Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Rainmaker.FM

The Digital Commerce and Content Marketing Podcast Network

  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Member Area
  • Log In
Menu
  • Log In
  • Free Training
7-Figure Small with Brian Clark
Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing
Get More Clients With Smarter Email Marketing
Hack the Entrepreneur
Members Only
Rainmaker.FM Elsewhere
Site Success: Tips for Building Better WordPress Websites
StudioPress FM
Technology Translated
The Digital Entrepreneur
The Missing Link
The Showrunner
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
Youpreneur with Chris Ducker
Zero to Book
The Digital Entrepreneur
hosted by Sean Jackson and Katy Katz

Why the Key to Business Success is Media, Not Marketing

  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmakerplatform.com/media/audio/newrainmaker001.mp3
Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes
More Episodes Next Episode:Why a Personal Media Brand Beats "Marketing" Every Time

All Episodes:

May 17, 2018

Stop Being Afraid and Start Building Your Business

May 10, 2018

Crazy Creative Ideas for Content Repurposing

May 3, 2018

The Creative Way to Use Video Marketing on LinkedIn

April 19, 2018

Is Blogging a Waste of Time?

April 12, 2018

The Smart Way to Grow Your Service Business Using Content Marketing

March 29, 2018

Rand Fishkin’s rise to fame…and fortune?

March 8, 2018

The Psychology Required to Successfully Grow Your Business

March 1, 2018

The Secret to Guest Blogging on Your Favorite Website

February 22, 2018

How to Make Money from Podcasting

February 15, 2018

Is Facebook Marketing Dead?

February 8, 2018

How to Build Meaningful Membership Communities

February 1, 2018

What Every Online Marketer Must Know about Google Analytics

January 25, 2018

Is Google AMP a Waste of Time?

January 18, 2018

The Ultimate Framework to Help You Achieve Your Goals in 2018

December 20, 2017

The 6 Top Online Marketing Trends for 2018

December 14, 2017

Why You Should Start a Digital Marketing Agency

December 7, 2017

Does Traditional PR Really Matter Anymore?

November 30, 2017

The Current State of Search, Social, and the Open Web in 2017

November 22, 2017

How to Protect Your Online Reputation When Disaster Strikes

November 7, 2017

Does Online Marketing Suck for Women?

October 26, 2017

Can Social Media Drive Sales, or Is It a Waste of Time?

October 19, 2017

How (and Why) You Should Sell Your Online Business

October 12, 2017

The 5 Things Your Customers Actually Want to Buy

September 28, 2017

The Essential Chatbot Resource for Online Entrepreneurs

September 21, 2017

The Smart Way to Build and Grow a Profitable Podcast

September 14, 2017

How to Build and Profit from a Hyperlocal Community Site

September 7, 2017

How to Handle Negative Online Reviews

August 24, 2017

The Biggest Challenge to Running an Online Business

August 17, 2017

The Secret to Becoming an Online Expert

August 10, 2017

Does Your Online Business Fill Your Life with Purpose?

August 3, 2017

How to Deal with the Stress of Running an Online Business

June 1, 2017

Emerging Online Marketing Trends for 2017

May 25, 2017

The Biggest Mistakes Online Entrepreneurs Make and How to Fix Them

May 18, 2017

Should Online Entrepreneurs Write a Book?

May 11, 2017

A Different Way to Think About Your Online Competition

May 4, 2017

How to Recruit the Best Talent for Your Online Business

April 27, 2017

How to Hire the Right Contractor or Employee for Your Online Business

April 20, 2017

The Essential Guide to Hacking the Growth of Your Online Business

April 13, 2017

How to Do Simple PPC Advertising for Your Online Business

April 6, 2017

A Simple Framework for Pricing Digital Goods

March 30, 2017

How to Use Amazon Publishing to Grow Your Online Audience

March 16, 2017

What Online Entrepreneurs Need to Know about Affiliate Marketing

March 9, 2017

Does Email Marketing Still Work?

March 2, 2017

Does SEO Still Matter?

February 23, 2017

Is WordPress the Right Solution for Building Your Online Business?

February 16, 2017

6 Business Insights that Could Radically Increase Your Online Engagement in 2017

February 9, 2017

Can Customer Insights Really Drive Innovation for Your Online Business?

December 15, 2016

Laura Roeder on Building a Business that Supports the Lifestyle You Love

December 8, 2016

Lessons on Business and Life from the ‘Zen Master of Marketing’

December 1, 2016

Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should (Plus Other Life Lessons from Seth Spears)

November 17, 2016

How Becoming a Digital Entrepreneur Helped Jarmar Dupas Get His Life Right

November 10, 2016

Why Trusting Your Instincts Can Lead You to Your Passion

November 3, 2016

The Power of Not Being Stubborn

October 27, 2016

How One Successful Digital Entrepreneur Stays Entertained by Her Business

October 20, 2016

How to Create Impact That Endures (Instead of Ending Up in a Landfill)

October 13, 2016

How Will Falconer Stopped Trading Dollars for Hours and Found His Calling

October 6, 2016

Are One-on-One Connections the Key to Jumpstarting Your Online Business?

September 29, 2016

How Jay Baer is Navigating New Waters With His Latest Digital Product

September 22, 2016

The Upside of Setting Outrageous Goals

September 15, 2016

Sean McCabe’s Tried-and-True Techniques for Getting More Meaningful Work Done

July 28, 2016

Why You Should Build a Business That Shines a Light on Your Talents

July 21, 2016

How to Market Like a Magnet and Build Your Personal Brand

July 14, 2016

The Two Biggest Keys to Consistently Doing Work That Matters

July 7, 2016

How Joanna Penn Designed the Lifestyle (and Career) of Her Dreams

June 30, 2016

Is Your Email Marketing Leaving Money on the Table?

June 23, 2016

3 Simple Hacks for Better Copy and More Conversions in Less Time

June 16, 2016

Practical Advice on Turning the Challenges of Building Membership Communities Into Opportunities

June 9, 2016

Brian Clark is Doing … What?

June 2, 2016

Sonia Simone’s Secret to Starting the 1,000-Piece Jigsaw Puzzle of Building a Successful Business

May 26, 2016

Does Your Social Media Strategy Need a Mindset Shift?

May 19, 2016

Brian Clark’s Lessons From a Decade of Developing Successful WordPress Products

May 12, 2016

How Virtual Reality May Shape the Future of Digital Commerce

May 5, 2016

WordPress Product Development: Start with the Business Problem

April 28, 2016

The Myth of Set-it-and-Forget-It Marketing

April 21, 2016

Making This Common Mistake Could Kill the Profitability of Your Online Course

April 14, 2016

Why You (Still) Don’t Need a Mobile App That is Separate From Your Website

April 7, 2016

5 Key Concepts to Understand About Tracking, Testing, and Making Decisions

March 31, 2016

5 Compelling Reasons Why You Should Use Free Online Courses as Lead Magnets

March 24, 2016

A Rainmaker Case Study on Using the Access Approach to Drive Business Results

March 17, 2016

5 Benefits of the ‘Access’ Approach to Online Marketing

March 10, 2016

How Adaptive Websites Deliver an Exceptional Experience While Accelerating Profit

March 3, 2016

How Email (Still) Creates the Profit Engine of Your Digital Business

February 25, 2016

Secrets of a Six-Figure Online Course Builder

February 18, 2016

The 5 Elements of the Modern Marketing Website

February 11, 2016

Who Is a Digital Entrepreneur?

October 22, 2015

What is Digital Commerce?

October 15, 2015

Behind the Scenes: The Rebranding of Copyblogger Media

September 3, 2015

How to Create Legendary Content That Builds Your Business

August 20, 2015

6 Steps to Building an Audience That Builds a Business

August 13, 2015

How the Integration of Content and Commerce Creates a Winning Difference

August 6, 2015

Native Commerce: Media That Makes Real Money

July 30, 2015

Behind the Scenes: The Reimagining of Copyblogger.com

July 16, 2015

The Membership Imperative and the Persistence of Audio Content

July 2, 2015

Darren Rowse on the Intersection of Blogging and Digital Commerce

June 18, 2015

Three Subscription Revenue Models for Digital Content and Services

June 11, 2015

The Two Components of The Perfect Online Business Model

June 4, 2015

Is Creating Online Training Programs a Viable Business Model?

May 28, 2015

How to Succeed in Online Education (On Your Own Terms)

May 21, 2015

Behind the Scenes: Authority Rainmaker, the Next Wave of Rainmaker.FM Shows, and the Departure of Robert Bruce

May 14, 2015

Will Millennials Kill Email Marketing?

May 7, 2015

Does Audio Create Authority Faster Than Text?

April 30, 2015

A Much Better Revenue Model for Podcasting

April 23, 2015

How Online Courses Accelerate Any Business Model

April 16, 2015

How to Escape the Social Media Swindle

April 9, 2015

Why Every Great Website is a Membership Site

April 2, 2015

How to Become a Digital Media Showrunner

March 26, 2015

How to Start a Podcast Network

March 19, 2015

How to Build a Profitable Email List With Social Media Advertising

March 11, 2015

Why Copyblogger Media is Betting Big on Podcasting

March 2, 2015

Henry Rollins on the Art and Business of DIY Media

February 25, 2015

Three Misconceptions About Modern SEO That Confuse Content Marketers

February 16, 2015

How an Email Newsletter Publisher Built an Audience of 223,991 Subscribers

February 9, 2015

Has Social Media Killed Consumer Trust?

February 3, 2015

Split-Testing 101: How to Know Which Words Work

January 27, 2015

5 Traffic Strategies That Build Your Curation Audience

January 19, 2015

3 Ways to Grow Your Curated Email Newsletter Faster

January 14, 2015

Position Your Content Curation for Success With These 5 Essential Elements

January 7, 2015

Behind the Scenes: 2014 in Review and the Road Ahead

December 16, 2014

Seth Godin on Stepping Up and Making it Happen

December 11, 2014

Michael Hyatt on Building a Media Platform and Becoming a 10-Year Overnight Success

December 9, 2014

David Siteman Garland on the Infinite Scalability of Online Courses

December 1, 2014

Pat Flynn on Entrepreneurial Inspiration and His Profitable Content Strategy

November 25, 2014

Jay Baer on “Generosity Marketing” and the Power of Business Podcasting

November 19, 2014

How to Use Content Curation to Create a Recurring Revenue Business

November 12, 2014

7 Ways to Find a Topical Market that Will Fuel Your Digital Commerce Business

November 5, 2014

The Crucial Starting Point for Building a Digital Commerce Business

October 8, 2014

Behind the Scenes: The Launch, Membership Sites, and What Punk Rock has to do with Content Marketing

September 25, 2014

Keep Them Fascinated: How to Discover Your Winning Difference as a Content Marketer

September 2, 2014

The Key Element of 21st Century Persuasion

April 3, 2014

The New Rainmaker as Magical Mentor on the Buyer’s Journey

March 24, 2014

Behind the Scenes: How the New Rainmaker Strategy Evolves in Plain Sight

March 11, 2014

The Critical Thing You Need to Earn Targeted Traffic – Today, and into the Future

March 5, 2014

8 Ways a Digital Media Platform is More Influential than “Marketing”

February 19, 2014

Why the New Rainmaker is a Digital Media Producer

February 11, 2014

Behind the Scenes: How (and Why) New Rainmaker is Produced

February 4, 2014

How to Build a Lucrative Asset While You Make it Rain

January 28, 2014

Why a Personal Media Brand Beats “Marketing” Every Time

January 21, 2014

Why the Key to Business Success is Media, Not Marketing

January 21, 2014

Why the Key to Business Success is Media, Not Marketing

Who is it that — regardless of the economic climate — always seems to be able make things happen?

In any endeavor, non-profit, for profit, the dentist’s office, the publishing house, the software company … almost anything you can think of … who’s the most important player?

And how do you become this person?

In this quick 22-minute episode you’ll discover:

  • The two business fundamentals I learned as an unhappy attorney
  • Why you don’t need privilege or sales skills to make it rain
  • The true nature of the commercial Internet
  • That the fundamentals of human nature haven’t changed (and what has)
  • The problem with “content marketing”
  • How to create marketing people actually want
  • What a personal media brand is, and why you want one

Listen to New Rainmaker Episode No. 1 below …

Why the Key to Business Success is Media, Not MarketingBrian Clark
  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmakerplatform.com/media/audio/newrainmaker001.mp3
Download Audio Subscribe

Download AudioDownload TranscriptSubscribe in iTunes

Transcript

The New Rainmaker: Why the Key to Business Success is Media, Not Marketing

Robert Bruce: Who is it that — whether the chips are up or down — almost every organization depends on?

Who is it that — regardless of the economic climate — always seems to be able make things happen?

In any endeavor, non-profit, for profit, the dentist’s office, the publishing house, the software company … almost anything you can think of … who’s the most important player?

And how do you become this person?

This is New Rainmaker, from newrainmaker.com, I’m Robert Bruce and today Brian Clark will answer these questions by taking us on a brief walk through his own professional story — as well as a few others that I think you’ll find … interesting.

Stay tuned …

Brian Clark: Without a rainmaker, you’re in trouble.

This was true for the Native Americans living on sun-bleached plains. When the life-giving rivers began to dry up from lack of rain, life became hard.

The plants withered, the animals weakened, and the tribe despaired.

It’s also true for businesses trying to survive and thrive in any economy. The rainmaker is the one who brings in the clients and customers, the revenue, and the profits. It’s the rainmaker who saves their own “tribe” from the withering despair — and dire consequences — of failure.

In all cultures, the rainmaker is a powerful person. Secure, respected, and paid-in-full.

Ultimately, the one who makes it rain makes the rules.

The traditional business rainmaker typically enjoyed some unfair advantage outside of standard channels — this is how they made it rain. The right family, the right Ivy League connections, the right country club membership … privilege perpetuating more privilege.

The new rainmaker also enjoys an unfair advantage — except in this case it’s now available to anyone who understands (and, more importantly, acts on) how new business generation works today, thanks to the Internet. This unfair advantage is now built on the principles of attracting and engaging an audience, not the circumstances of your birth.

An Improbable Run at Entrepreneurial Success

Robert Bruce: So you’re getting the basic concept of the rainmaker — what his or her irreplaceable role has been in business and culture throughout history.

Now let’s see what that might look like in a very specific professional environment. For instance, which attorneys make their own rules in a law firm?

Here’s Brian again …

Brian Clark: In my past life, I was an attorney. I didn’t much enjoy the practice of law, but looking back now, I realize that I learned two fundamental rules of smart business while doing my time in the big law firm environment.

I was a liberal arts major with a law degree. I’d never taken a course in marketing or business … never even read a book. So naturally I end up practicing business law.

I was a keen observer though, and the realities of the business of law made some things quite clear to this formerly idealistic young man.

In addition to realizing that the practice of law often had little to do with the actual law, I discovered that success as an attorney often had little to do with technical proficiency. The best lawyers are not necessarily the highest paid or most powerful attorneys, whether in a firm or in a solo practice.

The lawyers that had their name in the firm title were the most powerful in the firm, and it’s because they had the clients. Other attorneys worked for them handling these clients.

Another type of attorney had a different form of power, in the form of a great life. They came in late and left early … often heading to the golf course. These people also had the almost magical knack at bringing in new business, and maintained relationships while worker bees like me racked up the billable hours.

These were the rainmakers. And they made the rules that worked for the life they wanted to lead.

Call me naive, but this was a revelation to me. Especially since I absolutely hated the practice of law. I realized that what I had to do was learn how to bring in business, not grind out more hours, if I wanted to succeed.

The other foundational lesson I learned came from observing the firm’s business clients. Contrary to stereotypes, I discovered that the key to smart business was not screwing the other side, it was giving them the best deal — the absolute highest value possible — while also achieving your own goals.

The idea of the rainmaker, combined with the understanding that you serve others to succeed, would form the basis of my improbable run as an Internet entrepreneur.

How the Old-School Rainmaker Operated

Robert Bruce: Are you getting this? Just how important the rainmaker is to almost every organization you can think of?

OK, now we get to the crux of these questions … where does this person come from, who gives her her power?

Or, is it something she gives to herself?

Brian Clark: Historically, the magical knack of making it rain was predetermined early on. For Native Americans, future rainmakers were chosen to become apprentices at a young age after showing an inherent capacity for a relationship with the weather.

In business, future rainmakers were often chosen even earlier — by birth. Being born into the right family under the right circumstances opened up a lot of doors. You had an inherent capacity for a relationship with money, and those who had it and needed to spend it.

Family friends, fraternity and sorority ties, Ivy League alumni networks, country club memberships — these were the connections that made it rain for a privileged few. These markers of social status generated new business outside of the typical marketing and sales channels, and left others to look on in envy as they did the work that the rainmakers brought in.

Other rainmakers were pure hustle. They may not have had the connections initially, but they definitely worked the ones they had and made new ones. These were the born salespeople.

I fit in neither group.

As the adopted son of a truck driver, I had parents who taught me the value of hard work, and to treat others fairly and with respect, even if it wasn’t returned. But what they were not able to offer me was any sort of privileged access. I was really fortunate to be the first person in my family to attend college, and then went on to law school on school loans and part-time jobs.

I was also, quite frankly, allergic to “hustle,” and still am. The idea, much less the practice, of in-person networking is tough for me. And I’d rather starve than knock on doors or cold call anyone.

For the rainmaking Shamans, the potential for rain seemed to follow them wherever they went. The same seems eerily true for the business rainmakers.

I wanted to figure out a way to become one of these people, despite the odds. I couldn’t change the way I entered the world, and I wouldn’t become the “sell ice to an Eskimo” type either, but I was determined to figure it out.

Enter the Internet …

The Rise of The New (Media) Rainmaker

Robert Bruce: The Internet. The promise of it was nearly limitless.

Our friends — the old-school rainmakers of generations past — could never imagine in their wildest dreams that such a machine of communication, connection, and commerce could exist.

But it does exist, and it’s turned “business as usual” on its head with the shift of power to the prospect, not the provider.

And the question now becomes, how does the New Rainmaker put it to work for himself, his business, or his employer?

Here’s Brian …

Brian Clark: In 1998, I took the leap. I quit my promising law firm position, and vowed to make a living on my own terms or starve trying.

I latched on to the idea of writing for a living, but I wanted no part of New York publishing or Hollywood screenwriting. Instead, I became convinced that you could reach people online by writing something worth reading.

I saw people publishing ezines, which were essentially email newsletters covering pretty much any topic you could think of — tech, entertainment, odd facts, trivia — you name it.

This was before blogs became popular. And these people were (apparently) making money by including advertising in their emails. I figured this had to be the path for me.

I started up several of my own titles, focusing on movies and other entertainment subjects. I built email lists numbering in the tens of thousands, I got press in Entertainment Weekly, the local Austin paper and many other publications online and off, and people told me they loved my stuff.

I think I made about $4 from some Amazon affiliate ads that first year. It was a lot harder to make money with advertising than I thought, and I discovered that what other ezine publishers were saying they charged for ads is not what anyone was actually paying.

I was in trouble. My personal economic river was drying up from the lack of rain.

So I had an idea. I’d start yet another email newsletter, this one about legal issues related to the Internet. I figured maybe I’d pick up some legal work here and there … enough to pay the bills and keep going until I could work out this whole advertising thing.

It worked.

I landed a client. Then another. And yet another.

I was shocked, frankly.

As it continued, I started turning prospects away and agreed to work only with people who gave me monthly work on retainer — just enough to pay the bills and eat better than Ramen. I basically had a small law firm running, but on my terms.

Looking back, I could have built a much more powerful law firm with my name in the title — but I still hated the practice of law, and I knew better than to go down that path.

And yet, my first turn as a rainmaker was addictive. I saw that the Internet was more of a direct sales medium than an advertising medium, and if you built the right audience you could make lots of money — if you had something to sell.

After the dot-bomb exploded, my advertising-based efforts were finally euthanized, which was a tough-love blessing. I started making plans to start up a new company where I could use my online marketing knowledge and skill in an “offline” industry with something to sell.

And what’s more offline than real estate?

Long story short: Between 2002 and 2005, I started two real estate brokerages from scratch out of a collection of websites. I made more money than I made as an attorney, and then some — and every bit of business that came in was generated by the content I created and the strategies I put in place.

I didn’t particularly have a passion for real estate any more than law, but I had proved the point I needed to prove to myself. I could become a rainmaker on my own terms, using innovative approaches that had nothing to do with privilege or outbound sales tactics.

Between 1999 and 2005, I went from someone who was absolutely clueless about marketing to a scholar of advertising, direct marketing, and copywriting techniques dating back to the 1920s. The underlying fundamentals still applied (and they still do), but the context of the Internet makes the application very different.

In January 2006, I started a blog to share what I knew, which quickly evolved into an online magazine that became the centerpiece of the multi-million-dollar company I run today.

I didn’t have a particular product or service to sell in the beginning, but it didn’t matter … I knew that building an audience was the crucial thing, and that they would reveal what they needed.

I had found my rainmaker magic – and it was media, not marketing.

Media Not Marketing

Robert Bruce: This is an incredibly interesting and revolutionary time for media creators of all kinds. There are no gatekeepers on the Internet, which means no one can tell you no or what to do.

On one hand, the Internet presents an endless — and largely free — canvas on which to work and distribute that work.

On the other … there exists a constant tension in the minds of many between the desire to get paid, and the pressure to give their work away freely online.

Should you wall off your work and then drown your audience in promotional and advertising messages?

Should you give everything away and just hope for the best?

Brian has a few stories on this …

Brian Clark: If you’ve been following me for any length of time, you know I’ve been teaching people online marketing for over 8 years. Specifically something that is now known as content marketing.

The key point being that this type of marketing is different from traditional marketing, but it accomplishes what marketing is supposed to do. And it’s these differences that cause so many people to struggle with it.

At this point, I’ve come to the conclusion that the terminology is part of the problem.

First of all, there’s the word content. What a horrible term to characterize what are essentially creative works — whether articles, audio, movies, books, and music. It’s all technically “content” — like something that fills a bucket.

Apparently, the Louvre in Paris is filled with “content” that just so happens to be surrounded by frames. Let’s face it — it’s a bad term that’s unfortunately what we have to work with.

But worse, I think, is the word marketing itself. Like I said, what we’re talking about here does what marketing is supposed to do, but it operates in a way where people actually want it instead of wanting to avoid it.

Once you tell traditional marketers it’s “marketing” though, the traditional practices creep right back in, and people start running away from it. And that’s the problem.

Let me give you a few examples of why I now say media, not marketing.

Marvel

I was a Marvel kid growing up. Spider-man, X-Men, Captain America … these were the characters that fueled my imagination. So when these same characters came back into my adult life through blockbuster films, I was thrilled — and even more thrilled that they were really well done.

But did you know Marvel was in the throes of complete failure 20 years ago? The iconic comic book publisher was bought and turned around, emerging out of bankruptcy in the late 1990s with a new plan.

The X-Men movie franchise began in 2000. But things really busted loose in 2002 with the first Spider-man movie, which did a combined billion dollars in ticket and DVD sales.

Contrary to what you might think, Marvel only received a tiny fraction of that haul. They had neither the cash nor the expertise to produce a blockbuster film of that caliber, so they took their characters to the big studios. While they only received a small licensing fee, they also laid out zero cash and took zero risk related to the films.

So what was the strategy?

Marvel was in the business of merchandise to produce revenue. Comic books, video games, t-shirts, toys, and scores of other consumer products … you name it. Marvel relied on partnering studios to created multibillion dollar “commercials” for its characters — these commercials are called movies.

These “commercials” were not in the form of advertisements that people wanted to avoid. To the contrary, people paid good money to watch these amazing stories that fueled Marvel’s business model.

In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel for $4.2 billion dollars.

Love it or List it

How about another example … one that doesn’t involve iconic superheroes.

There’s a cable reality show that my wife watches. It’s called Love it or List It, and it’s a Canadian production that airs in several places, including the Home and Garden channel, or HGTV.

Each episode involves a home that is simply not working for the owners. Usually it’s too small for a growing family, poorly configured, hopelessly outdated, or all of the above. The show’s stars are Hilary Farr, a designer, and David Visentin, a Realtor.

Hilary takes the budget the owners can manage and works up a plan to redesign the home so it will work again for the family (this is the “love it” outcome). David, on the other hand, looks for other homes that work as is within the purchasing budget to convince the owners to sell and move (this being the “list it” scenario).

So Hilary and David are full-time TV stars, right? Uh, no … not on a niche reality show on basic cable. Both continue to be practicing professionals.

Let’s take a closer look at David, who works along side his father Nick Visentin as a Canadian Realtor for Country Living Realty in Barrie, Ontario. David actively sought out the role on Love it or List it by auditioning for it, and likely won the part not only because he knows his stuff, but also because he’s not afraid to be himself.

Do you think David gets plenty of new business thanks to the show? You bet.

Do you think those new clients feel like they were marketed to, such as they might if they chose a Realtor based on … I don’t know … the post cards that stuff the mailbox each month, or the glamour shot on a bus stop bench, or the cheesy magazine ad claiming to be the “Number One Realtor”?

You get my point. David demonstrates his expertise while reaching prospective customer via a media production that people actually enjoy watching.

Now, let’s look a one more example, where the exact same dynamic is at play, but no television show or audition is required.

Gary V

Gary Vaynerchuk owns a wine shop along with his parents in New Jersey. To grow the business, Gary built an online platform called WineLibrary.com, which is an educational resource for wine buyers that naturally helps move product.

Vaynerchuk then took the next step with Wine Library TV, a self-produced video show starring just him, from a table in the corner of the office above the store. Gary turned traditional “wine talk” on its head, dispensing with elitism and opting for plain spoken advice and even bombastic commentary on his wine recommendations.

Gary’s DIY wine show grew to an audience of 100,000 people. More importantly, the wine business grew from $3 million to a $45 million.

The Power of the Personal Media Brand

Brian Clark: From each of the three examples, a media platform performed the role of what marketing is supposed to do, but rarely does anymore. And in each case, a rainmaker emerged.

There’s something that Spiderman, David Visentin, and Gary Vaynerchuck have in common, and it’s a personal media brand. This is what works to generate a flood of business in the age of media, not marketing.

And yes … it will work for you.

Robert Bruce: Thanks for listening to New Rainmaker … sign up to get free email updates of future episodes, free reports, and upcoming webinars at newrainmaker.com …

Download the Transcript (PDF)

Never Miss New Shows and Episodes on Rainmaker.FM

Get the best of the Rainmaker.FM network in a single weekly email, along with two weeks
of free training that will change the way you think about online marketing ...

Free Registration

You might also like...

The Missing Link

Ask Us Anything (LinkedIn Edition), Part One

Listen to episode
Zero to Book

What’s Driving You as an Author? How to Pinpoint Your Internal and External Goals

Listen to episode
Hack the Entrepreneur

Money is the Outcome of Success (Not the Cause)

Listen to episode
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

Consistency Will Take You Further

Listen to episode
The Digital CMO with Mike Orren

Digital Marketing Trends for 2016, with Peter Krasilovsky

Listen to episode
Rough Draft

048 How to Get Lazy People to Care about Your Ideas

Listen to episode

Comments

  1. Agus MU says

    January 22, 2014 at 2:00 PM

    Thanks for sharing this interesting audio. Can’t wait to hear the next episode.

    Reply
  2. Matt says

    January 22, 2014 at 2:12 PM

    Love this format — great work! Looking forward to more of this.

    Reply
  3. Tom Ploch says

    January 22, 2014 at 3:09 PM

    First, great production! The combination of the narrator, the tunes, and the speaker made this very easy to listen to.

    Second and more importantly, great “content”. I heard the echoes of Jeffrey Gitomer throughout this. Building a personal brand for oneself will have high impact for your business in an indirect way. It is so important today to be informational instead of self-promotional.

    Let the Rainmaking begin!

    Reply
  4. Goldy Arora says

    January 22, 2014 at 3:44 PM

    Excellent stuff, and i loved it.

    Apologies, but would request to minimize background music, its disturbing (for me atleast:)

    Reply
  5. Beat Schindler says

    January 22, 2014 at 3:49 PM

    I greatly enjoyed this edition of New Rainmaker.

    Especially appreciate the full script online. I found it easier to read than to listen – the speech tempo was a bit on the wee side for my taste.

    That said, I get it an don’t get it – simultaneously :-]

    I get it:
    Antiques Roadshow is another (good) example – of media vs marketing.
    To be a rainmaker takes time. But that doesn’t mean you ought to take time. Start now – start by being an apprentice.
    Content is definitely a crap term. It was perfectly okay until someone made it crap. Where’s the police when you need it? :-]

    I think “content creator” got adopted because to answer with, “Writer, photographer, editor, publisher, website builder, marketer, media-ter (?), accountant, CEO, cleaning person”, would simply take too much time. More seriously, even though many of us are all of these things, for the vast majority it would be a joke – and who wants to be the target of that? So instead of losing face, “Content creator”.

    I don’t get:
    The difference of marketing and media. Doesn’t one without the other rather sound like one hand clapping? It’s the old trick question: “What’s more important, your arms or your legs?” I feel in this case, too, “Both” is the only answer.

    Looking forward to the next installment :-]

    Reply
    • Brian Clark says

      January 22, 2014 at 5:29 PM

      Here’s a way to think about it – the content is media, not marketing, but you still have to market your content to get it seen or heard. Does that help?

      Reply
      • Darren DeMatas says

        January 22, 2014 at 9:24 PM

        This is genius.

        Reply
      • Mike Korner says

        January 22, 2014 at 10:51 PM

        Content is media? Isn’t media is the way you distribute the content? Examples of media are radio, television, newspapers, magazines, mail, web sites, podcasts, email, etc.

        You create content (articles, courses, white papers, postcards, etc.) and distribute content (via media) for purposes of marketing, sales, training, or pure kindness. Right?

        Sorry for being confuzled.

        p.s. Looking forward to hearing/reading more!

        Reply
        • Brian Clark says

          January 22, 2014 at 6:10 PM

          In the colloquial sense, people talk about “the media,” which refers to news and entertainment producers and the content transmitted via this or that medium. The term is also used to refer to the content alone, even academically, such as The Psychology of Entertainment Media, which is a university textbook. And then of course we have Marshall McLuhan and his accurate assertion that the medium is the message, or content. So, I’m using the word media in both common parlance and philosophical terms here. 😉

          Reply
          • Daniel Z. Chohfi says

            February 14, 2015 at 9:13 PM

            Genial! Thanks Brian!

        • Ray says

          March 7, 2014 at 5:55 PM

          The way I see it… media and content are the deliverables – the things you watch, read, experience, etc.

          The marketing is how you get the media and content out there to grow the business. It’s what you do to communicate what the media and content is, why a person would want it, and the methods you use to get it to them.

          Reply
  6. Mario says

    January 22, 2014 at 4:04 PM

    “…you serve others to succeed.” Love it. A personal media brand while being useful to others. No marketing needed. Just being valuable in your own way through media.

    Reply
  7. Marilyn says

    January 22, 2014 at 4:39 PM

    Very thought provoking-thanks.

    Reply
  8. amy says

    January 22, 2014 at 4:40 PM

    I’m looking forward to more New Rainmaker. I have started a business of my own. My time is taken up by developing products and relationships, but I’m committed to developing my brand through valuable content. I’m a true believer but need to inspiration to commit the time.
    Thanks!

    Reply
  9. David Gray says

    January 22, 2014 at 5:22 PM

    New Rainmaker looks to be a big step up from Entreproducer. Really looking forward to these weekly episodes and things to come. 🙂

    Reply
  10. Anne says

    January 22, 2014 at 5:25 PM

    Very impressive in all areas. I like the fact that I can listen or read on my time. Keep this information coming.

    Reply
  11. Sharon Mavis says

    January 22, 2014 at 5:27 PM

    Loved it! It gives me ideas about how to better use the free radio announcements I write so that they will become the media advertising I need.

    Reply
  12. Rick says

    January 22, 2014 at 5:47 PM

    THANKYOU! Very good broadcast, very professionally produced, slick – polished – informative (and the first one where I actually enjoyed the background sound coming in – going out) Yes – got that message loud and clear – I’m staying tuned and hope to learn and emulate. Thanks again Robert and Brian (in order of appearance!!) well done guys and I just know you are going to have great success with ‘Rainmaker’.

    Reply
  13. Peter says

    January 22, 2014 at 6:10 PM

    Love the fact that you provide a transcript! I can read a lot faster than I can watch a video or listen to a podcast.

    Reply
  14. Jessica Roberts says

    January 22, 2014 at 6:35 PM

    Using Brian’s personal story really made the educational points clear. Looking forward to implementing what I’ve learned into my new business adventure!

    Reply
  15. Melodye Lorrayne says

    January 22, 2014 at 6:41 PM

    Thank you, Brian, for this! I think this the BEST explanation of content marketing and how it should be done that I’ve ever heard. It’s definitely got some wheels turning for me. I look forward to new content from you guys so that I can become “a new rainmaker”! Thanks so much!

    Melodye Lorrayne

    Reply
  16. Marge Piatak says

    January 22, 2014 at 6:45 PM

    Really enjoyed this segment and looking forward to more. I was following along enjoying the “content” as easy listening and then your three examples at the end really made me pay attention. All were very clear examples of ads for the actual product/service. Thinking of Spiderman movies as ommercials for Marvel products is a great twist in perspective.

    Reply
  17. Jason says

    January 22, 2014 at 8:05 PM

    Very nice guys well done. I’m looking forward to the next already.

    Reply
  18. Shawn Fisher says

    January 22, 2014 at 8:09 PM

    Great stuff as always from you guys. Is it possible to make the transcript downloadable? I’d like to print and read it as I’m listening in iTunes.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Brian Clark says

      January 22, 2014 at 9:13 PM

      We’ll work that up for you, hopefully by next episode.

      Reply
  19. Ken Van Nortwick says

    January 22, 2014 at 9:16 PM

    Great insight!

    Looking forward to your next audio.

    Have a great day!

    Reply
  20. J. Gieo Pensoneault says

    January 22, 2014 at 9:29 PM

    Great stuff Brian. Well scripted and produced. I am a member of the tribe so rock on brother!

    Reply
  21. Eric Whiteside says

    January 22, 2014 at 4:59 PM

    Content so good that I almost don’t want to share it. I will share it because some people will get it and some people will try to figure out how they can use it manipulate a search engine. The more people who get it, the less old fashioned marketing crap we will have to endure.

    Reply
  22. Rubal Walia says

    January 22, 2014 at 9:16 PM

    Am I the only one facing issues with the audio? The audio is too low, even on full volume on my computer. Request you to check.

    Reply
  23. Geoffrey Gordon says

    January 22, 2014 at 9:37 PM

    Nice Brian

    Got to love the haunting cool jingle at the beginning and end of the podcast, gets you in the mode to listen.

    I think you switch in re-purposing content as media is a revolutionary one. Content leaves a bad taste in many a persons mouth and is a little too generic and all-purpose.

    Building an audience by producing high quality media, is a smooth way to become a rain-maker. I was in sales and I can say that back when i was in it, i never liked the traditional meet and greet strategies.

    I sold job profile assessments, my way at becoming a rain-maker was to to offer a free workshop to educate, that was fun and interactive. This sparked sales and a lot of interest rather than hustle and cold calling.

    As a member of teaching sell sells and authority, I can see how i could have done it much better by producing on-line content and an on-line course. I could have reached more of an audience.

    I have been following your work for about 5 years now and this year I am going to make the leap from sideline observer to a rain-maker.

    Excellent intro, looking forward to more of the good stuff.

    Reply
  24. Jonathan Caldwell says

    January 22, 2014 at 10:14 PM

    This was a very insightful audio piece! I’ve recently been working to create a personal site for myself to lend a hand with my personal brand since I’m just getting started in my career. This definitely validates my decision to do so! I’m looking forward to more. I also love the format of having the transcript below. Sometimes, I get distracted during audio podcasts, but reading along the whole time helped me to take in all of the great info!

    I second the opinion above that it’s almost too good to share! 😉

    Thanks Brian!

    Reply
  25. alfonso says

    January 22, 2014 at 11:05 PM

    This segment Rocks!!!! Well put together. It simply flowed like a great prose fluid and enticing.

    Reply
  26. David Mariano says

    January 23, 2014 at 9:37 AM

    Wow! You guys are amazing at finding new ways to tell this story. This format will definitely reach people differently. I love the production of too. Can’t wait for the next one!

    Reply
  27. Joseph Hollak says

    January 23, 2014 at 9:59 AM

    Awesome launch.

    Now, let’s talk about the link down in the bottom right-hand corner. Let’s not burry that lead.

    That has some excitement to it.

    Reply
  28. Jake Parent says

    January 23, 2014 at 11:42 AM

    Great stuff guys. I definitely second the challenge of the terms and how they affect people’s thinking on the topic.

    Ever considered coming up with a sort of New Marketing Dictionary or something along those lines?

    Reply
  29. Daniel Parkins says

    January 23, 2014 at 1:18 PM

    Brian,

    You did a fantastic job at weaving your personal story into this media in order to make it rich and compelling. I’m definitely on board.

    I’m sure you guessed this already, but I wanted to say how translatable your story is. I too grew up in hard circumstances and have also experienced what it feels like to watch a “privileged” rainmaker enjoy the good life. Currently, I am in the throws of losing my own idealistic values as I struggle to put in more hours.

    I guess what I am trying to say is that there are probably many of us who are a lot like you, and it’s nice to see that you have found a way to become a rainmaker. Hopefully, from this series, I will be able to glean a bit of your experience and wisdom.

    P.S. I would be your worker bee, if it meant watching you make rain btw. Thanks for sharing. I’m excited to see what else is on the way.

    Reply
  30. Penelope Silvers says

    January 23, 2014 at 10:53 PM

    This was good stuff.

    It brings to mind John Grisham’s book of the same name. “The Rainmaker” was an idealistic young lawyer and his cynical partner who take on a powerful law firm representing a corrupt insurance company. It was David vs. Goliath. Hero vs. villain. Rudy, the unknown rookie lawyer, never backed down. We were rooting for the little guy to win in the end.

    In the same way, these rainmakers didn’t just strive to get by; they took the road less traveled. They carved out their own destinies, and created their own stories.

    People love a good story, as proven in the success of the Marvel Movies. We will follow after those whose stories resonate with us in some way.

    Reply
  31. Joseph Hollak says

    January 24, 2014 at 11:08 PM

    Awesome start.

    Can’t wait to see more about the link in the bottom right-hand corner of the site.

    Looking forward to that next gen idea.

    Reply
  32. Bill Stilwell says

    January 25, 2014 at 10:09 PM

    It’s a hit. Great story. Pro production. Good stuff guys!

    Reply
  33. Debashish says

    January 26, 2014 at 7:21 AM

    Awesome first episode. Let the year of the New Rainmaker begin!

    I had a real aha! moment listening to this episode. “Show, don’t tell”, holds true for marketing as much as it does for writing. Marvel showed people how cool Spiderman was, through the movies. The realtor showed prospective buyers the value of a good realtor. Gary Vaynerchuk showed regular people how they could get into the seemingly elitist practice of wine tasting. Similarly, marketers must show the value of their product/service to the target audience. When the time comes for the audience to buy, the marketer who showed them the value of it is at the top of their minds.

    Thanks for the great lesson, Brian.

    Reply
  34. Siddharth Rajsekar says

    February 3, 2014 at 1:38 PM

    Brilliant audio! Looking forward to more insights from you Brian. I’ve been following you for over 5 years now, and I simply love everything Copyblogger does, and evolved into..

    Reply
  35. Joseph says

    February 21, 2014 at 1:42 AM

    Thanks Brian, I have loved your writing for 8 years now 😉

    Reply
  36. Michael John Beil says

    March 4, 2014 at 5:01 PM

    Enjoying this new podcast. Looking forward to what’s ahead.

    Reply
  37. Tonpeter spaapen says

    March 5, 2014 at 3:05 PM

    Hi, THANK you for the good insights, paradigm shiftting.

    I have one burning question: when is therainmaket platform released and available?

    Tp

    Reply
  38. Ian Dainty says

    March 5, 2014 at 3:43 PM

    Brian, I completely disagree with you that it is media, not marketing. Marketing is messaging and communications. It is exactly as you described it. I fail to see how a media, a device, a delivery platform can be anything but that.

    To me it is like saying the Postal Service, or a printing press both media platforms or devices, are the things you need. Without a message or a communications piece, these “things” are simply that – things. They are delivery platforms.

    Obviously your message or communication piece has to use some sort of media, or platform, but without the message, IE: the marketing, this media is useless. It sits there and does nothing.

    As far as Rainmakers are concerned, if they don’t deliver the right message, to the right audience, then they are not the right media either.

    As the media delivery platforms have evolved, it is important to use these newer media platforms to deliver your message. But if your message, your communication pieces, AKA your marketing, is bad, the media you use will not make up for it, which is what you seem to imply.

    However, if you have the right message, the right communication, you can use a myriad of media platforms to deliver it, and it will still be effective.

    It is the message, which is marketing done properly, that is far more important than the media you use.

    Reply
    • Brian Clark says

      March 5, 2014 at 5:33 PM

      I think you’re misunderstanding my use of the word media (I don’t mean medium, and I exactly mean message — very much in the McLuhan sense), but I thought the examples I used in this episode would make it clear.

      Reply
  39. Michael M. Rumpf says

    March 10, 2014 at 5:57 AM

    OMG this a superb podcast, in every aspect, like Content, Story, Audiofidelity. I did not know anything about marketing a few years ago, but a lot about business intelligence and collaborative software. I recently re-engineered some of the most successful marketing / marketers sites and come up with loads of offers based on WordPress, tactically focussing the expert and trainer industry, to start with. I am licensed trainer and systemic Coach myself. For me, Its all about Enabling, Learning and Storytelling.

    Reply
  40. Matt Kelley says

    March 31, 2014 at 3:43 PM

    I had to go back and listen to this one again (and read it)! Calling the Spiderman movie a commercial was eye opening on how to get your message through to people. Give them what they want infused with what you offer (like what this site and podcast are doing :)) I’ve had an idea on how to use this concept for my audience and this episode just clearly reinforced it as being the way to go. It has given me the spark to make it happen so I just wanted to say thanks!

    Reply
  41. siegmar says

    April 2, 2014 at 2:57 PM

    “medium” in latin stands for the “center” and the mediator as a person makes the most important connections. i like this.
    thx°sig
    p.s.: nice music (-effects) too! 🙂

    Reply
  42. Jacob says

    December 7, 2016 at 12:15 AM

    What a great read! If I can pull all that together I should be able to get somewhere.

    Reply
  43. Alex says

    July 31, 2017 at 8:49 PM

    Your post always motivates new bloggers like us. I have been following your blog since 4 month and now applying each and every method suggested here. Its really improving my results.
    And thanks for all the guides with simple language.
    your fan.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Copyright © 2023 Rainmaker Digital, LLC. Powered by the Rainmaker Platform.

Privacy Policy  ·  Refund Policy  ·  Cookie Policy  ·  Terms of Service  ·  Contact