I once saw a Business Insider article from May 19, 2017 with the headline:
“Journalists drink too much, are bad at managing emotions, and operate at a lower level than average, according to a new study”
That headline pretty much spells it all out.
But, here are a couple of the juicy parts:
“Journalists’ brains show a lower-than-average level of executive functioning, according to a new study, which means they have a below-average ability to regulate their emotions, suppress biases, solve complex problems, switch between tasks, and show creative and flexible thinking.”
And…
“Forty-one percent of the subjects said they drank 18 or more units of alcohol a week, which is four units above the recommended weekly allowance.”
Anyway, here’s the point:
I don’t know how true that is.
Nor do I particularly care.
But I do know the media is one of the least trusted groups on the planet, according to pretty much every poll. And yet these people have tremendous influence & power over what people think, and how they live their lives.
What, pray tell, gives them this power?
Answer:
Being handed a platform.
Whether they are working for the community rag distributed at the local Piggly Wiggly grocery store… or for the New York Times & Wall Street Journal… journalists have a platform to work from that grants them a powerful form of influence denied other mere mortals. Hollywood, sports, and other celebrities – deserved or not – have it, too.
In my experience:
Platforms (used correctly) equal positioning.
Positioning equals influence.
And influence… equals power.
If you are a raw newbie or seasoned pro feeling powerless in your business right now – especially with the economy going all nutzo – then, in my not-at-all humble opinion… one of the single best ways to change that is to start “stacking”, controlling, and owning as many media platforms as you can.
Which brings me to the rub:
The May 2020 “Email Players” issue is all about building, stacking, and leveraging as many different platforms like this — both yours and others’ medias — to build your own, personal media empire of sorts.
It ain’t magic, thought, and it IS a lot of work.
Especially if all you do is haunt Facebook all day.
Plus, there’s also a learning curve, depending on how new or familiar you are with this.
i.e., if all you do is spank out social media posts all day thinking that gives you a “OMG! Platform!” you are playing in the peewee league when it comes to this. Social media is amateur hour at best when it comes to creating a media-powered business. It’s a nice start, and better than nothing. But it ain’t yours, Maynard, even if you get lots of likes and retweets or whatever.
All right.
I’ll be sending a lot of emails about this over the next several days.
I consider this issue to be the most important info I can teach right now.
Especially during this uncertain economy & these uncertain times.
To subscribe before the deadline to get it, go here:
Ben Settle
