Each year, the some of biggest artists in the world get shoulder tapped to play the Super Bowl halftime show — for FREE. But why? Because of the Super Bowl effect. Let’s unpack this phenomenon.

In 2023, Rihanna (Aka — Ri Ri) was brought in to do the halftime show. Like her predecessors, she provided this experience in kind. While it’s well known and accepted to perform this event for free, it’s the money around the Super Bowl that is the attraction — not the lack of halftime show dollars themselves. Let’s look at the numbers.

According to CBS News, Rihanna’s songs received an incredible 390% increase in streams after her Super Bowl appearance. Wild, wild wild!

While the Super Bowl effect is a phenomenon in itself, it can be found in other industries as well.

For example, as a best-selling author who coaches other aspiring authors, this is a focal point that I bake into my coaching program with clients from day one. Direct reads, audible streams, and book sales are only part of the equation. The larger conversation is always the money that is around the book you are creating. Mastering that mindset early and often can allow authors to create their own Super Bowl effect. Simply put, lightning in a bottle is amazing, but finding the lightning around the bottle can exponentially greater than what’s in the bottle itself.

If you work as an entrepreneur, blogger, speaker, or all of the above, here are three ways you can start to grab the lightning around the bottle to start creating your own personal Super Bowl effect:

1. Look For Opportunities

Look, we live at a time where if you are thinking it, someone else has likely already made it happen (or is making it happen). Need a tool, there is an app for that. Need more marketing strategies, there are 100 Medium articles on that. Solutions are everywhere and no problem you have can’t be solved or worked around. Because solutions exist, there are literally opportunities everywhere. Look for ways to expose yourself, your talents, and your products in more unique ways and problem-solve as you go. For example, just the other day I found out that my local Chamber of Commerce has free speaking opportunities and ways for me to connect my message with community. Viola — local exposure was my problem, the local Chamber of Commerce was the solution.

2. Be More Bold

If you are to create your own Super Bowl effect, you need to be more bold and screw imposter syndrome. Just the other day I reached out to a specific group asking about XX opportunities. Even though I felt like an imposter, it’s now opened up 3 more doors and more opportunities that I didn’t even know existed.

Sometimes along our personal and professional journeys, we forget to be bold and lose sight of courage. When we want to settle in for the long winter’s nap may be the exact time to be bolder than ever before.

3. Don’t Be Afraid To Re-launch Yourself

If you are a creator, writer, freelancer, etc., and feel you haven’t had the success you’d hope to have at this point, it’s ok to re-launch yourself. Relaunching your book, services, products, etc., can allow you to manifest your own Super Bowl effect. Back in 2021, I did this with my 2nd book, and it became a greater success than my initial launch. My sales tripled and it allowed me to reach new readers in new ways because I focused on the lightning around the bottle as much as I did strengthening the bolt inside. Is it time for you to do the same?

Final Thoughts

We have a lot to learn from Ri Ri’s example and manifesting our own Super Bowl effect. As a wise practice, I would encourage you to journal more about ways to manifest this effect in our lives and businesses.

Each year I write about what I can re-launch and how I can be more bold and explore the fringes of my comfort zone. If you want to read more about those learnings, check out this article: