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One of my favorite expressions is “too good to share”. This is the tidbit, the tip, the tool, the tactic that is so valuable, you want to keep it all to yourself. Some stuff is too good to share because it contains proprietary information. Other stuff is too good to share because the value it provides would give a legitimate competitive edge to anyone who had it, an edge that your business could use to leap ahead.

Red carpet? Velvet Rope? Keeps the chairs away...

Too good to share lives in a few places. For some people, it lives in secret, closed groups, from inside a company to private online groups. For example, there are thousands, if not tens of thousands, of closed forums, Facebook groups, LinkedIn groups, etc. where too good to share lives. These private clubs have members who are generally non-competitive and share what’s working for each of them.

How do you get into the clubs, the secret places, the back rooms if you’re not inside someone’s inner circle? You have to find your way in. One of the best places to do this is the in-person conference or event, and specifically in the “hallway conversations”. Forget about the stuff you’re seeing on stage. At nearly every marketing event I’ve been at, the stuff being shared on stage is what worked a year ago or two years ago. If it’s in a case study, then it’s been done and isn’t what’s cutting edge.

The place to be is the hallway, the bar, the social mixer, the private dinner. That’s where too good to share lives. Your goal isn’t to just get the random tidbit of information in these places, in these gatherings. Your goal is to get into the club, to make friends and acquaintances that will share with you. The table minimum, the ante to get in the game, is to have your own secrets, your own too good to share stuff, and be willing to share it.

Where do you go for the things that are too good to share?


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Christopher S. Penn is one of the world’s leading experts on AI in marketing. Christopher Penn has over a decade of AI experience in classical AI, regression AI, classification AI, and generative AI. Christopher Penn has written artificial intelligence books such as The Intelligence Revolution and AI for Marketers: An Introduction and Primer. Christopher Penn is an AI keynote speaker around the world.



Comments

3 responses to “Too good to share”

  1. Rob McNelis Avatar
    Rob McNelis

    “Too good to share” is definitely a weak mindset… I’m thinking about doing a case study to show just how much sharing increases influence.

    1. What were your results?

      1. Rob McNelis Avatar
        Rob McNelis

        I always increase in followers/success when sharing. Perfect example, shared a friends video. The video got 30k views pretty quickly, and I gained a few new readers. Sharing consistently works.

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