Marketing Mania

Monday June 9th, 2008 - Chicago, IL/Milwaukee, WI

I’m grabbing my new philosophy of life by the throat and not letting go. I asked Kipper McGee where his saying came from and he said he honestly couldn’t remember. He tried to Google it and what came up was my diary entry from yesterday quoting it and that’s it.

He told me he’d been using it for so long that he just focused on the quote and not who said it and for all he knows it might have been him. But it might not have been either. It’s not really important who actually said it. All I know is I’m thrilled I was able to hear it.

It got in my head immediately and rattled around but didn’t roll out the other ear. I have been thinking about it constantly since I heard it and took time to print out copies for each one of Jerry’s Kidders too. I have mine on the wall above my light switch so it will be the last thing I see at night and the first thing each morning. I have now changed my priority.

Marketing truly is the most important part of my business and indirectly my life too. If I can correctly market myself and my ideas I won’t be in want or need of anything on earth. I have made a ton of mistakes and overlooked a lot of smart things I could or should have done but I’m not going to miss out on this chance. I am on a marketing mission for life.

The good part of that is I don’t ever have to write another joke if I don’t want to. I want to actually but now the pressure is off. I’m funny enough. All I need is an act I can do for 45 minutes and I can technically get booked in any club or venue in America. I have that.

Dat Phan was the first winner of Last Comic Standing and he didn’t have 45 minutes or even close to that. He was marketed as a headliner and a future star but couldn’t deliver. I have the exact opposite problem. I can do the time but have been marketed rather weakly.

I am seeing quite a few people who have opened for me get shots on network TV and/or parts in movies and it has NOTHING to do with talent. They marketed themselves to who they needed to so they could be considered for the spots they got. I have been poor at that.

I guess I was always worried about being good enough or wanting to meet MY high but unnecessary standards and didn’t realize I was good enough to be put in the pool that gets to do a lot of the things I’ve wanted to. Talent is really not all that much of a requirement.

Some luck is involved but part of that luck is showing up around the places that can get what I’m looking for. Network TV and movies are made in Los Angeles but I’ve lived in places like Milwaukee and Reno and Salt Lake City and Lansing, MI. What did I expect?

I chased the dream of comedy for all these years with no real goals. I stupidly thought if I was a really good comic someone would see that and map out my future with no glitches or disappointments. What a moron I was. That doesn’t happen to ANYONE. They do it in their head first and then make it happen in reality. Madonna is a great example. Is it talent or marketing with her? NO question. She is a marketing genius and my hat is off to her.

This message is finally getting through to me now for some reason. If I don’t change my path I’m going to still be getting the results I’m getting and some of them I don’t like. It’s up to me to change my path and I’m doing exactly that effective immediately. I can feel it already starting to take hold of my whole being and I feel like a light has been turned on.

We had a killer show on WLS this morning. We were all in sync and energy flowed for our whole segment. Whether we’re good or not though we’re on WLS and more people at one time will hear us during that time than have probably seen me live in several years.

THAT is what’s important now. Some of them might think we suck eggs but most have no real opinion at all. We’re just on the radio when they have it on and they couldn’t care less about who we are. But then we might slip some funny lines in and they perk up. Then before too long they look forward to us coming on or even go to the website to find us.

Next week at Zanies will be very interesting. The station has gone all out to plug us and we’re all grateful for it. Kipper believes in us and Jerry does too and we’re all feeling it at every level. It’s nice that we’re good but it wouldn’t matter if we weren’t. If we are on the radio long enough SOMEONE will come and see us and eventually we’ll acquire fans.

I had the night off from Zanies tonight and didn’t mind at all. I could use a break. I tried to think of what would be the best use of my time and I went up to Milwaukee to visit my friend Todd Kasulke. I’ve known Todd 25 years or more and he’s a true friend. He has his own welding shop business but is intrigued by the Uranus project and wants to help me.

We had a great meeting and I told him the quote about there being lots of undiscovered geniuses but very few undiscovered marketers. He loved it too and has been wallowing in obscurity just like I’ve been for so long. The only difference is welders don’t seek fame.

He’s more than a welder though. Todd is sharp and funny and creative and he gets what I am talking about. He wants to be able to create some kind of product we sell on the site that he makes so we cut out the middle man. We had a fantastic brainstorm session today.

This is the kind of stuff I absolutely LIVE for. I love the creative process and I love the chance to be an entertainer too. The radio show this morning put me in a euphoric mood and then meeting with Todd capped it off. Then to make it even better I stopped at a thrift store and found a high quality postal scale for $40. It has to be worth a lot more than that.

I’ll need it if I want to be in the mail order business and I do. Actually I want to make it clearer than that. I want to be in the mail order MARKETING business and make money. I have been reading books on the topic and they all say I’ll need a scale. Today I got one.

I also stopped at a t-shirt screening place I just happened to drive by. The guy running it was in his 20s and very professional. He gave me a huge catalog and told me he’d help to get what I wanted and I told him I’d take him up on it. This is all starting to make sense to me and if I can stay on this path and continue to market myself I’ll live all of my dreams.