Am I Related To Sinatra?

Wednesday, 4:49 AM

Frank Sinatra had a reputation that few people knew about outside his circle.  It only became known until much later…

He called himself the “Night Fighter”.

In the book “Frank Sinatra And the Lost Art Of Livin’”, a friend of his complained: “The thing Frankie doesn’t seem to understand is that the body’s got to get some sleep”.

It is said that he fought a relentless battle against sleeping before the sun came up everyday, which kind of reminds me of somebody (hint hint..)

However, I don’t fight sleep at night.  My body just naturally wants to stay up, and sleep only begins to overtake me moments before the initial sun rays embrace this part of the earth, and then I hit the sack.

But not Frankie.  For him it was a little different…

“He would break more dawns than most mortals.  Each one was his triumph, the death of each night.  He had survived yet another one.  ‘He feels reborn in the morning light’, his daughter Tina once attested.  When horizons brightened, he exulted over the spoils of war.  ‘Look at the colors!’ he would say, pointing bleary comrades toward thousands of sunrises.  ‘What kind of blue would you call that?’ He called the tint of sky that offered him most peace Five O’Clock Vegas Blue.  ‘You have to see it to know it,’ he dared disbelievers. Steve Lawrence, who saw his share of Vegas Blue, says, ‘I’ve told him he’s probably the last of the Italian vampires.’” - Frank Sinatra & The Lost Art of Livin’

For him, the fight against sleep never ceased.  But what was he really fighting against? Was it really sleep? Or was it something else… something much deeper?

As I read about his habits, I discovered an innate fear – the underlying shadow he fought against that drove him to becoming nocturnal like yours truly.  He described sleep as “dullsville, numbsville, weakness”.

By contrast, being awake he felt aware.  “Be aware”, he told his daughter growing up.  He was like me in that he didn’t sleep when it was dark, but he was very different in that he hardly slept AT ALL.  He survived on random power naps here and there.

There’s a parallel that can be drawn here to marketing and selling to consumers.  It’s not about their “sleep habits”, but about discovering the underlying fears and frustrations of your prospects in your target market, which you may have to dig a little deep for.

If I wrote a book about how lack of sleep would drastically reduce someone’s lifespan, would Frankie ever buy it?

Probably not.

It’s obvious that wouldn’t address his issue. The underlying issue was his resistance to losing consciousness and becoming unaware of what’s going on around him.  It was his fear (or whatever you want to call it) of becoming “weak and dull and numb” – and he associated those things directly with SLEEP.

After finding this, I’d have a much better shot at selling him something titled “How To Increase Your Awareness By 53%, And Snooze With One Eye Open So You Can Be Conscious Even In Your Deepest Sleep!”

As a copywriter, it’s my job to dig a level deeper to find the prospects’ underlying wants, needs, desires, fears, and frustrations.  Looking below the “surface” is where the gold lies.

- Shiraz

P.S. Leave me a comment… you’ll make my heart sing