Christopher L. Hedges's Blog, page 13

Ready, Set, ACTION! (8/22/14)

You have got to love some of the advancements that haven taken place in the last 10-20 years. These advancements have leveled the playing field giving Average Joes the tools that are needed to succeed when competing against the big dawgs.

Just think about it. Twenty years ago if you wanted to shoot some video with an on air celebrity you would have to be live on location. You would also have to pray to be selected from the list of countless other people who wanted to be on TV with the same celebrity. The second option is you could drop over ten thousands of your hard earned dollars on the equipment to record your own video and hope to get it picked up or buy some airtime on a public broadcast station.

Ten years ago you could rent space for a nominal fee at a little boutique video production company and upload your video to this new magical world called the internet, or you could invest a couple thousand greenbacks on video equipment and do the same thing.

Now all you really need is a bed sheet, a lap top with wifi and a webcam (pretty much standard issue now a days), a flood light, wifi, and a really cool image and branding professional with TV experience like my bff Starley Murray and you can create competitive professional quality video via Skype.

Here’s the proof. This is was my video set where I shot my video looked like. Starley then coached me on how to take that video and pitch myself to both local and national TV producers for my book tour. It’s beautiful that even a wet behind the ears first time author like me can has the opportunity to be as successful as the big names out there in the real world. The even better part is you can use the same tools, and achieve the same success; if you want to.

Studio Average Joe

Losing Legitimacy (8/21/14)

I recently read that you need to be genuine when you are communicating your brand otherwise you risk losing credibility and the trust of your customers. One of the brands I used to believe in since grade school lost all credibility in my eyes recently. Every couple of years I would pick up a copy of their publications because I was amazed by what men and women could accomplish.

I thought this was a place of real competition where you saw the biggest, fastest and strongest. That may have been the case once upon a time, but I don’t see it that way anymore.

We receive over 60,000 enquiries a year from which only a small proportion are approved by our experienced researchers to establish new categories. These are not ‘made up’ to suit an individual proposal, but rather ‘evolve’ as a result of international competition in a field, which naturally accommodates superlatives of the sort that we are interested in. We think you will appreciate that we are bound to favour those that reflect the greatest interest.

It was supposed to be the record book, but now it’s more like the sellout book. If you are a singer on a major label, with a fan base, corporate sponsors, but most importantly media exposure your submission reflects greater interest. How many people really are trying to compete at getting the most concerts in a multi-city mini tour in 24 hours. It’s really a miniscule niche because the only performers that can compete at it are the top professionals.

I’m actually glad that I didn’t get accepted because recently I found a woman who is unofficially credited by some with a book tour that may have dwarfed mine by 10,000 miles, and I would have felt like a fraud if someone credited me with something I hadn’t truly earned.

Whilst we fully appreciate this is not the decision you were hoping for, we trust that you will understand our position. However, if you have any further record proposals please do make another application, we would be delighted to hear from you again.

Unfortunately your brand will forever be seen as a sellout in my eyes, a gimmick where applications are accepted based on popularity not merit. I may have gone on forever buying into your illusion. If it weren’t for recently seeing a record being set that goes against the spirit of your application criteria and the vaguety of your rejection letter I may still believe that you were the place to go to confirm the legitimacy of records. Thank you for offering me the opportunity to reapply, but at this time I would rather go unrecognized for any accomplishment than potentially be a part of purchased history. However, I would like to thank you. Your rejection has contributed greatly to the humor I have used for my book tour.

Getting the Yes (8/20/14)

You can actually count back to see how many blog posts I had in the queue based on this entry of you look hard enough.

If you fail to plan then you plan to fail. That really should be the mantra of my first book tour. Average Joe’s Story will not be a success because I have name recognition, or lots of money for PR. The book will be a success for the same reason you will be successful, I set myself up to win. In order to be successful in this case I worked relentlessly and planned out as much detail of the book tour as I could.

One of those details I meticulously planned was my PR. I hired Starley Murray, a celebrity image and branding expert, who was preparing me for TV bookings, production, appearances, you name it; I was a fish out of water in that department. The nice thing is in theory TV is harder than radio, because you can’t hide from the camera, so once I get some TV under my belt I can then translate that experience into radio interviews too. I was also submitting regular contributions to HARO a service where you literally help a reporter out as an expert in exchange for credit as a contributor.

Today I submitted a response to a reporter who was looking for the answer to why authors want celebrities or experts to endorse them. The interesting part of the morning was that I actually got my first celebrity/expert endorsement within seconds of hitting send.

Most professionals won’t let you see behind the scenes as to what makes you successful. I think they believe that if you see behind the curtain you may not hold them in the same regard. However, I think if I share as much background information as possible there will be a greater appreciation for what I do, and I’ll be a little more relatable if I hit it big some day.

For every article I’m accepted to contribute to there are five reporters I never hear back from. For every speaking engagement I confirm there’s seven response that are some variation of the word no. Currently I’m batting 0.000 as far as scheduling a book signing at an actual bookstore. Hundreds of NO’s is what you have to be willing to endure to get the important YES’s from people like Carol Aebersold, the co-creater of The Elf on the Shelf.

 

To: c.hedges@hotmail.com

Subject: Thank you

Date: Tue, 3 Jun 2014 13:42:03 +0000

Dear Chris,

After two months away from home, I returned to find your gracious gift. Thank you so much!! It’s a wonderful book–so open, honest and heartfelt. I certainly appreciate the nice things you wrote on my behalf, but I also appreciate the inspiration your Average Joe’s Story gave me.

I hope this finds you well and taking care of yourself as you travel around and share what is clearly an “Above Average” message.

Warmest regards,

Carol Aebersold

Sent from my iPad

Do you Brand People and Things Differently? (8/19/14)

I listened to someone try and sell me on the idea that branding of an object or company and the branding of a person are different. I couldn’t disagree more. Granted the complexity of a human being is greater than let’s say a can of soda, but the basic development of a successful brand is essentially the same thing.

Creating a brand is nothing more than telling a story to someone; this is who I am. In his comparison the individual almost tied branding in products and service to fiction, and said that an individual’s brand would fail the minute he or she was seen as unauthentic. I don’t think anyone can get away with being unauthentic, not you, me or Toyota. That’s why whenever there’s a manufacturing issue you see Toyota aggressively fixing it. They are willing to recall an entire line because part of their brand is based on quality and reliability. That’s their story, and they are willing to do just about whatever it takes to protect that story.

We aren’t much different than Toyota. Our brand determines who we date, where we work, and who are friends are. Let’s take dating. You see a girl who is interested in the finer things of life, and you aren’t necessarily in the same ballpark. You want the girl so you go out and spend a months salary on new clothes, and the bloated lease of a luxurious European import. You have branded yourself based on an illusion. Eventually that illusion will dissipate, your brand will be destroyed, and you’ll be left with a wardrobe you don’t like and a car payment you can’t afford.

That’s why when I started to build the Average Joe’s Story brand I wanted to make it genuine. Instead of trying to say “look at me and all the things I’ve accomplished” I wanted the brand to be “this is what I have accomplished, but this where I started and this is how I got there”. No creative imagery, simply full disclosure.

Rush to the Bottom (8/16/14)

I recently submitted to be part of a project to get some PR, but I wish I hadn’t. My understanding of what this person was trying to create was different from what I saw his final project to be. In all honesty most authors don’t make a living from writing, and it seems to be getting harder and harder to do.

His project was a rush to the bottom. It was a website that helps authors connect with readers by informing the readers when books of their liking are being discounted by various platforms. Here’s the problem with that mentality: you are destroying the value of your work, and by design you are destroying the value of your peer’s work too.

You’re not simply suggesting the Wal-Mart philosophy, you are promoting it! I love to see people that go out and create a contribution for society. I like when they display the courage to stand out from the crowd to make their voice hear. However, I wish we could get away from this desperate ‘at any cost’ philosophy.

Perhaps people will see that they get what whey pay for, or perhaps this person will have created the next version of the discount retailer that hurts all the creators who want to make their voices heard. Only time will tell.

Talk At or Talk With? (8/15/14)

I don’t like to be talked at, and for that reason I try never to talk at anyone else. I try to talk with them.

For my ever so brief stay on my local Toastmasters leadership team I went out of my way to try and communicate with my team. Previously I had been talked at. In fact that is the way that most of the managers I have ever worked for, in the real world, talked to me too.

Have we become so conditioned to being talked at in our professional lives that when someone wants to talk with us we actually shutdown? My team did! I wanted them to be a part of the process and every opportunity they were given they just sat there, unresponsive.

Whether it be on the job or buying a car I find talking at me to be patronizing and condescending. In fact the minute a person starts to talk at me I completely shutdown and it’s like listening to Charlie Brown’s teacher…Wan Wan Wan. If I’m not part of the process you’re never going to sell me on anything, not that fancy new whatchamacallit or your personal opinions. If you want to sell me, you better start talking with me. Am I the only one that feels that way?

Would You Have Treated Them Differently (8/14/14)

What would it be worth for you to have someone like Jack Canfield, Tony Robbins, Bill Cosby or Oprah come speak at your organization? This might be dated information, but I think for Bill Cosby it would be a mere $250,000 plus expense for a keynote speech. The vast majority of clubs and organizations can’t afford that. Now a day it’s a rarity to see a headliner work the free to low income circuits; they command more for their time.

In setting up my book tour I got to live through one of the miserable catch 22′s of success; they don’t want you until you don’t need them. In cold calling bookstore, clubs, organizations, and media outlets its like puling teeth trying to get people just to return phone calls and emails. I’m not even going to get into what it can take to try to convince someone into saying yes and taking a chance on you. This isn’t a gripe it is a basic fact that everyone without exception has to go through.

However, what if the gate keepers from the early stages of someone’s career were more receptive? What if they responded to someone in a timely manner, even if their answer was sorry we’re not interested? I don’t take it personally, but I know that I’m going to be a lot more interested in giving back to those people who supported me in the early stages. I’m keeping a list of everyone who treated me the way in which I want to be treated, and some day I will find a way reciprocate their kindness and professionalism.

The Value of Less (8/13/14)

I don’t know if they still run it, but I remember one of the movie theater companies always used to post an advertisement before the movie started that said “Silence is Golden”. That was just a sign to remind the audience to turn off their noise making devices, and to refrain from talking out of common courtesy for their fellow patrons. However, it hits on a very import point when you are trying to sell. There’s a lot of value and power in silence.

Silence is really a dramatic effect that you have to work hard at becoming comfortable with. We aren’t comfortable with “awkward silence”. Awkward silence is in every part of our lives. You sneak into the house late after curfew, and there’s a parent standing in the kitchen arms crossed tapping their toes with a scowl across their face. They stand in silence and you try to fill it with excuses and justifications as soon as possible.

If you’re going to ask someone a question give them a few seconds to think about it before you continue to speak. If you are going to deliver meaningful information to someone, give them time to absorb it. Give them the time to reflect on what you say because if you do then chances are they are more likely to buy into what you are selling.

Silence is golden…because sometimes less truly is more.

A Case Study in Customer Service Failure (8/11/14)

If I found out that one of my rewards members was spending $45,000.00 at my hotel chain over the course of the year, and contacted my corporate office because there was as glitch in my system that was negatively impacting their experience I think I would try to help them out.

I don’t think I would sit at the opposite end of the customer service 1-800 number and say sir there is nothing we can do to be of service to you. I would probably escalate that phone call to my supervisor, and if my supervisor didn’t want to do something I would contact their boss.

However, if the corporate office of a hotel chain with over 3,000 locations doesn’t care about a $45,000.00 customer they don’t truly care about 99.99% of their customers.

Unfortunately I have already accumulated $3,000.00 worth of reservations and I don’t want to let the miles go to waste because at the very least this hotel chain will be covering my trip to Hawaii in May.

The only bright spot was that a front line employee at the desk of the hotel where I was staying in Manchester, NH was willing to go above and beyond the call of duty to try and find some answers. Sadly 1-800 number customer service lady said, “She was wrong…” and I was S.O.L.. Thank you Charlotte. If only your corporate office cared half as much as you do.

A friend of mine told me that I needed to give this specific hotel chain the opportunity to fix things. This friend’s life revolves around image and branding so I take her opinion to heart. However, I was upset the first time I called them trying resolve an issue, but now I’m pissed and I could careless about letting this company try and make amends for their lack of customer service. In every great story there are heroes and there are villains, and this corporation solidified itself as the villain of my next book. “It’s a great day at….” Well…not really.

Round Peg, Square Hole (8/9/14)

Have you noticed the utter failure in designs of certain products you use. If I didn’t have to create a video for my application to be a part of a project that Seth Godin was organizing I never would have known the webcam on my laptop is not all that effective.

The principle is good, but the functionality is another issue altogether. I know this mainly because I have worked with professionals who use studio equipment. The difference is night and day. In order to get a good shot with a laptop’s webcam you basically have to be looking over the computer screen into space. It may help if you treat the situation like you’re speaking to your imaginary friend Bob who is sitting in front of you. If not you may come off looking condescending like I did because I was looking down at the monitor.

Certain things are done with the best of intentions, but they come off feeling forced. My laptop’s webcam is one of those examples. It is convenient, efficient and practical, but its design is forced.