How One Swedish Man Controls America and What This Means For Your Business

Who controls America?

It is bankers? Politicians? Fortune 500 executives?

Sure, these people have power—lots of power—but I know someone I would argue is more powerful.

He’s a long-haired, bearded man born in Stockholm, Sweden in 1971.

Can you guess who he is?

His name is Max Martin. He’s a music producer and songwriter who’s worked with some of the biggest names in American pop music. He’s co-written over 25 Billboard Hot 100 hits. His list of collaborators is impressive, to say the least…

??Backstreet Boys

??Brittney Spears

??Katy Perry

??Avril Lavigne

???Taylor Swift

The list goes on.

Culture = Power

Martin wrote more hits than probably anyone alive. He’s behind some of the biggest bangers of the past thirty years. Every single American knows AT LEAST one song he’s co-written. Plus, he makes money every time any of these songs are played…

Which gives him a lofty net worth of $260 million.

It’s one thing to control a business or a government, but it’s another thing to control the culture.

Not every American knows or cares about who the Speaker of the House is.

But every American's heard "Baby One More Time."

Pop hits reach every person in America — and many, many people abroad. Walk into a Wal-Mart and you’ll hear what’s popular right now.

So Max Martin is extremely powerful.

How Max Martin Does It

But this begs the question... How can this man write banger after banger?

Well,?that?is the reason I’m telling you about him.

Because, as with writing, it’s actually not that hard when you know how to do it. In fact, the two are quite similar.

One time, I was on a date with a woman. She came to my place for dinner and saw my acoustic guitar by the bookshelf. She implored me to play something, so of course, I obliged.

I started to jam something, an improvisation of sorts. The woman asked, “Oh, what song is this? I think I know it.” But I told her that was just improvisation and it wasn't something she could have heard on the radio.

So I said, “You do know Pop and Rock use only about 4 chords and that’s it, right?” Turns out she didn't. I then told her about Max Martin. (As it happens, we'd both watched the play & Juliet in Toronto, which is a musical using Max Martin's songs.)

"How do you think a Swedish guy can write all these hits?" I asked her. "There’s a recipe, a formula. If you use these 4 chords, have a good melody, engaging rhythm, and catchy lyrics, you’re good to go. Of course, you need good timing and exposure, but it all starts with these 4 chords.”

The same is true of writing.

The 4 "Chords" of Writing

Writing has 4 “chords.”

?? Description

???Explanation

???Narration

???Persuasion

Once you have these 4 “chords” in your arsenal, it’s incredibly easy to write content or a book that speaks to your audience.

? You need to describe to show the reality before and after your product or service.

? You need to explain how your product or service works to differentiate yourself.

? You need to tell good stories to engage your audience’s reptilian brain.

? You need to persuade your prospects to take action and buy.

Once you have these 4 “chords,” you can write content that actually drives your business forward. Then you can start thinking about:

??? the "melody"

???the rhythm

??? the catchiness

Writing for business was never meant to be difficult. People are not looking for pieces of art—just like people listening to pop aren’t looking for Chopin.

What people are looking for is answers to their questions and the certainty your product or service works.

If you want to improve your writing or simply understand the craft better (which you should if you're an entrepreneur or business owner), I am just launching a new guide.

The guide distills everything I teach to clients. It's only 30 pages but gives you all the secrets you need to write well, confidently, and effectively.

You can get the guide here.