Fascinate by Sally Hogshead

The most fascinating option wins. Everything else goes extinct.

– from Fascinate: How to Make Your Brand Impossible to Resist by Sally Hogshead

I don’t remember how I discovered this book, but I’m glad I did. As an entrepreneur (as all artists are), I know I have to market my services and get really clear and specific about what exactly I’m marketing–that is, my brand. I found this book to be very helpful in this ongoing discussion. The target of the book is more traditional businesses, but I found that reading through the lens of my personal brand to be just as applicable.

Sally Hogshead made her name as an advertising copywriter with clients like MINI Cooper, Nike, and Coca-Cola. Over the course of a decade she researched hundreds of thousands of people and companies to develop what she calls the science of fascination. Hogshead proposes that there are seven primary forms of fascination (what she calls “Fascination Advantages”): innovation, passion, power, prestige, trust, mystique, and alert. Every brand (and every person) has a natural inclination toward one of these.

After thoroughly detailing each of the seven advantages, she writes about how to use each one in your communication and marketing. There is a companion website, questionnaire, and customized report to help you discover what’s fascinating about you and how to use that advantage on purpose in order to reach your objectives.

In reading this book, I discovered that my primary advantage is Passion, which means I connect with others through an emotional experience using the language of relationships. My secondary advantage is Mystique, which is about discretion, listening and the ability to draw an audience in. Hogshead refers to this combination of advantages as the “Intrigue” archetype and it totally resonates with me. Any time I’ve taken any sort of personality test, I tend to have a trait that is dominant by only a narrow margin, with a seemingly unrelated trait right on its heels.

Now that I have this information, I feel I have the tools to better connect with both fans and industry professionals.