Supposedly there’s no such thing as bad publicity. But I’m pretty sure if someone were to reveal that the secret ingredient to your hugely popular savory cupcakes is retired racing horse meat, that’s not going to launch your bakery business in a positive direction. (Unless you consider it from the retired racing horse perspective, I suppose.)
Sadly, as hard as it is to do these days, it’s not enough just to get people’s Attention anyway. Attention isn’t really worth anything if there’s no lasting impression. And if you leave someone with the wrong kind of impression, you’ve just about guaranteed that you’ve blown it with that someone forever. (About your only chance for recovery in that case is for one of your Fans to win them back on your behalf.)
Promise someone a FREE IPAD* if they Buy Your Book, and include *$2200 processing fee to receive Free iPad in the fine print, and you will probably get a lot of word-of-mouth. It just probably won’t be the kinds of words you were hoping for.
Affection, on the other hand, short-circuits all of the other nonsense and wins Fans. And Affection doesn’t just win you one Fan. It tends to spread. Your newly Affectionate Fans go out and tell everyone else how great you are. They cheer you on when you need encouragement. And even if you screw up down the road, they’ll usually give you another chance.
How you win the Affection of your audience depends a great deal on what you’re offering. But whether you’re a baker, or a teacher, or a CEO, or a banker, or a pastor, or a Senator, or a writer (yuck) the starting point tends to be the same: serve your people, deliver more than expected, and be grateful for each person that chooses to spend some of their limited time, money, or attention on anything you do.
Speaking of which, if you’ve read this far, I really appreciate you! Can I interest you in a savory cupcake*?
(*No savory cupcakes are actually available at this time.)