Can I Have Your Attention?

Chapter 14Can You Hear Me Now?

In 2002, one of my clients sent an e-mail to his 10,000 subscribers letting them know about a book he had just written.

He sold 1,000 copies the first week in direct response to the e-mail and another 1,000 over the next month.

A 20 percent response. Not too shabby.

Fast-forward to the present. His platform has exploded. He has written countless books (some of them best-sellers in their Amazon category), is regularly interviewed on radio and TV, and has more speaking requests than he can handle.

He sent an e-mail to his expanded list promoting his newest book. After tweeting about it, he posted on three other social media platforms. He was retweeted by several people who have more than 100,000 followers.

He received less than a 1 percent response. His message got lost in the noise.

In 2002, people eagerly opened their inboxes to see what was waiting for them. Back then, every store wasn't asking for your e-mail when you bought a pair of shoes or a blender. Bills weren't in your inbox. E-mail wasn't in your pocket.

In 2002, my client's readers saw his e-mail and opened it with enthusiasm. Today, they love him even more.

But they just can't hear him.

Lost in the Noise

Communication has always been difficult. As the psychologist and philosopher Williams James said, “The greatest gap that exists in the universe is that between one human mind and another.”

The digital age promised to narrow this gap but increased it instead. We can reach each other ...