Burning a Name in the Mind

Dear Team:

I'm on vacation at Olema. As you all know I wrote my books, had them self-published, and then had them all translated with your help on the web. All this while I was trying to master the learning curve about the promotion of things in general. I Fired no less than four promotion people in the last two years and I finally realized I had to solve the promotion puzzle all by myself. I went into the library and 45 books later found the right author with the right ideas.

At last....whew....

I was trying to start a publicity campaign without building up a brand-name first. Now it's going to be EASY. I will try out my new formula in a radio interview here in Marin county late next month.

If this works I will write an article for the Brazilian and Chinese teams who are already well advanced in promoting my works....then if that works. Russia and France are next. I have developed some contacts there....

Building a brand is about burning an idea in the human mind. It can be a good idea. It can be a bad idea. But once people trust the idea. You're on your way....St.Paul, Hitler, Marx, Ronald Reagan, and John F. Kennedy all understood this powerful idea.

In a media enviornment of increasing global buying and selling--building consumer trust in a confusing world of symbolic noise is really crucial. Even terrorists are beginning to understand this. 9/11 and Al Qaeda are now powerful brand names for recruiting new terrorists. Just like MacDonald's Hamburgers lure hungry familes to the counter. Beatles records can attract music lovers and Kalvin Klein jeans can certainly attract the fashion-conscious.

Yes, even Joyce, Salinger, and Kerouac are literary brands for very specialized markets.

I now have the brand strategy for all my written works in TOTO....Indeed, I maybe the first writer in history to brand his own work and then have it translated and sold globally via the web with--independently out-sourced and networked labor--that's also highly specialized and creative....

Much more soon.

Michael