I know, I just sent out a note yesterday. AND sorry! I noticed after a few replies that one of the tags apparently blew out causing way too much of the message to display WAY too LARGE. Sorry.
OK So the real "meat" of this mailing is to discuss how well we presold issue #1 and how can we do it again for issue #2?
First off, one detour, thanks, a few of you have conveyed to me that indeed you are getting some results from the Pinup Syndicate by way of new models/clients contacting you and or the association with the magazine aiding you as you talk to new prospects. Keep me informed as each bit of info helps me look for new ways and betters ways for all of us to use this to our advantage better. And know I don't ever mean for it to be anything other than helping people see the value of your craft.
OK back to pre-orders, I printed out the nearly 165 invoices yesterday for the people who pre-ordered.... you can say 165 invoices but until you have that in your hand it's hard to grasp how impressive that is, then consider a good quarter or more of those sheets of paper have 2-3-4 copies on the order. Heady stuff.
So it got me thinking (ok I'm always thinking) but I wondered, how many times can any of us, be in a pinup magazine and keep up this sort of pace.... that being getting people to pre-order? 12 months from now when issue 6 is being printed... how many people are going to go "oh great, so and so is in Retro Lovely AGAIN"........ how do we not wear out our welcome?
SO... when these get shipped, I will be including a thank you note, some of these people have waited a long time for their copy... amazing... but what I want to do is thank them and ask that if the find the issue to be as worth the wait as I hope they do, they could see fit to recommend us... And what I'd offer is this.... If they wanted to, I would provide them a coupon code that if they share us with their circles of friends and family and so on.... they could get their friends $1 off a copy, in turn they'd get $1 themselves... they could earn some cash money, or simply get future issues for free.... I'm even going to do it so that people they refer, if they do the same.... would get the first person $1 too.
Pyramid Scheme, sounds dirty doesn't it?
Well Pyramid Schemes were usually about selling "nothing". This is strictly rewarding something for their promotional efforts based on their performance. I could give money to google for web ads, or advertise here and there and maybe hope to gain new customers (and we'll do some of that too) but personal endorsements are extremely targeted and very very powerful.
So for all of you who did all of this preselling... when your customers get their copies... and perhaps "buy in" to this program.... you'd earn money or space based on their efforts and those people they turn on to the program..... So if some of them feel we are worth talking about and get 10 more sales, and among those 10 more do the same, selling another 100 could be pretty easy..... That's $100 to you, or another page in an issue......
I will not be hard sell about it, it will be simply offered... might do something, might not... but I'm thinking to give it a try and again with an eye on "how do we not wear out our welcome" It could aid us through the first number of issues it takes us that this whole thing steps up another level or so. And on your end, this requires no effort. Again it will be soft sell as I also don't want anyone to think this is the ONLY way we're selling copies... but, the quality of the work, and the physical article itself should completely keep that from popping into someone's head. I'd do it in a way that anyone would say "OH this crew is clever and adapting to the changing media/advertising landscape"
I shot a Macy's corporate event the other day -
They spent A BOATLOAD of money on commercials that they previewed for their audience (Macy's Employees), not to air on TV.... but for YouTube.... The bang for the buck with VIRAL marketing is unmatched.
I am hoping at some point to be able to have some "VIRAL" Video type things in our arsenal.
Cheers
OH, I approved the proofs today, as I type... issue one may well be in production!
M
