“What Matters Now” is what matters now

First of a series

Yesterday I wrote that the new eBook, “What Matters Now” is a must-read for business people, especially anyone who has recently been ejected from a long-term job.

I was wrong.  Anyone should read it who wants to be in the know about what direction the world is taking and what they should be doing about it. In a new series I’m going to highlight several points that the book rams home. Not to detract from reading it, but to share what I think are some radical shifts from traditional thinking.

Let’s take advertising and marketing. One essay is titled “Attention”. It begins:

“You can buy attention (advertising).
You can beg for attention from the media (public relations).
You can bug people one at a time to get attention (sales).

Or you can earn attention by creating something interesting and valuable and then publishing it on line for free: a YouTube video, a blog, a research report, photos, a Twitter stream, an ebook, a Facebook page.”

Does this work? Isn’t it a threat to your hard-earned, valuable expertise? You be the judge.

Let’s say you’re looking for a job. Everyone knows what a challenge that is right now, so you decide to set up a blog that highlights your experience. You do a little reading and find out you should use lots of key words to make sure people will find your site. But you don’t know how to set up a blog and you don’t want to become a web designer. Still, you want it done fast and without spending a lot.

Take a look at Johnny Truant. Johnny will set up a blog for you for free. When you’re ready to do more, Johnny can be your “virtual assistant,” helping you enhance your blog remotely or providing extensive online training materials. He charges for these services. Would I hire him to do the expert stuff needed to make my blog a success? You bet.

Johnny makes money by selling his services, but he attracts customers by giving his services away. This is the new advertising. Set aside your old biases and provide value for free. You’ll get far more in return.

Laurie Phillips is a freelance writer and a member of The Dead Company Club.

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