What could you possibly learn about Internet marketing from The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, James Brown?
Get up offa that thing and get ready for the real payback!
James Browns’ approach to writing and performing music is perfectly applicable to Internet marketing… including creating online content and writing sales copy.
First off, he was a master wordsmith.
Now, I’m not talking about my favorites, “HEY!” or “OWWWWW!” either. I’m talking about his mastery of “titles”.
Here are just a few: Soul Brother Number One, Sex Machine, Mr. Dynamite, The King of Funk, Minister of The New New Super Heavy Funk, Mr. Please Please Please Please Her, The Godfather of Soul. . .
Remember, the first impression of your product comes from the name. What sort of impression do you want that title to give them?
So obviously, James Brown was one exceptional funk ninja. An aura of badassness hovered all around him… and his band.
Now he was little crazy too, but it was the good crazy. Remember, “I don’t know karate but I know karazy!”.
Let’s take a look at how he pitched himself and his band to the audience. James Brown and the J.B.’s, would take the stage after this introduction:
“Ladies and Gentlemen, there are seven acknowledged wonders of the world, you are about to witness the eighth. Standing in the spotlight, on showcase, twelve young men, who have given you such tunes as [drum roll] ‘The Grunt’, Pass The Peas’, ‘Gimme Some More’. Ladies and Gentlemen, without no doubt, these are the J.B.’s ”
As you can tell, James Brown and the J.B.’s were heavy on the hype. The audience was promised no less than a truly incomparable experience. James Brown and the J.B.’s would deliver what was promised; most agree that the experience exceeded their expectations.
Deliver the product that’s promised.
That’s good.
Deliver that and MORE.
Much better.
Everyone’s happy. That’s the goal.
When I met James Brown about 9 years ago, he looked like a pretty happy dude to me. I actually got to hang out with the maestro of funk for about an hour.
Here’s a quick story of how it all went down.
James Brown was on his way to a concert in Macon, Georgia and stopped by the business where I was working at the time. He got his first car from the dealership’s original car dealer, a friend of his, and wanted pay him a visit. His old friend wasn’t there, but James had some time to kill before his concert that night. It was a slow day at the dealership, the place was pretty chill and James was comfortable.
When meeting a celebrity, you can play it one of two ways: You can be the common autograph-seeking fan or you can just try and play it cool.
Now “playing it cool” probably won’t get you an autograph or a picture, but you can walk away with something much better. Being fully aware of this rare occasion, I got control of my funkstruckness and tried to be just as cool as he was.
You ever try being cooler than The Godfather of Soul?
It was damn difficult.
So I didn’t get the Godfather’s autograph that day, but I did have a conversation with the man instead. I was standing on the stoop with him outside while he smoked a cigarette. He was all decked out in his James Brown suit, huge gold belt buckle, diamond rings, funk-vision shades.
Meanwhile I was probably wearing an Izod and khakis… or something super uncool like that.
But James Brown and I found some common ground, music. So me and James were shooting the shit about music…. and man, could he shoot the shit. It was freaking awesome!
One part of our conversation has always stuck with me. I asked him about his relationship with the other music icons from Macon… like Otis Redding, Little Richard and the Allman Brothers.
He said, “Yeah, lotta good music come outta this town, but I was the best. No one could touch me.”
I thought to myself, damn… this dude is the cockiest person I’ve ever me in my life, but it was perfectly acceptable.
The message was delivered, received and believed.
The proof is in the pudding. If you provide a badass product that people enjoy then you can pitch it with confidence.
Close the deal. Deliver what was promised. “Feel good!’.
James Brown was a closer and a master of product creation. The product was funk and he closed the audience on the benefits of the funk at every show.
He developed his signature funk groove by emphasizing the downbeat, rather than the backbeat that typified the music of that time. Then he added what is often imitated, but never duplicated ingredient, James Brown.
When creating a new info product, avoid falling into the norm of your niche market. The Internet is full of imitations and duplications…. cookie-cutter, fill-in-the-blank sales copies and soulless information products.
If you’re writing sales copy ask yourself, “What makes my product different from the others?” and “How can I communicate & deliver my product in a unique way?”.
Bringing your unique perspective to the table will make you a better Internet marketing…. just make sure your perspective or product is really good first. 
Even though James Brown invented some funkalicious beats, it was his delivery and personality that made him an icon. And throughout his 50+ year career, he delivered the funk like no one else.
No one can deliver your funk better than you can. (I know that sounds weird, but I’m leaving it.)
So anyway… what’s the moral of the story?
Learn from James Brown.
Work hard. Bring everything to the table.
And deliver.
You will succeed.
-Anthony DeLoach
