I know I need to update this blog more, but I’m a shameless ham for an audience, so when I write stuff I tend to post it where I know people will read and comment.  So I put this on the WarriorForum a couple weeks back.  But then I realized that I need to put it here, so I can turn THIS blog into a place where people will read and comment.  (Duh!)  Enjoy!

So I spent 2010 doing copy for 7 major launches in the IM market. Here are a few short lessons I learned that I think will be of benefit for anyone that thinks they want to have a big launch and make a lot of money just like Mr. Super Guru who charges $2K per product and makes millions each time they release something new.

1. You can’t have a launch without a PILOT: If you think making those kinds of products and those kinds of numbers ONLY has to do with the quality of the product, you’re deluding yourself. IM is a cult of personality, and at least 70% of the active customer base across the market are basically fans and collectors, not business people in any position to fully use any IM product. 

To that end, you can’t have a launch go huge when no one knows the “pilot” – there needs to be a face, a name, and a reputation of some kind. It doesn’t matter if that rep comes entirely from the affiliate email that sends the traffic there. But there MUST be a person behind the product if you want it to truly resonate.

Plus, as a bonus, if the product flops, people will still remember the personality involved, and as long as you don’t rip people off, no one knows what sold and what didn’t. Your rep will carry over from launch to launch… but ONLY if you focus on yourself as well as the product.

2. You can’t have a launch without a LAUNCHPAD: Every single launch I’ve ever done has had technical issues. Some catastrophic, some just speed bumps. But your tech needs to be in place, redundant, tested, and tested again. Then, when you launch, watch it like a hawk, because tests only tell you it’s not broken YET. 

Don’t skimp on tech tech you need either. Find out what the best guys are using and use that. If they’re using it, it’s because it hasn’t broken yet. And if it can take what the guru guys can throw at a launch, it can take almost anything below that.

You need a site for the product, you need a place for the prelaunch to happen. You need a place where people can watch and comment and follow and share. PLUS, it doesn’t hurt to have a non-launch related site that will allow people to dig even deeper and deeper if they DON’T know the pilot.

3. You can’t have a launch without a ROCKET:The rocket is the product itself and if it isn’t so awesome that it can FLY, it’s not going to generate much interest. It’s got to be sexy, it’s got to be deluxe, it’s got to WORK. It has to actually take people from where they are to where they want to be, and it has to be safe and sleek enough for them to want to spend the dough for a ticket to ride.

Launches are for rockets, so if you’ve got a rowboat, don’t bother. The primary function of a “launch” vs. a regular product release is because you’re trying to STEAL attention from other things – you want to make a splash. The reason you want your product to be the best ever is because even for the people who don’t buy it… they’ll be MAD they didn’t. The halo lingers and every badass product your name is connected to builds your rep. See above re: Pilot. 

PLUS: You MUST remember that you want your rocket to be round-trip. You’re not launching garbage into the sun. You’re transporting PEOPLE, and you need to bring them where they wanted to go AND be able to bring them back because… you want to launch them again and again. Your best customers will buy everything you make as long as you give them the best ride they can get.

4. You can’t have a launch without MISSION CONTROL: You have to get help that knows what they’re doing. And it takes a LOT of people and a LOT of stuff to put one of these things together. It’s not the people you see on the camera, and not the faces you see on the box. 

It’s the programmer that can FIX or BYPASS your broken cart process on launch day. It’s the writer who can generate creative ways to capture and recycle all the user-based feedback into a deadly targeted salesletter as the launch unfolds. It’s the affiliate manager who is on the phone and cracking the whip to get people to promote because damn it all, we have a ROCKET here! 

Everyone shows up to the launchpad to ride the rocket or at least watch it fly – but behind the scenes, in the bunkers are the nerds and engineers and masterminds who are making it all happen. Your team is vital, so don’t skimp there either.

5. You can’t have a launch without FUEL: You might have thought I would have referred to the traffic generated in a launch as “passengers” but the fact is the people you attract that DON’T end up buying can be even MORE valuable than those that do. Because that DESIRE is a fuel that burns like a nuclear reactor. 

You need to give them a place to stand and talk and plead and rant and rave. We normally do this by having a sexy free prelaunch and letting people comment and driving them to share stuff. Of course, we GIVE them all kinds of things designed to set them aflame…

But if you don’t harness them and put them to work, they burn out and you get nothing. Put them on display, put the kindling out and IGNITE their passions, then stoke them. Let everyone see, and then the people who CAN buy will get infected with that enthusiasm, and unlike the majority, they CAN get satisfaction… by buying.

Anyways, there’s my rant. That’s what you need to have a launch WORTH doing. That’s a career-making launch. That’s a guru-making launch. That’s what it takes if you want to be an astronaut – The elite – the right guys with the right stuff… 

Lots of people WANT to be an astronaut and they DREAM of having a launch, but they see those other ones and don’t realize what goes into it. It’s not ACTUALLY rocket science… but you DO need to have all the stuff before you can pull it off.

If you want to do a launch in 2011, I hope this helps. If you WATCH any launches in 2011, look for these things, because everyone that pulls it off will have had every bit of this in place. Maybe you never noticed, but that’s how it is when all this stuff works right. It fades in the background, and everyone just watches the launch in awe, and they’re in envy of the people who get to take the ride. 

Maybe next time, little guy. Maybe next time. 

P.S. I chopped off the end of my finger while cooking a New Years dinner side dish. I’m taking some very good painkillers for that. Typos or offense can be attributed to that, or the fact that my primary hand is bandaged like a mummy.

My resolution for the new year was to post here at least once a week, and I’m already down by one. 

Time to fix that.   Here’s something I actually wrote one afternoon during the holidays, and never did get around to posting.  I guess the point of it is, if you’re stuck, you can find inspiration for your marketing anywhere you look.  And in fact, cultivating this “holistic” approach will help make sure you never get stuck again.

So here we go: 10 Marketing (and business) Lessons I learned Playing Super Mario Bros.

1. You can only move forward, never back, so don’t worry about the things that you missed and accidentally let pass you by.  You can’t go back, but it’s okay.  There are always more opportunities ahead, so keep your eyes open and looking forward so you can continue moving forward, doing better next time.

2. In Super Mario Bros, the finish line for a given level is a flagpole.  The higher you jump when you cross it, the higher you score.   So since you’re not in a race against anyone but yourself, you should pause, reflect, and aim high.  When you work hard to accomplish something and the end is in sight, and there’s no more danger or risk involved, don’t rush it just to be done.  Go for the gusto, take a moment to aim, and get the maximum reward for your efforts.  No need to rush right at the very end.

3. Invincibility is always temporary – In the game, if you collect a star power-up, you’re invincible, and no enemies can hurt you or knock you off the screen.  But it’s only temporary, so you have to be careful and listen for the sound that indicates that time is up, or else you could get a nasty surprise.  The lesson is, don’t get cocky.   Even if it seems like you’re effortlessly succeeding at what others find challenging, success breeds competition.   Enjoy any periods of seeming invulnerability, but assume they are temporary.   Pay attention to what’s happening around you to keep your advantage, even when you’re vulnerable.   Just as in the game, it’s probably always best to approach a problem cautiously – as if you’re vulnerable, even if you’re feeling invincible.

4. Be mindful what you send out because it may come back to bite you.   Just like those ricocheting turtle shells in the game, the content and products you produce and release are going to take on a life of their own once they’re in the wild.  Once you send it out, be prepared to jump on top of it if it comes back and becomes an issue.  Be responsible and aware of what you put out there.

5. In any level of the game, there’s always an easy path and a hard path.  The hard path is more rewarding, but the easy path is faster.   However, experienced players often discover that the “best” path is the middle – don’t bother conquering obstacles can avoid altogether, and focus your best efforts on the opportunities that are right in front of you.   Instead of puzzling over some unknown reward that may not be worth the challenge it takes to get, get as much of the easy pickings as you can in your market and power forward.

6. If you skip ahead, you might be woefully unprepared for the challenges you’ll face.  In Super Mario, Warp Zones allow you to advance through the game quickly by skipping levels.  But when you do that, you miss out on the gradual escalation of challenge, and you don’t get to hone your skills to match.  You can quickly find yourself completely out of your element and be doomed to fail.  That’s pretty much true of all shortcuts in business and in life.  There ARE shortcuts, but you may not be ready to handle what’s on the other side if you’ve never been there before.  Doing it the hard way the first time often gives you the experience you need anyway.  Take the shortcut the next time, but not the first.

7. You should only allow yourself to fail at something once before you adjust your approach for the second try.  You can’t expect to get a different result if you keep trying the same things.  In the game, you have a limited number of chances (lives) to finish the game before it’s over and you have to start all over.  So if you approach a particular obstacle and miss the mark, you really don’t have the luxury of making small adjustments until you get it just right.  However, in life, people seem to fall in love with a plan abd become dedicated to it, even when it’s not performing as hoped.  Don’t let that happen.  There are no 1-Ups in real life.  If you’re failing, adjust your strategy.

8. When opportunity presents itself, if you don’t act fast and deliberately, you won’t get the maximum reward.  Think of the multi-coin boxes Mario encounters.  When you find one, you need to keep bashing it until you get ALL the coins out of it.  But if you hesitate, they freeze, and you don’t get every coin you could have.  In business, when you discover an opportunity, quickly and thoroughly maximize it before you move on.  But referring back to the earlier lesson, if you do miss it, don’t sweat it.  Let it go and be ready for the next one (and there WILL be a next one).

9. Essentially, the entire game of Super Mario Brothers is a big pattern puzzle.  Every obstacle is defeatable if you learn the pattern, and the best way to learn the pattern is through practice.  I remember the game being incredibly difficult for me when I was a kid, but now, when I play as an adult, I find that I have little difficulty in getting a pretty high score and advancing pretty far.  That comes from many many years playing this and similar games, putting in lots and lots of practice.  If you hit a tough spot, back up, look at the big picture.  If you’re caught up in details, re-visit some fundamentals, focus on those, and then come back to the problem fresh.  A lot of times, it’s a LOT easier the second time around.

10. I’m sure if you played the game, you remember this.  So you get to the final castle, you defeat the villain, and you THINK you’ve rescued your beloved princess, only to see the message “Your princess is in another castle”.  The final lesson here is that any sense of accomplishment is fleeting, satisfaction is temporary, so always be ready to pursue the next challenge.  When you succeed at what you strove for so long, you may discover that you need to go even further – and that’s okay too.  Feel good about the journey, and think of every accomplishment as a milestone towards bigger and better goals.

Well that’s all for now – hopefully more things to come soon.  If you like this and comment to tell me so, maybe I’ll do a continuing series on marketing lessons from obscure places.  So if you dig it, let me know with a comment below.  Thanks!