Even Best-Selling Authors Need an “Angle”
To Raise Their Product Profile Above the Din
If its Good Enough for Them . . . its Good Enough for You!
Last week, having left the TV on after the thrilling launch of Space Shuttle Discovery (working at home does have its privileges!) I was intrigued by a promo for an upcoming guest on the Jane Pauley show.
I don’t usually watch the Jane Pauley show, but in this case I was glad I did.
It wasn’t the story on downsizing expectations with inexpensive smaller houses ($200,000 to $300, 000 is now considered inexpensive, I guess), but the promo for an appearance by author Malcolm Gladwell.
You see, in this age of super models and Michael Jackson trials, Mr. Gladwell is probably not one to light up the imaginations of Mr. & Mrs. America. However, in promoting his appearance, Ms. Pauley’s producers picked out a subject that would – Speed Dating.
And in THAT is a lesson for us all.
Because what the Pauley show did, was discover something we all should do not only in promoting our audio products, but in conceiving them: Finding an angle.
Its something that any cub high school newspaper reporter knows, but unfortunately, not enough entrepreneurs.
You see, back when I was a small market television sports reporter / anchor it wasn’t enough to come up with a story idea. We also had to come up with the “angle”. And what that “angle” did was answer several questions:
- What about this story idea is newsworthy?
- Why should I care?
- And what about it would make someone stop folding the laundry long enough to actually watch?
According to Barbara Mackoff’s review on amazon.com, Blink! examines the effect of first impressions or as she puts it “the first two seconds of looking -- the decisive glance that knows in an instant” upon our decisions and actions.
Or as another reviewer put it, sometimes less input (as long as it's the right input) is better than more.
Which is exactly what Speed Dating embodies. You’re thrown together with a bunch of other singles for a limited period of time, and asked to make snap decisions on who you’d like to spend more time with.
By leading with Speed Dating (which much of America finds fascinating) rather than Malcolm Gladwell (which much of America does not) Pauley’s producers insured themselves the largest possible audience.
And what I’m suggesting, is that if you also want that terrific outcome you need to do the exact same thing.
You must find a way – BEFORE YOU SIT DOWN TO CREATE IT – to make your audio product idea resonate with your target audience at a gut level, to do it in a way that attracts attention, and do it in a way that makes what you’re offering sound different than anything your audience has heard about before.
In other words, you need to find a killer angle.
My good friend Andy Wibbels has done this with his very hot eBook and telecourse, Easy Bake Weblogs. By combining humor and everyone’s favorite word (Easy) with something that appears to be unrelated to either (Blogs) he creates incredible interest. And turns blogging from a curiosity into a possibility.
My colleague Ann Vanino has done something very similar with her new book Leadership on Trial: Lessons from The Apprentice, where she uses the Donald Trump / NBC reality series as a metaphor from which to discuss important aspects of leadership.
Robert Kiyosaki has built an empire by taking a clever twist on the title of a very popular book and mini-series (Rich Man, Poor Man) as the title for his wealth-building series of books and seminars -- Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
Your angle can be the title. It can be how you promote your audio. It can be the way the information in your audio is organized, the metaphor upon which is based.
Or preferably, all of them combined.
Because the truth is, a lot of people out there REALLY DO care about what you’re saying. They just don’t know it yet. And you need to have the chutzpah to find a unique way to make them discover just how much they care. And do it in a way that capitalizes on something THEY’RE ALREADY interested in, rather than something YOU THINK THEY SHOULD be interested in.
If you think this is beneath you, think again. Because its only exploitation if you don’t offer something of value in return.
Because of Speed Dating thousands of American’s now know about Malcolm Gladwell. Because of a clever title, thousands of folks also have gotten a start on building wealth.
And because of an angle – one that may RIGHT NOW be sitting under your nose – your next audio product may not only be the one that helps people find out about you, but becomes a turning point, in the lives of your listeners and the life of your business.
