Not my finest moment...

“And now, ladies and gentlemen, we have Dave from London with…..

[checks notes]

…’Your Song’ by Elton John.”

According to my friends, there was a very obvious note of surprise in the DJ’s voice as he made this announcement.

But that certainly wasn’t something I noticed as I made my way confidently to the stage.

I should probably pause here to add some context…..

The year was 2000.

The venue was a fairly downmarket (to put it politely) bar in Naples, Florida.

There was a karaoke in full swing when we arrived.

I’d had several drinks with dinner before we got to the bar.

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, quite a lot actually….

You see, I’ve always had a bit of a weakness for karaokes and so, as soon as we’d walked into this bar and I’d clocked what was going on, I’d slipped away from my mates and headed over to consult the karaoke menu.

It was extensive, to say the least (and definitely more so than the bar’s wine list).

So I quickly looked to see if they had Your Song by Elton John – that being one of my go-to choices for occasions such as this – and was pleased to see they did.

Like an overly optimistic punter in a betting shop, I scribbled the required details on one of the DJ’s little slips of paper, handed it in and returned to join my friends over at the bar (without telling them where I’d just been).

I had to wait quite a while for my turn at the mic. And in that time, I learnt two things….

Firstly, that this was (to paraphrase the characters from The League of Gentlemen) a local bar for local people. It wasn’t the kind of place that was used to welcoming strangers from out of town, let alone from another country.

And secondly, it was not the kind of bar where people sang Elton John hits. My fellow performers were definitely leaning more into the thrash metal genre with occasional bits of country and western.

Eventually, the DJ made that fatal “And now we have Dave from London” announcement.

My mates looked startled and concerned at the same time…. But not concerned enough to remove me from the building, bundle me into the car and drive me away to safety.

As I took my place at the mic and the opening bars of piano music began, an ominous silence descended on the room.

Undeterred, I launched into the opening line.

“It’s a little bit funny, this feeling inside”

Never had a truer word been sung, I thought to myself, as a strange wave of fear and nausea swept through me.

“I’m not one of those who can easily hide”

By now I was very much wishing I could.

“My gift is my song and this one’s for you”

I could sense the audience wishing I’d included the gift receipt.

But I stuck with it and, after what seemed like a very long time, I got to the end.

I think two people clapped.

It wasn’t that I’d given a poor performance – I’m actually a reasonably good singer.

But I’d certainly misjudged my audience.

And so it didn’t matter how well I knew the song. Or how heartfelt my rendition was. 

I was in the wrong room with the wrong message – and no amount of piano ballad sincerity was going to win over that crowd.

And honestly, I see the same thing happen all the time with coaches, consultants, course creators and other “soloists” who try running Google Ads to get more leads.

They write ads that might work in theory. 

They build landing pages that look ok. 

But the message is totally off for the people they're trying to reach. 

So the leads don’t come. Or they do come, but they’re a terrible fit.

And that’s why, if you want to generate decent leads with Google Ads, Facebook Ads or anything else, the very first thing you need to do is to get laser-focused on who you want to attract and then figure out what message will resonate with them.

Because when your message matches the market, it doesn’t just attract people… it converts them.

So, if you run a solo business and want help:

• Getting clearer on who your ideal client is and where to find them

• Understanding the psychological triggers that will make them buy from you

• Writing landing pages that convert

• Or building a simple funnel that will deliver leads on autopilot

then stick around.

Every week in The Smarter Soloist, I’ll be sharing stories, tips and tools to help you market smarter — and land more micdrops — so you can grow your business without getting burnt out.

Your(s) songfully,

David.

PS - A couple of weeks ago, I went to a birthday weekend to celebrate a friend’s 50th – one of the same mates who was with me in that bar in Florida 25 years ago. 

And, of course, he decided to tell everyone the story of my ill-fated karaoke performance.

Then, to top it off, he insisted I stand up and sing Your Song all over again – this time to a room full of slightly drunk middle-aged guests in a rented country house in Norfolk.

And, funnily enough, it went a lot better this time round. I even got a proper round of applause (click here for the video proof that got shared in the birthday WhatsApp group afterwards).

Which just goes to show that when you’ve got the right audience and you deliver something they want to hear, things tend to go much smoother.

PPS - If you're a solo business owner and want help finding the right audience and delivering them the right message — so you get more clicks, more clients, and fewer awkward silences — then keep reading The Smarter Soloist. Each week I’ll share tips, tools and stories to help you market smarter (with no singing required).