Chimp Factor: A featured topic or element in an article, blog post, or ad that always makes you (or your audience) stop and look.”
I just made that up. My husband recently sent me a link to the Trunk Monkey commercials that a car dealer made a few years ago. I’m a sucker for commercials featuring chimps.
The joke was that this dealership sold cars with a unique feature: a chimp in your trunk that you could call for help. One commercial showed the “chaperone” Trunk Monkey – the chimp with the shotgun that kept an eye on your daughter’s date. And I especially loved the “theft protection” one where the car thief was whacked by the Trunk Monkey with a tire iron and dumped in the river. (Hey, he had it coming.)
Think about your audience and what their “chimp factor” might be. Is there a hot topic that always gets their attention? A topic you’ve written about or given presentations on that always does well? What do other people in your field seem to write about over and over? Pay attention to these clues in order to determine what your hot topics and areas of specialties should be.
There are two topics that I seem to get the most interest in over and over – selling on Amazon.com and social media marketing. In the last 3 months, I’ve given one presentation on Amazon, one on social marketing, and have 2 more on social marketing coming up. Naturally, that’s also what I’ve been focusing on in my general research and writing.
I’m also watching blogs and ezines to see what could be the next Big Thing. Could be video. Or it could be bananas, if there’s a monkey involved.
