The Hype Handbook: 12 Indispensable Success Secrets From the World’s Greatest Propagandists, Self-Promoters, Cult Leaders, Mischief Makers, and Boundary Breakers

HYPE STRATEGY #10

EMBRACE THEATER AND DRAMA

All business is show business.

—JAN CARLZON

Aimee Semple McPherson was the most successful preacher of her day—if you define success by the number of people paying attention to her and the number of dollars she brought in. She provided the template for modern televangelists and megachurch pastors like Joel Osteen, Pat Robertson, and Rick Warren. But before McPherson found God, she had wanted to be an actress. Her religious fanatic mother put the kibosh on that idea, and McPherson dedicated herself to spreading the Good Word.

Prior to founding her world-famous Foursquare Church in Los Angeles, McPherson traveled across the country in the 1920s trying to make her mark. Living during that time, she ...