The Challenges of Marketing ThePowerMoves
Throwing a very rough idea out here.
What does Ali and Lucio think of Ali directly taking charge of some marketing aspects of the website or channels with compensation discussed?
Of course, I haven't thought of the how and the details.
I certainly very much like the idea.
With the premise that TPM is not (yet) at the point of full-time hiring -and that's probably even more true of someone of the caliber of Ali or other guys in the community because you guys are beasts :D-, something like that has always been in the back of my mind.
All collaborations, potential work relationships, and profit shares within the TPM community are golden to me.
And it just makes plain sense, too: there is already a strong basis of trust, shared meaning, knowledge of product/advantages, and of course much social capital already in place.
In part, it's already happened and happening, and it's likely going to get deeper ("Social Intuition" is certainly big up there, and something has already been moving with TheCleverConnector.com).
I have also a few other things in mind that want to disclose soon enough, and I'm always open and happy to hear new ideas and proposals.
Generally speaking, I see it this way:
Power dynamics -and to an extent social skills in general- is a moving discipline with still huge untapped potential.
It can have a major impact on people's flourishing -and on those who develop it as well-.
How quickly and how much the impact will be also depend on who stands behind it.
If it's just Lucio, it's going to be slower and smaller.
Instead, the more people find different applications, the quicker and better it develops.
In part, it's happening already.
So: it's a pie that is only waiting for more people to add their own ingredients.
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Quote from Matthew Whitewood on January 4, 2022, 12:59 pm(...)
What does Ali and Lucio think of Ali directly taking charge of some marketing aspects of the website or channels with compensation discussed?
(...)
Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on January 4, 2022, 2:28 pmI certainly very much like the idea.
(...)
I like the idea as well, and it's not something I'd truly stopped to think about. So, thank you for sharing the idea, Matthew.
Maybe it's worth discussing further, perhaps in another thread (I think there might be other members in the community who are more qualified for a position like that than me).
By the way, on the new lead magnet:
Quote from Lucio Buffalmano on January 4, 2022, 5:04 am
#7. Conflicting Information
The new description says they'll get a course on social strategies, but the image shows an eBook on mindsets.
Calling it a "guide" helps avoid some of the confusion here.
And, I'm not sure UP is the best go-to image to use for this one because it's labeled as the "last self-development book they'll ever need."
And, when people think self-development, they often think "work" and "time" — which doesn't sound like a quick and easy solution.
#8. Contrasting Backgrounds
Can be good to separate extra information from the call-to-action (see "Create an Anchor & Divider for the Sales Page's Content").
In this case though, it separates the incentive image from all of the adjacent information — the same information the user needs to decide if they want to get the incentive at all.
So, to put this another way:
- UP's black background anchors the pop-up: which helps draw their attention to what's on it — the eBook. But, this influences prospects to avoid taking notice of the pop-up's other content (which is information they need in order to make their decision).
- UP's black background divides the pop-up: it divides the incentive information from the incentive image which makes them look even more separate and unrelated. And, that means that, for the prospect, clicking the "Send It" button will now seem harder (because their attention is being funneled to the pop-up's anchor which is visually separate from the pop-up's call-to-action).
So, the quick fix here would be to put the incentive image on a white background so it's visually grouped in with the adjacent information. Then, people will instinctively know that by clicking the "Send It" button, they're also getting the incentive that they see in the image.
As Kolenda says, "Visual design is supposed to reinforce conceptual design." And, in this case, putting everything on the same white background reinforces the concept of getting everything they see on the white background when they click "Send It."
Thank you for the updated pointers, Ali!
Quote from Ali Scarlett on January 4, 2022, 2:59 pmI like the idea as well, and it's not something I'd truly stopped to think about. So, thank you for sharing the idea, Matthew.
Maybe it's worth discussing further, perhaps in another thread (I think there might be other members in the community who are more qualified for a position like that than me).
Let's broach the topic then, I'll send you a private message.
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I had a thought about TPM's marketing that I'd like to jot down here.
And, the idea is: what if TPM published its own book?
The TPM Book
A recurring theme among some of the sites and blogs with good marketing is that the people spearheading those sites have a book.
Whether that's Ramit, Van Edwards, Kolenda, or MacLeod, they all have a published book that supports their sites.
But, I didn't think much of it at first because:
- SEO is the lifeblood of any blog: so, in my opinion, time and money might be better spent investing in good SEO
- TPM already seems to be doing well for itself: even without a book, so a book didn't really feel necessary when I first thought about it
And, I'm still not sure that a published book would be "necessary." But, I do think it would be good (for TPM's marketing).
So, I'm starting to give a little more thought to how it might be able to help.
How a Published TPM Book Might Help
At first, I disregarded the idea because I only thought about the published book being good for TPM's authority and credibility.
Now though, rather than looking at the book itself as its own marketing effort, I feel like it could be a good way to open doors for more marketing efforts that might be harder to get our hands on without the mass appeal and acceptability that a book has. It:
- Gives others the ability to share TPM's work without feeling like there are many downsides: two of the biggest challenges with marketing the power moves are that (1) people see it as a competitive advantage and (2) there's a possible stigma about learning power dynamics (see this thread for more on that). But, with a published book, (1) people can feel more comfortable sharing a book because we rarely think of books as what puts others at huge advantages in life (2) the book can be crafted to be about "advanced social skills" and withhold the information on overly touchy subjects such as manipulation for the courses.
- Gives others the ability to share TPM's work without feeling like there's a big commitment: right now, the main product of TPM that people can share is the course, PU. And, due to the price and size of the course, that can feel like a big commitment (such as if one wants to give it a shoutout to their email list). It's far easier instead to simply mention a book. (And, that book's content can link straight to the PU course for people who want more.)
- Gives others the ability to share TPM's work without feeling like they're "overselling": for example, if Lucio were in an interview, it would be much easier for them to promote his work by saying "you can check out his book here" than to try and say "you can check out his course" without sounding like he's pitching a big deal.
On top of that, there are the more obvious benefits:
- Gives people a way to get their feet wet: without having to dive headfirst into the ocean that is PU.
- Gives TPM more authority and credibility: which grows the more the book's sales and exposure grow.
- Gives TPM another lead generation tool: the inside of the book can offer free value that readers can get if they visit the TPM website. So, with each sale, the book can be grabbing new leads automatically.
I think that if TPM had its own book with a chapter for each main foundation of advanced social skills, it could be great for TPM's marketing and growth as a whole.
If it were my book, I'd do a chapter for:
- Introduction
- The Social Exchange
- Assertiveness
- The Stereotype Content Model
- Social Power Moves and Covert Power Moves
- Frame Control
- Closing Chapter
Feel free to share your thoughts on this idea below.
Great idea Ali, love it.
Funny thing, Power University originally started with me wanting to write a book.
And then I realized: it's so much more efficient to transmit this information with a course.
So the book was scrapped.
The main challenge with writing a book is that it takes time.
And all my time goes onto:
- Expanding the discipline
- improving the products as the discipline and strategies refine
- publishing shorter-format articles based on those new concepts
- living to learn more about power dynamics and social strategies in real life
- reading and studying to learn more from literature and others
- sharing reviews about those books / courses
- interacting here, which is both a pleasure and a wellspring of new ideas and concepts for power dynamics, strategies, and general self-development
Taking anything out of that feels like I'm letting down the mission.
So...
Co-authoring "The Power Bible" book?
Would you be interested in writing such a book?
The work for many of those chapters would be one of refining and adapting the lessons to a book format -which of course is a HUGE thing-.
You can then add a chapter on networking strategies and connect to your work as well.
And with that, we can do an author/co-author thing.
And, of course, find a win-win way to share the profits.
What do you think?
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Lucio, it would be my honor :).
If it's OK with you, let's move this conversation over to private message.
... And that's how "The Power Bible" was born 😀
(but let's see about the actual title 🙂 )
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An interesting review of PU I stumbled upon today:
that course is genuinely amazing despite it looking like some 12 year old fresh off a power trip from 48 laws of power wrote the advertising for it.
Made me smile.
But it's not the first one who said something similar.
I'm wondering whether the average reader actually finds the sales page enticing, or if truly the majority feels that way.
Hopefully one day I'll find out and share.
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I think it's the notion of power. People think that people who think about power are power hungry.
But if you told almost anyone that he can do anything he wishes to do, then he somehow views power positively. The word "empowerment" comes to mind.
The sales page feels like you didn't write it. It feels different from your style of writing elsewhere like in articles.