--- title: Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing image: https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605343060-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg --- [Skip to main content](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2012/01/thinking-right-and-left-about-content-marketing.html#maincontent) [ «  View All Posts ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog) # Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing January 27th, 2012 2 min read By [David Meerman Scott](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) ![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605343060-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg?width=320&height=245&name=6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg) [![Right brain left brain](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605343060-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg "Right brain left brain")](http://freshspot.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-pi)As I evaluate Web marketing such as blogs and websites, one thing I look for is evidence of both left-brain and right-brain thinking in the creation of the content. This obsession might seem trivial, but I guess my right-brain outlook on life causes me to take a holistic view of content. The right-/left-brain concept is widely credited to have developed from the thinking of American psychobiologist [Roger Sperry](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Wolcott_Sperry) in the late 1960s. Sperry's Nobel Prize-winning work opened whole fields of psychological and philosophical debate including the idea that there are two different sides of the brain, each controlling a "mode" of thinking. **What kind of thinker is your buyer?** Left-brain thinkers focus on the logical, rational, sequential, and analytical while right-brainers prefer more random, holistic, and free-associated approaches. Psychologists say that left-brainers focus on words and numbers while right-brain people focus on visual images and patterns. In our world of creating content for marketing purposes, one might say that left-brain people make logical deductions from information while right-brain thinkers prefer to make lateral associations from information. **What right brain / left brain means for content marketing** The best websites, blogs, and social pages (Facebook and G+ for example) include a combination of text content, images, video and charts. Your goal is to create a mix so that people who are visual have an infographic or photo and those who are analytical might have text and numerical charts. **But there are two problems. ** 1) Most ad agencies and design agencies are populated with people who are great at creating visual content but less good at writing and other left-brain content creation. This means that while sites offer visual cues and easy-to-access lateral information few deliver words and numbers in logical ways. 2) At the same time, left-brainers dominate the top ranks of many companies. Often the top marketing person is a left-brained MBA-type. Need proof? Just count the times "MBA required" is listed on the job description of marketing people at companies. How many liberal arts graduates do you see? Some, but they are greatly outnumbered. One organization that does an excellent job delivering content for all types of people is Amazon. There are multiple ways to find content including search, by topic, and through "best of" lists. There are videos and images and graphics. **As marketers we need to include both right-brain and left-brain people in our content creation efforts. ** Finally, a note to HR executives and headhunters: Please remove the""MBA required" label from marketing jobs—you'll have a better candidate pool if you don't exclude right-brain individuals. *Image: Shutterstock / Carla Castagno * [ David Meerman Scott ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott) David Meerman Scott is a business growth strategist, advisor to clever entrepreneurs who are building emerging companies, and the international bestselling author of a dozen books published in 30 languages. David’s high-energy keynote presentations, masterclasses, and virtual events educate, energize, and inspire. Connect: [mailto:david@freshspot.com](mailto:david@freshspot.com) Topics: [ Thought Leadership ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/thought-leadership) [ Best Practices ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/topic/best-practices) Don't forget to share this post: ## Related Articles [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMS%20Banner%20Option%202%20-%20LinkedIn%20_%20Facebook%20Sizing.png?width=1200&height=627&name=DMS%20Banner%20Option%202%20-%20LinkedIn%20_%20Facebook%20Sizing.png) ### How to Write and Publish a Book that Supercharges Your Personal Brand July 2nd, 2025|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-to-write-and-publish-a-book-that-supercharges-your-personal-brand) [![David Meerman Scott signing books after an event](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/DMScott%20book%20signing-1.jpg?width=4961&height=3390&name=DMScott%20book%20signing-1.jpg) ### Write and Publish a Book that Transforms Your Business and Supercharges Your Personal Brand December 12th, 2023|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/write-and-publish-a-book-that-transforms-your-business-and-supercharges-your-personal-brand) [![Amazon listings for the phase ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Amazon%20shutterstock_1219099198.jpg?width=1500&height=1001&name=Amazon%20shutterstock_1219099198.jpg) ### Using the Amazon Search Engine as Marketing July 18th, 2022|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/using-the-amazon-search-engine-as-marketing) [![Cover of The Carbon Almanac](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Book%20mockup.jpg?width=1250&height=1000&name=Book%20mockup.jpg) ### The Carbon Almanac: It's Not Too Late July 12th, 2022|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-carbon-almanac) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/trademark%20shutterstock_761198749.jpg) ### Why you should NOT trademark your great idea May 5th, 2021|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/do-not-trademark-your-great-idea) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/shutterstock_503377519.jpg) ### The Incredible Power of a Simple Gift April 28th, 2021|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-incredible-power-of-a-simple-gift) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/shutterstock_books_621157613.jpg) ### Top Ten Tips for Writing a Business Book April 1st, 2021|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/top-ten-tips-for-writing-a-business-book) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/Internship%20shutterstock_1470542297.jpg) ### Advice for Young People to Get an Internship, First Job, or Funding March 17th, 2021|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/advice-for-young-people-to-get-an-internship-first-job-or-funding) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/Clubhouse%20audio%20app.jpg) ### Clubhouse: The Great, the Bad, and the Very Worrisome February 23rd, 2021|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/clubhouse-great-but-worrisome) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS%20Covid%20post.jpg) ### My Thoughts on COVID-19 and Your Business March 18th, 2020|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/my-thoughts-on-covid-19-and-your-business) [![DMS at Tony Robbins](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS%20at%20Tony%20Robbins.jpg) ### How to Effectively Use Q&As after Keynote Speeches October 10th, 2019|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/should-keynote-speaker-take-questions) [![DMScott webinar](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMScott%20webinar.jpg) ### 12 Ways to Make Your Webinar Presentations WAY More Effective November 5th, 2018|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/12-ways-to-make-your-webinar-presentations-way-more-effective) [![DMS photos](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS%20photos.jpg) ### 5 Ways to Implement Business Casual Communications October 23rd, 2018|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/5-ways-to-implement-business-casual-communications) [![Branding and Marketing for renewable energy companies](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/Branding%20and%20Marketing%20for%20renewable%20energy%20companies.jpg) ### Free Ebook Generates Millions of Dollars in New Business July 31st, 2018|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/free-ebook-generates-millions-of-dollars-in-new-business) [![lawyer at work](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/lawyer%20at%20work.jpg) ### Expert Witnesses Find New Business By Newsjacking April 18th, 2018|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/expert-witnesses-find-new-business-by-newsjacking) [![DMS and MR](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS%20and%20MR.jpg) ### Matt Risinger Shows How a YouTube Channel Helped Grow Business from Zero to $20 Million February 22nd, 2018|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/how-a-youtube-channel-grows-business-to-20-million) [![shutterstock_520594918.jpg](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/shutterstock_520594918.jpg) ### Personal Privacy Online, Data Condoms, And Protecting Your Kids May 10th, 2017|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/personal-privacy-online-data-condoms-and-protecting-your-kids) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/IMG_4142.jpg) ### Join Me at The Nature of Business Executive Program in Panama October 3rd, 2016|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/join-me-at-the-nature-of-business-executive-program-in-panama) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-2567409867.jpg) ### When Venture Capitalists Are Worth Much More Than Their Money March 3rd, 2015|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/when-venture-capitalists-are-worth-much-more-than-their-money) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-2345956285.jpg) ### 8 Ways to Ruin Your Chance of Making a Sale [Infographic] January 14th, 2015|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/8-ways-to-ruin-your-chance-of-making-a-sale-infographic) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-2302438155.gif) ### The Year to Manage your Fear January 5th, 2015|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-year-to-manage-your-fear) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-2280729572.jpg) ### Learning from the Best SlideShares of 2014 December 29th, 2014|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/learning-from-the-best-slideshares-of-2014) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-2202989115.jpg) ### A Visual Representation of The New Rules of Selling December 9th, 2014|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/a-visual-representation-of-the-new-rules-of-selling) [![](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/hub/413105/file-1676134398.jpg) ### The power of SlideShare for social sharing September 22nd, 2014|2 min read ](https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/the-power-of-slideshare-for-social-sharing) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "datePublished" : "2012-01-27T16:11:24.000Z", "headline" : "Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing", "image" : [ "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hs-fs/file-1605343060-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2012/01/thinking-right-and-left-about-content-marketing.html", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott" } } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person", "@type" : "Person", "description" : "Marketing and sales visionary, international bestselling author of 12 books, keynote speaker in 47 countries, and advisor to emerging companies.", "email" : "mailto:David@DavidMeermanScott.com", "image" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/hubfs/DMS-Homepage-Featured.jpg", "jobTitle" : [ "Keynote Speaker", "Author", "Business Growth Strategist", "Marketing Advisor" ], "knowsAbout" : [ "Content Marketing", "Fandom Marketing", "Newsjacking", "Real-Time Marketing", "Public Relations", "Sales Strategy", "Business Growth" ], "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "sameAs" : [ "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Meerman_Scott", "https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidmeermanscott", "https://x.com/dmscott", "https://www.instagram.com/dmscott/" ], "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#website", "@type" : "WebSite", "author" : { "@id" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/#person" }, "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "potentialAction" : { "@type" : "SearchAction", "query-input" : "required name=search_term_string", "target" : { "@type" : "EntryPoint", "urlTemplate" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/search?q={search_term_string}" } }, "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com" } ``` ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "David Meerman Scott", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/author/david-meerman-scott" }, "dateCreated" : "2014-09-10T23:46:43", "datePublished" : "2012-01-27T11:11:24-0500", "description" : "", "headline" : "Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing", "image" : [ "http://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/413105/file-1605343060-jpg/blog-files/6a00d83451f23a69e20168e633c5ce970c-320wi.jpg" ], "inLanguage" : "en-us", "keywords" : [ "Thought Leadership", "Best Practices" ], "learningResourceType" : "article", "name" : "Thinking Right (and Left) about Content Marketing", "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://413105.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/413105/_Assets/Logo/david-meerman-scott.png" }, "name" : "Freshspot Marketing LLC" }, "timeRequired" : "2 minutes", "url" : "https://www.davidmeermanscott.com/blog/2012/01/thinking-right-and-left-about-content-marketing.html" } ```