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Lesson #1: Reset the Buying Criteria
There really is so much dreadful, tedious and tired stuff out there that when you come across something that makes you take notice – well – it’s worth sharing with the group.
Most of the stuff I do tends to be in smaller niches having nothing to do with internet marketing and if you think the copy being kicked out by the “pros” is bad – just take a quick gander at some of the mom and pop markets…..Typically the small niche’s are much easier to stand out and dominate, and things that are old hat and yesterdays news for the grizzled SEO and online mogul set are very cutting edge and nuevoriche in these spaces. Which is nice because it makes me feel smarter. Plus – they tend not to strip your affiliate links – so it’s a much happier playground to tromp through for most of my day.
Now while not exactly a neophyte market – but I’ve been having a fair amount of good fortune (you’ll forgive the pun) lately in the Psychic Reading market where there is definitely a lot of big players – but I find, in general – lots of easy entry spaces for free traffic.
And tonight – I was looking to augment some of that free traffic with a little bit of PPC to test a few of the different affiliate programs I’m running on this small network of sites. Most of the PPC ads are as you would expect them to read and pretty consistent throughout the first page of results – " good, genuine psychics, XYZ cents (dollars) a minute – call now for your free reading/future revealed/etc ", etc, yada, yada.
Which was pretty much the direction I was going to go as well.
Shame on me.
Because here is an example of simple creative marketing, branding and essentially resetting the buying criteria for potentially an entire marketplace:
Certified Psychics
Registered with the US Government. Guaranteed Authentic. Confidential.
This is brilliant. In two lines they have managed to convey that their psychics are:
1) Certified
2) Registered with the US Government
3) Guaranteed Authentic
Notice how the “guaranteed authentic” immediately follows the US Government in the ad layout. What does this powerfully denominate to good taxpaying folks like you and I? Exactly. This group of Psychics is guaranteed to be authentic on account of the fact that they are registered with the US government!
And if you are going to pick an online psychic – regardless of your feelings about George W and crew – you have to admit – there is a certain reassuring feeling to knowing you are picking one that Dick Cheney personally has given the thumbs up to, right?
Not to be undone – if you link over to their site – rather than * Psychic Friends and Co * you find that they are actually the:
The American Association of Professional Psychics.
These my friends, are not your grandmothers Psychic Friends. They are unionized, pensioned and over insured. After all – they are an American Association, like the American Association of Pediatric Surgeons, Certified Public Accountants, or Beer Bong Hitters of America. (A real group by the way that I proudly served as vice chairman of international affairs throughout my collegiate years)
This is simply a perfect example of looking at your industry, making a few subtle positioning changes, and completely re-setting the baseline of qualification for everyone else.
If I’m going to be hiring a psychic tonight – I want to know if they are registered with the US government. If not – why not? Are they not good enough to be required to register? And if not – are they a member of the American Association of Psychics? Again – why not? This is now important to me – because of course, I want the best reading from the most qualified and capable psychic reader out there – not some fly by night operation.
Of course – forming your own Association is very easy to do… And registering your psychic skills is about as necessary as me registering my spinning wheel kick (that I’ve been practicing since karate Kid 2) as a viable deadly weapon. I’m sure Uncle Sam would take money and file my paperwork – but that doesn’t mean that the guy behind the counter ain’t rolling his eyes while I’m filling it out.
The lesson? Be honest - but creative! Establish yourself as an authority. People will believe you. Go the extra mile – think outside the box a bit.
Are you professional wall paper hanger? Why not form the East Coast Paper Hanging Alliance and make yourself president and CEO? Don’t think that adds a little gravitas to your business card or yellow page ad? Trust me it does.
I’ll tell you a quick story – a year ago I bought an expensive online marketing course from a guy who was awarded the * X medal of innovation and achievement * from some internet school of higher learning or whatever it was. I was impressed – he was a young guy and the plaque on his site was prominently displayed and quite attractive. I figured – “ hey – he obviously knows what he’s talking about, I mean – he won this big award, I’m sure I could learn a few things from him.”
It turned out the only thing I learned from the 12 hours of audio was when you are the only guy who signs up for a contest – they’ve got to give you the award even if you are a total ignoramus. I think it’s the law. Believe me, I checked.
In the meantime – find opportunities to reset the buying criteria in your industry. Change the rules. Make what you offer the only logical choice for a rational mind. It’s surprisingly easy – and done right – quite a bit of fun!
( I’ll let you know how the reading goes – I’m still on hold – apparently Condi Rice is hogging the line again )
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