November 20th, 2008

Would Anybody Tell a Friend?

This week I listened to a teleseminar presented by Elizabeth Marshall with Author Teleseminars. The notable guests were Guy Kawasaki, Rich Sloan, Pam Slim and Andy Sernovitz. Each of them served up uncommon wisdom about business that has nothing to do with business as usual.

As someone who believes in the power of personality and authenticity to build rewarding relationships (on and offline) I was delighted with the panelists’ comments. Though I don’t remember who said it, one thing in particular stuck in my head. It was a simple question that we should ask ourselves when evaluating any idea. Here it is. Would anybody tell a friend?

Wow! What a great idea evaluator. So why would someone tell a friend about your business, your podcast, your anything?

Well. there’s the cool factor. It makes me laugh. It makes me feel good. It captures my imagination. It’s interesting. And it’s important to me.

Then, there’s the ‘I get it’ factor. This ‘thing’ (even a complex thing) is understandable. It’s clear and simple (even more important when it’s complex). It’s a good deal. It’s in my best interest.

And finally, there’s the ‘I want it’ factor. It comforts me. It elevates my status. It expresses the wonderful quirkiness of me. It makes me feel (supply any of the following) sexy, powerful, beautiful, and popular or other emotional drivers.

My creative partner Susan and I frequently encounter businesses in search of a personality. These are perfectly fine people, it’s just that their collective corporate persona is devoid of anything resembling human. The language landscape is over-populated with facts in search of context. Their knowledge is lost for a lack of narrative. And don’t get Susan started on design that fails to reveal any signs of life. That makes her really cranky.

Here’s my take. Friends tell friends about things that are insanely silly and monumentally important. Friends tell friends about things that are real and relatable that can readily be re-told.

So if you’re exploring ideas on how to build a brand, attract an audience, or make more money, just ask yourself, ‘would anybody tell a friend about this?’ If the answer is no, you may be suffering from absentee personality syndrome. But don’t worry, if you’re a person (even the non-perky kind) personality can be recovered and brought to life. And life is what friends are telling friends all about.

Jan

Permalink ::

Comments (86)


Good work! Thank you!
I always wanted to write in my blog something like that. Can I take part of your post to my site?
Of course, I will add backlink?

Sincerely, Reader

Posted by Timur I. Alhimenkov | January 28th, 2009 2:32 am

Thank you! I’m a big fan of praise - especially when it’s coming my way. So, yes. Please share the post on your site. I appreciate the inbound linkage.

Jan

Posted by admin | January 28th, 2009 11:16 am

Hello. Your site displays incorrectly in Opera, but content excellent! Thanks for your wise words =)

Posted by ClullyMok | February 5th, 2009 11:52 pm

Thank you for reading and commenting positively on the post. It is very much appreciated. Obviously, we did not check the site display in Opera; reviewing only IE, Firefox and Safari. My apologies for any inconvenience. We’ll add this to our troubleshooting list. With appreciation,

Jan

Posted by admin | February 7th, 2009 1:26 pm

cool sitename man)))
————————
ads: http://pedeno.ru/

Posted by JeoneClulge | March 9th, 2009 10:29 am

Hello. I think the article is really interesting. I am even interested in reading more. How soon will you update your blog?

Posted by GarykPatton | June 15th, 2009 11:29 pm

Hi Gary -

Glad you found the post worthwhile and are interested in reading more. Who doesn’t want to hear that?

As for our blog schedule, we have one post pending right now that will go live very soon. I’m on an erratic one-a-week posting schedule with every intention to do better!

Again, thank you for your comment. You inspire me to do more - better!

Posted by admin | June 16th, 2009 9:06 am

[...] unique selling proposition’. What’s uniquely human about what you do, make, or sell? Why would someone tell a friend about what you offer? You see, anybody can make egg salad. But only Larry Clore can make HIS egg [...]


Informative article, I learned a lot!
JenniferSmith,
Site Admin watch UFC 109 online

Posted by wooconaReon | January 10th, 2010 1:24 pm

Great read, I learned a lot!
JenniferSmith,
Site Admin watch UFC 109 online

Posted by wooconaReon | January 16th, 2010 5:47 pm

heya what a great post i found it at yahoo
I have followed you for a while now and i realy enjoy you posts. THey all ways help me out.
Vista registry cleaners

greetz

Posted by AlemWeava | January 29th, 2010 3:42 pm

Very good blog post I love your blog keep up the amazing posts

Posted by UFC 110 live | February 20th, 2010 8:27 am

Very nice blog post I enjoy your blog keep up the great blog posts

Posted by Watch UFC 110 Live | February 21st, 2010 12:37 am

good read ;)

Posted by AnnyCute | February 27th, 2010 8:30 am

Hello, I found this web page by mistake i was looking for Google for a registry cleaner that I had currently ordered when I came upon your site, I should say your website is truly cool I just love the theme, its superb!. I do not have the time at this moment to totally browse through your website but I have bookmarked it as well as signed up for your RSS feeds. I shall be back within a day or two. thanks to get a great website.”

Posted by Netcom3 | March 10th, 2010 11:52 am

Substantially, the post is in reality the greatest on this precious topic. I fit in with your conclusions and will eagerly look forward to your next updates. Just saying thanks will not just be adequate, for the wonderful lucidity in your writing. I will right away grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates. Authentic work and much success in your business efforts!

Posted by watch ufc 113 free | April 27th, 2010 3:48 pm

Helpful info you have displayed here thanks.

Posted by chanel handbags | May 13th, 2010 12:10 pm

Thank you for taking the time to talk about  this, I feel  fervently  about it and I enjoy learning about this topic.  Please, as you gain data, please add to  this blog with more information.  I have found it extremely useful.

Posted by copyright designs patents act | June 2nd, 2010 11:40 pm

Hi. I wanted to drop you a quick note to express my thanks. I’ve been following your blog for a month or so and have picked up a ton of good information as well as enjoyed the way you’ve structured your site. I am attempting to run my own blog but I think its too general and I want to focus more on smaller topics. Being all things to all people is not all that its cracked up to be.

Posted by copyright infringment | June 3rd, 2010 6:08 am

haha,The Subject of your blog is very fit to me, I hope more interflow with you this Motive.

Posted by Elois Cius | June 4th, 2010 9:34 pm

This article is a great help to me! Thank you!

Posted by free style bmx | June 6th, 2010 5:44 pm

This is a nice blog i must say, usually i don’t post comments on others’ blogs but would like to say that this post really forced me to do so!

Posted by payment loan | June 6th, 2010 11:22 pm

I still could not understand some of your thoughts after reading this article. Friday for me, bad day, because yesterday I worked all day. good luck…

Posted by Fern Vaccarino | June 7th, 2010 7:51 pm

this is sooo cool.

Posted by free style bmx | June 8th, 2010 4:04 am

You write very interestingly. I think Google is becoming very smart. It can sense which website has interesting posts

Posted by หาเพื่อน | June 9th, 2010 12:15 am

Valuable info. Lucky me I found your site by accident, I bookmarked it.

Posted by best beauty products | June 9th, 2010 4:13 pm

Great blog post.Really looking forward to read more.

Posted by Hildred Monnin | June 9th, 2010 8:27 pm

That is some inspirational stuff. Never knew that opinions could be this varied. Thanks for all the enthusiasm to offer such helpful information here.

Posted by Layla Badanguio | June 11th, 2010 8:09 am

I found your site on yahoo and thought I would drop by and say hey. I like the way your blog is set up. I¡¯ll come back later. I have to go walk my dog right now and take them to potty.

Posted by Lizeth Gusmar | June 12th, 2010 8:29 pm

I was looking for this the other day. i dont usually post in forums but i wanted to say thank you!

Posted by golf course | June 13th, 2010 1:00 am

I am really interested in this subject, waiting for more. (Sorry about my English)

Posted by franklinvsliddell | June 13th, 2010 8:43 am

haha,The Subject of your blog is very Suit to me, I hope more exchanges with you this Motive.

Posted by Clark Mirick | June 13th, 2010 10:00 am

Hey I just wanted to let you know, I really like the composition on your web site. But I am employing Firefox on a machine running version 9.04 of Xubuntu and the look and feel aren’t quite right. Not a serious deal, I can still fundamentally read the articles and search for information, but just wanted to inform you about that. The navigation bar is kind of hard to apply with the config I’m running. Keep up the superb work!

Posted by Silver | June 14th, 2010 12:22 am

I feel you are too good to write Genius!Thanks for posting, maybe we can see more on this.

Posted by replica handbags | June 14th, 2010 1:35 am

Spitze Design hat dieser Blog. Woher hast du die Vorlage ? War bestimmt sehr teuer.

Posted by Shu Branter | June 14th, 2010 4:41 am

Lol, so true!

Posted by PS3 Slim | June 16th, 2010 8:26 pm

Hey, thanks…I’ve been waiting for news like that. Great! That’s really interesting. Thank you!

Posted by data entry telecommute | June 16th, 2010 10:18 pm

I didn’t quite understand this when I first read it. But when I went through it a second time, it all added up in my mind. Thanks for the insight. Absolutely something to twirl in my mind.

Posted by Erich Ebberts | June 18th, 2010 3:02 am

You’re a Really Professional Blogger, You either have got quality knowledge of what your discussing or you did some great research. Thanks for this excellent post.

Posted by Exclusive Eat | June 19th, 2010 5:19 pm

thank you for discussing the information…..

Posted by camo shorts for men | June 20th, 2010 6:02 am

Nice opinion. I found your blog through google while i was researching for web hosting. I will recommend your site to other people and I am sure they hopefully think the same about your writing on this site.

Posted by okayliving | June 20th, 2010 7:49 am

nice to be here…. thanks for share

Posted by Traditional Chinese Herbs | June 20th, 2010 11:36 am

I would like to say, nice webpage. Im not sure if it has been addressed, however when using Firefox I can never get the entire page to load without refreshing alot of times. Could just be my modem.

Posted by Keeley Bonar | June 20th, 2010 2:19 pm

Great information! I’ve been looking for something like this for a while now. Thanks!

Posted by Kirstie Rickers | June 20th, 2010 4:34 pm

Would you mind if I use some of the info here, and I’ll leave a link back to you?

Posted by wrinkle serum | June 21st, 2010 9:04 am

Thank you to get sharing this information. But it will be truly great to get some more details!

Posted by Floretta Bartosch | June 22nd, 2010 8:59 am

I feel you are too good to write Genius!Thanks for posting, maybe we can see more on this.

Posted by Exclusive Eat | June 22nd, 2010 10:15 pm

You’re a Really Professional Blogger, You either have got quality knowledge of what your discussing or you did some great research. Thanks for this excellent post.

Posted by Holly Colins | June 23rd, 2010 11:24 pm

wow, awesome post, I was wondering how to cure acne naturally. and found your blog by bing, many userful stuff here, now i have got some idea. bookmarked and also signed up your rss. keep us updated.

Posted by Seymour Cloney | June 24th, 2010 3:51 pm

Excellent read, I just passed this onto a colleague who was doing a little research on that. And he actually bought me lunch because I found it for him smile So let me rephrase that: Thanks for lunch!

Posted by Exclusive Eat | June 25th, 2010 3:40 pm

Thank you to my website message! So come and look at your article, I feel very good

Posted by can you really make money online | June 27th, 2010 12:47 am

Thank you for another fantastic blog. Where else could I get this kind of information written in such an incite full way? I have a project that I am just now working on, and I have been looking for such information¡­ Regards¡­

Posted by Rosalba Zingarelli | June 27th, 2010 2:02 am

I¡¯ve read some good stuff here. Definitely worth bookmarking for revisiting.

Posted by Kyra Houtchens | June 29th, 2010 9:41 am

This has been a really good read . been looking for this for since. thank you a lot.

Posted by caffeine green tea | June 29th, 2010 1:52 pm

Hey - nice blog, just looking around some websites, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run.

Posted by wooden fishing lures | July 1st, 2010 3:54 pm

This is a great resource for anyone who blogs!!

Posted by replica handbags | July 2nd, 2010 9:58 am

Hi,thanks for the great quality of your blog, each time i come here, i m amazed.

Posted by louis vuitton handbags | July 4th, 2010 2:05 am

Hey may I quote some of the content found in this entry if I reference you with a link back to your site?

Posted by gucci handbags | July 4th, 2010 3:40 am

I just visited your site via Facebook..I found myself regurgitating what you said in your 1 and 2 points while answering the three questions. =) I’ll be brief insteadwould you be interested in becoming weblog partners?

Posted by gucci handbags | July 4th, 2010 7:02 am

Nice opinion. I found your blog through google while i was researching for web hosting. I will recommend your site to other people and I am sure they hopefully think the same about your writing on this site.

Posted by Ladonna Muska | July 6th, 2010 8:53 pm

What was my enchantment to come accross an article like this. Direct my favorites! See you soon !

Posted by Stock Market Monitor | July 8th, 2010 11:25 am

These are very nice tips that I will try out, I am glad I ran into it. Thanks.

Posted by Britt Santaloci | July 11th, 2010 8:33 pm

Hey - nice blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a pretty nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my sites but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?

Posted by directory submitter software | July 13th, 2010 6:13 am

Just saying thanks will not just be sufficient, for the tremendous lucidity in your writing. I will right away grab your rss feed to stay abreast of any updates.

Posted by Shelton Bresnahan | July 14th, 2010 8:56 pm

Thanks very good for report, I follow your blog:-)

Posted by Air Plane Tickets | July 16th, 2010 12:20 am

This is just what I was looking for thanks for the info.

Posted by Taylor Made Driver | July 16th, 2010 6:42 am

I’m glad I found your site through google , really enjoyed it. Thank you..

Posted by Deann Grajales | July 17th, 2010 2:36 pm

This is my first time I have visited here. I found a lot of interesting stuff in your blog. From the tons of comments on your posts, I guess I am not the only one! keep up the great work.

Posted by Music downloads | July 18th, 2010 11:17 am

Okay article. I just became aware of your blog and desired to say I have really enjoyed reading your opinions. Any way I¡¯ll be subscribing in your feed and Lets hope you post again soon.

Posted by Hershel Jansons | July 18th, 2010 2:03 pm

Hey very nice blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also¡­I am happy to find so many useful information here in the post, we need develop more strategies in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .

Posted by Tashia Haak | July 24th, 2010 3:00 pm

I¡¯m not sure where you are getting your info, but goodtopic.|I needs to spend some time learningmore or understanding more.|Thanks for greatinformation I was looking for this information for my mission.

Posted by Rosalind Beisner | July 25th, 2010 1:14 am

Hi. I go through a few of one¡¯s other posts and wished to understand in the event you would be interested in exchanging blogroll links?

Posted by Enoch Botkins | July 25th, 2010 10:40 am

Good topic for making an effective dissertation. . . . . .


this site is really great.. nice layout

Posted by vigrx | July 28th, 2010 12:10 am

I am just making a blog related to this. If you allow, I would like to use some of your content. And with full refernce of course. Thanks in advance.

Posted by Revenge Of The Bridesmaids ABC | July 28th, 2010 6:52 am

Finding websites with as much information as this one is always a pleasure I wll be sure to come back and visit again real soon, keep up the good work.

Posted by movie clip | July 28th, 2010 10:44 pm

Easily, the post is actually the greatest on this deserving topic. I agree with your conclusions and will thirstily look forward to your coming updates. . . . .

Posted by Amanda Bynes Hot | July 29th, 2010 1:09 am

This is such a great resource that you are providing and you give it away for free. I love seeing websites that understand the value of providing a quality resource for free. It?s the old what goes around comes around routine. Did you acquired lots of links and I see lots of trackbacks??

Posted by Cooler Than Me Video MTV | July 29th, 2010 1:33 am

I do agree with all the ideas you have presented in your post. They are very convincing and will definitely work. Thanks for the post.

Posted by I Like It Enrique Iglesias Video | July 29th, 2010 6:24 am

Wonderful article! I’ll subscribe appropriate now wth my feedreader application!…

Posted by Coach handbags outlet | July 29th, 2010 6:54 am

Am i allowed to link up to this, through my world-wide-web site? I’m likely to get as much sources of data as i am able.

Posted by Russ Urbaez | July 29th, 2010 11:37 am

Hey - great blog, just looking around some blogs, seems a really nice platform you are using. I’m currently using Wordpress for a few of my blogs but looking to change one of them over to a platform similar to yours as a trial run. Anything in particular you would recommend about it?

Posted by I Like It Enrique Iglesias Video | July 29th, 2010 11:46 pm

Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out! I love what you guys are always up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.

Posted by Omg Usher Video Download | July 30th, 2010 6:44 am

Have you ever considered adding more videos to your blog posts to keep the readers more entertained? I mean I just read through the entire article of yours and it was quite good but since I’m more of a visual learner,I found that to be more helpful well let me know how it turns out! I love what you guys are always up too. Such clever work and reporting! Keep up the great works guys I’ve added you guys to my blogroll. This is a great article thanks for sharing this informative information.. I will visit your blog regularly for some latest post.

Posted by Silibil n Brains | July 31st, 2010 1:22 am

Its very informative and interesting article.all the points are very useful. Simple but very effective writing. Thanks for sharing such a nice post.

Posted by tempe town lake dam break | July 31st, 2010 4:20 am

Leave a Reply

Welcome

Jan Nichols, Words     Susan Bachman, Pictures

“We’re just two girls who aren’t afraid to talk (and talk and talk) about what it takes to be creative.”

Here, Read This

Jan Nichols doesn’t just talk a lot, she writes too! Read an excerpt of her book in progress, Conversations with Creative Minds.

Hey, it’s not homework! Don’t feel like reading? No problem, sit back, relax and listen to the melodic tones of the author herself.

And Look At This

archives

Status Updates

  • Our clients have written a cool cookbook, "Freshman in the Kitchen" AND they'll be on the Today Show April 17. Enjoy the promo out takes. http://ping.fm/SbqnA
    492 days ago
  • It's HARO's 1-year anniversary. Cool! "Get Sourced. Get Quoted. Get Famous." http://www.helpareporter.com Try it. You'll really, really like it.
    499 days ago
Add to Technorati Favorites