The New Way to Market Online?

Have you ever been to Disneyland?

From the moment you park your car… it’s an experience.

Music in the parking garage stairwell…

Cartoon characters plastered al over the walls…

Fairy lights hanging over the crosswalk…

Kinda weird, (maybe just me?), but it even smells good.

Then you enter the park.

And it’s a complete fairytale!

The castle looks like it was crafted out of a single piece of stone...

The waterfall look like Pocahantos herself designed it…

The tiny back alleys that wrap around old medieval looking buildings…

Oh, and the food. THE FOOD!

Themed meals depending upon where in the park you are.

Turkey legs over here.

Star wars candy over there.

Even your grumpy old neighbor (you know, the one that hasn’t waved at you since you moved in?)... even he cracks a smile when he’s there.

After all, it feels like you’re stepping into another world.

A choose your own adventure type world.

Where you can explore at your own will… and craft a story in your head that plays out in the environment around you.

Here’s the thing…

Most of the marketing that’s taught online is Direct Response Marketing...

An old-school linear approach to funneling your prospects and customers down a narrow single lane road where heaven forbid they fall off or try to change direction.

It’s kind of like herding cattle...

Run a facebook ad.

Land them on a squeeze page.

Bribe them to collect the lead.

Sell a low-ticket tripwire offer on the thank you page.

Or run a webinar to compress the buying cycle and ‘close’ them as fast as possible

And come heaven or hell - retarget the living sh!t out of them until they buy, and ascend your value ladder.

Absolutely do NOT let them fall out of the funnel.

Or decide what’s best for them, at any cost.

Otherwise - you’ve failed.

Sound familiar?

I bet.

It’s how most business is done online.

And full disclosure - I was brought up in the Direct Response Marketing world and it’s made me a lot of money.

I’m good at it. I learned from the best of the best.

In my online basketball training business we still use a lot of the principles of sales conversion.

But honestly, sometimes it just doesn’t feel good, or right...

It would be like if Disneyland decided the best way to maximize revenue would be to make the park a single lane one-way path…

With arrows on the ground directing your every step…

And guards lining the sides with whips to crack over your head if you even think about stepping off path…

So basically, Ikea.

If Disneyland was like Ikea.

Where’s the adventure in that?

Everyone knows you’re going to end up at the fake (but let’s be honest here, delicious) meatballs after taking 127 left turns. And buying some cheap plastic drawer organizer that breaks the second you get home.

Plus, (maybe just me again?), it even smells artificial in their white walled maze?

*yawn*

Don’t get me wrong… I understand why they do it.

And it makes total sense.

In the internet marketing world:

1. Give your prospect very few choices so they don’t get overwhelmed trying to make decisions.
2. Appeal to their very primal human desires, that often lie below the surface of their awareness.
3. Pump urgency and fear into the offers, so they get off their damn wallet and pony up a couple bucks so you can cover ad costs.

Yes. I get it.

That works.

But does it feel good to do? Or to be a part of?

Here’s a very simple heuristic I’m using to help guide marketing moving forward:

Market and sell how I myself want to be marketed and sold to...

This way, I know I’m building a world that I actually want to be a part of.

And attracting people that I myself want to be around.

But the money, what about the money!

How are we going to convert someone right away!?!?!

Look, I’m also a realist with this. I know that a business also has to secure the bag.

It’s not all sunshine and rainbows. You need to sell.

But how can you do that in a way that feels good to be a part of?

Like, if it was your beloved grandma, the one that makes the apple strudel that tastes like god himself dropped down from the sky and mixed the ingredients with his glowing hands.

How would you sell to her?

You’d probably be super chill.

And let her know whats up for grabs. And how she can get it.

And she’d probably trust you. Because in every moment leading up to that one, you’ve been trustworthy.

Right?

*nods head, wiping apple strudel crumbs off lap...*

To do:

Make lots of money. While being cool to your peeps.

A win-win if you ask me.

There’s a way to do it.

After all, who the hell goes to Disneyland without spending a small mortgage payment before they leave?

They don’t have countdown timers on every item they sell..?

And yet, they sell. A lot.

Because they’ve built the world that you want to be a part of. And allowed you to explore at your own will, and buy whenand what feels right for you.

If this resonates in any way, hit reply and let me know.

It I sound like I drank the kool-aid, also reply and let me know.

I read every response.

And I fear I might have rocked the internet marketing boat a little bit.

Oops.

Have a good Saturday.

You got this.

- Adam