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
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
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
Hello. Your site displays incorrectly in Opera, but content excellent! Thanks for your wise words =)
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
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Hello. I think the article is really interesting. I am even interested in reading more. How soon will you update your blog?
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!
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