I didn’t sleep much in my 20s. And 30s. And whenever I’m in tech.

I worked into the wee hours. It was lonely in my apartment (being an artrepreneur often is, am I right?), so I kept the television on.

And at about 2:30 AM, the late night shopping commercials started. For the Chia Pet, The Flowbee and those famed Ginsu knives.

They were distracting. And I found myself drawn to them . . . even considering purchasing a set of those knives . . . when I didn’t even cook!

Then I realized what worked about those commercials. And now the most successful plays and musicals from Show Boat to Hamilton, used a VERY similar technique.

I wrote about what you can learn about how to make a hit using this same strategy on The TheaterMakers Blog recently. Read it here.