In his book, ‘Celebrity Leverage,’ Contact Any Celebrity founder Jordan McAuley reveals his “Top 10 Ways to Celebrity-ize Your Business.” Join Contact Any Celebrity now for instant access to our Private Online Database of 59,000+ celebrities & public figures!
Here are my ‘Top 10 Ways to Celebrity-ize Your Business’:
1. Create a velvet rope. “Velvet ropes” attract attention, create allure, and make people want to gain access. Your velvet rope doesn’t have to be physical. Magnolia Bakery in New York City has a “cupcake bouncer” outside the door, only allowing a certain number of people in at a time to buy cupcakes. Online programs make people apply to be accepted. Clubs have VIP rooms. Some businesses only take new clients by referral. Meetings are taken by appointment only… you get the idea.
2. Link yourself to celebrities. Take photos with celebrities whenever you can for your website and marketing materials. I’ve been photographed with The Backstreet Boys, Annie Leibovitz, Perez Hilton, Tim Gunn, Jane Fonda, Nancy Grace, Ricky Martin, Kylie Minogue, Gene Simmons, Ivanka Trump, George Foreman, Joan Rivers, The Real Housewives, and many others. Also, try to have your photograph taken with business leaders and experts who appear at conferences, seminars, trade shows, and speaking engagements.
3. Get your products in celebrities’ hands. Send your products to celebrities in the mail by joining a service like Contact Any Celebrity to get their addresses. Or place your product in celebrity gift bags and gift suites at award shows and special events. (Help A Reporter has a Gift Bag Opportunities list, or you can Google companies specializing in celebrity gift bag placements). Use LinkedIn to search for celebrity assistants (hint: watch movie and TV credits for their names), who may recommend your product or service to their boss (the celebrity). Donate product samples to film and television producers in exchange for screen time and on-air credit.
4. “Celebrity-“Celebrity-ize” your customers. Your customers crave attention. Interview and write about them in your newsletter or on your website. Have a “Member of the Month.” Invite them to send in video testimonials or ask them to speak about their success with your business on your podcast or at events. They’ll love the exposure, and you’ll get powerful “live” testimonials.
5. Use fictional celebrities. How can you use Santa Claus at Christmas, the Easter Bunny at Easter, the Wicked Witch or The Devil at Halloween, or Cupid at Valentine’s? The best part is that these characters are all copyright free! Apple, BlackBerry, Coca-Cola, and PalmPilot have all used Santa in their advertising without paying a dime for licensing.
6. Provide VIP experiences. Treat your customers like celebrities. Think about how celebrities are treated versus regular customers when they walk into a store or buy something from a company, and aim to treat your own customers that way. Provide them with VIP experiences instead of just products and services.
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7. Get media attention. Get media attention. I’ve placed myself, my business, and my clients in local and national broadcast, print, and online media like CNN, The Associated Press, USA Today, Us Weekly, Star Magazine, Investor’s Business Daily, The Wall Street Journal, Entrepreneur Magazine, The Village Voice, National Public Radio, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, and more. This does wonders for setting you and your business apart from and above the competition. Your customers will view you as a ‘celebrity’ in your field. How? Use online services like Help A Reporter and Qwoted, or attend The National Publicity Summit to pitch TV producers and print/online media in person.
8. Hire a celebrity for your event. Hire a celebrity for your event. Having a celebrity at your event not only provides excitement and satisfaction for attendees. It also helps you fill seats. Use photo opportunities and media attention to promote your business long after the celebrity has left. The celebrity doesn’t even have to be real. If your budget is limited, think about hiring a celebrity impersonator instead.
9. Use celebrity voices. The Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville lets guests choose the voices of country singers for their wake-up calls. The Nashville Airport uses celebrity voices to get travelers’ attention. Use celebrity voices (real or impersonated) for announcements, voice blasts, etc. Your voice may be wonderful, but most people won’t save your voicemail message and play it for friends, family, and coworkers. But they WILL if you use a well—known celebrity’s voice!
10. Write and Publish a Book. Since childhood, we have been conditioned to respect books. We throw away computer printouts all the time, but most of us probably would not throw away a book. We might donate it or give it to a friend, but not throw it away. When you publish a book, you become an expert and a celebrity in your field. Today, it’s easy to self-publish printed or digital books using services like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing, BookBaby, Ingram Spark, and Reedsy. We self-publish The Celebrity Black Book every year along with my book ‘Celebrity Leverage: Insider Secrets to Getting Celebrity Endorsements, Instant Credibility & Star-Powered Publicity.’
About The Author
Jordan McAuley
Founder of Contact Any Celebrity with ‘Shark Tank‘ judge Barbara Corcoran
Jordan McAuley is the author of ‘Celebrity Leverage: Insider Secrets to Getting Celebrity Endorsements, Instant Credibility & Star-Powered Publicity,’ ‘Secrets to Contacting Celebrities: 101 Ways to Reach the Rich & Famous,’ & ‘The Celebrity Black Book: Over 56,000+ Verified Celebrity Addresses‘. He is featured by American Express OPEN Forum, CBS News, CNN, E! News, Entrepreneur Magazine, Fast Company, Forbes, FOX News, New York Post, USA Today, The Guardian, Tim Ferriss‘ The 4-Hour Workweek, The Mirror UK, The Wrap & more. He graduated from the University of Miami with Motion Picture Business and English Literature degrees from the School of Communication and College of Arts & Sciences. Jordan is a former 90s high school video store clerk who has lived and worked in Atlanta, Miami, Los Angeles, and New York City.
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