Prevential » Copyblogger

How to Encourage People to Jump on Your Business Bandwagon

Derek — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:27:58 +0000

There is a well-documented psychological phenomenon called the Bandwagon Effect. Many of you know what I’m talking about, but for those who don’t, this is when people do things because other people do them.

For example, have you ever wondered why many A-List bloggers show their feedcounter? It isn’t for bragging rights, it’s because they want people to feel like they’re missing out if they are not subscribing. They want people to think, “10,000 other people are subscribing, so I should too.”

This same phenomenon can have an opposite effect. When you show your Feedcounter and it’s quite small — less than 5,000 — people may think, “nobody else is listening, so why should I?”

In the business world, the effects of this phenomenon can be the difference between success and failure. So, in the remaining part of this article, I will show you how you can make people jump on your bandwagon.

Influence People’s Snap Decisions

And, they’re pretty good at it, too. They are so good at it that they take whatever information that is readily available — like a feedcounter — and use it to make their decisions. So, here are three other ways you can present information that will make people jump on your bandwagon:

Use Case Studies – You don’t have to be big to have people “jump on your bandwagon.” You just need a few great examples. Copywriters use case studies religiously in their marketing because they work. Take a look at Brian Clark’s latest sales letter where he shows how Sonia Simone used Mass Control to build her online business. People will want to jump on the Sonia Simone bandwagon because it worked for her.

Borrow Influence - When I launched Prevential, I wrote several articles about Gary Vaynerchuk. I love what he does with business and wine, but when I wrote about him, I knew I would be borrowing his influence to attract blog readers. Both attempts were successful — he tweeted both articles — because I added my own unique spin to his ideas. People jumped on the Gary Vaynerchuk bandwagon and subscribed to Prevential.

Give the Secret – When in doubt, offer the secret. Have you ever wondered why so many cosmetics have “magic ingredients?” It’s because they sell — even if they aren’t magic. People want these secret “magic ingredients” because they’re easy and all you have to do is tell them you have it and show them why it’s magic.

Use People’s Existing Relationships

Most people have friends and they often listen to them. This is one of the reasons why Social Media marketing is one of the hottest new trends on the internet. So, here are three ways you can use people’s existing relationships to make them jump on your bandwagon:

Ask Them - Have you noticed how many websites ask their users to refer the service to other friends? They do it because it’s cheap and it works. The iPhone did it with “sent from the iPhone” and the Flip Mino did it with “share the credit.” So, if you want people to jump on your bandwagon, you should just ask them to. The worst they say is no and you move on.

Make it Exclusive - When Facebook launched, they limited their registrants to specific colleges. Since most people have friends in several different colleges, this meant that most people were sure to know someone who had Facebook. This meant that the people who had it told their friends who didn’t have it and they usually said, “this is a better MySpace.” People jumped on the Facebook bandwagon because their other friends from other schools did.

Use Invite-Only Marketing - Now think about how Google launched Gmail. They called it beta and gave each member a few invites. SInce these invites were limited, they were worth something. People sold invites on eBay, people raffled them off in contests, and more importantly, people told their friends about these invites. Overall, people jumped on the Google bandwagon because they wanted to be a part of the invite-only community.

Stop People’s Procrastination With Urgency

So you created a bandwagon that people want to join, but they still aren’t signing up. It is because people procrastinate and if you want them to jump on your bandwagon today instead of tomorrow, you need to create a sense of urgency. You need to show them that this bandwagon won’t be around forever and here is how you do it:

Impose a Time Limit - Last week I offered a free consulting session to people who contacted me before Feb. 11th. Most requests came in within the first few hours because people didn’t want to miss the bandwagon. However, this just doesn’t apply to me and Prevential. Other marketers use time limits on infomercials or during “holiday sales.” They use them because it works. It fights through people’s procrastination and makes them jump on your bandwagon immediately instead of later.

Limit Members - Now you know how this works. When you limit members, people want to ensure that they are part of the limited few who are allowed to join. When Daniel Scocco launched Online Profits, he placed a cap on the amount of people who could join. Brian Clark did the same thing with Teaching Sells. Both of these courses sold out almost immediately because people didn’t want to miss the bandwagon.

So, are you letting the bandwagon effect hurt or help your business? Talk about it in the comments.

Do You Have These 5 Essential Traits of Successful People?

Derek — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 21:27:00 +0000

Here is Michael Martine’s guest post to the Success Factors blog series.

“The secret to success is … and for a few bucks it can be yours.”

Sound familiar?

People claim to know the secret and they try to sell it. Other people buy it because they want a shortcut, but it never works. Success is about hard work, but there is more. There are five other essential traits of successful people and in the remaining part of this article, I will show you all five of them.

1. Passion

Passion comes in many forms. There is the Gary Vaynerchuk blow the top of your head off with enthusiasm sort of passion and then there is the quiet, reflective, and influential sort of passion of Brian Clark. Wherever you fall, you need passion to be successful. Consider these two points:

It’s Not About The Money - Do you think Gary Vaynerchuk would have been able to video blog about wine for 8 months with zero traffic if he cared about the money? He actually lost money because sales dropped in his store-front.

Without Passion, It’s Just Work – Do you think the guy at McDonalds that says “Would you like fries with that?” is passionate about his job? No, he’s doing it for the money and it’s just work. He doesn’t go home and dream about it — nightmares maybe…

But how do you develop your passions? You need to make a list of what you really love in life. The things you talk about, the things you dream about. If you feed these things time, money, and effort, they will grow into something more and the money will come soon thereafter.

2. Compassion

Let me say this again. Compassion. ComPASSION. CompanionPASSION. This is where you care about other people. It helps you earn a living by helping others — it’s win-win. If you care about people, they will care about you and your business. But how do you develop compassion?

Pick a Cause – Find something you care about and donate time and money. Like a bank, you have to make some deposits in society before you make withdrawals.

Listen to Complaints - Every complaint is an opportunity. For example, when Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google, they undoubtedly heard “I can’t find anything on the internet” as a complaint. So, they solved it.

Help the Desperate – Find the people who need help and help them. Your kindness will be appreciated and remembered.

So what have you done for your community lately?

3. Observation

Success starts with an observation. Larry Page and Sergey Brin observed that you couldn’t find information on the internet. That single observation changed the world. They set off a chain of events that created new products, new markets, and new innovations. Now what are you doing to become more observant?

Start a Journal and Fill It Daily – Whether you’re blogging on the internet, or writing in a moleskin, daily writing forces you to make observations.

Watch What People Do - When you go to work, just watch what people do. How do they drink their coffee? How do they hold their paper?

Make Observations – Simple, right? Just make observations. When you shop, look at how goods and services are presented. Look for inconsistencies. Look for opportunities. Just go out there and do it.

4. Imagination

At Disney, imagination is one of the most valuable attributes of a person — they even have positions called “Imagineers.” Do you know why? Imagination is the only durable competitive advantage. It can never be taken from you. It helps you solve problems, create art, woo a mate, and the list goes on. But how do you develop your imagination?

Imagine a Movie – Watch the first half of a movie and try to imagine how it ends. Then, compare how close you were.

Imagine the Solution - Find one of the problems in your many observations and imagine a solution — even if it’s unrealistic.

Play Games - Scrabble… Risk… Video Games… Any games. Just play games. They make you suspend reality so you can develop your imagination.

Now what are you doing to imagine solutions to your customer’s problems?

5. Bravery

And here is the rub. You can have every one of the above qualities, but without the guts to do something, they’re pointless. Success is not easy and most people will never taste its sweet nectar. The few who do had to overcome personal difficulties and make tremendous sacrifices. But let me reassure you one thing: you can learn to be brave and here are two ways how:

Stay Conscious - Have you ever seen a kid curl up in a blanket when they’re scared? Don’t be that little kid. Be aware of your surroundings and be willing to make tough decisions.

Stay Scared – Want to know the best way to develop bravery? Keep doing things that scare you. Scared of public speaking? Grab a soap box and speak. Scared of rejection? Go get rejected.

Share Your Thoughts

Did I miss any other key characteristics of successful people? Why not leave them in the comments?

About the Author: Michael Martine blogs at Remarkablogger, which is in the top 100 business blogs and the top 100 internet marketing blogs. Why don’t you follow him on Twitter?