When I was growing up, Andy Williams was already a huge star. I didn’t like him. Of course I didn’t. Definitely not. When you’re a teenage boy trying to be cool, you’re not going to take to a middle-aged bloke singing in a sweater, are you? And even if you do, you’re not going to tell anyone.

Andy died a couple of days ago at the age of 84, by which time I’d had several decades to grow up and realise that you can enjoy all kinds of music without caring a jot what anyone else thinks. And that there are few finer tunes for listening to while driving with the top down than ‘Music To Watch The Girls Go By’. His passing triggered a few thoughts which may just help you make some more money and live your life just a little bit better.

Over the next few weeks, sales of Andy Williams music will go through the roof. His albums will start appearing in the Top 10 again, and a new audience will discover him.  There’s an old joke that death is a great career move and it certainly seems to be that way. Every major artist sees a massive surge in sales when they die, but you don’t have to die to get the same effect.

While some of the increased sales will be down to the fact that the artist is no longer making music, I think most of it is down to simple media exposure. They are in the public eye again, their life is being discussed and their music is being played. Their old audience is given a reminder, and a new audience is given an introduction. Artists who appear in major charity concerts and events like the Olympic opening  ceremony benefit from exactly the same effect. Exposure on its own is often enough to have a monumental impact. It’s a numbers game. The greater the exposure, the greater the impact.

What does this mean for you and I? Well it means we need to take hold of every opportunity we can to get exposure. Many of us spend an inordinate amount of time deciding what we will ‘say’ and not nearly enough time  planning how we can get the maximum number of people to hear it. This will mean different things to different people, but hopefully you get the point. A massive audience trumps a perfect message every time. A great song means little on its own. Andy Williams music is no better this week than it was last – but it will generate many times the revenue. If you want to maximise profits, you have to maximise exposure.

Andy always came across as a laid-back and affable character, and it seems this was not just an act. That was how he was. I was listening to Ross King on breakfast TV this morning, who had worked with him at close quarters and he said something that struck a chord with me.  He said that when you watched Williams off-camera he was exactly the same as when the cameras were rolling – courteous, friendly and highly respectful to the people working around him.

Few of us work in the media, or perform in front of cameras, but the way we perform ‘off-camera’ is no less telling or relevant. Off camera in this context means times when we’re not the centre of attention or at the heart of a conversation or events. I find this is a key opportunity to discover what people are really like. If you haven’t  paid attention to this, I’d urge you to start thinking about it now.

When the conversation or attention moves away from someone you’re uncertain about, stay with them for a while. What you will often see is a veneer that dissolves in an instant – apparent friendliness replaced by hostility, feigned interest replaced by boredom,  smiles switched off faster than a fifty watt bulb. They have a performance for ‘the camera’ which isn’t in keeping with their true feelings or persona. Knowing this can save you an incredible amount of time, money and heartache. And it’s information that’s there for anyone to see.

The question you need to ask yourself , of course, is this – what will others see when ‘the camera’ is turned away from me? I’m not the only one who will be watching!

Andy Williams used  Twitter, but the messages dried up a little, no doubt as his illness got the better of him. On April 27th in a reference to one of his most famous songs and his current circumstances  he wrote “You know those girls that used to go by? I miss watching them.”  On 22nd September, two days before his death, his final message simply said ‘Sigh’.

None of us know how soon we’ll be expressing similar sentiments, but when the time comes it’s perhaps easier if we can look back on a life filled with excitement, adventure and achievement than one characterised by apathy, routine and missed opportunities.

There’s no better day than today for taking some positive steps towards ensuring that happens.