October, 2021, was an eclectic month on the Reputation Revolution podcast.
We kicked off Season 5 of the podcast (episode 205) with ‘three-peat’ guest – Mark Masters from UK-based You Are The Media chatting about the importance of playing the long game.
Then, in episode 206, we dissected what’s involved in snagging a book deal with a major publisher (special guest – entrepreneur-turned-author, Ian Whitworth), followed by a cracking discussion about building the confidence to create video content using just your mobile phone (with expert guest Julian Mather, episode 207).
Episode 208 was a solo effort, in which I unpack a major emerging trend known as the ‘Creator Economy’, and explain why it’s important for thought leaders to understand what’s happening in this space.
206: How to land a book deal from someone who’s done it – interview with entrepreneur-turned-author, Ian Whitworth
This episode’s guest is Ian Whitworth, a reformed branding and advertising creative director turned entrepreneur and co-founder of Scene Change, a national corporate AV company that once used a toothless gypsy lady to help set its strategy!
Ian studied as a vet, got expelled, and became a corporate AV technician. He claims he has been “exposed to radioactive megadoses of corporate motivator shtick”, before realising they’re generally 99% showbiz and 1% business experience.
More importantly, for the purposes of today’s episode –
Ian is a blogger and published author, with a new book out now via Penguin Random House: UNDISRUPTABLE: Timeless Business Truths for Thriving in a World of Non-Stop Change.
In this wide-ranging chat, Ian touches on:
- How he snagged a book deal with a major publisher
- The importance of telling real-life stories
- The power of blogging (and the role it played in landing him a book deal)
- The use of humour in storytelling
- Finding and honing your public voice
- Writing is thinking – it’s valuable to clarify what you stand for and what you do.
Ian also discusses developing a point of view and why it’s sometimes good to have a “straw man enemy” to go up against.
In Ian’s case, he preaches doing the opposite to what an MBA-trained consultant would tell you to do (the original title of Ian’s book was ‘Kill All MBAs!’).
CONNECT WITH IAN:
207: Unleash your inner video star (using just your smartphone) with Julian Mather
Episode 207 is all about video, and how non-digital natives can get the most out of the medium using nothing more than a smartphone.
Our expert guest Julian Mather has an incredibly varied background, having gone from being trained to shoot people with a rifle (army sniper) to shooting people with a camera.
Along the way, he became a Director of Photography at ABC-TV, as well as a professional magician, a period during which he established a successful Youtube channel generating 30 million video views and 140,000+ subscribers.
Today, Julian helps busy 40-60yr olds build trust and authority using smartphone video.
Julian’s goal is to change how people think and feel about video, and he does it with unique content, storytelling, humour, practical tips … and a bit of magic!
Julian encourages people to shrug off their insecurities when it comes to being in front of the camera.
He says:
“Anybody can learn this. So if you’re out there listening to this and thinking, I just have so much trouble (doing video) … I’m worried I’ll forget what to say, I’m worried about what people will think of me.
“I’ve spent my whole career building a level of status, I don’t want to be on video and make mistakes and have that go on the record and damage me: you’re thinking in a 20th century mindset.“
JULIAN MATHER
Julian and I discuss a range of video-related topics, including:
- The power of authenticity (“You can’t be a little bit authentic,” says Julian. “You’re either authentic or you’re not authentic.”)
- The smartphone advantage (“If you can make {a video} and get that to market faster than your competitors, you have a smartphone advantage.”)
- The perfection myth (“We think if we get on {camera} and we mess something up … we don’t want to do it because we think, oh, we’ll mess up and people will talk about us. And the honest truth is – and you have to accept this – if you think that, you’re conceited. I was conceited for those early years because I stopped myself getting on {camera} and just being authentic and being willing to make mistakes, because I thought people were going to talk about me.”)
- New rules, new tools (“… you need a new set of rules and you need a new set of tools, and within those new set of tools, I advocate using smartphones.”) Julian also discusses cheap but effective ways to improve lighting and audio quality.
CONNECT WITH JULIAN
208: How thought leaders can tap into the growing ‘Creator Economy’
In this solo episode I dissect the major trend that is the ‘Creator Economy’, and explain why it’s important for thought leaders to get a handle on where things are headed in this space.
My advice? Don’t follow your competitors (and end up looking like them).
Instead, check out – and seek inspiration from – the new wave of independent content creators who are making a big splash globally in their respective niches. They’re at the cutting edge of what’s happening currently in the world of content marketing and social media, he says.
Go to where the real action is and absorb ideas and insights, and start putting them to work in your business!
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