Many tales are told about the Roman emperor Nero.
Such as the story of how Nero supposedly set fire to his own majestic imperial capital. A fire that we to this day refer to as the Great Fire of Rome, which occurred on the night of July 19, AD 64.
Yet it’s likely that almost none of it is true.
That’s the premise of one of the books I picked up up a year ago while paying a visit to the Gallo-Roman Museum.
I don’t exactly remember who mentioned it, but I once came across a rule somewhere mentioning the benefits of forcing yourself to buy at least one book every time you enter a bookshop. It doesn’t matter which book. Just one. The first one that catches your eye.
You’ll learn lots of cool stuff you wouldn’t have otherwise.
It so happened that the museum had a bookshop. And so I had to get myself a book. I couldn’t decide between 2, so I just bought both of them.
Trajan by Nicholas Jackson and Rome is Burning by Anthony A. Barrett.
Both are fascinating reads and I’d recommend them to everyone slightly interested in history or the Roman Empire.
But back to Nero.
He’s commonly been called a tyrant who ruled with ruthless impulsiveness. Yet, for most of his rule, he was, in fact, liked by the general populace of Rome.
The people loved him. He did good things. He entertained the people. He often took part in plays and would sing together with the other performers.
Nero was a liked and popular emperor.
Yet his popularity plummeted after the fire because of all the rumors. Rumors of how he started the fire. Rumors of his lack of leadership and correct behavior. Some rumors stated he himself started the fire, others stated he could be seen singing on his balcony while Rome stood burning for 6 days straight.
Whatever the case was, he didn’t rule—or even live—much longer after that.
Was Nero to blame for all of this? Did he deserve it? Was he actually insane and tyrannical? Was his popularity and gentleness before nothing more than a facade?
We will never know.
But one thing we do know is this: he could’ve used some lessons on personal branding.
You see. Being the emperor of Rome or building your own brand isn’t all that different. There’s a huge importance in maintaining a strong and likable image, building a strong connection with your ‘audience’, and even building your own world to ensure you’re unreplaceable and effectively ‘cancel-proof’.
Perhaps, if Nero knew what we know today, his people would have continued loving him, regardless of whether he caused the Great Fire and executed his family members.
Clearly Nero didn’t succeed in doing so. But that doesn’t mean you can’t succeed either.
And in my humble, yet accurate and proven opinion, there’s no better way to build a good relationship with your readers than by staying in constant connection with them through frequent emails.
You can’t even come close to understanding how powerful this constant connection is until you’ve experienced it yourself.
And if you’d like some pointers on how to get started the right way, while getting paid and building your creative business alongside it, then you might want to check out Email Valhalla.
Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla