For many innovative people, the problem is not coming up with enough ideas, but getting attention for those ideas we decide to implement.

To solve this problem, we need to invest more time developing persuasive stories that make an emotional connection with the people we are trying to influence.

Make Your Idea Matter is a call to action for entrepreneurs, emerging brands and anyone with a great idea, who knows that to stand out in today’s noisy world they need to tell a better story.

Some of the lessons I have taken from this book:

• Caring is seriously underrated and can be your competitive advantage. Showing your customers you truly care can make all the difference in the world, particularly if you are just getting started and don’t have the budget to impress customers the way larger brands do.
• success is a compilation of small decisions over a long period of time.
• You don’t have a marketing problem, What you have is a storytelling problem. What you need to learn how to do is tell people why they should be interested in what you are producing.
• Don’t assume you don’t have anything to contribute to the industry just because your idea is not 100% unique. The execution could make all the difference.
• Customers make purchases for a wide range of reasons, they want to feel connected, they want to belong, they want to be excited. Instead of always taking the logical path, it is important to think about how to create a magical feeling around your brand.

The most successful ideas today have a viral quality about them.

They don’t need expensive marketing budgets to be successful. They are so well crafted that they seem to sell themselves.

People are willing to tell others about it, spreading the word about the product, service or idea in much the same way as a virus leaps from one host to the next.

That is what you ought to aim for with your best ideas, an emotional connection with your audience that makes them want to share your idea for you.

Rating

8/10

It is a short book packed with snappy little chapters detailing lessons, not just for marketers but for just about anyone who has a good idea.

This book is a must have in your bookshelf.

Favourite Quotes

• “Ideas are formed in the mind but triumphed in the heart. Your fabulous worthy, well-thought out idea might have logical foundation, but logic is not what will convince people to rally to your cause or click the buy now button.”

• “Your idea must matter to your audience, not just to you.”

• “Wonder just enough; then go do.”
• “A brand is… A promise. The way we differentiate this from that. Whatever the customer believes about a company. A feeling created. The tangible representation of personal or company values. A set of expectations met. The way a person or company communicates what they do and why they do it. Trust built between a customer and a business. A company asset. Your word. A set of unique benefits. Reasons to buy, or buy into, something. A story we tell ourselves. Communication with and without words. A symbol of belonging. Signals sent. A waymarker. The experience a customer has. A complete field guide to a business. The impression that’s left at the last interaction.”

• “Every brand is built on the feelings and experiences it delivers to customers in a blink of an eye.”

•  “The story makes the product better.”
• “The products and services you want to sell will not succeed in the market if you don’t address the emotional wants of ‘real people.’ A business (your business) needs to look past the labels it gives to people it serves, and see their hopes, dreams, fears and aspirations. Real people become fans of things they care about.”