Article Highlights:
- Don’t lock yourself into one marketing message
- Broad messages make for bigger audiences
- Have a variety of angles for year-round marketing
Imagine if the publicists for The Descendants, the George Clooney movie up for five Academy Awards, had decided to market it as a film about Hawaii.
Sure, I might have gone to see it. It is set in Hawaii and I’m a sucker for those sun-soaked surfs and volcano vistas. And, I’ll admit, George Clooney.
But I made The Descendants a date night with my husband because it was marketed as a movie about family relationships in a time of crisis. The glimmers of tension, conflict and humor in the trailers reeled me right in. (By the way, it’s a great contender for Best Picture!) Hawaii was part of the story, but by no means the whole story, and not even the most compelling aspect.
I bring up this point because many authors and entrepreneurs come to us with their minds set on a narrow marketing angle – like Hawaii for The Descendants. They’re sure that should be the focus of their campaign because it’s the biggest audience for their book. All too often, they sell themselves, and their book or product, short.
Marketing is about gaining exposure to as many people as possible, and to do that, you’ve got to be concerned about a variety of angles in your message that will have broad appeal. Continue Reading
