As I mentioned in my FileSlinger™ Favorites Blog a short while ago, one of my favorite podcasts is Heidi Miller’s “Diary of a Shameless Self-Promoter.” Heidi has been asking listeners to send in their “two-second teaser” introductions (that’s the really, really, really short version of your “elevator speech”), so I submitted mine: “I turn [fill in the blank] into authors.” Heidi liked it and put a post up on her Talk it Up blog about it.
I’m absolutely thrilled that she did this, of course. Even better, she included the same information (including her battle with my name— “Goetsch” actually rhymes with “sketch,” but I should have warned her about that) in yesterday’s podcast. I hadn’t even listened to it myself yet when someone who had heard it phoned to ask me about my services.
Heidi endeared herself to me immediately (as if she weren’t already one of my favorite podcasters) not only by approving my “2-second teaser” but by liking the names “Author-izer” and “Collabowriter.” (I’m rather fond of them myself; for one thing, it took me days to come up with them.) She refers to an article by Branding Diva Karen Post on inventing words for your brand. I hadn’t heard of Karen before this, but I’ve just subscribed to her newsletter.
One interesting point Heidi brings up is that people think they know what ghostwriting is all about, so if you’re a ghostwriter, you might be best off not coming right out and saying so in your 2-second teaser. I’m asking readers: do you agree? What do you think ghostwriting is about?
Also, feel free to submit your own 2-second teaser on Heidi’s blog. You, too, could get mentioned on the air and have prospects phone you out of the blue.