of content helped us train our personnel and direct their own individual social media efforts.

Rachel and her team are extremely organized and open to discussion and new ideas. They deliver a rapid response to new opportunities — and an overall feeling of being on the same team. One of the best “vendor” relationships I’ve ever had.
Professionalism and Sincere Desire to Help

I just didn’t seem to be able to find the time or the right words to explain what I offer and how my company helps people accomplish their goals. Rachel was able to ask me some questions, do some research and capture my voice while writing my website copy exactly as I needed it to be written. Now, the copy on my website is much more professional than what I would have created and having this task handled by Rachel and Resonance freed up my time to complete other tasks I am better suited to do.

It was a joy to work with Rachel. Her professionalism and sincere desire to help was apparent from the first communication until the final delivery. I will definitely use Resonance again and highly recommend their services.
Event Sold Out Two Years In A Row!

Rachel worked with me on creating a content marketing calendar and content for the Big Social Media Summit (Big SMS) three years in a row. She is very organized and knows just the right amount of posts on social, email newsletters and content to send. Her content marketing efforts helping us sell out our event three years in a row! I am expecting the same for October 2014.

Rachel was hired to write content for our email newsletter and content for our social platforms. In addition, she had a budget to do advertising on social media. She participated in the event live and after the fact to assure buzz was created before, during and after the event. As a result, our event sold out.

When I work with Rachel, I have total peace of mind. I know that she is on target, on time, reliable and delivers over and above the results I expect.

I trust Rachel totally with her ideas on strategy, marketing and the content used to not only promote our events, but also post on my behalf on social networks. I have been doing social media for 8 years, and I hire Resonance to post on some of my social sites as it saves me time, and keeps my social sites relevant and current. They always post great, engaging content that gets my social properties likes, comments and shares.