If you want to get a sense of how your ideas are spreading, Paul Millerd thinks you should:

“…coin things, early and often. And notice how people react. It might be a clue that you should keep heading in that direction. Money and attention will usually lag such signals.”

Because, as he pointed out in a recent newsletter, an outsized amount of attention flows to the person who coined the term. (Or brought it to the world.)

More than a tagline, this is a way of seeing the impact of your ideas in the world.

For Paul, following “The Pathless Path” is now deeply associated with his name. (Even though, in this case, he didn’t coin it but rather shone a light on it.)

I immediately think of:

Joanna Wiebe’s “Conversion Copywriter.” It’s now such a well-used term that around 1,200 people on LinkedIn call themselves that. (Or include it in their bio.)

Marie Forleo’s “B-School.” I mean, it’s just the B from Business…. And yet, it’s Marie that springs to mind for many, many people when they hear that term.

Jonathan Stark’s mission is to have us all “Ditching Hourly” billing. Why? Because “Hourly Billing is Nuts.” ( A double coin!) I can’t even think about pricing now without thinking of Jonathan 🙂

So, which of your products, services, concepts, or offerings could you turn into a coined term? That’s the question.

I’m still working on it, so I don’t have an answer from my perspective, but I’d love to hear yours!

Coin-vincingly,
James