Lead Generation

What a 1980s Music Mogul Can Teach You About Lead Generation

Stuart Bell 2 min read

Miles Copeland, owner of record label IRS in the '80s, was a recent guest on the "How I Built This" podcast. Responsible for marketing his new bands, one strategy he tried gave his artists a huge advantage, and it's something any professional services company can replicate.

Here's the exchange from the interview:

"One of the things I read was you started an industry trade magazine called College Event. It was like a listing of all the artists touring, who their agents were, what their booking fees were, and apparently, nothing like this existed."

"Well, I learned very quickly one of the major jobs is to let the world know that your artist exists. When you started off with an artist in England, you literally had to only reach the people who booked the acts, which was probably 200 to 300 people maximum. So I said, well, if I have a magazine, all I have to do is send out 200 copies to 200 people, and if they booked the act, I've done my job of marketing."

He identified who his real audience was and how he could best provide value.

He identified who his real audience was and how he could best provide value. What is the equivalent for you?

What is the equivalent for you? Who are the clients you want to attract first, and what information are they missing or find difficult to access?

Information Goldmines

One of the five book types we talk about is the idea of creating an information goldmine.

Just as Miles had access and expertise to collect artist information, you have access to data in your industry and the knowledge to bring it together in a way that clients early in their journey would value.

  • 2023 Social Security Guide
  • 2023 Scholarship Guide
  • 2023 Annuity Report
  • 2023 House Price Report

Bringing together information that would otherwise be difficult or frustrating to find is valuable because it saves people time. Adding your opinion and professional expertise reinforces this and builds a connection with people requesting the information.

You become their go-to person.