The Power Of Video And Inspiration
Come From The Strangest Places …
Dear Business Builder,
I’ve been blocked. For the last couple of days, I’ve been trying to put pen to paper for today’s issue. But all I seem to do is stare blankly at the monitor replaying the scary conversation with the Redhead about why my issue is so late. Yikes … send shivers up my spine!
So with the fear of Red in me, I got up extra early to bang out my issue so it would arrive just in time for her to slide in behind her desk. At least that’s how it was supposed to work. Instead I surfed the web and spent some time with my forehead on my desk giving myself a silent (but deadly) tongue lashing.
After a bit of that nonsense, I decided a distraction was in order. Clayton and Carline have offered plenty of tips on how to overcome writers block in previous issues of The Total Package … it pretty much boils down to distraction. Once you’ve stopped beating yourself up and moved on to something else, inspiration hits.
They’ve suggested napping … that wouldn’t work I just woke up. They’ve suggested paying bills or balancing your checkbook, essentially using your left brain to free up your right brain to think … did that last night and it didn’t work.
So I turned to my normal early morning routine – coffee and the newspaper. One of the first things I always read is my horoscope (I know, I know). And lo and behold, today my horoscope actually revealed a glimmer of hope. It said:
You’re looking for guidance. Be open to receiving what you asked for at any moment. Your cue will be subtle but unmistakable.
Creepy! Just moments earlier I had actually said to myself. “Please, please find something in newspaper that will put an end to this block, your day depends on it.”
You see, it’s been a stressful week. A few unexpected events knocked me off-kilter. Earlier in the week, the ideas and copy had been flowing like a waterfall. But come Wednesday, all creativity came to a screeching halt. And then the block started. When that happens, the first thing to go is my sense of humor. And that’s never a good thing.
So, as I turned the pages of the newspaper, I was truly hoping to find some sort of inspiration. It didn’t take long because on the next page a photo caught my eye that instantly drug me right back to a really fun day I had earlier in year.
You’ve heard of a Yeti …
but have you heard of a Neti?
It was a picture of a Neti Pot. Now if you’ve never heard of a Neti Pot, you’re about to be enlightened. The article was about the recent rise in popularity of this nasal irrigation device. It has been touted as a lifesaver by people with extreme allergies and users claim it helps them avoid colds and flu … or at least shorten the duration dramatically. They’ve been around for ages and users swear by them.
But until recently, this device was really crunchy granola and could only be found in health food stores. That is until the device was demonstrated on Oprah.
Now, you might be wondering how I could put “fun” and “nasal irrigation” in the same line of thinking. Well here’s the story …
Earlier in the year, my husband and I attended the Natural Health Expo in Baltimore with a client and some of their staff. Natural Health Expo is a great trade show for companies that sell products to the health food store market. It’s a good place to go and look for upcoming trends.
So as we headed down the first aisle in the hall determined to find the next big thing, a video caught my eye. Little did we know at the time we’d found it. The video was of a woman demonstrating how to use a Neti Pot.
I had never seen a Neti Pot before, let alone seen it demonstrated. I stopped dead in my tracks, grabbed my husband, my client and his staff members and said “you’ve got to see this.” It was hysterical.
And as all six of us stood there huddled together watching the video in disbelief and tossing out one wisecrack after another, we realized the women doing the video demo was standing in the booth watching us.
Poor lady … I’m sure she took some crap for that show. Suffice it to say, we were joking about it the whole rest of the show.
So, if you’ve never seen a Neti Pot demo, be sure to watch the video to see why we found it so hysterical. This is the exact same video we were watching at the show … be sure to notice her eyes!
And for a little more Neti Pot fun, watch this video by DrewToothpaste. But if you’re bothered by the F-bomb, I suggest you skip it.
The Nasal Irrigation Device that Could …
Months after my first introduction to the Neti Pot, I noticed it again at my local Walgreens drug store. I actually thought to myself “what is up with this thing?!” Little did I know it had made it on Oprah.
It was introduced by her frequent guest Dr. Mehmet Oz and demonstrated on the show by a chronic sinusitis sufferer from Texas. Oprah called it a nose bidet. A month later, they followed up with the women from Texas and she reported she’d used the pot daily and hadn’t had a single sinus headache since.
After Oprah the device lived on in Cyberspace as it became a hot topic written about in blogs and chatted about on message boards and demonstrated in no less than 60 videos on YouTube. “Nose bidet” became one of the most popular keywords searched on Google.
Sales of the device have skyrocketed. One retailer said they went from selling dozens a week to dozens a day and they can no longer keep up with demand. Move over Wii, have you met my friend Neti?
Is there a marketing lesson in here? Yes, but today you get to figure out just how to make it work for you. Oprah certainly gave this gross little product a big push, but then cyberspace took it the distance.
But what if I can’t get my product on Oprah, you ask? We’ll take a look at how Blendtec demonstrated the power of their blender and unexpectedly skyrocketed sales in the process.
I’ll leave you here. Have fun, I hope you had a good laugh, and since I’m no longer blocked, I’d better get writing!
Until next week,
Julie McManus
Editor, In the ‘Net Trenches
THE TOTAL PACKAGE™
And Web Media Goddess
P.S. Are you in the ‘net trenches? Do you need help? Send
me an e-mail to AskJulie@MakepeaceTotalPackage.com and
I just might answer your question in an upcoming issue.
P.P.S. Have you checked out The Total Package affiliate program lately? We’ve added tons of new creative to help you earn cash on any new subscriber you refer and we’ve opened our archives up for the pilfering … Click Here to check it out NOW!
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Comment by naser — January 12, 2008 @ 1:49 am
[B]null[/B]
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