I heard a great commercial on the radio today. It was for a car dealership.
I grew up in Los Angeles. As a huge radio listener and a latch-key kid whose after-school babysitter was a 25" Zenith color tube television, many an ad jingle still resides in my brain. Especially for car dealers. We had Worthington Ford which featured Cal Worthington and his dog Spot. Spot being some form of wild animal like the tiger pictured here. Cal would "stand on my head to beat anyone's deal." The song went something like this (hum "She'll Be Coming Around the Mountain" in your head)...
If you need a car or truck Go see Cal If you want to save a buck Go see Cal Drop by and bring the kids You'll be awful glad you did Go see Cal Go see Cal Go see Cal
Then there was Pete Ellis Dodge. To this day, if I'm driving on the freeway and I see the Firestone exit, all I can think of is:
Pete Ellis Dodge Long Beach Freeway Firestone exit Southgate
Hear it for yourself in this 1981 ditty...
So today I hear this auto dealership advertising that they are not the top seller, not the biggest dealership in the country, not an award winner. However, they say, if you want a small dealership that doesn't spend a ton of money bragging about their attributes, and instead, can give you the best deal around, then come visit them.
Brilliant.
When was the last time you heard any company claim not to be the best. It is so counter-intuitive in the world of advertising.
I have a friend named Janet. She is due to give birth any moment and I am very excited for her. I was talking to her on the phone the other day and giving her some advice on her pending family expansion. I told her not to be scared. That having a child is truly the most amazing and miraculous experience. But I begged her to not give her husband too hard a time and to understand that he will be trying his best. That he'll be blindly trying to figure out how to be a good parent and keep her happy at the same time.
She appreciated that.
Then I told her my back hurt. I told her that picking up the boy and putting him down; holding him until he fell asleep; slowing placing him into the crib so that he doesn't wake up; all hurts my back.
"Blog about that," she insisted.
"Why?" I asked.
"Because I like the way you tell stories. It is so real. You've have such a great way of describing your life."
Well, Janet. Here you go.
My back hurts.
All the time.
I feel like Grandpa from the Simpsons. He looks like his back gives him nothing but grief.
I'm 40 years old and I feel like Grandpa Simpson looks.
I mentioned this blog post the other day called "1,000 True Fans" posted on Kevin Kelly's "The Technium" blog. I haven't stopped thinking about it or talking about it.
The basic concept is this, if you are a musician, an artist (photographer, painter), writer, craftsperson, etc. you need 1,000 True Fans to purchase your work annually to run a successful business.
Per Kevin:
A True Fan is defined as someone who will purchase anything and everything you produce. They will drive 200 miles to see you sing. They will buy the super deluxe re-issued hi-res box set of your stuff even though they have the low-res version. They have a Google Alert set for your name. They bookmark the eBay page where your out-of-print editions show up. They come to your openings. They have you sign their copies. They buy the t-shirt, and the mug, and the hat. They can't wait till you issue your next work. They are true fans.
He goes on to describe the financials:
Assume conservatively that your True Fans will each spend one day's wages per year in support of what you do. That "one-day-wage" is an average, because of course your truest fans will spend a lot more than that. Let's peg that per diem each True Fan spends at $100 per year. If you have 1,000 fans that sums up to $100,000 per year, which minus some modest expenses, is a living for most folks.
In this one essay, Kevin was able to nail down what I've been trying to express for over a decade. He defined the perfect model for a musician. He also helped map out what I would need to achieve if I were to write professionally for a living. I can't paint or draw, so we'll leave it at writing because I love doing that.
But aside from my future aspirations in prose, I can't get this model out of my head with respect to my current business. If you are a poet and you need to support yourself as a poet, you need to write poetry that strikes a chord with 1,000 followers. Now, for my business, I can't focus on 1,000 clients. That is just too many for one person, or group of people at a small company to truly cater to and embrace. But I also hope to make more than $100 from each client. What if I could concentrate on 10 clients and have them hire us for $100,000 worth of work a year? Well that is $1 Million and that sounds pretty good.
I know that most musicians cannot figure out how to focus on 1,000 fans. If I were that muscians's manager, I truly believe that I could build a strategy to help build and foster 1,000 fans. Each fan would get an email at least once a week from the musician. A personal email, not a "mass" email. And, once the fan responded, I'd make sure that the artist responded. The artist themself may never do this, in fact, experience has taught me that they won't do this. But I would respond on behalf of that artist and make that fan believed that the artist really cared. The artist would create songs for the fans. He/She would listen to requests from the fans and record personal recordings dedicated to the fan. I'm confident that with these methods and a slew of others, I could help a musician reach 1,000 True Fans and raise at least $100,000 a year.
What about my current business? Can I do this with a client that manufactures a product rather than a piece of art? It will be tough, no doubt. I have 100 clients. I don't want to lose 90. But I want my clients to feel me more.
How do I do this?
I believe to do this, these are the rules I need to follow:
I. Communication I must communicate not just what I'm doing or the successes I'm having, but how I can help make you better. Not how I can charge you. Not how I can get more business from you. How I can show you what I know and in turn help make you more money and more successful.
II. Honesty When I fail, tell you. Immediately. When I don't agree with your plans, tell you. I may still have to do what you ask, but I'll at least tell you why I disagree, give my advice, and then proceed with your requests.
III. Quality Do my best. Do not settle for anything less than what I expect from someone that I would hire. When you hire me, you don't always understand what I'm doing. You need to hear me explain it to you and help you appreciate the benefits you will receive. In trusting me, you need to know that the quality I am delivering is the best available. You need to believe that you will not get better quality from any of my competitors.
IV. Improve Each time you hire me, you should get more than the last time. Not necessarily more volume, but more innovation. I learn something every day. I need to share that with you. I need to try new things and you deserve the benefit of that experimentation. You should be protected and not be harmed if my experiments go awry, but you should at least be offered the chance to participate and benefit from the potential improvements.
The list could go on forever. But this is a start. This is the first time I've ever put this in writing. It is actually the first time I've even thought it through in any great detail. I believe it is how I operate and why I've gotten to where I am. But I've just created a solid road map for my goal of getting my 10 (or 1,000) True Fans!
I couldn't sleep last night. A year ago that might have been a common occurrence. But anyone who has a newborn knows that sleep is a luxury and if you have a five minute window, you'll sleep standing up. But sometimes my mind goes crazy and even though I'm exhausted, I cannot rest.
I find that there are few better ways to bide my time during the wee hours than on LinkedIn.
I'm a huge believer in LinkedIn. I believe it is the best business networking tool ever created. It is the best social network for assisting you with your own self marketing... The smartest marketing!
Before interviewing people for potential employment, I check to see if they are on LinkedIn. If they are not, that is a flag. Yep, if you are interviewing with me any time soon, you better get this done!
Here are some tips to make sure you probably use LinkedIn:
1. Don't just input your resume
You already have one of those. Your LinkedIn profile gives you the opportunity to expand on your experience and even put some editorial accents in there too.
2. Add your photo
Don't be a wimp. Put your photo in there. Look, if I hunt you down on Facebook, MySpace, Flickr, YouTube, I'm going to find your photo. Put a good professional photo up on LinkedIn.
3. Endorsements
I like reading these. They are not absolutely necessary, and I know that most of these people are your friends, so be smart about these.
Endorsement etiquette: NEVER ask someone to endorse you. Endorse someone and maybe they will endorse you back. But don't ask someone to endorse you. If you ask me to endorse you, I assume that you just blanketed everyone in your network with a request to endorse you. Also, if you do endorse someone, be serious. You can add a little creativity to your endorsement but make it serious.
4. Accept all LinkedIn requests.
Why not? The more people in your network, the wider your audience for which to communicate.
Take your LinkedIn profile seriously, but have fun with it too. Keep an eye on this site, they are adding new features all the time.
If you are in the music business or know anything about the music business then you must have seen Seth Godin's letter to the music industry. If you haven't seen this, then please read it.
It has inspired me to write my own version. See Seth is an outsider looking in. But that is okay by me. Because the insiders can't look out. I can sit here and blame the music industry for all of their mistakes. But when I was inside, I had a job to do, and I didn't have time to change what I knew was broken. I had to sell records. As an A&R guy, I had to make records that would sell. That was the business I was in. Ask the bands that I worked with, Gin Blossoms, Paw, Dishwalla, the Innocence Mission, Allgood, Taking Back Sunday, Midtown, Korn, Face to Face, Automatic 7, MxPx, Jackopierce. Do you know any of them? I am not going to assume that you or most people do. But I tried to get them to write songs that would get played on the radio. Because that was what was needed for them to achieve success, for my record company or management company to succeed, and for me to keep my job. And I don't apologize for that. I didn't go in and tell the band that they needed to write hits. I told them that for the record company to pay attention, they needed songs that connected with the masses, not the few. And it was true. It still is. If you want to connect with the "masses."
I stopped believing in the "masses" model many many years ago.
But the music business (records, concert tickets, t-shirts, publishing) is a business that relies on sales to the masses. Those of you who have created new models (special shout out to Derek at CD Baby), please don't take exception to my point. I'm not directing this at you.
The people I know who are still in the "record business" have to continue to sell shiny aluminum discs with plastic cases and glossy artwork. They don't have a choice. At least not if they want to keep their jobs. They know that if they lose their jobs, they don't have a lot of places to go because record companies aren't hiring people any more. And it is hard to translate the knowledge of selling music to a lot of other industries. I'm not saying there aren't ways to translate the idea of selling art or excitement to other industries, but most people in the music business don't recognize that. And it is not their fault. They are told to sell something day in and day out that people don't want to buy. It is a true dream killer. On many levels. The record business will break you. It will break the most optimistic spirits. It broke me. It took me years to move on. I am an entrepreneur and have been since I was 14 years old. But I wanted nothing more than to help musicians achieve a level of recognition that I could never obtain myself. I didn't have the skill or gift of musicianship. I recognized that fact at an early age and decided to spend my life helping others. Oh, I'm not a saint. It was selfless in some respects, but extremely selfish in others. I wanted recognition and reward from my peers. I wanted my own version of fame and fortune... on the backs of the few who had the talent.
But the music business has neglected their customers. Not just the record business, the music business. From live music producers to t-shirt manufacturers. The music business ignored supply and demand. They've created tremendous supply, but quality has suffered and the customer has spoken. And the business continues to ignore them. And thus, my friends in the music business continue to do their jobs, sell a very difficult-to-sell product. And I fear for them. Because they are my friends. They mean well. But they want to feed their families. It is too hard to start over.
My friend Bob Lefsetz, whom I've mentioned several times, has a wonderful girlfriend named Felice. I mean this woman is a treasure. I wish I had more time in my life to spend with her. About a year ago I was at a party. It was at my friend Jim's house (the guy who started the Aspen Live conference where I first met Seth Godin). Jim works for CAA, the biggest talent agency in the business. My friend Nick was there. Nick taught me the touring business. Nick is my hero and my mentor. Nick has worked for record companies, managers, concert promoters, and musicians since he was, like me, a teenager. There is a group of us, Jim, Nick, Marc and Darren (two other music business veterans), my business partner Terry. We have all worked together for nearly 15 years to try to improve the record and touring business. And Felice said to me that night, "You, Nick, Jim, all of you, you are so good at what you do, you are so passionate, you guys need to fix this music business." I looked at her, I looked at Nick, and I said, "We tried. We're too old now. We don't have the fight in us any more. The leaders have heard our pleas, but they don't want to hear them. We can't fight any more. We have to take care of ourselves. Unfortunately, someone else has to do it."
Sad, huh?
I'd forgotten about that night until just now. The words are just flowing out of my fingers. What happened to me?
I got married. I have a mortgage. I have the most beautiful son in the world. I'm not 23 any more. I'm the guy I couldn't wait to eclipse at A&M Records. And I'm not sorry about that. It is a fact of life.
That is why I take inspiration from Napster (the original), Bit Torrent, iTunes, Rhapsody, PureVolume, Hot Topic. I'm inspired that outsiders are changing the business. Because insiders are tired.
I have my own addendum to add to Mr. Godin's letter. I just need time to sit down and write it. But I will. Stay tuned...
In my last blog, which was a follow up from the previous blog, I asked Jesse Cowell who creates the web series, Drawn By Pain, if he could answer some of the questions I have about his expectations for success. Thank you Jesse for the following answers:
1. Have you figured out your sweet spot yet? Do you know how long your individual "webisodes" should be? The YouTube world hovers in the 70 second range. Full-length programming at 30 minutes and greater seems too long. What have you found to be the optimal length to engage your viewers?
I think the sweet spot varies depending on content type (of which there are of course many). Whereas a small cute furry thing that turns to the camera and gets lots of laughs only needs about 10 seconds to make its point, an episodic drama like ours takes a bit longer as it follows a much more traditional setup. For us, our episodes are 8-14 minutes a piece which requires a commitment from the viewer to want to get invested in the characters (or some outside source saying what they thought to establish that bond beforehand – like say a critic approving of it etc). We think eventually a large part of the web audience will want to sit down for a cup of coffee and get an installment of something rather than just 10 short clips they cycle through (you can only see so many of what seems like the same stuff). As far a comedic content – I’d say the range is between 2-3 minutes for the sweet spot. Though, I think what we all may see is an evolution of what the audience accepts as online video. The web is an ever adapting universe that craves change by nature. Also – technology is changing fast – 30 minutes in 2 years may be fine as video downloads right to your television from your router (changing the very nature of what is considered web).
2. What is critical mass for you? How many viewers do you hope to have to support the ability create more episodes?
The first run of the season is 12 episodes which are all already shot (It follows a particular character arc that gets answered in the end.). We plan on releasing the last two over the next few months and then will begin to show a bit more behind the scenes to keep the audience engaged in a sort on ongoing DVD like experience. As for critical mass, I think that once we get into the millions of downloads things will change quickly (We currently have about 400,000 total). I think once the numbers are clearly in that range - enough money/attention will come in to continue the work on a second season or branch off of the original story into something new.
3. What is your ultimate goal? Is it a deal for network TV? A movie? Funding for more episodes from a network or VC? Advertising?
The thing about the web in my opinion is this: You can’t be closed to any opportunity that comes your way. As we have tried to create something that we feel is an exciting idea, it certainly has the potential for all of the above and I would certainly not be closed to any of them. What’s important is getting your work seen and having the funds to make more. VC money with the right creative control. Sounds great! TV show – where do we sign? Movie deal – can I still work on the movie!? Sponsorship – the banner is waiting! You get the picture :-)
Re:Invention contributed to my comments by stating, "So much for moving 'Free' to TV." True. Thanks for the note.
Jesse sent me a note via email asking me to check out his web-based series, "Drawn By Pain." Thanks Jesse, I'm happy to oblige.
As long as I'm giving you a plug Jesse, it would be great if you could shed some light on how viewership is going for you. I asked my research team to see if they could find some general Internet TV (IPTV) viewership stats for me, but since you are the actual creator of a web-based show, maybe you'll be able to answer some of my ponderings.
So considering that, when I think of IPTV, or original programming for the Internet, I'm wondering things like:
1. Have you figured out your sweet spot yet? Do you know how long your individual "webisodes" should be? The YouTube world hovers in the 70 second range. Full-length programming at 30 minutes and greater seems too long. What have you found to be the optimal length to engage your viewers?
2. What is critical mass for you? How many viewers do you hope to have to support the ability create more episodes?
3. What is your ultimate goal? Is it a deal for network TV? A movie? Funding for more episodes from a network or VC? Advertising?
I'm excited about the prospect of IPTV. Much like web radio is showing us that there are thousands of radio stations, not the 50 we get locally or the 100 - 200 that satellite offers. The future of original programming on the web is very enticing to someone like me who gets bored VERY easily.
I see much in life as a possible business. It is exciting, but also torturous. I just don’t have enough time. A new idea often sends me into hours of thought, research, and ultimately deviation from what I really need to do in a day. I believe that the Internet has made it easy for anyone to create a business. I believe that the Internet has made nearly everything in life easier. I believe that trying to impact the masses is a tough notion, but finding a group of people similar to you, is at your fingertips. I believe that music is free, and that is not a good thing. I believe that life is a collection of experiences and that every day I learn something new and forget something slightly new.
I have learned that the toughest part of running a business is inspiring your own employees. I have grown to understand that you have to show your family at least as much respect as your customers.
I went to college at the University of California, San Diego and majored in Economics and minored in Literature/Writing. I wish I had majored in Literature and only taken the one Economics class that taught me about Supply and Demand.
Larry Weintraub is the CEO at Digital Word of Mouth marketing agency Fanscape. All blogs posts are Larry’s personal opinion and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoints of Fanscape clients.
I see much in life as a possible business. It is exciting, but also torturous. I just don’t have enough time. A new idea often sends me into hours of thought, research, and ultimately deviation from what I really need to do in a day. I believe that the Internet has made it easy for anyone to create a business. I believe that the Internet has made nearly everything in life easier. I believe that trying to impact the masses is a tough notion, but finding a group of people similar to you, is at your fingertips. I believe that music is free, and that is not a good thing. I believe that life is a collection of experiences and that every day I learn something new and forget something slightly new.
