Jay Leno's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame by Te lo juro por Madonna
Many of us who are creating content are doing so with the clear motivation of building an online personal brand. There are lots of venues to accomplish this - blogs (yes, still), Twitter, MySpace, digg, Flickr and YouTube, just to name a few. For some, becoming famous online can reap great rewards - often financial. Look at my friend Kevin Nalty for example. Plus in this era of personal branding, your company can stand to benefit as well.
I don't personally know Jay Leno, but if I did I would buy him a beer. Despite all of his success, he still gives the impression that he remains a hard working, down to earth guy. You can learn a lot about how to become an online celebrity by emulating some of Leno's steps. Here are five things that make the great chinned one so good at what he does and the lessons for any online content creators who dream of making it big. (Almost all of these come from one of the best articles I have read to date on the Tonight Show host.)
1) Be incredibly focused on delivering a quality product
You might not think of your blog, podcast, video or Twitter stream as a product, but it is - it's a product of you. Great products often build great brands. It's no different on the web or in showbiz.
Jay Leno knows this. In his case, his primary product consists of jokes. If his jokes start to stink then so goes his brand. Leno reportedly screens 200-300 potential jokes from his writers each day for his nightly monologue. Only the funniest ones make it into the 11-minute Tonight Show bit.
The lesson here is to make sure you're consistently putting out a quality product. Take your time to get it right.
2) Talent is never enough. It takes a champion work ethic and passion to succeed
Now, you might think this is crazy, but Jay Leno hasn't taken a vacation in 20 years and he rarely takes days off. Further, he spends 150 days on the road doing stand-up gigs, even though he clearly doesn't need the money. Often when he wraps up taping the Tonight Show he and his wife will hit the road for a gig in Vegas. He loves to perform and it shows. (Confession: I haven't had a vacation in three years myself and I don't feel I have missed a thing.)
As I think about the bloggers I look up to and read - Om Malik, Jeff Jarvis, Dave Winer, Mike Arrington, Scoble, Rex, Gina Trapani and others - I can't remember the last time they took a day off. Many, if not all of them blog weekends as well. Now some have other byliners on their blog. But make no mistake. These are the stewards of the blog brands.
3) Be a man or woman of the people
Despite many long hours working and cris-crossing the country for gigs, thanks to his blue collar roots Leno remains a man of the people and always upbeat. His Jaywalking segments reveal just how comfortable he is with ordinary folks like you and me. Further, according to the Fortune piece, he's low maintenance and never a prima donna.
The lesson here is if you make it big and you get a Google PageRank of 8, don't let it go to your head. Mike Arrington of TechCrunch knows this and he gives interviews from time to time to bloggers I never heard of.
4) Have something to sell, but also let others sell on your stage
Fortune in 2004 wrote: "(Leno) will go almost anywhere and do almost anything to win friends and influence people." However, that's not all. He is a good listener and he lets his guests all get in their plugs. It's part of the game.
Every blogger or serious content producer has something to sell. That's not to say this isn't just art for some, it is. Still recognize that selling ideas drives a lot of the conversation and let people get those points in too. Further, make sure you know what ideas you want to sell and own them.
5) Stay a little bit paranoid and push your comfort zone
Finally, it's true in life that only the paranoid often survive. Leno once tuned into the Laker game and spotted his competition in the stands. He responded by writing more jokes. In addition, he tests new material onstage at the Hermosa Beach Comedy and Magic Club on Sunday nights.
The lesson here is to never rest on your laurels. Know what your skills are/aren't but don't be afraid to test new ground. When I first tried Twitter I didn't get it. Now I don't know how I live without it and it helps me create better, more meaningful content here while also driving my brand.
