Stop Trying To Get Any-Old Horse To Drink

I once heard a story about a young salesman who had given the very best pitch that he had to a prospect, but despite all his effort, the prospect still didn’t make a purchase.

He went back to his office and told his boss that he didn’t get the sale.

Then he said to his boss “I guess it’s true that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”

The boss responded quickly with a lesson that the salesman never forgot.

The boss said, “Your job is not to make them drink, your job is to make them thirsty.”

I think that most of us think of sales in this way.

I completely agree with the idea… up to a certain point.

You see, I’ve been thinking about this recently: What is easier to sell? Something that someone already wants? Or something that someone has to be convinced to buy?

I’d prefer to sell something that someone already wants.

The Hamburger Stand With The Most Advantage

That reminds me of lesson the late Direct Marketer, Gary Halbert, once gave to an audience.

He asked the group: “If you opened a hamburger stand, what advantage would you want to have?”

Someone would yell out, “The best hamburgers!”

Someone else would yell out, “The best location!”

Another would say, “The best prices!”

Gary would let them keep going for a while, watching the smug looks spread across the room, as each person became more and more convinced their answer was the best one.

Finally Gary would surprise them all by saying something to the effect, “Those are all good ideas, but I only want one advantage: a hungry crowd!”

I’d add one more condition that I’d want: A hungry crowd - with money!

Of course, you want to offer the best possible product or service.

Of course, you want a great location.

Of course, you want to have competitive prices.

Of course you want a great website, great content marketing, great SEO, great social media strategies, etc.

But if you don’t have a crowd of people, with money - who are hungry for what you’re offering - then you’re going to have a very difficult time getting any money.

Your Content Marketing, Products, And Services Must Attract That Kind Of Crowd

All of the content you create must be designed to attract and help that hungry crowd with money.

Your products and services must meet the needs and/or desires that a crowd of people with money has.

Otherwise you’ll take a lot of action, and maybe see a lot of reactions, but you’ll never get any transactions.

And that will never lead to satisfaction!

(Don’t make me rhyme again! )

I don’t know about you, but I am going to focus everything I do on this #1 priority!

P.S. If you are hungry to know how to create tasty content that can satisfy a hungry crowd, then consider purchasing the recording of my webinar below.

Photo by Pink Sherbet Photography

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

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Geico has never shied away from taking a risk when promoting their company.

(Quick trivia question – just for fun: What does GEICO stand for?

Government Employees Insurance Company.

Now you can see why they use their initials!

They have been providing auto insurance since 1936.)

Their latest risk is a bold content marketing move.

They decided to create a book by their spokesperson:  The Gecko.

Check out this video about the book….

NO, SERIOUSLY. THEY WROTE A BOOK

Just to be clear.

It’s not a joke.

They actually created a real book.

Click the link above to see it on Amazon.

It’s currently ranked #10,710 in Books. It’s ranked #19 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Humor > Parodies

That’s not bad for a gecko!

Well, actually the gecko didn’t really write the book and neither did GEICO.

The Martin Agency and more specifically Anne Marie Hite (the words) and Adam Stockton (the artwork) created the book for GEICO.

You can read their interview on AdWeek.com here.

Will they see direct sales from this type of content marketing?

I doubt it.

But that doesn’t mean it’s a dumb move on their part.

2 THINGS THAT HAVE A BIG IMPACT ON SALES THESE DAYS

You need to remember that making sales today has a lot to do with two things:

1. Being liked
(See “Content Marketing Lessons From The Cake Boss“)

2. Being remembered
(See “Content Marketers: The True Art Of Memory Is Attention“)

TOP OF MY MIND, TOP OF WALLET

If I asked you, “Name an auto insurance company,” I bet one of the first (if not one of the top 2-3 answers) you’d give would be, “GEICO.”

And putting out this book will help them achieve these two things at even higher levels.

It will make them stand out even more in people’s minds in the category they are trying to dominate: auto insurance.

THE LESSON FOR YOU: CREATIVE CONTENT MARKETING MATTERS

The lesson to learn from GEICO is that being creative with your content marketing is very important.

With more and more companies using basic content marketing, your job is not  just to create exceptional and engaging content.

It’s also important to be creative with the types of content you create.

Oh course, your primary goal is to make sales from your content marketing.

But your secondary goals should to be remembered and liked.

Think of creative content forms that help you to achieve those goals and you just might propel yourself beyond the other companies in your niche who are using basic content marketing.

ANY THOUGHTS?

What do you think about GEICO writing a book? What have you experience from getting creative with your content types?

Comment below or contact me and share your thoughts with me.

AFFILIATE LINK DISCLAIMER: I almost always uses affiliate links to Amazon, but I never mention a book simply for the commission. (It’s not big enough to be worth that.) I just think that Amazon might as well cover an occasional Starbucks drink for me in exchange for sending people to buy books from them!  **If it bothers you that the links above are affiliate links, then copy the title above and go to Amazon.com here. No commission will be given if you use the link in the previous sentence. 

Want to learn the methods I use to create engaging content? Click below to learn more…

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

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I recently found a new reality show that I like. It’s called Comic Book Men.

Comic Book Men  is a reality television series on AMC. It’s set at Kevin Smith’s comic book shop, called Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash, which is located in Red Bank, New Jersey.

If you want to know what the show is like, it’s kind of like Pawn Stars for the comic book world. (Make sure you check out my previous content marketing lessons from Pawn Stars called Content Marketers: How To Exploit Patterns To Effortlessly Produce Powerful Content .)

Anyway, it was during one of the Comic Book Men  episodes that I learned about He-Man’s content marketing secret.

If You Don’t Know Who He-Man Is

First of all, for those who don’t know who He-man is, he was the main character of an animated series that was released in 1983. Here’s the intro to the show…

The Show’s Content Marketing Secret

I really liked that show when I was young and I never would have guessed this secret about the show.

The He-Man series was created solely to sell the action-figures.

You see, Mattel’s CEO Ray Wagner make a huge mistake.

He rejected the chance to produce action figures for Star Wars, because he didn’t want to pay the $750,000 license that was required upfront.

After the commercial success of the Star Wars trilogy and its related merchandise, Wagner realized his mistake.

Mattel tried and tried to bounce back from that mistake.

They tried to make their own successful toy-lines, but after several unsuccessful attempts they still couldn’t capture the public’s imagination or impact the toy market.

How Roger Sweet Created He-Man

A guy named Roger Sweet, who was a lead designer working for Mattel’s Preliminary Design Department during most of the 1970s and 1980s, decided he would try to create the next hit action-figure.

Here is how Sweet describes it in his book Mastering the Universe: He-Man and the Rise and Fall of a Billion-Dollar Idea…

“The only way I was going to have a chance to sell this [to Wagner] was to make three 3D models – big ones. I glued a Big Jim figure [from another Mattel toy line] into a battle action pose and I added a lot of clay to his body. I then had plaster casts made. These three prototypes, which I presented in late 1980, brought He-Man into existence. I simply explained that this was a powerful figure that could be taken anywhere and dropped into any context because he had a generic name: He-Man!” 

He-Man was originally presented to Mattel executives in the form of a He-Man Trio: three three-dimensional prototype models depicting He-Man as a barbarian, a soldier and a spaceman.

Out of the three concepts, the barbarian version was chosen to be the basis of the toy-line.

How Mattel Used Content Marketing To Sell He-Man

From the very beginning, Mattel used content marketing to promote their He-Man action-figures.

They started out with mini-comics that were released with the first series of toys. Through this comic series they began to develop the storyline for the action figures.

Mattel must have realized that the Star Wars movies served as a powerful vehicle to promote the Star Wars toy-line,  because it wasn’t long until they decided to come up with an animated series based on He-Man.

He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe

Mattel partnered with Filmation animation studio to make the series.

Filmation then conceived and developed the back-story for the He-Man figures.

Later Mattel and Filmation both went and pitched the idea to the ABC network.

But ABC wasn’t impressed. They turned them down.

The only way the series made it on the air in September 1983 was through barter syndication (a program distribution method in which the syndicator retains and sells a portion of the show’s advertising time.).  

But the risk paid off for Mattel.

It became the first syndicated show to be based on a toy. The show was a huge success.

By 1984, it was seen on 120 U.S. stations and in more than 30 countries.

Not only was the series a success, but the sales of the toy-line exploded.  

In 1986, at the its height of success,  it was pulling in $400 million in profits from US sales alone.

3 Content Marketing Lessons You Can Learn From Mattel

1. Content marketing increases exposure and sales.

The key thing that made the He-man toy-line a success compare to Mattel’s other failures was that it used content marketing to promote it. 

Repetitive exposure is one of the keys of success for any business.

Content marketing is a great way for you to get this exposure while building the “know-like-trust” factor in your prospects.

2. When creating content marketing make sure it is helpful or entertaining to your core audience.

Mattel knew that they had to create fun and imaginative content if they wanted kids to actually watch the show and in turn want to buy their toys. 

Boring content is a waste of your time.  No one will read it. You won’t get any exposure or sales from it.

But entertaining and helpful content will produce results – if you keep planting and watering those seeds.

Want proof?

Marcus Sheridan started River Pools and Spas in 2001.

He decided to post content that was helpful for his core audience. He just began to blog the answers to the questions he repeatedly received from prospects. Questions like: “How Much Do Inground Pools Cost? or “Which is Best: Fiberglass, Concrete, or Vinyl Liner?” (You can see the type of content he wrote here.)

How successful was this content?

His pool company grew to be one of the largest of its kind in the world.

3. You don’t have to create  the content to use content marketing.

Mattel didn’t try to create an animated series. Instead they partnered with Filmation.

You can do the same.

You can hire a freelance writer to create content for you.
You can go to a site like Writtent.com and hire one of their writers.
You can probably even find some local, free or low cost writers to create content for you in exchange for the exposure.

Content marketing can be very powerful force.

If it can help a toy company and a pool company, then it can help your company.

The key is in creating engaging content and using it correctly.

If you would like to learn how to create engaging content, then make sure to check out the “21 Types Of Content We Crave” webinar recording below.

Additionals Sources: Wikipedia (He-Man, He-Man And The Masters Of The Universe, and Mastering The Universe)

AFFILIATE LINK DISCLAIMER: I almost always uses affiliate links to Amazon, but I never mention a book simply for the commission. (It’s not big enough to be worth that.) I just think that Amazon might as well cover an occasional Starbucks drink for me in exchange for sending people to buy books from them!  **If it bothers you that the links above are affiliate links, then copy the title above and go to Amazon.com here. No commission will be given if you use the link in the previous sentence. 

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

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If you haven’t seen this video yet, you need to take the six minutes and nineteen seconds to do that now.

Go ahead. Do it right now. I’ll wait.

You see? I told you it was worth it!

What Most Of Us Are Afraid Of

I didn’t want you to watch it to see them perform together. I did it, because it’s a powerful example of something that most of us are afraid to do:  ask for something.

This video shows Billy Joel singing “New York State Of Mind” with Vanderbilt University student Michael Pollack.

It was filmed during “An Evening of Questions and Answers and a Little Bit of Music” at the university in January 2013.

During the “Question And Answers” portion Billy is standing there taking questions and Michael Pollack stands up to ask a question.

But it’s not just a simple, expected question.

He has the nerve to ask an audacious and bold question:  ”Can I play ‘New York State Of Mind’ with you?“

And, after a half-second pause, Billy says simply, “Ok.”

The Guts To “Ask Big”

Can you imagine the guts it took for Michael to ask Billy Joel if he could play that song with him?

I imagine he must have gone back and forth in his mind wondering, “Should I or shouldn’t I?”

But finally in the moment when he had the spotlight, Michael decided to go for it and ask BIG.

And the result? He received a moment that he will never forget - a moment that could change the trajectory of his life forever.

It is also a moment that is now being shared online and inspiring many others to ask bravely.

Waiting For The Answer To A Question We Never Ask

Most of us don’t do what Michael Pollack did. Not only do we not ask big, we don’t ask at ALL!

• Instead we wait around hoping someone will give us the thing we aren’t willing to ask for.
• Instead we wait around hoping for an answer to an unspoken question.
• Instead we wait for permission to do something that no one knows we want to do.

Look, sometimes waiting around and hoping, waiting, and expecting will produce results.

But USUALLY it doesn’t.

And if it does produce results, they’re usually NOT the results, answers, or permission we really wanted.

Sometimes the only way you will RECEIVE is if you ASK.

And sometimes if you’re brave enough to ask BIG, you’ll receive BIG!

The Worst Thing That Can Happen

What? You say you’re scared to ask? So am I!

What’s the worst thing that could happen if you ask?

You might not get what you asked for.  But if you think about it, that’s not really any worse of a situation than the one you’d be in if you didn’t ask, right?

But what’s the best thing that could happen?

You might get not only what you wanted, but more than that.

You’ll get the courage to ask again for something bigger, for something more.

But wait. Don’t stop there.

What’s the worst thing that could happen if you DON’T ask?

The worst thing is that you will miss out on something you could have had or experienced – if you only would’ve asked!

Not receiving something that you never could have had anyway isn’t a big deal.  But missing out on what you actually could have had  seems to be a very sad result of being too afraid to ask!

Doesn’t it?

And do you realize that there is only one way you can actually know  what you could have had or could have experienced?

Yep. You guessed it.

The only way to know is by asking!

3 Warnings About Asking

1. Be prepared for a “Yes”.

You need to be ready like Michael Pollack was. He had practiced and prepared for that moment, so when he got what he asked for he was ready.

2. Be careful what you ask for.

You might just get it. And not everything we want and desire is always what’s best for us.

3. Be persistent.

Just because you’re told “No” once doesn’t mean you will be told “No” a second time… or even the FIFTEENTH time. Maybe you weren’t ready the last time. Maybe the stage wasn’t set for you. If what you’re asking for is really important and really worth it, then ask again and again and again!

My Challenge For You:

This week I want to challenge you to have enough courage to ask for ONE thing you need, want, hope for, or expect. And for bonus points, make that thing a BIG THING!

Photo from BillyJoel.com

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
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I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN YOU

Sorry you haven’t heard from me recently.

I have been juggling multiple projects and some paid content creation work, which didn’t leave me with very much time to create content for you.

You can see some posts I wrote during this time over at Writtent.com:

• Preview of Facebook’s Graph Search and Its Value for Business
• A 3 Step Content Writing Strategy From Donald Trump
• Unforgettable: Content Marketing and the Reason Your Success Hinges on Being Remembered

• Content Marketing Secrets From Great Comedians

I would encourage you to take time and read some of the above posts. Why?

Some of the lessons I shared in those posts are such important lessons that I, myself, will be using them as the focus of my business in 2013.

Now that I have some time, I want to share with you an important content marketing lesson from a surprising content marketing experience I wasn’t expecting.

It answers the question that some of you might still be asking:

Why should I really bother with content marketing?

TOBY THE CAT

My sons have wanted a pet for a while and the hamster we got (aka “Tingoe”) wasn’t satisfying that craving.

So despite the fact that we haven’t had a cat in years, we decided to adopt a very friendly 8-week old kitten back in December.

We decided to name him “Toby”.

Toby when we first brought him home.

We’ve had him for three months now and he is a great cat.

He’s very patient with my two younger sons who seem to want to hold or harass him every five minutes.

And unlike many cats he’s very affectionate.

My family LOVES Toby. He’s brought a lot of happiness to our lives.

And that leads me to my surprising content marketing experience.

GAME APPS FOR CATS?

The other night I was up late and on my iPad.

I had found some old classic 80′s arcade game apps and I was playing them.

I looked over at Toby sitting on the couch next to me and I thought, “They have apps for everything. I wonder if they have a game app for cats?”

I searched ” game apps for cats” and up popped some games for cats from Purina, the maker of Friskies cat food.

I ended up downloading one called “Jitterbug“ and a few others.

But now I wondered, “Will a cat actually play and interact with an app?”

I started the game and showed it to Toby.

And to my surprise he actually attacked the bugs on the screen!

If you don’t believe me, you can see other cats playing the Jitterbug app in this short video for proof!

DON’T MISUNDERSTAND

When you hear I downloaded an app for my cat, please don’t misunderstand.

I’m pretty basic when it comes to pets. I don’t go for all the “extras” that many pet owners do today.

When some pet store workers told me I should buy some expensive cat litter because it was supposed to be “less harmful for your cat if it accidentally eats some of it” I didn’t buy it.

I told them, “I’m old school. I’ve never bought special litter for my cats in the past and they were fine. If he eats it he’ll poop it out.”

But I did give in and ended up buying Toby some special (expensive) cat food that was supposed to be better for him than “regular store brands”.

He liked it at first.

But recently, he hasn’t seemed to care for it.

And today we finally finished off the bag.

GUESS WHAT BRAND OF CAT FOOD I BOUGHT TODAY?

Yep. You guessed it: Friskies.

Why?

I remembered the brand because of the app. I liked the brand because I liked their app.

And guess what happened when I got home?

I emptied out the rest of that expensive cat food that was just still sitting in Toby’s bowl and I poured in the Friskies.

I whistled and he came to check out the new food. And then he ate it up!

2 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD USE CONTENT MARKETING

1. It makes you memorable.

And being remembered, believe it or not, is a very important thing these days.

I remembered Friskies because of the app they created. That caused them to be at the forefront of my mind when I went to buy some new cat food.

That wouldn’t have happened from another commercial I ignored. But it did happen because of content marketing.

2. It creates an audience of “followers” who will grow to like you.

Purina has been very wise. They created a whole website with games for cats.

By providing content in the form of a game for my cat, they caught my attention and they caused me to like them.

They now reside on my iPad in the form of a game. I’ve liked them on Facebook. I’ve become a “follower“.

I have never particularly liked or disliked the Friskies brand in the past. I was ambivalent. 

But the game (content marketing) made them become favorable to me. And now that Toby ate up their food I like them even more! 

IF THEY DON’T LIKE YOU OR REMEMBER YOU, IT’S OVER

Liking and remembering your business are two of the most important keys to success today.

If people don’t like your business, or they don’t remember it, then your business is dead in the water.

Any old content won’t make you likable or memorable.

But good, creative, fun, and helpful content marketing is one of the best ways to become likable and memorable.

That  is why you should use content marketing.  

Here’s Toby today. He stole my seat when I decided to write this post standing up.

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

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The Rare Comic Book that Sold at a Shocking Price

You need to hear this story I came across. It’s a story that will teach you the three things you must know to succeed in business.

In New York in 2009, there was a Internet auction to sell a comic book.

Now that wouldn’t be anything special except for the amount that it sold for.

You see, at that point in time, the amount it sold for was one of the highest prices ever paid for a comic book.

Why? Keep reading. You’re about to see why.

The winning bid was for the 1938 edition if Action Comics, which featured Superman lifting a car on its cover.

The winning bid was submitted by John Dolmayan, drummer for the rock band System of a Down.

It was submitted to the auction site ComicConnect.com which ran the auction of this rare copy of the first comic book featuring Superman.

You might not realize this, but besides being a musician, Dolmayan is a dealer of rare comic books.

This comic is so rare that they say that only about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 are known to exist and they hardly ever come up for sale.

The amount that was paid for the comic book shows just how valuable the issue was in the opinion of the buyer.

What I thought was ironic was that the guy who previously owned the comic book originally purchased it in a secondhand store in the early 1950s when he was only
9 years old.

And do you know how much he paid for it when he purchased it?

He paid 35 cents.

And do you know what the winning bid for his comic was?  $317,000!!

Can you imagine paying 35 cents for something that you can later sell for $317,000!?!

The Treasure Seeker in Us All

There is something about these types of stories that really appeal to many of us.

In fact, I think this type of story appeals to us so much that it’s the underlying basis for many of the top reality shows on TV these days.

Think about the common theme in these shows: American Pickers, Pawn Stars, Property Wars, Storage Wars, Antiques Roadshow…

These shows all have 2 common underlying themes.

They’re about:

1. Uncovering a treasure someone else isn’t aware of.
2. Having a treasure right under your nose that you don’t even realize is there

There is also a common bidding element on most of these shows.

Once the item is found bidding takes place before someone can get the treasure.

I’ve learned a lot about negotiating from watching these shows.  But the key lessons I’ve learned are that to be successful in bidding and in auctions you must know two things:

1. Know what something is worth
2. Know what you’ll take for it and what you won’t

Why am I telling you these things today?

I believe the same things that are required to succeed in these situations are the same things you must know to succeed in business.

• You must know what your product or service  is worth – to you and to your customer.
• You must know the amount you are willing to accept as payment and what you won’t take for your products or services.

What Separates the Best From the Rest

There is something very important that separates very successful businesses from those that continue to struggle.

The successful businesses know how to create what I would call “rarity” so the amount they get for their products and services is way beyond what other businesses can expect to receive.

It’s what sets Apple apart from the average computer company.

It’s what separates the Four Seasons from Motel 6.

3 Things You Must Know to Succeed in Business

1. Know what your product is worth – to you and your customer.

2. Know the amount you are willing to accept for payment and what you won’t.

3. Don’t sell average products. Sell treasures. Products and services that are rare. Products and services that people will gladly pay top dollar for.

This is the only way to increase the value of what you offer in the eyes of the buyer.

That is how you receive what you deserve (and more) for your products and services.

That is how you succeed instead of struggle in business.

You create content, because you want it be consumed, right?

You want it to help others and to influence people, right?

Well, consider these two quotes before you sit down to create your next piece of content…

“The true art of memory is the art of attention.”

Samuel Johnson - English Poet, Critic and Writer. 1709-1784

Physician to patient: “If I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a hundred times–I do not treat amnesia cases!”

The Reluctant Confession

If we are going to succeed with content marketing, then we have to admit how the two above truths apply to our world today:

1. It is becoming more and more difficult to get people’s attention.

2. People have so much going on and so much information coming at them that they are forgetting much of it – even the things they want to remember!

That means that your content and/or your business is being continually ignored and forgotten.

I’ve been thinking more and more about the fact: being successful today is all about being paid attention to and being memorable.

My personal strategy this year is going to hinge on the concepts I wrote about in this post over at Writtent.com..

Unforgettable: Content Marketing and the Reason Your Success Hinges on Being Remembered

What are you going to do about this fact?

Photo by michi003

If you want to learn how to create unforgettable content,
so you can stand out in your prospects’ and customers’ minds,
then consider this resource…

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

I am still on vacation, but I’ve been thinking a lot about my goals for 2013 and I am sure you are too.

For that reason I wanted to re-post this important post I originally posted in 2011…

Why Your Goals For 2013 Are Too Conservative

Arthur C. Clark said this, “If we have learned one thing from the history of invention and discovery, it is that, in the long run – and often in the short one – the most daring prophecies seem laughably conservative.”

This isn’t just true of history.  It’s true for you individually too.

Our most daring goals and plans fall embarrassingly short of what we’re really able to accomplish in this life!

The people who achieve great things in life have the audacity to attempt big, bold things.  And what is the result?  Many times they achieve their goals or some goal of equal value.

Steve Jobs’ Challenge

Steve Jobs in a perfect example of what I’m talking about.  Listen to what he said this in his Stanford Commencement in 2005…

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart. … Stay hungry. Stay foolish.”

What many of us don’t realize is that the way we see ourselves is too limited and the potential we believe that we have is much too small.

Because of this, we live lesser lives and attempt lesser things than we could.

The Eagle That Thought It Was A Chicken

Let me share with you a story that is a perfect example of what I’m talking about.  It’s a strange story I came across about an eagle that didn’t know he was an eagle.  

Pay close attention, because you are about to see a “picture” of how we live lesser lives.

While walking through the forest one day, a man found a young eagle who had fallen out of his nest. He took it home and put it in his barnyard where it soon learned to eat and behave like the chickens.

One day a naturalist passed by the farm and asked why it was that the king of all birds should be confined to live in the barnyard with the chickens.

The farmer replied that since he had given it chicken feed and trained it to be a chicken, it had never learned to fly. Since it now behaved as the chickens, it was no longer an eagle.

“Still it has the heart of an eagle,” replied the naturalist, “and can surely be taught to fly.”  He lifted the eagle toward the sky and said, “You belong to the sky and not to the earth. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

The eagle, however, was confused.

He did not know who he was, and seeing the chickens eating their food, he jumped down to be with them again.

The naturalist took the bird to the roof of the house and urged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

But the eagle was afraid of his unknown self and world and jumped down once more for the chicken food.

Finally the naturalist took the eagle out of the barnyard to a high mountain. There he held the king of the birds high above him and encouraged him again, saying, “You are an eagle. You belong to the sky. Stretch forth your wings and fly.”

The eagle looked around, back towards the barnyard and up to the sky.

Then the naturalist lifted him straight towards the sun and it happened that the eagle began to tremble.

Slowly he stretched his wings, and with a triumphant cry, soared away into the heavens.

It may be that the eagle still remembers the chickens with nostalgia. It may even be that he occasionally revisits the barnyard.  But as far as anyone knows, he has never returned to lead the life of a chicken.

Choose Worthy Goals

What I am telling you today is to look at the goals you have for your life and your business in 2013 and ask yourself, “Are these goals really worthy of me?  Are these really all that I can, or should, achieve?”

You don’t want to live your whole life rooting around on the ground and find out you were meant to soar.

Photo by: pmbell64

Thank you all who have visited this site this year.

Thanks to all of you who have signed up for email reminders.
(You can do the same thing over there ==> on the right side bar…hint-hint, wink, wink.)

And now, without further ado….

Here are RecessionSolution.com’s “Top 20 Posts For 2012“:

20. Content Marketing Lessons From Snow White

19. For Business Owners Paralyzed About The Economy

18. 2 Marketing Lessons From The Olympics On The Power Of Association

17. Content Marketing & Successful Salesletters: Their Little-Known Similarity

16. A Father’s Dream That Impacted The World And An Overlooked Content Marketing Form

15. Shhh… One Of The Most Powerful Forms Of Content Marketing

14. Disney’s Content Marketing Technique Used To Promote “Carsland”

13. Content Marketers: Think Like Steve Harvey

12. Branding And Content Marketing Lessons From Reality TV And The Olympics

11. How Trader Joe’s Uses Content Marketing To Keep Customers Coming Back

10. ABC, Nick Wallenda And The Content Marketing Lesson For Us All

9. The Great Value Of Disaster?

8. 5 Content Marketing Lessons From National Cinemedia’s Pre-Movie Show “FirstLook”

7. How Walt Disney Used Content Marketing To Launch And Finance Disneyland

6. Merry Christmas! (Why I Don’t Say Happy Holidays)

5. Branding Revelation #2: Lessons From Looney Tunes

4. Business & Branding Lessons From The Show “American Pickers”

3. The Legend Of Cliff Young And The Overlooked Ingredient For Success In 2012

2. Martin Luther King Jr. & The Funny Exchange At Our Breakfast Table…

1. Video: Content Creation Secrets From Charles Dickens

Bonus: 2 Top Posts For December
(NOTE: I am not including ones already posted above.) 

6 More Content Marketing Strategies From the Hobbit Movie

The Lost Story Of How Content Marketing Gave Birth To Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Photo by Angela Winnie

Do you want to learn how
to create content like this?

Then check out… 

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It

]]> http://recessionsolution.com/2012/12/27/our-top-20-posts-for-2012/feed/ 0 http://recessionsolution.com/2012/12/24/repost-christmas-songs-and-the-surprise-content-marketing-lessons/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=repost-christmas-songs-and-the-surprise-content-marketing-lessons http://recessionsolution.com/2012/12/24/repost-christmas-songs-and-the-surprise-content-marketing-lessons/#comments Mon, 24 Dec 2012 08:00:49 +0000 scottaught http://recessionsolution.com/?p=5297

This is an important post I put up last year. I thought those of you who missed it the first time should see it now…

It’s ok.  Go ahead.  Call me a “sap.”  I probably deserve it.

Why?  Well, there is a local radio station that begins playing Christmas songs 24/7 starting on December 1st and plays them every day up until, and including, Christmas day.

And the reason you might want to call me a “sap”?

I really like listening to the station during this time of year.  I don’t why.  I just don’t get sick of hearing those songs.  Maybe it’s the feeling I get from hearing those songs.

But I was listening to the station the other day enjoying the old school classic Christmas songs I know (i.e. White Christmas, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, Silent Night, etc.), and being in awe of how many Christmas songs that I’ve never heard of (98 degrees had a Christmas song?), when I realized something.

There are some important content marketing lessons to learn from Christmas songs.

 (Did you just hear that ”someone-bumped-the-turntable-needle-scratch-now-there’s-silence”  sound?)

Are you wondering if I’ve had a little too much spiked egg nog?  I haven’t.  I’m serious.  There are some important content marketing lessons that we can learn from Christmas songs.

Think about it.  Why else would so many top artists do Christmas songs?  Here are the content marketing lessons I’ve learned from Christmas songs.

1. If you want your prospects’ attention, then produce content based on things they are already  thinking about.  

Famous “old school” marketer Robert Collier revealed this concept back in 1934 in his book, The Robert Collier Letter Book:“Join the conversation already going on in your prospects’ mind.”

Everyones’ mind is on Christmas this time of the year, so the smartest thing for singers is to sing songs that focus on this theme.  

This will get them attention from prospects, media outlets, and other avenues because of their focus on this theme.

Your First Lesson: 

Create content around themes that everyone is focusing on throughout the year.  Ex. January = Goals & resolutions, February = Love, March = Luck, April = Fooling people, etc.  This will gain you attention and traction that you otherwise would never get.

2. Try and create content around certain themes that have an enduring and universal appeal.

 Not only is it wise for singers to sing Christmas-themed songs so that they will get attention this year, but so they will get attention (and sales) for years to come.

Puerto Rican singer-songwriter José Feliciano may not be a top-selling singer nowadays, but every year one of the Christmas songs that is guaranteed to be played is “Feliz Navidad“, a Christmas song he wrote back in 1970.  

I don’t know what kind of kind of royalty deal he has, but that song brings him continual exposure and, hopefully, continual profits for him.  It keeps him in demand.

Your second lesson:

Create your content around universal themes that will be appealing to your prospects today and 30 years from now.  

Focus on themes such as: good vs evil, rags to riches, darkness vs light, David vs. Goliath, and many others.

If you can tie your content (and your product/service) to one of these themes, then you will see lasting, continual results.  Apple tied their story into the “David vs. Goliath” theme and we’ve all seen the results they had!

3. Finding the current or lasting theme is the key thing.  

After you do that, you have many options to choose how you actually produce the content.  Christmas songs teach you three basic methods  that you can use to produce the content.

The first choice is what some singers do.  They sing a classic song like “O Holy Night.”  It’s a public domain song.  

They don’t have to pay for it or share royalties.  It’s guaranteed to be popular and have a strong emotional pull.  All they have to do is put their own twist on it and its ready to go.

The second choice is what other singers do.  They license a song that has already been created.  

I’m betting they have to pay a fee upfront and/or pay a certain percentage of any income they make from it.

Why would they do that?  They don’t care.  

Again using a song that was already written and proven to be popular basically guarantees them exposure and sales.  Plus the song is getting that singer exposure and selling their real product, which is them.

But there is a third choice that some singers bravely choose to do.  They create a brand new song around the Christmas theme.  

This is riskier, because it might not be as popular as a song which has already been written and proven popular.

But I would think it wouldn’t be as risky as a normal song they would write.  Why?  It’s guaranteed to at least get some exposure and attention, because it’s tied to this powerful theme.

And if it’s a hit, then it will be a song that will be played for years to come and bring them future exposure and profits.  

Profits they won’t have to share as they would if they licensed a song.  And, as a bonus, it might become so popular that singers in the future will pay them money  to license it to sing themselves.

Your third lesson:  

Once you find the current or universal theme that will appeal to your prospect, then choose the method you will use to create the content: 

1. Create the content yourself

2. License the content

3. Use public domain content.   

If you pick a truly powerful theme, then creating the content is the easy part, since you have these 3 options.

One last thing.

If you aren’t sure you can really apply this idea to the content you create, let me ask you if you noticed something.

Do you see what I just did in this post?  I created content (about content marketing) and tied it to a theme that is on your mind right now (Christmas)!

And because I did this, you read this post.

See?  If I can do that with the topic of content marketing, then you can do it too.

Photo by Paparutzi.

Do you want to learn how
to create content like this?

Then check out… 

 “21 Types Of Content We Crave” Webinar:
Why Boring Isn’t Memorable And What You Must Do About It