If you’re missed the earlier posts in this series, check them out here, here, and here!
Along with overcoming the monster, I think as business owners and as human beings that we all connect with this plot on a pretty deep level (or at least, we hope to!). This plot gains its strength from the fact that as a society we desperately want this to be true. As a result, if you’re looking for a psychological starter for your marketing, this is a pretty reliable one.
As a society, we have internalized the idea that going from rags to riches is not only possible, but that anyone can do it. This goes beyond the endless adaptions of Cinderella, and carries over into almost all aspects of our culture. Look at Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, or even the more complex example of the film Slumdog Millionaire. Who Wants to Be A Millionaire succeeds because we like seeing everyone get a chance to create this plot. Slumdog Millionaire managed to use this plot to create a complex story that crossed cultural boundaries effectively. You don’t have to know anything about Mumbai to identify with the hero, who comes from a totally different background than the average American viewer.
However, here’s the catch. The fact that this plot resonates so well also makes it a popular tool for less scrupulous marketers. The first rule of quality marketing is that you don’t promise results that you can’t guarantee. Unfortunately, the internet can be a gathering place for people who don’t follow this rule when marketing. Most of the time, they get around it by using the tantalizing idea of rags to riches. Nothing is better for drumming up strong emotions, images, and getting the customer to make an impulse purchase. Every product that you find online that promises to help you triple your income while working half the hours you do now is using this principle irresponsibly.
So now that I’ve demonstrated that there is a lot of money to be made by using this plot, how do you go about designing a marketing campaign around it that doesn’t sound sleazy and awful, and is also effective?
1) Helping people decrease their wasted time effectively saves people money.
This is a sort of unconventional approach to things, but it uses the same psychological trigger as the rags to riches plot does. For example, let’s say that we’re trying to market a new informational product that is aimed at freelancers. Sure, you can go ahead and claim that your customer will make more money in the end, but can you really prove that? More importantly, how does this make your claim any different from the 80 million other info products out there? You don’t want to be like 80 million other people, right?
So, figure out what your product does do. Does it teach someone to manage their clients better? Help someone save time when doing their taxes? Help a writer get inspired so they spend more time writing and less time wikipedia surfing? These claims all make you a good rags to riches marketing candidate.
2) If you product does actually increase income, you need to think outside the box.
If your product increases the income of 99% of your clients, that’s amazing and you should be proud of yourself. However, if you marketing with the tried and true “triple your income” strategy, you’re doing yourself a disservice.
The problem is that savvy consumers (and almost everyone on the internet is one) see that claim and it sets off alarm bells. You’ve still got to find a marketing angle that makes you stand out from the pack.
Never fear though, if you do get results, and can prove it, make sure that you really leverage your testimonials. While the triple your income claim may sound fake in a sales copy setting, a testimonial that says it can be really powerful.
3) All entrepreneurs want to recreate this story.
We entrepreneurs are a pretty driven bunch. In addition, we’re not all trust fund babies; most of us are regular people who work our asses off to pay our bills and are desperately trying to become the star of this story. If you’re doing business to business marketing, this plot is one that your audience will automatically identify with and understand. If you don’t believe me, think about how many info products you’ve bought in the past year. Or just google rags to riches; you’ll be amazed at the results.
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