by Kirby Hasseman
In a rare date night, my wife and I went to the movies to see “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The new movie, about the band Queen, was entertaining and eye opening. Lead singer, Freddie Mercury, was played extremely well by Rami Malek. And it was super cool to get the backstory around some of their iconic songs and how they all came together. I am no movie critic, but I thought it was worth watching…especially if you are a music lover. The next day, I was struck by a few things about the movie that stuck with me. Here are 3 things that Bohemian Rhapsody reminded me. Being Authentic Is Hard: When most of us think of Freddie Mercury today, we visualize the larger than life performer on stage. Though that was a part of him, it was certainly not all of him. The movie showed Freddie struggle with his family (he changed his name), his faith, his sexuality and his own loneliness. Though we see him now as a trailblazer (and he was), it was far from easy. But the world is different because he was (and Queen was) authentic. Creative Discord Is Good: The movie showcases the creative process of the band well. There are moments of fun and inspiration. But there are also moments of yelling. At one points, when Freddie works on a project on his own, he finds he misses the process. He points out to the group that when everyone just “did what he said,” the music wasn’t has good. Sometimes we try to get rid of that discord…and we shouldn’t. Fortune Favors The Bold: Queen was amazingly talented and unconventional. They were known for pushing boundaries in every way…and their music shows it. They refused to be put “in a box” as a musical style. So they experimented with different styles of music and ways to record it. They refused to go with convention. By charting their own path, Queen created a compilation of music like no other. Go watch the movie. Or don’t. But today will be filled with some of Queen’s greatest hits playing in the office. Make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP Newsletter here!
by Kirby Hasseman
Several years ago at the PPAI Expo in Las Vegas, Seth Godin was the keynote speaker. He was thoughtful and terrific. In addition, after the keynote, Seth was gracious enough to do a question and answer session with a smaller group and I got to be a part of it. During that smaller session, Dale Denham from Geiger asked him about his legendary blog that he famously writes for every day. Point blank Dale asked him, “How do you write every day?” Without missing a beat, Seth said, “How do you talk everyday?” We all laughed, but the point was made. You can do nearly anything every single day…if you really want to do it. I thought of that exchange when I started writing this blog. On May 31st I wrote the first one and thought, “I am going to write one every day for a month.” It wasn’t easy. But that first month went fast. So did the second month. The effort was not that bad…and the results were fun to track. But recently it’s become tougher. My schedule has filled up. The season is busier. We are lower on staff. We have a huge new project (to be announced here soon). These are most often the times (for me) when I ask “Is it worth it? Does anyone really care?” Enter another lesson from Seth. I read his blog regularly. And this week, this one hit me. This post, about daily blogging, talks about the habit and the value in it. He says that most people that start the habit of daily blogging are happy they did it…if they stick with it. What does this mean to you? I think it means that if you have something you want to do, you can. Whether it’s a fitness goal, a sales goal, a goal to meditate or blog…you can do it. It just takes the discipline to block out the voices that tell you that you can’t…and to keep hitting “publish.” P.S. I am really excited that next Wednesday Seth Godin will be a guest on Delivering Marketing Joy! He will be talking about many topics, including his new book! Please check it out and help me spread the word! Make sure you never miss a daily update. Sign up here to become our VIP!
by Kirby Hasseman
If you are reading this, you know we do a lot of content. I have made a commitment to post a blog to this website every day. Why? Well beyond the “he is insane” answer (which is what my wife thinks), the goal is to provide value. I have found that when I show up this much, I am able to reach people when they are ready to be reached. And as I have said here before, I never know what is going to resonate. Sometimes I think something is awesome, and no one seems to care. But other times, I take a shot and it lands. That’s a great feeling, but it’s hard to predict. So I create. But if you are regular reader of this blog, you might not know we have lots of other content out there that is not hosted here. There are videos and podcasts too, so I thought I would share so you could check them out! unScripted Podcast: One of the pieces of content that I am most proud of, and have the most fun making, is the unScripted Podcast with Bill Petrie. We certainly focus on industry topics, but we tackle other stuff as well. And since I don’t know what he is bringing up and he doesn’t know what I am going to talk about, you get a fun and raw insight into our real opinions. It drops every Friday…and you can find it here. Day in the Life: I love video and this one provides some fun for me…and some insight into our behind the scenes. We shoot videos of interesting projects and events…and share them in this video series. We have it on Youtube (find my channel here) but we get a ton of play on Facebook (linked up here). Delivering Marketing Joy: This is probably the flag ship of content here. I love this one (here is today’s episode). I get the chance to interview wonderful, smart, insightful marketers, authors and entrepreneurs. We are over 200 episodes into it…and it comes out every Wednesday! You can see the first 150 at my Youtube here…and now they can be found at PromoCorner here. P.S. You might think of books as the “old school content,” right? You can also find the book Delivering Marketing Joy (about doing Promo right) here and my book Fan of Happy (about personal development) here. So just in case you are not getting enough here…there are a few more places to grab content each week! But make sure you never miss an update! Sign up for our VIP newsletter in the form below!
by Kirby Hasseman
Since I started writing this blog every day, I have many times when I wondered whether or not to keep going. The obvious goal (or at least it seems obvious to me) is to provide a ton of value to the people reading. If I can do that over time, the audience will grow. If I continue to do that over time, this will ultimately affect them in a positive way (and help grow our business). I feel like that is growing a business the right way. But make no mistake. There are have been times when I question whether it is worth it. I wonder if anyone cares. I wonder if it IS providing value. I wonder if it’s worth it. This is not a cry for help or a plea for attention. It’s just an honest assessment of time. Coming up with ideas each day, and clackety clacking the keys in order to create this, is a real investment. If I am doing this, I am not doing something else. Then, though, I am reminded of a few things. First, I really do think this is the right thing to do. Whether or not I create any short term sales with this strategy is really not the point. It would be nice, sure. But I really believe we are in a “Give First Economy.” As I mention here, if I believe that, then I want to provide value up front. Reconnecting with that helps. Next, I am reminded that I never know what will provide value! Sometimes I will write an article that I think everyone NEEDS to read. I am convinced that this article will really help people (like this one)...and no one really cares. Then I crank out a piece quickly, and I assume the world will ignore it, and it catches fire (like this one). I point this out because, if I believe my goal is to provide value (and I do) and I am not sure what will resonate (and I am not), then I just need to keep showing up. I need to have a cup of coffee, wipe the sleep from my eyes, and get back to work. My guess is…you do too. Here’s to making a difference. Make sure you sign up for our VIP newsletter below. Become a VIP…and get all of the content we create once a week!
by Kirby Hasseman
When I decided that I was going to write a blog post for this website every day, most people thought it was dippy. Truth be told, many still do. But I decided to do it for a few reasons… 1. I wanted to be unreasonable. I felt like the most successful people I followed did things that most other people feel is unreasonable. I actually talk about that here. 2. I wanted to provide value. I know most people will not be able to read these posts every day. But when they want to read, or when they need a boost, I want to have new content. 3. I wanted to see if I could do it. I love goals that stretch me. And from a content perspective, creating something new every day excited me! These were the reasons I started. But I have discovered some interesting truths along the way. Here are the reasons I am still excited to keep going. 1. It’s working. From an audience perspective, the traffic continues to grow. Content marketing is a long term game. 2. I want to see if I can maintain it. At this point, I have posted well over 100 days in a row. That’s exciting! Will I break the streak? I might. But not today. 3. I keep coming up with new ideas. That’s one of the big concerns, right? You will run out of ideas. But the opposite has been true for me. Jeff Haden talked to me about this. When you are doing it every day, your brain is constantly looking for things to write about. When you are doing it once a week…not so much. So though there are days when I struggle to come up with something, it’s usually no more than when I was writing twice a month. 4. I feel like I am getting better. The reality is, if you want to be great at nearly anything, you need to put in the work. It’s what Malcom Gladwell called the 10,000 hours rule. So no matter whether you want to get better at sales, content, fitness, or cooking, the secret is…there is no secret. You need to keep putting in the work. You need to keep it up day after day. You need to keep going after other people stop. That’s the secret. The great news is, it’s completely in your control. The better news is, it’s probably not as hard as you think…if you just start…and keep going. Make sure you never miss an update! It’s time to sign up for our VIP newsletter! Why? Simple. We are posting a lot of content. Once a week we send you an email to recap it all in one place. Sign up here.
