One of the more useful biographies I have read for business and marketing is movie director Frank Capra’s bio “The Name Above The Title” book.
It contains a ton of insights about making movies that apply directly to marketing.
Here are a few of them:
* There are no rules to filmmaking, only sins. And the cardinal sin is Dullness
* What interests people most is people
* Self aggrandizement will get you a lot farther a lot faster than modesty
* Entertainment is an amazing tool for rallying people against the “bad guys”
* Laugher disarms skepticism, cynicism, and even hostility
* Don’t look for objective criticism or praise… look for gut reactions
* Creating Vision can literally win wars
* Don’t make the best picture you ever made in the same year that someone makes Gone With The Wind
* FDR was such a great listener he almost converted Frank Capra into becoming a Democrat
* Too many filmmakers get their ideas from other’s pictures and not from life
* Wealthy hypocrites and celebrities in Hollywood constantly virtue signaling about “social justice” secretly had just as much contempt and hatred for the very people and causes they virtue signaled about in Capra’s day as they do today
* Trying to not offend people ruins movies
And the list goes on.
But Frank Capra’s most profitable marketing lesson was when he said this:
“Laughter was the disarmer, the friend maker. Entertain them, and audiences would accept most anything.”
I not only agree with this, but have witnessed and profited from it for some 15 years — including when selling in markets ranging from weight loss and self-defense, to golf and prostate problems, to internet marketers, MLMers, and biz opp seekers.
This is something email lets you play like a fiddle.
To learn more about Email Players go here:
Ben Settle