Newsletter 54: Honesty is impossible but essential, why the Times bestseller list favors liberals, free books for 2 million kids, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and a sneak preview of our author ROI research. On telling the truth We all are certain we are honest people. We all hold truth as…
If you are an expert, you need to serve all the clients in your audience. You need a diverse portfolio of examples to draw on, so you can answer any question. All of your examples will be in some way similar, because they all relate to people similarly situation to your audience. For example, they…
Here’s what I learned as an analyst: research broadly and do not stop at one idea. The job of an analyst is write about what is not known. This requires primary research — that is, talking to people in the market you’re involved in, or collecting data about it. It also requires analysis, which is…
Newsletter 34: Who tells the truth, authors back a new publishing model, Spotify’s audiobook subscription, plus three people to follow, three books to read, and chance to meet other authors in Northern Cal. Says who? Trump advisor Steve Bannon once described his communications strategy this way: “The real opposition is the media. And the way…
Experts, speakers, authors, and other thought leaders: are you still harping on the same concepts as last year and the year before? Warning signs: Time to head out into new territory What should you concentrate on next? Your own clients will tell you. Consider the questions they ask for which you have no answers. Consider…
I’m getting pretty sick of people who try things once and then become experts, ready to tell you how to do what they did. The internet is full of these pretenders. I have a bookshelf full of books of advice for authors, most of which are not worth the 25 minutes it would take to…
Sure, it sounds attractive to be a “thought leader.” You just hold yourself out as an expert on something and then post a lot on social media and wait for the speaking and consulting gigs come pouring in, right? Not quite. There are a lot of pretenders out there. And there are a lot of…
There’s a way to generate influence that bugs me. I call people who do this “memeflingers.” Here’s how it works. First, identify the memes that are spreading most widely on social media, especially if they include meaningless platitudes about behavior and careers. Maybe even hire people to track them down for you. Second, repost as…
Good morning. I trust you slept well and soundly last night. As I write this, no serious news organization has declared the winner of the US presidential election. Based on current vote counts (9:15am) and the likelihood of remaining Democratic-skewing mail ballots being counted, Joe Biden is more likely than not to win the presidency,…