153 Indispensable Marketing Secrets from Propagandists, Self-Promoters & Cult Leaders w/ Michael F Schein
Michael F. Schein, Author of The Hype Handbook
In this interview we are chatting about all things HYPE and how to use it in your Marketing Strategy to grow your business & create BUZZ!
Listen to the podcast…
Today, we’re talking about mischief makers, propagandists, con artists, boundary breakers & hype artists.
Sounds pretty juicy, eh?
Our guest of the show is Michael F Schein who has spent the better part of the past 5 years studying all things HYPE.
Yepp, you heard that right!
Michael wants you to know that if you are a business owner, entrepreneur, executive, artist, activist, or thinker who is trying to make the world a better place, it is your moral imperative to learn how to harness raw emotion and irrational thinking to your benefit.
He wants you to understand how people make decisions, why they really get excited, and why they really choose to follow some people over others.
In order to do so, Michael has followed the Hype Experts to find out the commonalities & to reverse engineer how they do what they do.
Not only did I love recording this episode for all of you visionaries, but I deeply appreciated Michael’s perspective on all things marketing & brand building.
Our philosophies are completely in line and I love Michael’s take on standing out in a crowd.
If you want to learn about Ethical Hype & how to use it to grow your business, this is the episode for you!
Enjoy this conversation with Michael F Shine.
Oh and you’ll most certainly want to get a copy of his brand new book The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets from the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers which is now available.
(consider supporting your independent book store, if possible!)
Want to peek at my Podcast Show Prep Notes?
First, I want to go back to your mid-thirties…
With a new baby at home, you quit your cushy corporate job (where you say you were seduced by stability) to pursue a full time career in freelance writing, which proved to be off to a tough start. Month over month, you weren’t reaching your income goals
Then, one day while walking to the subway, you remembered a stunt from your past when you were in a band, when you littered the streets with posters that said ‘Dave Matthews Must Die”.
Take us back to those days and why you created those posters
Looking back on that chapter of your life, what did you learn in promoting and selling out concerts & shows
To get your freelance career going you tried letting good work speak for itself, hustling hard, and implementing sales funnels… but none of those things were getting you business. This is when you began to wonder whether there was anything in the strategies and techniques of these more unconventional operators (like propagandists, cult leaders, etc.) that you could apply without losing my soul in the process.”...
The Gary Vee Article
You pressed publish on an article that took a stance against Gary Vaynerchuck, who constantly tells aspiring entrepreneurs that the only way to succeed is to spend the majority of every day talking about yourself online.
Within an hour of posting the article, Gary Vaynerchuk had responded and his fans reacted with a litany of personal attacks on you.
I think we all get a little tense imagining ourselves in that position, essentially wanting to curl up in a hole in and die after we press publish on something we believe in, yet that we know will be met with a whole lot of resistance… What were you feeling at that moment?
One of the strategies that you’ve identified as a way to garner Hype is to “pick fights and make enemies.” Identify a person or a status quo idea and position in opposition to it - Why does this strategy work?
Ex: Why Joe Rogan Got Ripped Off
Ex: Taking a stance against ClickFunnels and Expensive Facebook Ads
How can we think about implementing it or putting it into practice in our own businesses
What were some of the outcomes of taking that bold stance and publishing that piece on Gary Vee: positive and negative?
Was this how you got Fired from Forbes?
HYPE
You say.... If you are a business owner, entrepreneur, executive, artist, activist, or thinker who can honestly say that you are trying to make the world a better place, it is your moral imperative to learn how to harness raw emotion and irrational thinking to your benefit.
You must come to understand how people really make decisions, why they really get excited, and why they really choose to follow some people over others. Then you must use your understanding of these principles for good. To make this happen, study the mischief makers, the propagandists, the con artists, the boundary breakers, the hype artists.
Find the commonalities. Reverse engineer how they do what they do.
Can you give us an example of someone who is a Modern Day Hype Artist
The word “Hype” can be associated with the promotion of something that doesn’t live up to a standard, but in your work you study The Ethical Use of Hype. Explain more of what that is.
It sounds like without hype, good ideas often go unnoticed.
Is it okay to use hype to self-promote?
If we’re not yet comfortable promoting ourselves, how can we use the Mini-Oprah or Piggyback Principle to generate hype?
Let’s talk about one of the Hype Strategies, “Perfect for Your Packaging”
Can you give us an example of how your branding and our overall “look”can actually be a source of hype (aka How You Dress on Stage)
Coming up with a name for your community members (aka my friend Dr. Stephanie calls her Better! Podcast Listeners Betties, and I call my Visionary Life Community Visionaries). Why is this something to consider?
Marketing Tips.
For someone who is in their first few years of business, and hasn’t quite found their voice or their strong position yet, what advice would you offer them for beginning to generate Hype
Think outside the box, You give an example of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. Rather than going from door to door to raise money for a charity, take inspiration from the ALS ice bucket challenge, which raised $115 million by calling on people to post videos on social media of their friends and family dumping buckets of ice on their heads. How do you stay inspired and continue to generate unique ideas to build Hype.
Your new book - The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets from the World's Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers
It’s already ranked #70 in the Business Category and it doesn't launch for a couple more weeks
I love that your book pulls the curtains back on “why we make decisions like we do”... like why Bacon + Eggs has become a “go to breakfast” when we all know that’s NOT the most advantageous morning food for energy, weight maintenance & overall health. It’s good for business owners and people curious about psychology of decision making
The most brilliant part of your book is that after you learn one of the Hype Secrets, you give the reader a list of ways to “put it into practice”
Here are my takeaways from this episode with Author & Marketer, Michael F. Schein
First, it’s important to determine a point of view held by the main practitioners of your industry, something often regarded as gospel, and then see if you believe any different
(ex. Everyone says you need to do Facebook Ads to have a successful marketing strategy, but I disagree). Michael gained much attention when he shared his article titled “Why Gary Vaynerchuk is Flat Out Wrong” since it contradicted what everyone else said. That was the tipping point of his career!
It’s scary to stand out, so don’t worry if this isn’t coming easy in your business, yet.
Just like how Michael felt terrified to publish his opinion piece on Gary Vaynerchuk, there’s likely some area of your business that you’re resisting rising up in right now.
Hype isn’t a bad thing!
Be your own hype artist or you risk having your work unseen by the masses. Hype gets you noticed and shouldn’t always have a negative connotation!
Watch our Interview on YouTube!
Connect with Michael:
To get book recommendations on the world’s most unconventional and controversial marketers, drop me a line at mfs@microfamemedia.com
Resources + people that we discussed in this episode…
How he’s been touted the Guerilla Seth Godin
Don’t hide who you are, become more of who you are
His marketing agency, MicroFame Media
Sponsors:
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