Tag Archive - Marketing

In which I slaughter a sacred cow

January 20, 2011 in Journal with 4 Comments

We have many secrets, those of us who sell stories (specifically the printed variety) for a living. I will share one (only one this time) with you, but if I disappear tomorrow you’ll know “they” found me and I had to assume a new identity and move to Cleveland.

So here it is:

Many aspiring authors elevate agents, managers, and publishers to oracle status, but the truth is we’re all guessing. It’s true. The emperor has no clothes. The ivory tower of publishing is constructed entirely of legos–the classic kind not the fancy themed ones you see nowadays.

That’s the truth. It’s out there now.

We don’t really know how any of this works–not really anyway. Marketing plans are an educated guess, human beings are fickle and unpredictable, and we fail ten times for every success that we have. Don’t let marketers and publishers fool you (especially marketers). We miss the boat…a lot. We just play up our successes so no one is any the wiser.

And bestsellers…some books are bestsellers because they somehow manage to sell well. It might actually be truer to call them bettersellers. A good many people pretend to know why one book sells a kajillion copies while another is forgotten altogether. We call those people liars…or publicists. The truth is that no one knows why some books work and others don’t any more than they know what an appendix is for. So don’t waste your money on those “engineer a bestseller” kits.

No, we’re all just trying to do our best to be in the right place at the right time when the right thing comes along. Chances are we won’t recognize it until it’s too late, but maybe we will unless it ended up in the slush pile. We take risks, we win some, we lose a lot. We’re like the venture capitalists of literature, but that’s a post for another day.

Until then, I’ll think about what secrets to divulge next. That is, if I’m still around.

The New Storytellers

January 4, 2011 in Journal with 3 Comments

2011 will be the year that more artists, marketers, and ad agencies evolve into a new breed I call the New Storytellers–individuals who use the digital and analog worlds in unexpected ways to tell the world about their work, whether it’s a widget they’re selling or a novel they’re launching. They’ll live and work where the human story intersects technology, marketing, and community. And they’ll do it better than anyone else.

We’ve seen glimpses of them already. Some use words like transmedia and social storytelling to explain what they do, but these terms will be short lived. Soon, all of the qualifying tags will disappear and what will be left is simply storytelling.

The New Storytellers: Continue Reading…

When experts aren’t

December 29, 2010 in Journal with 1 Comment

During the early stages of any “new thing” experts are recognized based on who shows up first. That’s mostly what it’s about–be visible, be vocal, and sound smart, which is easier to do when no one really knows how the “new thing” actually works or will change things.

Before long, because the barrier to entry is zero, experts and gurus start popping up everywhere. When no one is an expert, everyone is. But the noise level eventually gets out of control and it becomes more difficult to find those people who are actually making things happen instead of simply talking about it.

That’s when most people who are trying to make a real difference have a choice to make. The tendency is to succumb to the noise that threatens to drown you out and either give up altogether or wait for someone to eventually find you in the quiet corner. The problem is you’re not really an expert–whether a marketer, a novelist, or an artist–if no one knows it. You’re simply a smart person with talent that only you know about.

Being smart is great. It’s necessary, actually. So be a genius and know your stuff inside and out. But then go join the conversation. Or better yet, start a new one. Do something surprising and unexpected. Just don’t add to the noise if you can help it.

Why Being a Maven Isn’t Enough Anymore

December 27, 2010 in Journal with 5 Comments

As demand for marketing expertise that bridges the analog and digital worlds increases, brands need “digital polymaths” to lead them where “mavens” cannot.

The past few years have seen the rise of the “marketing maven“, trusted experts that deal in a narrow, but deep subject (like PR or social media strategy). They’re brokers of intellectual capital, influencers, thought leaders, bleeding edge types. They tell companies and brands that the future is now and what steps they must take if they want to get left behind.

Mavens have become known for challenging and convincing brands to think differently about one corner of their world. Social media mavens, for example, help companies see the value in social communities, the power of crowdsourcing, and the difference between engaging in conversations and blasting one-way marketing messages. SEO and SEM mavens clarify the need to quantify hard to measure “stuff” and use the right words.

But being a maven isn’t as attractive as it once was and knowing one “language” just isn’t that valuable. Brands have realized that, as the world grows in complexity and the demand to engage in multiple places and ways increases, they need guides that are fluent, or at least conversant, in multiple areas of expertise.

The mavens are no longer the most important players in the game; the polymaths are. Continue Reading…

Page 1 of 212»