QUESTION: So what makes Taylor Swift a terrific marketer?
ANSWER: She knows the real meaning of the word “assertive.”
I fear the word “assertive” has gotten a bad rap in the last couple decades.
People often associate it with being brash or downright overbearing, but it’s a skill we all need in business (in our case the world of publishing) when we must negotiate a contact or make ourselves heard in the din of a hundreds of thousands of books being published each year.
But Taylor got it right.
She thinks creative people should get paid for their work.
She stood up for that idea.
She wasn’t afraid to use her financial clout to do it.
And—here’s the biggie.
She doesn’t hesitate to use her skill against the big guys.
Taylor pitted her case against Apple–financially the world’s most influential company—who planned to launch a free promotion for their new music streaming business, Apple Music.
She did it with an open letter on her blog (ahh, the power of the written word!) and a tweet or two.
And she did it without mussing her hair or raising her voice or giving resorting to a lewd gesture.
She assured Apple that she loved them, threw in a few more compliments like “I say this with love, reverence, and admiration for everything else Apple does.”
It was polite, but she still socked it to them.
In something like sixteen hours they were smart enough to buckle.
Swift and all the other musicians feature on Apple’s rollout got paid.
And now we can all add the word “assertive” to the lexicon of skills we need to survive, to influence.
We need it whether we’re poets, novelists or freelance writers.
Taylor used a gentle voice that convinced others that her protest was not about making more money for herself but a matter of principle and passion.
Now the rest of us can be assertive and know that can mean engaging and focused as well as strident whether we’re negotiating a fee or signing with a publisher.
About Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program.
All her books for writers are multi award winners including the first edition of The Frugal Book Promoter published in 2003.
The Frugal Editor, now in its second edition, won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.
Photo of Taylor Swift – © Glenn Francis, www.PacificProDigital.com
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