Deb and I spent a terrific day with my family yesterday.
We gathered in Solvang, the historic little Danish community (i.e., tourist trap) that sits a half-hour north of Santa Barbara. And we shopped, tasted wine, bought wine, and wrapped it all up with dinner at a nice Danish restaurant.
And I forgot entirely about the Oscars.
I didn’t even DVR the damn thing.
In fact, I’d still forgotten about the Oscars until this morning, when I plopped into a comfy chair at Starbucks with my cup of dark roast, booted up the ol’ laptop, and saw the news headlines.
The Hurt Locker? Kathryn Bigelow? What the –?!
Wasn’t the high-priced 3D leviathan Avatar supposed to sweep the Oscars this year? And wasn’t it assumed that its director, James Cameron (ironically, Bigelow’s ex), would equally clobber his competition?
Didn’t happen.
I haven’t seen either The Hurt Locker or Avatar yet. I’m sure both are extraordinary in their own way. But I’m just wondering…
By the time the Oscars rolled around this year, Avatar was the box office champ of all time. Both it and Cameron had already swept the Golden Globes in January. The newspapers were filled with full-page ads for the film, all of them displaying critics’ rave reviews quoted out of context.
All we heard for three months was Avatar, Avatar, Avatar.
Did both the movie and its director finally get buried in their own hype?
Did even Hollywood finally become exhausted with the “I’m king of the world!” chest-thumping?
In marketing, too much hype often creates backlash.
If your ad, or website, or sales letter, or email is filled with exclamation points beyond all reason — and it uses way too many words like All-New, and Fantastic, and Groundbreaking — you might wanna shift into a lower gear.
We’re living in an era dominated more and more by weary skeptics. The Big Hype doesn’t work as well as it did even a decade ago.
Keep this in mind when you promote your new business or product or service.
Don’t over-hype and suffer like Avatar did at last night’s Oscars.
I’m interested in what you think about Avatar, the Oscars, and the hype. Comment below and let’s talk about it.
P.S. Quick tip: in your next marketing piece, try cutting your use of exclamation points in the copy by about half. Test it. Then let me know how that works for you.
I just came across a terrific quote from the late author Marilyn Ferguson, and I want to share it with you.
It has to do with two F-words — one of ’em bad, the other good.
Here’s the quote:
“Ultimately we know deeply that the other side of every Fear is a Freedom.”
Said another way, do what you fear and you’ll find liberation.
Ever notice that when you do something uncomfortable or scary, that’s when real magic happens?
Here’s a third F-word — another good one, I think:
Freelancing.
Freelancing is a means to a more flexible, free life. And here’s the neat thing…
Despite what a LOT of people think, being a freelancer doesn’t mean you have to be a writer.
That’s certainly a great option, but I know of freelancers who are photographers, bookkeepers, tutors, chefs, landscapers, events planners, and massage therapists.
I know of others who are telemarketers, data processors, interior designers, and illustrators.
Whatever your skill, you can move out of the restrictive 9-to-5 job factory and into an adaptable freelance lifestyle.
Problem is, going out on your own can be scary.
But it doesn’t need to be.
I’m busy right now putting the finishing touches on a package called Fearless Freelancing 101. It’s designed to help you create your own freedom as quickly as possible, and it contains the accumulated know-how of two crusty freelancers who’ve both “done the freelance thing” for a long time now (one of them’s me, by the way).
Full disclosure: This package is not a get-rich-quick system or shortcut to success. It offers truckloads of great advice on how to size up your strengths and weaknesses and generate enough self-confidence to get rolling. But the work’ll all be done by you.
I’ll keep you posted about the launch date.
So what’s keeping YOU from jumping off the ol’ treadmill?
P.S. If you want a headstart in crushing any fears or self-doubt, make sure you visit…
http://www.wallyconger.com/rhinotactics.html
Deb left me home alone for a few hours last night, so I figgered it was safe to watch Zombieland, which arrived from Netflix on Tuesday.
If you haven’t seen the movie yet, two of the stars are Woody Harrelson, from Cheers, and the adorable little girl from Little Miss Sunshine (who’s still adorable but not so little anymore).
The movie’s a comedic gorefest, so it’s definitely not for the squeamish. But if you enjoy the walking dead as much as I do, it’s probably worth adding to your “must see” list.
Anyway, something dawned on me while watching Zombieland.
Zombies almost always gather in supermarkets, shopping malls, and amusement parks.
Why is that?
Could it be that the craving for entertainment and stuff to buy is so deeply hardwired into our brains that it might even survive — gulp — death?
That’s something to think about when you’re in business for yourself.
There’s a one-two punch when it comes to sales.
First, people WANT to buy new things. It’s in our nature.
Second, if you can entertain people, they’ll grow to like you. And if they like you, they’re more likely to buy from you instead of from your less amusing competitors.
A simple business “secret,” really.
Just don’t waste it on zombies.
They may wanna buy stuff. But they never carry cash.
Business and marketing guy Seth Godin writes and publishes more print books, eBooks, and blogposts than I can usually keep up with. But he caught my eye with a post this past weekend.
It was about fear. And since I’ve struggled with near-crippling fears in the past — and still do at times — I took that post to heart and thought I’d share it with you.
Here it is:
“Your most vivid fears … are almost certainly not the most important ones.
“We pay attention to the loud and the urgent. This can lead us to ignore the important and achievable paths open to us — because we’re so busy defending against the overwhelmingly dangerous (but unlikely) outcomes instead.”
Where’s your focus?
Is it on a scary, exaggerated disaster scenario you imagine might, but probably won’t, occur?
Or is it on opportunities lying before you right now?
Fear’s a mean son of a you know what.
It’s also a choice.
Quick story…
One day (back when I was still wearing suits and ties), I was “volunteered” by my corporate masters to speak at USC to a hundred or more journalism students.
“When?” I asked.
“Half an hour.”
No prep time. I wasn’t even sure what I was supposed to talk about.
Worse, I’d never before spoken to a group larger than maybe a dozen people.
My immediate instinct was fear.
Luckily, though, I didn’t have time to pursue it. I had just a few minutes to negotiate my Honda Prelude through L.A. traffic, find a parking spot, then hike across the vast campus to the right auditorium.
You may be thinking, “Heck, you had no choice but to refocus away from your fear. The urgent goal of reaching your destination stood between you and the terror of speaking to those students.”
True.
And that’s my point…
What’s more important than your crippling fear? Your family? Your freedom? Or something as simple as getting to your appointment on time?
Whatever it is, focus on that.
The fear may not go away entirely. But you’ll shove it so far in the background that you can ignore it.
If you fear something, give that a try. And let me know how it works for you. Leave a comment below!
P.S. You can access a whole bunch of techniques for fighting fear, worry, and doubt if you visit…
http://wallyconger.com/rhinotactics.html
Deb and I spent a terrific day with my family yesterday.
