Sep
11
Three Big Lessons in Three Small Bites
I think I’ve forgotten how to write a full blog post. Therefore, more snippets:
What American Idol and Ellen Degeneres have to do with your ittybiz
I’m writing this at 10:30 at night, the night American Idol anounced that Ellen Degeneres would replace Paula Abdul on the judging panel.
Twitter is afire. Something along the lines of “that’s so fucking stupid.” Give or take.
Once upon a time, Pace and Kyeli and I created an audio product called The Usual Error in Marketing. (Someday I will get off my ass and sell it to you. Today is not that day.) The basic premise? You have to stop assuming people are just like you. Cause they ain’t.
Maybe I am a 23-year-old Latino woman. Maybe I am a teenage girl. Maybe I am a 31-year-old black man. In any case, the *I* here is already watching American Idol.
They want NEW people to watch American Idol. People who currently think American Idol is the lamest of the lame.
This demographic could also be described as… people who love Ellen.
I love working with Havi on projects. Why? Because I get Havi’s people! If you think to yourself, “Why would Naomi hook up with the Havinator? They’re so different!“, well, congratulations. You fail at business.
What can you bring to your offering that brings a whole ‘nother kind of person in the door?
What my new fave blog has to do with your ittybiz
The world is not suffering from a lack of freebie/giveaway/contest blogs. The thing about existing freebie/giveaway/contest blogs is that they are generally insufferably dry.
The Bright Side Project is not insufferably dry. It’s fucking delightful. It is almost enough to make me get rid of my Etsy bias. (OK, maybe not totally enough. But almost enough.)
There is more room in your market than you think there is. Bring YOU to your market. Not your product or your service or your blog. YOU. You are cool and there is room for you.
What the new it-girl nail polish can teach you about your ittybiz
Do you sense a theme? There is totally a theme.
I cannot even explain to you in words how much joy is brought to my life by the existence of Butter London nail polish. Yes, it comes in a pretty package. Yes, it is missing the Big Three Bad Chemicals That Will Kill You And Then Make You Dead Too. Yes, I already have a propensity for expensive nail polish.
But then we get to the names and stick a fork in me, I’m done.
New people won’t know about my obsession with names. (Read about the great Tiger Woods/Snuggle In paint incident of 2007 to get up to speed.) But names are really, really important and also really, really… important. Sometimes, naming your shit is the most important marketing decision you ever make.
Nail polish called Crumpet. Frilly Knickers. West End Wonderland. Yummy Mummy.
I’m dying here, people.
Names do not name. Names convey. What do your names convey? Go away. Fix them. Come back when you have something as good as Tea with the Queen.
When I first started naming my jewellery I would get right into with clever names and such. The last couple have been pretty boring basic descriptors instead of fun names, and I was just writing another one wondering whether I should bother coming up with something fun.
Thanks for the kick in the pants reminder that I could be getting more customers as long as I stop being boring!
Working with people that are different makes me feel icky and weird, like the ending of “No Country For Old Men” until I read the Wikipedia article.
Secondly, product strategy through naming? Available market space? I’m sure you write this blog solely for my enjoyment so… I would really like to see more posts about messed up tattoos and keep up the swearing, although I don’t do it myself it makes me feel all grown up to read it.
Lastly, they might be snippets but they’re better than some ebooks I’ve read lately, seriously.
@ Ben — I said “fucking” at least twice, and “frilly knickers” once. What the hell do you want from me, man? I’m only one person. I’m doing the best I can here.
Doggone it, Naomi. Ya had to tell me about Butter London! Sucker that I am for hip British cosmetics. (LUSH rocks.) I wish BL had non-toxic polish remover, though. Otherwise, I’m still using methylethylnastyshit.
Still, I agree about Idol hiring Ellen. After the initial WTF-she’s-not-in-music, I agree that her addition is genius. Same “nice” vibe, only smart and witty along with it. And a possible new audience. Freakin’ brilliant.
Names do not name. Names convey.
A brilliant summary of a large body of academic work in cultural studies right there. And further support for the fact that to really get ahead in business you don’t need a business degree you need to have a good idea about how culture works.
Excellent post. Excellent ideas.
Let me first declare that I have no fingernails. Well, of course I have nails on my fingers but not the kind that one would ever apply polish to. But now I’m craving Butter London products. Or just about anything at Sephora – my 27yo’s fav store. Which brings me to the realization that you (Naomi) are the same age as my daughter. And I’m more than happy to send each of you money. With one I get immediate return on my investment, with the other, well, pay it forward.
Jove, that is right. Names conjure up a whole set of images and emotions. A name sets the mood, the content brings you in and keeps you.
Another branch of academia (philosophy and linguistics) says a similar thing in different words. Names have ‘denotations’ and ‘connotations.’
While different words may denote (point to) the same thing, the connotations (associations, contexts, vibes- good or bad, etc) aroused may be vastly different.
For example, I’m just imagining that ‘tea with the queen’ is some shade of tan. If I were to ask my husband to hand me the right bottle of nail polish I’d better ask for the tan one, the red one or the pink one…
And combining the ideas from these snippets- since our customers are not us, it behooves us to know and understand the connotations THEY may bring to any given name.
I just read in the paper today that a local school was requesting students not wear the colored plastic bracelets that are all the rage because apparently a code had evolved by which the color of the bracelets worn indicated what sort of activities (sexual and drug related) the students were engaging in.
My point being- be aware of what you may be saying to folks- even unintentionally! Who knows what wearing that pink bracelet might be suggesting to the world!
Connotations matter- and context is everything!
We are humbled by your opinion that we are, ‘fucking delightful’. I just found your blog from one of your readers and now I may be fired for splaying coffee on my computer screen. Good thing I found you because if I get fired at least I will know how to make my company a success. Thank you.
I have a brilliant example of the naming thing, dude.
One thing you should know: I never wear perfume.
Which is why a parfumier who calls his business “I Hate Perfume” has my instant attention.
Then he goes and names his perfumes cool things like Black March and In the Library and Wild Hunt.
The winner, though?
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday.
Who the fuck wouldn’t want a perfume called Mr. Hulot’s Holiday?
I’m just saying.
Language is everything. Linguistics rules. But no one wants to admit it.
I teach this to my students and clients ALL THE TIME.
And it’s not just clonk-me-over-the-head obvious. It’s also so beautifully and delicately subtle.
Lessons Learned versus Success Stories. We could do this for you, versus we will do this for you. Calling someone “skinny” or “slender.” Y’know? (I know I’d rather be “slender” – how ’bout you?)
Yep. Study the language, folks. Pay attention. It’s crucial!
Totally with you Taylor
they are wonderful names – think i’ll get me some “Mr. Hulot’s Holiday”
& i’m even considering nail polish now – hey wait, damm I’m a bloke – i really can’t wear “Frilly knickers” or “Yummy Mummy”
Great writing Naomi – keep it up
You’re dead on with the naming thing. I suppose the nail polish company wanted names that weren’t boring. And while these aren’t boring, you’re right, they do not convey the image you want to think of in nail polish. They should convey beautiful images, not breakfast.
So totally enjoying the goodies on The Bright Side Project – yummy things to look at and decorate with. And the nail polish goodness! You just made my eye candy quota for the week.
Now rethinking my naming process… “Zombie Cow Tipping” sounds so much more entertaining than “Series in Brown Acrylics, No.4″.
I agree, I agree, I agree… BUT: What do you do when your audience/market/customer is not only English-speaking?
There are places in the world where people speak like… French. Or Swedish. And while the latter might understand “Frilly Knickers”, the former won’t.
Oh, you know you just named my next dyed-&-spun-with-tea-bags yarn! Tea with the Queen! Brilliant!
Twitter is now very widely used. In fact almost everyone who knows how to use a computer has one. I cant blame them its one of the coolest networking site of today.
You’re dead-on with the Ellen thing. I am not a fan of AI or any other reality or contest show, but when I heard she was the new judge, part of me wants to see an show or two because I’m a huge Ellen fan. At the very least I’ll probably flip to AI during commercial breaks from another show. (And I sorta hate that, cause I’m really not an AI fan!)
I freaking need some Butter London now. I thought I needed it before, and now I know I do. I’m such a sucker.
“There is more room in your market than you think there is. Bring YOU to your market. Not your product or your service or your blog. YOU. You are cool and there is room for you.”
Well, shit. THAT’S going up on my motivation board.
Keep bringin’ it, Naomi.
I’ve learned that business shouldnt be mixed with personal emotions as this would downfall the company itself.
Dennis: Yep, and that’s Lesson #3 or 4 in many good business courses…don’t let personal feelings interfere with business decisions. Been the downfall of a number of small (and a few large) companies.
This is brilliant! I have to admit that I like AI ( my dirty little secret) and am thrilled that Ellen will be a judge now. Makes me want to watch it more.
I always like to go for it when creating names for my programs, but have felt reigned in my my business/marketing coaches who keep telling me that you need them to be key word rich…or have high emotional impact. I like to make up my own phrases to describe stuff…and they certainly are not keywords…inner-freak as your super power, pre-packaged life, Hedonist adventure, Juicy Goodness…..Thanks for re-enforcing my belief that putting more of my freaky-self in my marketing is what makes me stand out from the rest of the coaches.
Hey man, everytime I try to visit pages I only end up seeing half of the post. I don’t understand if it’s my web browser(Safari) or not, is someone else experiencing this?