At the pool last week, a pal showed me the book he is halfway through that details the creation of the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey – SHOT BY SHOT.
My boss quit watching TV and spends a lot of time studying ancient civilizations (Persia) and historical conflicts (French Revolution, anyone?)
If you’ve seen me at the gym in the past few weeks, there is a good chance my headphones were blaring a podcast featuring line-by-line analysis of a particular Kanye West record.
What is mundane to you is fascinating to someone else.
I’ve worked with tons of marketing teams who insist “our business just isn’t that interesting.”
I always sigh.
It may not be interesting to you because you conceptualized it, built it, broke it, rebuilt it and now have to brand it. You are overwhelmed with it.
So get a fresh set of eyes. Find the niche that wants to know.
Years ago, I worked with a girl who wanted to start writing about food. So… she did. But while anyone can write something and put it on the internet, the challenge is to get people to read it. (I feel it important to laugh at the meta-nature of this statement in this context.)
But people read her stuff. How did they find her?
Early on, she wrote a brief but informative piece about ghost peppers.
Turns out that at the time there was just not a whole lot of information out there on those hot properties and her very specific research and knowledge were exactly what a few folks from all across the country had been literally Google-searching to find.
The point is this:
Don’t underestimate your interests. Don’t downgrade your business, your offerings, your passion or what you are good at doing.
There are people who need that output from your brain, that sweat from your brow or those callouses you keep forming on the inside of your hands – no matter how specifically targeted.
Have confidence. Have patience. Have an interest.
And have a glass of milk handy. (For the ghost peppers…)