What Brands Can Learn from Hot Dogs & Humor
What Brands Can Learn from Hot Dogs & Humor
These 2 books changed my life 🌭🔥
Before we get into this week’s email, featuring hot dogs and humor, I want to remind you that my digital marketing consulting schedule is open to chat about all things marketing. I’m here to help small business owners and solopreneurs improve their marketing through consulting and specialized services.
I know many of you aren’t working with large budgets, nor do you have the time to work with a marketer for a whole year. That’s why my services are à la carte based, so you can quickly get the help you need to ramp up your business.
Now let’s get cooking!
What Brands & Marketers Can Learn from Hot Dogs & Humor
I recently read two books that changed my life.
Okay, that might be an exaggeration (but only very slightly), but phew … both authors *know* how to write. The books in question?
“Raw Dog” by Jamie Loftus and “If You Can’t Take the Heat” by Geraldine DeRuiter.
Both books center around food and being human. Sure, these are unlikely sources of marketing inspiration. However, you can learn A LOT about branding, finding your niche, and storytelling from Jamie and Geraldine.
But first… here’s a quick synopsis about both, so you and I can start off on the same page. (Pun intended.)
Via Macmillan:
Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs is part investigation into the cultural and culinary significance of hot dogs and part travelog documenting a cross-country road trip researching them as they’re served today. From avocado and spice in the West to ass-shattering chili in the East to an entire salad on a slice of meat in Chicago, Loftus, her pets, and her ex eat their way across the country during the strange summer of 2021. It’s a brief window into the year between waves of a plague that the American government has the resources to temper, but not the interest.
Via Penguin Random House:
In If You Can’t Take the Heat, DeRuiter shares stories about her shockingly true, painfully funny (and sometimes just painful) adventures in gastronomy. We’ll learn how she finally got a grip on her debilitating anxiety by emergency meal–planning for the apocalypse. (“You are probably deeply worried that in times of desperation I would eat your pets. And yes, I absolutely would.”) Or how she learned to embrace her hanger. (“Because women can be a lot of things, but we can’t be angry. Or president, apparently.”) And how she inadvertently caused another international incident with a negative restaurant review. (She made it on to the homepage of The New York Times’s website! And she got more death threats!)
Deliciously insightful and bitingly clever, If You Can’t Take the Heat is a fresh look at food and feminism from one of the culinary world’s sharpest voices.
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Branding
Both women talk about food in a way that intermingles with feminism, culture and society. But they do it in their own clearly defined ways.
Jamie swears and makes jokes, and at times brushes off the more serious things happening in her life. (Although I wonder if she’s worked through the pain and can simply distill what happened in to funny quips. I digress…)
She also dives into history and pop culture, linking the two in interesting, memorable ways. So much so that—for example—you will be enamored with the differences between our country’s hot dog preferences.
Geraldine writes in a similar fashion, but her personal stories dive deep into her past while linking them to current issues. She’s not afraid to divulge her shortcomings nor elegantly eviscerate those who need it.
Jamie is the queen of eloquent yet goofy hot dog history, while Geraldine is the queen of balancing cheek and candor. (At least in these two tomes.)
Takeaway: Solidify your brand voice and what you stand for. Then consistently employ it throughout your work.
When your branding is so solid, you get invited to relevant events, such as events centered around the Hot Dog in the City artwork.
Finding Your Niche
You don’t have to be everything to everyone. If you want to write a book and focus on hot dogs, do it. If you want to write your life story through the lens of food and feminism, do it.
Zero in on your niche and be unapologetic about it.
When you get very specific in your work, a few things will happen:
You’ll be able to weed out all the noise distracting you
You’ll more easily get clarity on where to take your work
Your true audience will find you
If you’ve already been working within a niche, be cautious of expanding. You may now (or at some point) have the resources to expand, but will branching out water down your brand? Think it through and adjust your strategy and/or branding if needed.
Takeaway: Don’t be afraid of turning people away. When you’re clear about who you are and why you do what you do, you’ll find your specific audience, and they’ll be all the more passionate about your work.
Storytelling
When you combine your branding and niche, you’ll be better able to create stellar storytelling.
Sure, you may be thinking that since Jamie and Geraldine have published best-selling books, that they’re obviously good at storytelling. Well, sure.
But think about books that you have read and had to put down. The ones you marked DNF (did not finish) in Goodreads or StoryGraph. Not everyone is great at storytelling. And even those who are universally known to be great? Their storytelling won’t connect with every. single. person. who picks up a copy of their book.
Jamie and Geraldine use humor, vulnerability and sprawling intelligence to create emotional and engaging books. (At least to me. I love reading about anything related to food, and these really are some of the best.)
As a business, use your own life stories to connect with your audience. (When appropriate. Sometimes I see CEOs oversharing or sharing the weirdest, most irrelevant content, and … yikes.) Also be sure to include research and reasoning to lift up your products and services.
Takeaway: If you voraciously read books, articles, blogs and other pieces that use the type of storytelling you love and want to emulate, you’ll be able to improve your own storytelling. Absorb stories written by a variety of authors on a wide variety of topics.
What books inspire you?
Inspiration can come from anywhere. These books are not directly tied to marketing. However, I learned so much about branding, business and storytelling from them. Keep your eyes and ears open, because you never know who you’ll learn from.
I’d love to hear what you’re inspired by. Comment on this Substack post or send me an email.
Take care, birdies! 💙