Many people think marketing is some type of mystery that only a few select people know the secret too. In fact if you look at the entertainment industry you will find some of the best models to follow. Let’s look at George Lucas and Star Wars. How long before the movie came out did you know it was coming? How many different places did you see an ad for it, someone talking about it, or writing about it? How many different ways does he tie in to advertise his movies that are “outside” the entertainment industry?
Find your source
The first thing you need to do is find out where your people “hang out” in the real world or surf on the internet. There are many sites that people go to and many place that the visit everyday. With the internet you have many “niche” products and places for people to talk about them like blogs, or forums or different ezines that are published. Even though Star Wars has become somewhat of an icon they still market to very specific “niches” first. From there they will start to create a buzz everywhere else. Find out where the people who absolutely love the type of product you are marketing “hang out” and advertise there first.
Marketing on the internet you can do this rather quickly. There are plenty of search engines like Google, MSN, and Yahoo that will index what you are looking for quickly.
**Tip: Use quotes around you search term to get a more specific result**
For example if you were trying to sell Star Wars memorabilia in your search you would put “Star Wars memorabilia”. Also the more specific you get the better. Instead of doing “Star Wars memorabilia” you would do “Star Wars action figures” and get a laser focus group of people wanting to buy your product. When they get excited about your product they like to tell the world about it.
Announce it to the world
Any time you have a new product or are just starting your business. Make sure to announce it to the world. In fact anything that is news worthy can be done this way as well. There a plenty of free press release sites out there for you to get your message out. You must come a crossed as providing a solution to someone’s problem and not a sales letter to get a better response. Being creative is the key to this type of free marketing. If you just don’t feel that you are creative enough for a modest fee most places will even write it for you and guarantee distribution for you. How many times did you see that Star Wars was going to be in theaters? How many different spins did they put on it? Do you think we would know when it was going to be in the theater if they didn’t announce it first?
Get your product or service reviewed
With all the consumer watchdog groups out there and people giving their opinion on your product and service make sure you give them something to talk about. Contact these people and ask them to review your product or service so you not only can get them to publish what they think, but also find out what suggestions you can do to improve on it. This is a great way to get an honest opinion about your product or service. How many sneak previews of Star Wars happened all a crossed the country and the world for people to give their opinion and write a review about it?
Be the expert
In your field of expertise you want to be the expert. The only way to do that is have your voice heard. Do everything you can to offer you opinion in such a way that it creates value to the public. Give them a reason to keep coming back to what you say is true. One of the best ways to do that is to write articles, like this one, on what you are an expert in. Nobody knows how really great you are until you tell them what you have done and what your ideas are. Another way to do that is to publish your own newsletter. Make sure that the information you are giving them will help and edify them. This will build your credibility and loyalty from your subscriber and other people as well. You can also do interviews or hold informational free seminars to educate the public on your product. Did you see George Lucas on The Tonight Show, Oprah, or Good Morning America? How many times did he talk about Star Wars on these shows? There are literally thousands of T.V. shows and radio shows that are always looking for people to speak with. Find the ones that deal with your topic and contact them so that they can interview you.
The Plan
Each one of these things individually can generate a lot of publicity for you. When ever you do them one right after another in a short span of time you will find that you can create a “Buzz” about you and your business. The key is to get exposure in multiple places in a very short period of time. Make sure you plan exactly when everything is going to take place. Then all you need to do is watch your business grow from there. I can guarantee you that before Star Wars was even finished being edited George Lucas already had a plan for when it would come out and what he had to do.
This is the short version to the masterful plan executed by George Lucas to promote Star Wars. Do you think he was successful? Consider this; most films need to make $100 million to be considered a block buster. In the first weekend Star Wars was in theater it grossed over $160 million. So take it from the pros like George Lucas, create a buzz for you product and the payoff will make you a blockbuster.
