Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders with Jon Cook

There’s a good chance you’re listening to Keynote Clarity because you have an Alexa device, like an Echo, an Echo Dot, or an Echo Show. You may even be wondering, “How do I create and launch my own flash briefing?” Over the past six months, our team at Keynote Content has created a turnkey flash briefing production system. There are three key phases in our Flash Briefing development: Phase 1 is where we focus on your overall flash briefing strategy: what’s the name of your new flash briefing, who is it for, what are the daily themes, and how do I know which equipment to use to create a great audio experience? Phase 2 is about your initial buildout and test month. We do all of the work to produce your flash briefing and walk with you every step of the way through your launch. The only responsibilities you have is paying for your hosting provider and providing raw audio files for us to produce, schedule, and populate to Alexa devices around the world. Phase 3 is where the ongoing monthly production of your flash briefing. Just like with Phase 2, the only thing you have to do is provide us with a month’s worth of raw audio files we can use. If you’d like to learn more, you can check out alexaflashbriefings.com to see our process and sign up if it looks like a great fit for your message. Again, go to alexaflashbriefings.com and check it out today to see how our team can help you create, launch, and grow your flash briefing. The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Jon Cook, host of Keynote Clarity. 

I started recording videos using a teleprompter about six years ago. At first, it was tough. There’s a learning curve to using a teleprompter, and for me, it took a few videos before I was comfortable enough to truly be myself without looking like I was just reading a script. Can a teleprompter actually help you make better videos? The answer is it depends. I know, that’s a cop-out answer, but it’s the truth. There are many factors to creating a great video, and a teleprompter is only one of these factors. Other factors such as the script you’re using, the lighting, the sound quality, your outfit, your body language, those are just as important as the teleprompter. In the end though, I have more confidence creating videos if I know what I want to say and it’s on the screen for me. If you haven’t tried a teleprompter before, I recommend starting with bullet points instead of an actual script. It gives you an idea of where you want to go next without having to read every word and stay true to how you show up on screen. Give it a try and good luck! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

When I went to launch my first online course five years ago, I focused so much on the design of the sales page. What button color should I pick? Is that the ‘perfect’ image for this section? What color should the headline be? I thought I hit save on the draft of the page, but by chance, I accidentally published my sales page. It stayed up for an entire weekend, and I didn’t know my mistake until I saw a sale come through. It occurred to me that people were willing to overlook half-baked design or even bad design if they connected with the message on the page. Now, I’m not saying design doesn’t matter at all - of course it does - but it’s more important to focus on the copy. Is it absolutely clear the value you’re offering through your sales page? Clarity in your copy will lead to conversions on a bland-looking sales page. Focus on your message first, then add in great design. If you have to choose though, go with a simple design and a great story to tell. You will generate more sales with great copy and a bad design over bad copy with a great design. The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Picture yourself waking up this morning. What motivated you to get out of bed? Was it inspiration or obligation? Your audience needs to know why you do what you do. If you’re like many speakers, coaches, and consultants, you constantly face the question of “Is this all worth it? Why do I keep doing this?” Think about your audience, the people you get to serve. Think about how their lives and businesses, marriages, families, mindsets, finances, schedules, whatever area you impact, think about how your clients have better lives because of you and your Message. That’s what I want you to hold onto today: you are making a difference. Even if it’s only one person, you changed their life. Now, go find someone else today that you can help with your Message. You don’t have to make a life-changing impact, but you do have an opportunity to make a difference. Hold onto that inspiration - you are making a difference - and keep pushing forward! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

If you want to get to know your target market better, you need to make multiple connections every day. This may be reaching out to someone you know or want to get to know on LinkedIn. See who your second-level connections may be and send a message introducing yourself and asking how they met your mutual friend. You can also send a well-written message to a new colleague. Take a few minutes and look through their website. If something jumps out to you, make mention of that to your colleague. It shows you took the time to get to know their business better. Another idea is to reach out to one of your strategic partners and set up a call to catch up and trade ideas.  Whatever step you take, focus on building a better connection. We can’t serve and connect people we don’t know or understand. Give generously of your time, focus on adding value, and you will start to build a more meaningful network of great connections. Reach out to at least one person today to create a better connection for tomorrow. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

xWe're wrapping up our episode interview series with Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency. Thank you again, Sam, for your generous insight and time. Jon Cook: Sam, if somebody wants to connect with you, what's the best place for them to go and continue a conversation with you and your team? Sam Horn: Thank you so much. They are welcome to go to my website, which is intrigueagency.com.  Jon Cook: Fantastic. Thank you so much, Sam Horn. To people who are listening to this, be inspired. You already have a message burning inside you. You have something that's aching to get out, that's jumping at the chance. Don't wait for the some day. Start today. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episode interview series featuring Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency… Jon Cook: We also have what I call the unwilling, captive audiences that were in the elevator. Sam, what's your take, your approach to getting rid of elevator pitches and replacing it with something more meaningful? Sam Horn: Thank you. I have a post on LinkedIn that's gone viral, has hundreds of thousands of views, and the title of it is “Why Never To Give Another Elevator Speech And What To Do Instead”. I also spoke about this at Inc 500. So, a woman from Oklahoma, she was Entrepreneur of the Year for her state, and I said, "Colleen, what do you do?" *Wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, wah* At the end of 60 seconds, Jon, no one in the room knew what she did, and she was a CEO. And now, think of the lost opportunity cost, right? I mean, these are some of the top entrepreneurs in the country, but no one's going to talk to her, partner with her, et cetera. So I said, "Colleen, can we talk more?" She said, "Sure." I said, "Okay, #1, what do you do that we can see, that we can smell, that we can taste, that we can touch? Instead of, “I have a platform for blank,” and it's conceptual and confusing, we can't see it, we don't get it? So she said, "I run the facilities that run MRIs and CAT scans." I said, "Good. Don't tell people that." She said, "Don't tell people that?" I said, "If someone says what do you do, and you say, 'I run the facilities that run MRIs and CAT scans', what are they going to say?" That's the end of the conversation. We don't want to end conversations. We want to open conversation. So, I said, "Turn it into a three-part question." She said, "What's this about a three-part question?" I said, "If you say, 'have you ever had an MRI or CAT scan?' And they say 'No,' hah, we're back to a conversational cul-de-sac, right?" [inaudible 00:01:52] like an interrogation. The person is backing up because it's like, "Whoa." But if we say, "Do you know anyone?" Could be yourself, could be a friend, could be a family member. You see where we're giving them control of the conversation? They get to go wherever they want, whatever's most relevant for them or recent. "Who's had an MRI or CAT scan?" They'll probably going to think about it and they'll say, "Oh, well, my daughter had an MRI. She hurt her knee playing soccer." Now we simply paraphrase what it is they said with what we do. "Oh, that's what I do. I run the facilities that offer MRIs like the one your daughter had when she hurt her knee playing soccer." So the steps of this are, from now on, when someone says, "What do you do," don't tell them. That's infobesity, oh, end of conversation. Instead, ask a three-part question. Do you know anyone? Could be yourself or friend or family member who has, and then put in the real world results of what you do and stop talking. [inaudible 00:03:00] say something, even if, well, I haven't, but my wife has, or, yeah, well I, and then simply paraphrase what they said with what they do, because that's confirming the connection. It's under 60 seconds. Now, we have a meaningful, mutually rewarding conversation and we're off and running instead of, “What do you do,” “This,” “Oh…next.” -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episode interview series featuring Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency… Jon Cook: There's almost this lie, this trap that we fall into as authors is saying, "writing my book, I need to find the secluded space." And then we almost like work on our craft, our art in the dark. And then when it's ready, which is relative, then we bring it out for the world to see. But it's been created in an echo chamber. There's been nobody else speaking into your manuscript, your message, the thing that you want to share with the world. From an art standpoint, it may be beautiful or it may be well-intended, but just not well constructed. Sam Horn: Writing is supposed to be an empathetic exercise, not an intellectual exercise. Do you know who had writer's block for eight years? Sting, the musician - the words wouldn't come. So what did he do? He went back home and he grew up in Newcastle with these big ships and so forth. And he went and he interviewed people and he ended up writing a Broadway play, a Broadway musical that won a Tony and once again it never would have happened if he hadn't gotten up and outside and connected with the people he wanted to write for. Well, I had an epiphany when I read that because I was working on my next book and I loved to write. I was very busy at the time and writing had become a grind. I would look at what I had written and it did not sing. And when I heard that I thought, "Of course it's not singing. I am isolated, I am thinking it up." I got up. I went over to my son's high school, I interviewed teachers. What do you say when, when kids say you have favorites? Principals, what do you say when teachers come to you and say, I quit? Kids, what do you say when someone's bullying you on the bus? And I connected with the people I wanted to write for, and their words, and their stories, and their concerns, and their worries filled my mind. And when I came back, I sat down and the words flowed out so fast, my fingers couldn't keep up. So if you’re a writers who’s come to a halt, just as you said, Jon, we're probably isolated. We're trying to think it up. It's become an intellectual exercise. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episode interview series featuring Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency… Jon Cook: So, how do I find my crowd? How do I find the people that I really want to serve? Sam Horn: I'm so glad you're asking that, Jon. People can't jump on our bandwagon if it's parked in the garage, right? So how can we get our bandwagon out of the garage? Well, once again, I will give a real life success story because I think there is nothing more powerful or persuasive than a real life success story. When we know that someone else has done it, then we start believing that we can too, right? As Maya Angelou said, we can't be it if we don't see it, but here's this success story and then I'll tell you how I help clients do that. James Rollins came to the Maui Writers Conference. He was a veterinarian in Davis, California. Now he's working six, seven days a week. He's a busy man. He comes home on his 40th birthday. He's so exhausted. He sits down, he turns on the TV, but there is Tony Robbins and Tony Robbins says, if you have a dream and you don't get up off the couch right now and do something about it, it will never happen. Well, James got up, he walked over to the phone, he called his local Barnes and Noble because what he'd always wanted to do is to write sci-fi and fantasy fiction. And he asked, "Do you have a writer support group?" And they did every Tuesday night, so every Tuesday night he would leave his veterinary practice and he would go and he would get support for his books. Well, he came to Maui Writer's Conference, and at the opening orientation he heard someone talking behind him. Now we had what was called a manuscript marketplace, a guaranteed look by a top agent or editor or publisher. And this person was saying that he knew who was going to win the manuscript marketplace. In fact, he was so impressed with his writing, he was going to get him a two book deal with his agent and editor, and it was Terry Brooks, Sword of Shannara, one of the top fantasy writers of all time. That was James Rollins. He's talking about my work. James has gone on now to write 18 New York Times best sellers. And it once again, it never would have happened if he hadn't gotten up off the couch, walked over to the phone and called a group of people who would have this front and back, like-minded souls who have simpatico goals, who will encourage each other, support each other, give constructive feedback. So when I'm working with entrepreneurs or when I'm working with authors or speakers who are your peaks, where can you go so you're not going it alone? -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episode interview series featuring Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency… Sam Horn: So would you like another way that we can actually engage people ethically so that they are paying attention from start to finish? Jon Cook: Absolutely! Sam Horn: Okay. Use a dog on a tanker story, and you're thinking, "A what?" Well, several years ago, there was an article in The Washington Post about an oil tanker that caught fire 800 miles off the coast of Hawaii. Now a cruise ship happened to be going by and rescued the 11 people on board, and the captain gave a press conference. He talked about how grateful he was to be rescued. All he can think about is his dog left behind on the tanker. That press conference goes viral, and thousands of people from around the world are sending in money. $5, $500. The U.S. Navy changes the exercise plate of the U.S. Pacific fleet to search the open ocean. They find the tanker. They send a C-130 to fly low to see if there's any signs of life. Here's this brown and white blur racing up and down the deck of the tanker. The amount of quarter of a million dollar rescue mission to get Hok Get and bring him back to the islands. Now, Jon, you and listeners may be thinking, “What does that have to do with me and content and capturing and keeping people's attention?” Well, here's the question. Why did people from around the world mobilize to save one dog when there are thousands of people in their own cities going without food, water and shelter? It's because of something called the empathy telescope. And the empathy telescope says, we can put ourselves in the shoes of one person, or one dog, we cannot put ourselves in the shoes of many. We cannot put ourselves in the shoes of an idea or an organization. So when we're communicating, if we're talking about all the people this affects or if we're talking about all the customers we've served, it's so distant and far away or so overwhelming, people don't relate to it. It is when we have one person who had a problem and bought our product and is now better off, one company that had a challenge and couldn't solve it until they hired us, then we scale out from the one. The question is, what is your idea or the point or the product, what's your dog on a tanker story? Start with your dog on your tanker story. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episode interview series featuring Sam Horn of Intrigue Agency… Sam Horn: When we finish telling our where story or our signature origin story, we don't stop, because that's not enough. People go, "Well, good for you. What's that got to do with me?" right? So after every true, real-life example, we hook and hinge back to the audience with three you questions: "Have you ever had a goal and worked toward and didn't work out the way you wanted? Did you ever try something and people laughed at you?" Do you see, when we tell a story and we come back with, "Where has that happened for you? Have you ever been in that situation?" Now, I don't care whether it's a multimillion-dollar CEO, whether it's the recent college grad, they are relating what you're saying to their circumstances, so it is relevant to them and they're a lot more likely to relate to it and get some epiphany, some Socratic epiphany, and act on it. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

I recently had the chance to sit down with Sam Horn, the founder and CEO of the Intrigue Agency. She is the former Executive Director of the world-renowned Maui Writers Conference and Pitch Coach for Springboard Enterprises, which has helped entrepreneurs receive $8.8 billion in funding. She has helped hundreds of clients create quality books and high-stakes presentations for TED-MED, TEDx, SXSW, Wisdom 2.0, Google and Facebook. We had a chance to sit down for about 30 minutes and I was honored to ask Sam several questions about how she helps entrepreneurs like yourself better position their Message. Now, I want to give you a front-row seat to hear those questions and Sam’s brilliance… Let’s get started. Jon Cook: The world is noisier than ever right now so how do we, with a powerful message, how do you guide people with that powerful message to break through the noise and connect with their audience better? Sam Horn: We're going to start with something I call a "Did you know?" opening because most people start their presentations or a book or a blog by explaining, right? We've been taught to tell people what we're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what we told them, right? That makes us a bore, snore, or chore. So here's a quick example and then I'm going to give you three steps they can use to make their first 60 seconds so compelling that people put their digital devices down and get their eyebrows up, okay? And I don't care whether you're writing, whether you're speaking, whether you're doing a podcast, like Jon is, start with three "Did you know?" questions. Did you know this? This? This? Then, go to the scope of the problem you're solving or the issue you're addressing or the need that you're filling. Now, where do you find the startling statistics? You Google that stuff. Just go online, put in what are surprising statistics about blank and put in your topic, put in your problem or your issue or your industry. Up will come things even you didn't know. And if you don't know them, chances are your decision-makers won't know them. You've just earned smart people's attention's time because they're smarter than they were 20 seconds ago. Second step, use the word "Imagine." The word imagine pulls people out of their preoccupation because they're not distracted now, they're picturing your point, or they're seeing what you're saying. So, think about your decision-makers. What are they concerned about? Worried about? Well, imagine a one-use needle instead of re-use. Imagine painless inoculations instead of painful. Imagine a fraction of the current cost instead of really expensive. You see how in a world of infobesity we distilled into one sentence? Who wouldn't want that? And then, third step, you don't have to imagine it. We've created it. Now come in with your testimonial. Now come in with your example or your product demonstration to prove it isn't a pie in the sky or speculative. It's a done deal. And you do all that in 60 seconds. That's how we earn people's attention in a world of infobesity. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're wrapping up our episode series with John Lee Dumas of EO Fire. Thank you again, JLD, for your generous insight and time. Jon Cook: We want to say thank you so much to John Lee Dumas, Entrepreneurs on Fire podcast. The link will be there in the show notes, all the information. What's one product or experience or opportunity that we can share to help promote you and your message further? John Lee Dumas: Well, to me, all the magic happens outside of your comfort zone. So what is going to get you outside of your comfort zone? What that is is your big idea. You need to have one big idea that's scary, that's audacious, that scares you, but still makes you passionate, fired up. All of those things need to be happening. So if you don't have your big idea, well, you need to get that. I have a completely free training that's called yourbigidea.io. That'll get you there. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episodes series featuring questions I got a chance to ask John Lee Dumas of EO Fire… Jon Cook: What's something that you are passionate about, a cause, a movement that you're passionate about that isn't directly tied to Fire Nation, but you're able to leverage your platform to say, "We can make this difference -- this impact -- in the world?" John Lee Dumas: Well, to me, honestly, it'd be more vague than that in a way because I consider it the ripple effect. And that's the fact that this interview right now is going to be experienced by people who would never have heard of me before or know of entrepreneurs on fire. But because you have an audience and because you have different people who are watching and consuming your content, now maybe they're going to hear something from me that inspires them to go and do something. And then that person's going to do something that then inspires a whole new trope of people that so on and so forth, that ripple effect, that trickle down effects, that snowball effect of just now, this one interview impact thousands and thousands of people, all because it started by just impacting one person, who then impacted 10 people. And those 10 people then impacts, and then it can so quickly make a difference in this world. So, I love the ripple effect. That's the cause that I believe in. That's the passion. That's why I do what I do. That's why I do my social media. That's why I do my podcast. That's why I spend one day every single month doing 25 interviews on other shows. I mean, this is one of the 25 interviews I'm doing today on another show because I'm putting in the reps, because this might be the podcast, the show that impacts somebody, that goes off and does an incredible, crazy thing. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episodes series featuring questions I got a chance to ask John Lee Dumas of EO Fire… Jon Cook: I think for a lot of people that they wonder, “What if I pick the wrong niche?” Or “What if I niche too far and I'm almost too niched to actually connect with my crowd?” How do you walk somebody through right sizing their niche? John Lee Dumas: Like if you use the wrong niche, then learn from it. Say, okay, good stuff. I've identified a couple of things that I did wrong going down this path. Now I'm going to readjust, pivot, and move in a different direction and there's no problem. There's no harm, no foul there. You need to be taking action and trying things. And so if you get into a wrong niche, like congratulate yourself for actually getting into any niche at all. And now you asked another question about if you find yourself in a niche too far. To me, that's impossible. It is absolutely impossible to niche down too far because if you've niched down all the way to the bone where there's only one person in the world besides yourself that would ever consume your content, that's still one person in the world. And you start there, you engage that person, you jump on a video call with them, you learn their biggest pain points or struggles or obstacles or challenges, and you improve based off that feedback, and then you broaden that a little bit. Then you broaden that. Now you have two listeners and four, eight, 16, 32, 64 and keep going and going, so on and so forth. Until now you've gotten to a more comfortable niche, so going too deep, impossible. Just recognize that that's an opportunity to really engage, to really go one-on-one, to really learn more about your avatar, your perfect listener, consumer, client, customer, fan, and then broaden out after that. -- The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episodes series featuring questions I got a chance to ask John Lee Dumas of EO Fire… Jon Cook: When I think about Fire Nation, it's evolved so much. I've been a part of the Fire Nation for the past three years now and continue to see how different parts of your audience, and your message, has evolved over the last three years. What's something that's surprised you about Fire Nation just in the past year? John Lee Dumas: I'd say what's surprised me most about Fire Nation in the past year is their just quick adoption into what I call the micro-niche. Back in 2013, '14, '15, it was all about being broad and vague. Trying to capture as big of an audience as possible. Entrepreneurs On Fire worked because it worked back in that timeframe, but if you launched Entrepreneurs On Fire with an unknown name in 2019, it doesn't work because it's one of a million shows. But it worked back in 2012 because it was unique, it was different, and it was rare. There just wasn't that much in the way of competition.  The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

We're continuing our episodes series featuring questions I got a chance to ask John Lee Dumas of EO Fire… Jon Cook: When we think about how our message continues to evolve, think about these smart home devices: Google Home, and Echo, Echo Dot, Echo Show, and even the technology of Alexa. How are you leveraging that technology and those smart devices to continue to share your message beyond podcasts? John Lee Dumas: I think this is the world of voice right now. The reason why voice is winning at such a high level is because it gives you back time. You can now go running and listen to an audio book. You can now be driving your car and listening to a podcast. You can be folding laundry and consuming great audio content, so you're getting time back. Before when those were like dead times, like listening to some song on the radio or just whistling Dixie to yourself as your folding laundry. Now, you can actually be using that time in a beneficial way. I mean like I literally used to hate to dry dishes, but now, I'm almost like, "I don't really care because I'm just going to be like" ... I might as well be doing something while I'm listening to a podcast. It's just another way to consume great content, so it's giving you your time back. Like when I walk into my bathroom every single morning to brush my teeth I say, "Alexa, what’s in the news?" and she starts playing my news. Like, "What's the weather?" A Gary Vaynerchuk clip. Another podcast. This and that. Boom, boom, boom. Now I'm doing my things in the morning and I'm consuming this content automatically. Then I'm just like, "Alexa, order me more toothpaste," and boom- she orders me more toothpaste. That's giving me back time, something that I don't have to go to my computer, or open Amazon, or go to Amazon, and click “Order,” and buy. I don't have to do it, so it gives you back time. I also have The Daily Refresh, which is my Alexa flash briefing, so I mean I've bought into this whole thing of creating short-form content that people can consume on a daily basis. Make it part of your daily routine, so in under three minutes, if you subscribe to The Daily Refresh you get a quote to inspire the minds, gratitude to warm the soul, and guided breathing to energize the body. Boom, two minutes and 45 seconds later it's over and you're off to do your day. So that's a great way, in my opinion, and what I've been seeing, that's really been working in the voice world. The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

I recently had the chance to sit down with John Lee Dumas. He is the founder and host of EO Fire, an award-winning podcast where he interviews today's most inspiring entrepreneurs, seven days a week. With over 1,400 different episodes and seven figures a year in revenue. JLD has shown the world the power of podcasting. Prepare to ignite!  We had a chance to sit down for about 20, 30 minutes and talk through some of the top questions I wanted to ask him as one of the most influential podcasters in the world. Now, I want to give you a front-row seat to hear those questions and see how JLD is positioning himself for the future. Jon Cook: Different industries, different messages, people change from year to year. We're constantly evolving. How has your message, even the way in which you share your message evolved and changed over this past year? John Lee Dumas: So, one thing that I'm really passionate about is keeping my finger on the pulse because things are changing so quickly in this world. I mean, a lot of people are saying, "I missed the podcasting thing." And like whether they're right or wrong, it's just kind of the wrong attitude because there's always that next thing that's just right over the horizon. And like people that identify that next thing and they jump on it, boom, they make it happen. So I can tell you for within the past year, I really never took Instagram seriously. It's been around for a long time. I never took it that seriously. But about a year ago, maybe even like eight or 10 months ago, I'm like, "Wow, this is a special platform." I'm like, "I'm getting a lot of engagements. I'm crossing 100,000 followers." I really am seeing a way for me to get my message out. And even maybe more on a micro message way, like not a long-form podcast, but maybe more like a short-form, one-minute, little inspirational clip, maybe cutting that up into four Instagram stories. I’m seeing great engagement in the direct messages, like another inbox right there with really being able to communicate with people. So that's an area that I'm really seeing is kind of been exploding for me this past year. That's, you asked me two years ago, I'm like, "Now Instagram is for like photographers." The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Over the past few days, I’ve shared with you the process of increasing your content production without sacrificing your time or sanity. It starts with creating one feature-length piece of content, like a Facebook Live video that’s eight- to 10-minutes long. From there you extract the audio from the Facebook video and transcribe the audio using Rev.com.  You can then segment the video and audio into smaller pieces of content that can be posted as social media posts, edited into an article on your website or on Medium, and the video can also be republished on YouTube with the transcript. Of course, the goal of all this isn’t just to create more content for the sake of creating more content. It’s to drive more interest to your business so you can help more people. The fifth and final step for increasing your content production is to focus on one clear call to action across all pieces of content.  That could be for your audience to fill out an application, send you a message through your website, or book a call. Whatever you decide to use for your call to action, make it clear and streamline your audience’s interest from any platform into one contact point. Make it a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Once you have your feature-length video, you can post your video to YouTube with the transcription, great hashtags and keywords, and a compelling call to action. That’s just the starting point. Now that you have your transcription, you or one of your team members, even a VA, can break that content apart into smaller pieces of content, like quotes, blog articles, a weekly email publication, or Instagram posts. You can schedule your content to publish at different times throughout the day. You can trust a team member to do this for you, which is a struggle for me because I’m a recovering perfectionist and a recovering control freak. However, trusting a team member to do this is becoming one of my best investments already in the past few months. Find a great team member who you can train and guide them to post how you would like and let them get to work. I cannot emphasize this enough that you need to adapt your content to fit each specific channel, not just copy+pasting your content from one channel to the next. YouTube is a very different platform than LinkedIn, which is an entirely different world from Facebook and Twitter and Snapchat and every other different platform where you can publish content. This is the step where you’ll start to truly see your Message make a greater difference because you’ll be in more places than ever before in less time than you ever expected. Have fun multiplying your content today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Yesterday I gave you some pretty technical instructions on how to download the audio from your Facebook video. How’d you do? In case you got stuck, you can re-listen to yesterday’s episode or read our show transcript to see exactly how to download the audio file of your Facebook video. Once you have that file, you can go to Rev.com and ask them to transcribe that audio file for you with 99% accuracy. We use Rev.com with our clients at Keynote Content and we love their services. It costs about a dollar for every minute of audio they transcribe and the turnaround time is fantastic. This is a big step in multiplying your content while maximizing your time. In my mind, if you’re paying around eight to 10 dollars a week to get well over a thousand words of raw content you can use, it’s worth every penny. Tomorrow I’ll share more about how to use that transcript, but for today, work on getting that audio transcribed and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Yesterday I shared the first step in increasing your content production: creating a feature-length piece of content. That could be a feature-length article or an eight- to 10-minute video. If you’re short on time or not really a writer, you may want to start by creating a Facebook Live or pre-recording a video. Let’s say you start with creating a video. You can take that video and download it as an audio file. If you’re doing a Facebook Live video, you can download just the audio by going into your Facebook page, finding your post that has the Facebook Live video, and right-clicking on the video. It will show a pop-up with a dropdown menu. One of the options will say, “Show video URL”. Click on that option and it open a little pop-up box with the URL or website address for that exact video. Copy the URL and then go to getfvid.com.  Once you are on getfvid.com, you will see a box for a Facebook video converter. Enter the URL you just copied from Facebook and select Download. It will take you to the next screen where you will see the option to Convert to .mp3. That’s one of the most popular types of audio files, and it’s the option you want to choose.  Download that file to your computer or other device, and breathe easy - that’s a lot of technical content, so if you need to revisit this step, just re-listen to this episode a few more times or read our transcript with the links and the instructions. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Yesterday I mentioned how I spent the past few months learning from a few incredible people like Peng Joon, Nicholas Kusmich, and Gary Vaynerchuk about how to increase my content production without sacrificing my schedule and sanity. I’m already seeing a big change in how I approach content creation - and this is coming from the guy who’s written over two million words in the past eight years! I know how to create content, but how do I create more content the most efficient way possible and still maintaining a good quality of content? The process I learned from Peng and Nicholas starts with creating one feature-length piece of content every week. Depending on your Content Type, that could be a written piece of content, like a feature-length blog article that’s between 1,500 and 3,000 words. It may be easier for you to start with creating an eight- to 10-minute video, whether that’s a pre-recorded video or a Facebook Live. Whatever your approach is, focus on creating that one piece of feature-length content first. There’s a whole process that comes after that large piece of content, but for today, plan out that first piece of content. Block out an hour sometime this week and crush that first piece of content. Tomorrow I’ll cover what to do with it next, but for now, make it a great day and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

A consistent theme I keep hearing from clients - and what I keep encountering myself - is, “How do I increase my content production while maximizing my time?” It’s easy to feel pressured and obligated to post, like, tweet, share, do a live stream, record a podcast episode, and doesn’t that all sound exhausting? Whether you’re a speaker, coach, consultant, trainer, service provider, or whatever your normal work responsibilities are, how do you find the time to create all of that content and still get all of your profit-generating work done? I spent the past few months digging into this concept of multiplying your content while maximizing your time. There are a few amazing people that have taught me so much about multiplying content the right way and they are Peng Joon, Nicholas Kusmich, and Gary Vaynerchuk. Over the next few days, I’m going to share what I’ve learned from Peng and Nicholas on how to multiply your content without sacrificing your schedule or sanity. For now though, I want you to enjoy today as a great chance to get outside, have some good rest and relaxation time, and sit with this reminder. You have a powerful Message that someone today needs to hear that will change their life forever. That’s your Message - and you have that opportunity right now.  Make it a great day, be inspired, and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

It’s the weekend after Thanksgiving here in the U.S. and for a lot of entrepreneurs, this is when you send out all your messages promoting your deal for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, Shop Small Saturday, or whatever you want to call it. Whether you’re running a ‘sale’ this weekend or not for your course, your book, your coaching, your mastermind, or any other sale, I would love for this to be your last sale you ever run. Ever. I made the mistake of running different sales to my digital products. Did I make money? Sure, quite a bit, but what it cost me was perceived value. People who bought my course at $297 instead of $497 automatically started to see what my sale telegraphed: that I didn’t believe the value of my course was worth it’s posted price. Don’t discount your genius, that insight you worked so hard to develop and refine to serve your audience. If you want to add value, give bonuses on top of your set price for your products. It adds even more value without cheapening the insight you already infused into your product or service. By adding bonuses, you raise the ceiling on the value instead of lowering the floor. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

After working with almost a thousand speakers over the past four years, I started seeing more patterns emerge. Different speakers kept sharing this concern: I don’t know how to find a great common ground that everyone in my audience can connect with and understand what that feels like. First, you won’t connect with everyone in your audience at an event. There’s always going to be the dude who’s there because his boss bought him a ticket or someone else is not fully present because something way more important to them has their attention, like a loved one in the hospital. You don’t have to worry about connecting with everyone. At the same time, I like asking two questions: “What’s one fear that a majority of my audience has that I can help defeat?” “What’s one desire that a majority of my audience has that I can fulfill for them?” We all have fears and desires - that’s part of our innate humanity. How you address those fears and fulfill those desires as a speaker can mean all the difference in the world to someone in your audience. That’s a life-changing responsibility and I know you have what it takes to deliver on that opportunity because your Message matters. The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

If you’ve spent much time at all in the marketing space, then you’re familiar with the concept of a marketing funnel. It looks larger at the top and funnels down towards the bottom, just like a funnel. The problem is your funnel is actually upside down, a lesson I learned from Flint McGlaughlin at the MECLABS Institute. People aren’t falling into your funnel from the top and letting gravity pulling them further and further into higher-priced offers. It’s as if your funnel is a mountain for your prospect to climb and gravity is pulling them back down to the mountain unless they decide to keep climbing higher with you and your business. Every step along the way is a micro-decision to keep listening to you, keep reading your content, and keep engaging with your overall Message. Every click, every scroll, every moment they spend with you is their conscious decision to keep climbing further up your funnel mountain. Today is about seeing your marketing as a mountain to climb instead of a funnel to fall into and let gravity do the rest. Take a look at your website and your sales pages and see how you can reposition different pieces to make the climb easier for your prospects to enjoy. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Today is Thanksgiving Day here in the United States, and I fully recognize that we have listeners from all over the world. So, while you may not be celebrating Thanksgiving today, I want you to know I’m celebrating you. I’m absolutely blown away that we have people listening to Keynote Clarity from Canada, New Zealand, Germany, the Philippines, Brazil, the U.K., Ghana, Russia, Zimbabwe, Ireland, India, South Africa, Singapore, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, the U.A.E., Chile, Sweden, and if I missed where you’re from, I’m so sorry, but I want to say thank you. This started back in March as a way to connect with you on a daily basis, to share one idea, one tip to help you get your Message in front of more people to help change the world for good. I so believe in what you have to share. I know that you are changing lives of people I will probably never meet in just one lifetime. Thank you for what you’re doing to help make our world a better place. Thank you so much for this honor. Make it a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Friction is a term that many marketers shy away from because you don’t want anything aggravating your readers or listeners, right? I disagree with that. Friction shows that there are two forces at odds with each other. People are coming to your website, walking into your breakout session, and listening to your podcast with friction already in their lives. Stepping on the scale and not seeing the numbers you want can cause friction to disrupt your eating habits. Slamming the door after another argument with your partner is the sound of friction with your partner.  Many speakers, coaches, and consultants try to ignore the friction or dismiss it altogether with phrases like, “You’re just thinking about that conflict all wrong,” which is a terrible way to speak to your audience but a lot of speakers do that. Your job as a speaker, coach, or consultant is to focus on the friction -- highlight the pain, give it a name, talk about the raw emotions that are associated with that friction. Then, show them you have a way of leveraging that friction for their benefit. You can show them the pain they’re experiencing because a specific area of their life is not in alignment. It’s bumping against other parts of life or against the lives of others -- and it’s causing pain. You can show them how to align that part of their life - whether that’s financing, parenting, health, wellness, relationships, anything -- with the pathway that removes the friction and gives them freedom to live a more meaningful, positive life. Today is about turning friction into freedom for your audience. Share one idea or tip with your audience today that can help them turn friction into freedom. Make it a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

I recently met up with a small group of high-level entrepreneurs for breakfast. Many of us are in the coaching and consulting space. My friend Brent asked a simple question as part of our conversation. He asked, “What’s your exit strategy?” This is a question I’ve heard a number of times over the past year, and my answer is the same. I don’t have an exit strategy in place with Keynote Content. I know there are a lot of entrepreneurs who grow businesses with the sole purpose of exiting for a massive profit. Not me -- in my perspective, just for what I’m doing with Keynote Content, having an exit strategy feels like a Plan B for me, and that’s not my calling. This is a lifelong mission to help speakers, coaches, and consultants craft and share their Messages to change the world for good. That’s never going to change - the world will always need more hope, more joy, and a more meaningful way to live tomorrow. That’s what I’m fired up about -- and that’s why I’m ecstatic to keep sharing more ways to help with your Message. I’d love to hear what’s one challenge you’re facing or one dream you want to accomplish with your Message over this next year. Send me a note at jon@keynotecontent.com or connect with me on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram at @keynotecontent. The best days are still ahead for you and your impact on the world. Make today count because your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Whenever I’m working with coaches or consultants who focus on the corporate space, we emphasize the reading comprehension level of their content. We aim for their content to be easily consumable by an eleven-year-old. Why is that? A sixth-grade reading level is the preferred reading comprehension level of the average Fortune 500 C-suite executive. It has nothing to do with their ability to comprehend more complex content. It’s all about the speed of comprehension - the transfer of knowledge. If they have to take longer to read a piece or content or listen to the section of podcast episode more than once to full grasp what’s said, you will lose their interest. So, how do you write for a sixth-grade reading comprehension level? Simplify. You don’t have to use jargon or even long sentences. Shorter is sweeter, simpler is better. The more you can communicate your concept in as simple of terms as possible, the better it will convey your Message to your C-suite crowd. I’d love to hear your experience with creating content for a C-Suite crowd. Send me your stories at jon@keynotecontent.com or connect with me on social media @keynotecontent. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Whether you’re a service provider, a trainer, a speaker, or a coach, there is a value you assign to your services. That may be an hourly rate (not recommended) or a set rate, but regardless of your rate, the reality is there’s always someone who can provide what you’re offering at a cheaper rate. If you’re gaining clients based on your pricing, that’s a bad sign. It means they’re evaluating your perspective solely on a price tag, not on the actual value you’re bringing to the table. As a rule of thumb, I avoid prospects who make their decision only based on the price tag. If you want to attract premium clients, you need to have a premium-quality service and results. Once you have the service and results, then you set a premium price tag to match your value -- and don’t budge. Someone can always do it cheaper, but there needs to be few who can do it better. I’d love to hear some of the challenges you’re facing with pricing and value. Send me your questions and stories to jon@keynotecontent.com or tag me on social media @keynotecontent. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Whether you have a hundred or 100,000 subscribers on your email list, I guarantee not everyone on your list is interested in all of the same topics as everyone else. People join your list for a variety of reasons, which is why segmenting your list by interest topics is one of the most valuable investments you may make this year. Of course, it’s easier to segment well before you create a new list or grow your current list to a much larger size. What do you do if you have an established email list that isn’t segmented yet? I recommend sending out a brief survey of five to eight questions and yes, you can use incentive if you want. Spend a couple hundred dollars for a new tablet or another type of gift and randomly select a winner from survey responders. The survey questions can focus on the key topics you cover. As you receive responses, you can then start segmenting people into different interest segments. Then, send interest-specific content to each segment to better serve their unique interests instead of a one-size-fits-all approach to emailing your list. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

I recently helped a high-profile client apply for a TED Talk, not a TEDx talk - an actual TED Talk. What’s crazy is that I didn’t know she applied for a TED Talk until after she applied using the same content we put together for her Featured Talks. We spent a little under an hour putting together three Featured Talk titles with a description, three to five takeaways per talk, and a money quote that will stick with her audiences. After building out her Featured Talks, she took that content and applied for a TED Talk. The challenge was this round of TED Talk applications is focused on overcoming obstacles. She shared how our work together helped her see that her audience was looking for a contrast between where they are right now and where they want to be. That’s where you as a speaker can add contrast to your Featured Talk title as well. Think about the current reality someone in your audience is facing. For our client people in her audience are often facing disappointment, lack of fulfillment, and limited freedom and flexibility with their work. So, we created one of her talk titles to focus on building a fun, freedom-filled financial empire from the comfort of your couch. It gives an amazing contrast between what her audience is experiencing and what they’re craving to experience. It makes her talk that much more attractive because she’s presenting her talk as a bridge between the angst they’re feeling right now and the new reality they want to experience as soon as possible. Implement that same contrast with your talk titles and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Not too long ago it was common practice to write blog articles that were 300 to 500 words long. That’s how I got my start: writing a short blog article every day focusing on one idea. It’s fairly easy to write a short blog article, but the payoff isn’t there anymore for Google search engine rankings. Yes, it’s still possible to rank well with blog content, but the game is always changing with Google. If you want to gain significant traction with blog content, you need to aim for around 2,000 words per blog article. The average word count for website pages and blog articles that rank on the first page of Google search results is 1,890 words. Instead of writing a list or overview of a few topics, focus on one topic or even a subtopic and go into greater detail on that topic. When you focus on the nuances of a topic, it serves your audience better because it gives a greater context for the people who land on that page or article. While you may be writing two or three articles a week, you can use the same amount of time to write a longer article once a week that better serves your audience. I’d love to hear about the different options you’ve used to create blog content. Send me your thoughts and ideas at jon@keynotecontent.com or tag me @keynotecontent. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

A recent survey by Demand Gen Report shows that the average purchaser consumes between three to five pieces of content before making a purchase. I recommend business coaches aim to double that number when engaging with a coaching prospect. The average coaching prospect is trusting you with more than just a one-time purchase. They want to know you have the expertise, skillset, and process to help them achieve the results they need for long-term success. So, what pieces of content would be great for business coaches to create and share? I recommend having a feature-length piece of content, whether that’s a blog article that’s around 2,000 words or a 30-minute video training. This piece of content serves as the greatest value-add for your audience. They need to get tremendous value from this content without having to pay you anything. You can connect a few smaller pieces of content beforehand, like a series of social media posts or an ask-me-anything session via Facebook Live, that all lead to the larger piece of content. You can then add a few more focused pieces of content, like a case study or a series of follow-up emails that guide towards a buying decision. That will easily give you between six to 10 different pieces of content to engage with your coaching prospect before they need to make a decision. Try a few different combinations and let me know what works. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Hi, I’m a Mac… and I’m a PC. If that sounds familiar, then you probably remember the Mac vs. PC commercials from around 2006 where Apple intentionally positioned their Apple products against Microsoft’s products. Mac was represented by a casually dressed, relaxed young guy while PC was played by a slightly older more middle-aged actor in a coat and tie. The contrast was apparent from the second the commercials started… and the contrast worked. Apple wasn’t selling computers or a phones or an .mp3 player - they sold a lifestyle where art, music, communication, and expression were easier than ever thanks to Apple. If you want to build your brand Message like Apple built their brand Message, you need to focus on what Apple projected to their audience. Apple wasn’t sharing just another option compared to Microsoft. They were offering a better way to live.  Nobody wants another product just to say they bought a product. People want to buy the promise attached to your product or service. You need to offer them a better way of life, not just another option. Today is about finding out how your audience wants to enjoy life - and how you with your products and services can help them experience that new way of life. It’s the difference between selling a personal budgeting system and enjoying financial freedom. It’s the difference between offering a weight loss program and experiencing more energy than you’ve ever had since you were a kid. It’s a way of life, not just another option. Make today count because your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

I recently received an email from one of our clients about their latest email campaign. They’re in the financial services space and their open rate was 46.8%, which is almost triple the industry average. Their click-through rate was 13.8%, over five times the industry average. Without knowing their industry averages, they asked me, “Are those good numbers? Which number is more important?” A lot of marketing experts will tell you the open rate is the more important number because “Who cares what the click numbers are if they don’t even open the email?” I agree, the open rate is important and you need great headlines to keep improving your open rate. However, the open rate pales in value compared to your click-through rate. A headline about free beer or how to make a million dollars in 60 minutes would have a high open rate, but of course, those aren’t offers that truly serve your audience’s needs.  Your click-through rate tells you how many of the people who said “Yes!” after reading through your copy and connecting with your offer. Your open rate is important because it catches your audience’s attention, but your click-through rate is even more important because it tells you how much of your audience’s attention you kept throughout your email. If you currently send any type of marketing email to your subscriber list, I would love to hear what your open and click-through rates are. Email me those two stats at jon@keynotecontent.com or you can post them online and tag me @keynotecontent. Have a great day today, and remember - your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

A recent survey by Econsultancy found that at least 30% of website visitors would use a search bar on a website to continue searching for additional content. That means roughly one out of every three people who come to your website is looking for a way to search for more of the same content on your website. This same crowd are also five times more likely to convert into a lead if they can use a search feature on your website. Our website at Keynote Content has a small eyeglass search icon at the end of our main menu towards the top of our website. We also have a search feature at the bottom of our website in our footer section. So, where’s your search button? I recommend adding a search button towards the top of your website and at the bottom in your footer section. This gives readers a chance to search before they scroll down as well as searching after reading an article or page. Today is about making sure you have a Search feature easily accessible on your website. Double-check on your site and add a search bar if you don’t have one right now. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

The holidays are right around the corner and it’s a crazy time of year for busyness, travel, extra parties, time with family and friends, and uh-oh, you forgot to create any holiday-themed content to share with your crowd. What do you do? Follow these four steps: Grab your phone - it’s probably already in your hand. Open Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, whatever platform you want to use. Find a holiday-themed backdrop or item, like a pumpkin, a wreath, a Christmas tree, an ice skating rink, something you really only see around during the holidays. Record a video with that item and talk about how that item reminds you about a challenge your audience is facing - and then, connect that challenge with a solution or tip you can offer to your audience. It takes less than five minutes, but it can be a great piece of content. You don’t need to hire a video crew or rent out a studio. Some of the best holiday-themed content is created on your phone. Just pull out your phone, hit record with a wreath or Christmas tree behind your shoulder, and connect a holiday trend or idea with your Message. When you’re done, post it on social media and tag me @keynotecontent so I can see what you created. Have fun and remember your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Yesterday I shared about what do you do if you’re wanting to share holiday-themed content but it’s now mid-November and you didn’t create any content.  Breathe easy - I’ve got you covered. I already shared one tip: find out which holiday means the most to your audience and focus on that holiday first. Another idea is to adapt what you currently have that’s already working for you. If you have a blog article that’s performing well earlier in the year, think of a holiday-themed spinoff from that topic and rework that concept into a fresh, exciting blog article. You can take an existing list of ideas and give them a holiday theme.  It’s simple, easier than you might expect, and no, you don’t have to worry about missing the holiday excitement because you’ll be creating great content right away. Today, I want you to identify your best-performing piece of marketing material and adapt that for the holidays. When you’re done, share it with the world and tag me on social media @keynotecontent. I’d love to see what you came up with for your new piece of holiday-themed content. Remember to have fun with it because you have the power to change someone’s life. Your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

It’s November 14th and that means Thanksgiving is only two weeks away. So, what do you do if I you haven’t created any holiday-themed content for your audience already? Is it too late? No, of course it’s not too late! I’m going to share a few ideas over the next few days about how you can create great content right away that fits the holiday season. The first tip is to find out what holiday you want to focus on first. Hint: start with the holiday your audience cares about the most and then you can focus on the others. If it’s Thanksgiving, create your first piece of content around Thanksgiving and then focus on New Year’s and Christmas. If you’re not sure what holiday your audience loves more, start with the holiday that’s furthest away, New Year’s, and focus on that first. Once you have as much content as you want for New Year’s, work your way backwards on the calendar until you get to today. Have fun creating some last-minute, exciting holiday-themed content and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

If you’re looking to use video in your online course, there are typically three options: You can record yourself on camera without any supporting graphics. You can record yourself sharing the screen with some graphics or slides, whether the slides are in a corner of the screen and you’re on the larger part of the screen or the graphics are the larger part and you’re in a smaller part of the screen. You record yourself doing voiceover of the content and there’s no video showing your face at all. After working with over 1,100 different speakers, coaches, and consultants, I’ve found the second option to work better than any other option. Specifically, I’ve found the most effective approach to be where you have your slides or graphics as the larger part of the screen and your face or head as a small picture-in-picture video. This allows your audience to still see your face, sense your body language, and connect with what you’re saying while letting the content on your slides hold their attention. I’d love to hear which of these three versions works for you and your audience. Send me your thoughts at jon@keynotecontent.com or on social media @keynotecontent. Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters!  The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

This past weekend I spoke at a conference in the Dallas-Fort Worth Area at the Texas Motor Speedway. It’s an incredible venue and I’m so thankful I got to connect with the audience at the event and have amazing conversations. Our lunch seating overlooked the racetrack and I watched as some of the fastest cars I’ve ever seen raced around the track. What I noticed was that while the cars were going fast, they weren’t going as fast as they could. Why was that? They were practicing. They were getting their laps in on the track perfecting their craft before their audience could see them race. You have that same opportunity with your Message. Today is your chance to work on your craft. You can get in front of the camera, do a few takes, rewatch the film, and then, do a few more takes, perfecting how you want to show up on screen. You can do that with your videos, your podcast, your breakout session prep, your blog articles, all of the different ways you craft and share your Message. Put in the work today by working on your Message because you have the power to change someone’s life with what you have to say. Your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Whether you’re speaking on stage, giving a webinar, or sharing an article with your audience, chances are you’ve wondered how much of your content you need to give your audience. There are two mistakes I see a lot of people in our audience make: First, they give too much content and overwhelm their audience. It’s information overload and while their audience is appreciative, it’s likely the audience is taking notes as fast as possible and missing the flow and end goal of the presentation. The second mistake I see is that they try to inspire too much change too quickly. If I’m giving a keynote presentation, it’s tempting to try to take my audience from A to Z with A being they don’t have any momentum or clarity with their Message and Z is that they have rock-solid clarity, great messaging in place, a content strategy that fits their personality and their Market, and all of these benchmarks that are impossible to achieve in just one hour. So, what do I do? I try to find out what’s a realistic expectation to have on my time with our audience when it comes to igniting transformation. I probably won’t be able to inspire someone to go from A to Z - and that’s okay - but I may be able to inspire someone to go from A to J or A to K, whatever that looks like on our client journey. Another example: if you’re creating a lead magnet, I recommend focusing on taking your audience from A to B instead of trying to go from A to Z. That’s too far of a jump and too big of a change to present for someone in your audience who likely isn’t that familiar with you yet. Today, I want you to focus on how your Message can inspire change in your audience to take them from A to whatever letter you think they can realistically be at after listening to you and your Message. If you stuck not knowing how to set those expectations for yourself or your audience, send me a message at jon@keynotecontent.com or tag me on social media @keynotecontent to share your concerns. I’m happy to listen, ask great questions, and share my perspective.  Have a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

The classic saying goes “If you give a man (or a woman) a fish, you can feed them for a day. If you teach a man (or woman) to fish, they can feed themselves for life.” How does that translate to being a speaker, coach, or consultant and sharing your Message? There’s a belief that by sharing your Message, your solution with your audience, that you’re empowering them with a way to ‘fish for themselves’, so to speak. I like to think about your Solution this way: if you teach a man to fish, then you can sell him fishing gear or you can help him build a fish hatchery. The analogy breaks down as more ideas come to the surface, but the point is your Message can inherently give someone in your audience an idea of what process or tactics to follow or use. This teaches your audience what to do, but they’re not equipped on how to do what they need to do yet. Information without application is why libraries are filled with books that nobody reads anymore, if they ever read those books at all. That’s where your solution is so critical. This is the fishing gear you can sell to your audience. You can talk about the tactics they need to use, but by offering a great solution, it gives them the equipment and tools they need to be successful in the future. Today, I want you to focus on what it looks like to teach your audience how to fish, as it were, and how your Solution can be like selling fishing gear to someone you just taught how to fish. Have fun today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

Part of our M3 Clarity training for business coaches often includes identifying the right niche for their business. I think there’s a danger in people telling you that you need to keep shrinking your niche into a hyper-specialized niche, smaller and smaller every year. That’s where I often hear the question, “How small should my niche be as a business coach?” I see my responsibility as not necessarily encouraging everyone to keep shrinking their niche down into a smaller speciality. My responsibility is to ‘right size’ your niche to fit the exact crowd you want to serve. If that’s a million people, that’s great. If it’s less than a thousand people inside your country, that’s great too! Right-sizing your niche is about knowing who is and who isn’t in your niche, why that is, and also having a solid conviction as to why the current size of your niche may be the best size for your niche in the future. So, if you’re stuck worrying about whether your niche is too big or too small, it’s likely your niche is a little too broad and you could niche down even further. That being said, you may hit a great balance when you find the right size for your niche - and you can eliminate any pressure to keep niching down further when it feels like it’s already a great fit. Make it a great day today and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

One question I constantly hear from speakers across industries and backgrounds is, “How many slides should a speaker use?” As with many answers I give, my answer is, “It depends…” How long is your presentation? What’s the setting or context of the event? What’s your audience like? Who’s speaking before and/or after you if there is anyone else speaking? I had a one-on-one lunch with one of the founders of the National Speakers Association and asked him that question. He said he uses over 600 slides for his main keynote presentation that lasts an hour. That’s ten slides per minute - averaging a new slide every six seconds! Now, that may seem ridiculous to you, and that’s okay - he does what works for him, and you need to do what works for you. My rule of thumb is that I like to spend no more than a minute on any particular slide.  I’m less concerned with how many slides a speaker needs to have and more concerned with the purpose of each slide. So many speakers add slides into their slidedeck that don’t need to be in there. When you go to create your next slidedeck, view each slide in your slidedeck and ask yourself if that slide serves a unique purpose. If it doesn’t remove that slide. Have fun and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”

The Five Ones has been a game-changer for our team’s work at Keynote Content. Committing to pursue only one target Market with one solution through one conversion tool from one traffic source for one solid year is a big decision. When I decided to pursue the Five Ones, I killed off all of our Facebook ads running to all of our funnels, rebuilt our best offer to be our One Solution, and then, I realized more changes needed to happen. I said goodbye to our podcast we launched last year called Copy & Content. We’re repurposing any recorded content that we haven’t published yet. We stopped reaching out to prospective guests and we’re pouring all of the time that was earmarked for the podcast to building out and optimizing our Five Ones. Here are our Five Ones: One target Market - Business Coaches One Solution - M3 Clarity training One Conversion Tool - Lead Gen Funnel through ClickFunnels One Traffic Source - Facebook ads One year Our monthly revenue numbers are almost double compared to what they were a few months ago because we’re implementing the Five Ones. Of course, I can’t guarantee those same results for you and your Five Ones experience. What I can guarantee is that simplicity drives scalable growth. If you’re a business coach who’s ready to jump in with the Five Ones, reach out to our team at keynotecontent.com or connect with me on social media @keynotecontent to start a conversation. Make today count and remember, your Message matters! The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing is presented by Jon Cook, founder of Keynote Content. Jon and his team help thought leaders, namely speakers, coaches, and consultants, craft and share their messages to better serve their audiences. Connect with Jon and his team at Keynote Content by visiting keynotecontent.com. You can subscribe to The Keynote Clarity for Thought Leaders Flash Briefing by visiting bit.ly/KeynoteClarity and enabling it there. Then, all you have to say is, “Alexa, what’s my flash briefing?”