How Your Content Can Benefit From The French Hunter of "Black Diamonds"
Kiki is snout-deep in it.
A white sow with dark spots, she is hunting for the black truffle — the prized, pungent fungus that can fetch hundreds of dollars per pound. Found underground, often near the roots of oak trees, the delicacy adds a nutty, earthy flavor and aroma to dishes ranging from pasta and risotto to omelettes and chicken.
“Expensive but worth it,” former Washington, D.C., chef Colin Potts told Popular Mechanics for a November story on how climate change is threatening the truffle. “Their aroma and flavor of earthiness can’t be matched by any other ingredient.”
While many truffle hunters now use dogs to find the “black diamonds,” as they’re known, some still use the more traditional female pigs for their superior sniffers.
So why my affection for Kiki? When I first saw her photo in Gourmet several years ago, I tore it out and hung it up. Something about it really connected with me. (Maybe that's because my wife’s nickname in college was Kiki, but that’s another story.) Since then, I've often used it as a way to illustrate the role of an editor. But I think the lessons apply to any good writer, content creator or marketer, as well. So what can we learn from Kiki?
Lesson #1: Nose around for the good stuff.
So often, the best stories are just below the surface and all it takes is a little digging to unearth them. At Cleveland Magazine, we were always looking for ways to add value, be in the mix, see the city in new ways and deliver moments of delight.
The worst kind of story you could write is what I called the "this exists story" -- you know, this store opened or this event happened or even this dish was tasty. Your content offers little value to the audience other than what’s in plain sight. Even when these approaches are necessary -- Mary got a promotion, Product X launched -- you can do better.
To get beyond these one-dimensional stories, we focused on the "whys" and "hows" behind the opening, event or dish. It requires exploring motivations, processes, obstacles, secrets, tips and inspirations to find a story’s reason for being — its “so what?”
Last year, for example, I interviewed chef Michael Symon for Cleveland Magazine’s Best Restaurants issue. I’d talked to him before, and he’d always been great, but one of my challenges this time was to find a fresh approach to his iconic Lola.
After more than 20 years, so much had already been said about the East Fourth Street spot. So after a few questions, I asked about the bar at Lola, which I thought didn’t get the credit it deserved. Symon paused and then launched into something that clearly had been bothering him for a while. He hated Lola being labeled as “trendy” during its early days.
“‘Trendy new restaurant Lola,’” he scoffs. “Trendy, trendy, trendy!” Almost 22 years later, Lola has proved it’s more than a fad. “I’m happy being that comfortable pair of jeans now.”
Yeah, that’s the good stuff — the diamond at the center of my story.
Lesson #2: Keep Your Eyes On The Big Picture.
When you’ve got your nose in the ground, it’s easy to forget what else is around you. But that’s clearly not the case with Kiki, whose eyes are still focused on her surroundings.
In other words, how does your story fit with larger narratives you’ve been telling and with larger conversations happening within your city, industry or niche? Can you make connections to larger trends happening in media, music, politics, sports or culture?
In my Lola example, Symon’s quote allowed me to position the restaurant in relationship to its past as the one-time new thing — which gets so much attention in the restaurant business (and media, in general, frankly) — but also a reason why it still ranks as one of the city’s best restaurants after all this time.
“We don’t have to be the new current place,” he told me. “But we still want to be your favorite place.”
While every story doesn’t need to build upon what’s been done previously, it’s nice when you can continue (and link to) storylines or further conversations your audience has been following. It helps create loyalty, purpose and authority.
Lesson #3: Make It Memorable.
I’m not sure exactly why Kiki has stuck with me all these years. (I probably should have scanned the picture before it got so beat up.) There’s just something joyful about the picture and what it represents. Maybe it‘s because I didn’t expect a photo of a pig to be so striking or to see it in a glossy food magazine.
At Cleveland Magazine, I called these reactions “moments of delight.” Whether an unexpected story, a quirky turn of phrase or a photo that grabs your attention, these wonderful little surprises seem to feel like hitting at a slot machine — it's the kind rush that hooks you and keeps you coming back for more.
In the words of David Granger, the longtime editor at Esquire, “Sometimes you have to try shit or the magazine will molder and die.”
While I believe a magazine (or a blog, social media feed or a brand, for that matter) should have a distinctive voice and tone, the best ones surprise you, challenge you and connect with you in ways that requires rooting around in the dirt.
Comments