It’s a good thing that I’m both always in promotion mode and so far along in podcasting.
A few nights ago my wife and I were sitting and visiting with my mother-in-law, who referred to when she’d listened to my interview with Roy Orbison, Jr., on Episode 205 of “Now Hear This Entertainment.” However, she then turned around and confessed that she wasn’t entirely sure why people listen to podcasts.
Since I have so much experience, not only from hosting NHTE and “TASCAM Talkback,” but being very active in the podcast community (currently writing this blog as I prepare to participate in another major conference for the industry, this time in Philadelphia), I’m well positioned to talk about the proverbial features and benefits. But this is also where having a canned answer comes in handy.
We’ve all heard about our elevator pitch. What would you say to someone (a stranger) in the maybe 30 seconds of an elevator ride if they asked you, “So, what do you do?” Granted, this week in Philadelphia as I’m going up to my room I might very well encounter someone who asks a variation on that, “Do you have a podcast?” And I will have 30 seconds or less to tell them about NHTE and/or “TASCAM Talkback.”
That’s the chance to get someone’s interest enough that, at the least, they want to ask you for a business card. At most, they want to and/or it will lead to wanting to do business with you.
Are you a musician who reads this blog every week and hopefully has purchased the eBooks that have lots of practical help in them for on and off the stage? What would YOU say to someone in an elevator? I hope it’s not just, “I do music.” Or, “I’m a singer.” Or, “I’m in a band.” Or, “I’m a singer/songwriter.” What KIND of music do you do? Why should they care? What is different about you and the music you’re doing? Again, why should they want to ask you for a card as the elevator doors open?
I also have clients who are authors. If you write too, I hope that when that “what do you do question” is asked you launch immediately into, “I’m an author. I wrote a book called (title) which (synopsis).”
There’s some great advice out there about when you go on a job interview, to say to the person who’s talking to you, “I’m glad you asked that question.” That won’t work in an elevator speech. If you’re at a conference with over a thousand people at it, as I will be this week, you want to meet as many people as possible and a lot of times they’re just asking you that as a figure of speech. Mind you, this isn’t a hard sell, but it’s also not conducive to wasting time with, “Hahaha, how much time do you have?” and/or “I do lots of things.” Look, you’re at a podcasting conference, so obviously the other party wants to know if you have a podcast or, if not, why you’re there.
When you’re in your music persona, that’s what you’ve got on the tip of your tongue, ready to fill people in on. Don’t brag. Don’t name drop. Don’t go on and on. Just hit the highlights. Make a contest out of it. See if you can hone your elevator pitch to the point where the goal is to get them to ask you for a card. And then keep track of your batting average over the course of an event, or even, say, for a month or two months. When you see your average dropping, ask yourself, “Did I change something about my pitch? Did I start leaving something out? Did I go too long and not get to something? Did I put the best stuff at the end and they got bored before I got there?” And then adjust your grip, your stance, your eye, and swing for the fences.
I’m pretty confident I left my mother-in-law thinking, “Hmmm, maybe I’ll look for some podcasts in my interest areas.” Let me know how you do.
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