Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Creating Word Of Mouth – Episode 071
How do you create a show that people remember? My theory is simple. If you want word of mouth do things worth talking about.
That particular phrase is one I learned from Seth Godin. However, I learned that theory years and years ago.
Learning From Radio
When I started in radio 25 years ago, my goal was to make every break a home run. Creating a show that creates buzz appears to be a daunting task.
A typical radio show is four hours. With an average of four talk breaks or bits an hour, a daily show would include sixteen bits a show. At three minutes a bit for a morning show, we talking about 48 minutes of material. That would roughly equal to an average podcast.
After a few years in radio, I realized that creating sixteen different pieces of content that are stellar and buzz-worthy is nearly impossible on a regular basis. It is also unnecessary. Your listener will not remember all sixteen things you do on the show this week.
People remember one big thing. Create the one killer bit that will create some buzz.
You can’t manufacture marketing and make people talk. The buzz is created when you do something amazing. To discover what is amazing, you need to continue to try different things.
You will be surprised by what moves people. People will mention hearing things on your show that you never dreamed would make a connection. The more you receive that feedback, the more you will be able to recognize it when it happens.
Be occasionally great rather than consistently good.
You don’t win by removing mistakes. You win by giving your audience a reason to listen. Occasionally great bits will give your listener those reasons.
If you conduct interviews on your show, you do not need to make every question Earth shattering. You need one or two great questions that people will remember. Your listener will say, “Did you hear what she asked her guest?” The answer will be one great question, not the entire interview.
Make your listener remember one thing. Consistently good is admission to the game. Occasionally great wins.
Examples of Occasionally Great
Let’s looks at some examples of both.
In baseball, who are some of the players that come to mind?
How about Willie Keeler and Jimmy Rollins? They hold the record for most Major League Baseball consecutive games with a hit.
Willie Keeler is #2 with 45 hits in 1896. Jimmy Rollins is #8 with 38 in 2005.
This means they consistently get on base. Valuable to the team. But hardly memorable.
How about Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Alex Rodriguez? These are the Top 5 of the list of players with the most Major League Baseball home runs.
Other than Babe Ruth at .342, the other four had batting averages between .298 and .305. In comparison, Keeler hit .341 in his career.
These home run guys got a hit less than one out of three tries. Less than stellar, yet memorable. Occasionally great.
Maybe American football is your sport.
Would you consider Chad Pennington one of the most memorable quarterbacks to every play the game? He holds a 66% career passing percentage in the National Football League over 10 seasons playing for 2 different teams. That puts him at #2 on the list.
Pennington completed 2 of every 3 passing attempts. Pretty consistent. Not quite memorable.
Could you put Bart Starr and Joe Namath on a list of great quarterbacks?
Bart Starr was the QB of Superbowl 1 & 2. Joe Namath was also a Superbowl quarterback. Their stories are legends.
Starr is #71 on the passing percentage list at 57% over 15 seasons. Namath is #163 on the same list at 50% over 8 seasons. Less consistent, but memorable.
Let’s talk acting.
Christopher Lee has made 276 movie and acting appearances. He has been in Dracula and The Lord Of The Rings.
Robert Loggia was in Scarface and made 223 other film and acting appearances.
You saw Ernie Hudson in The Crow. If not there, he was in 190 other movies and productions. You wold probably recognize him if you saw him.
All three are solid, consistent actors. They are hardly household names.
Every heard of Tom Hanks. He has only made 37 films and other appearances. Less than 20% of the number Hudson has appeared in. Less than 14% of Lee.
On the other hand, to date, Tom Hanks’ films have averaged $96.3M per movie. A few have been occasionally great and won Oscars. Not nearly the number of appearances. His home runs make up for it.
Will Smith has made 29 theatrical appearances. His movies average $127M. Fewer films. More blockbusters.
Will Smith is also known as a hip hop star. However, he has only released 4 solo albums. Two of his albums went gold. One is 2x platinum. One is 9x platinum.
Will Smith actually released more albums as half of DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince. That act released 5 albums. Three of those reached gold, one platinum and one 3x platinum.
These guys are all huge, because they are occasionally great.
Find Your One Thing
Don’t try to be everything to everyone. Be the best at one thing.
What are you known for? What is the one thing you can do on the episode this week that your listener will remember?
Find your one thing. Create word of mouth. Be occasionally great.
I’d love to help you with your podcast. Post any questions or comments you might have, or e-mail me at Erik@PodcastTalentCoach.com.
You can find my podcast and other tools to help you create great content at www.PodcastTalentCoach.com. Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.
Let’s turn your information into engaging entertainment.