Take A Walk On The Wild Side
Having a little trouble grabbing some
attention for your products? Well, have you considered that you may
be playing it too safe to be noticeable. Let's face it, people who
get attention aren't typically the shy and unadorned kind, they are
the more extroverted and rambunctious crowd. So, is your product too
staid to really go after the traffic on the web, and generate genuine
interest and enthusiasm? Well, then you might want to think about
taking a walk on the wild side.
Controversy Sells
If you find yourself shying away from
controversy, this is one area you genuinely need to explore. It
doesn't even have to be your own created controversy, it can be
someone else's controversy, and all you're doing is adding to the
conversation. For instance, when eBay first came out with it's policy
to not allow infoproducts on their auction listings unless sellers
delivered a physical product, like a CD or DVD, it generated a huge
controversy around the Internet.
While others where moaning about the
collapse of their business models, there were more astute business
people who exploited the opportunity to get some free publicity by
offering products to help sellers transform their business model so
they could continue to sell on eBay. No matter what side you were on,
whether it was a bad or a good policy, the fact is that the amount of
controversy that it produced provided a perfect opportunity to ride a
wave of free publicity, if you can help people overcome some of their
issues.
Walk A Fine Line
So, yes, you do want to constantly look
out for opportunities that come with issues of great controversy.
They typically have a short window, but during that window, you can
get instant product and name recognition, if you play your cards
right. What you don't want to do is align yourself with one side or
another and alienate half your customers. There is a fine line you
must walk if you dare to walk on the wild side. You want to engage
the controversy, but you don't want your name associated with
negatives of the entire thing too. And, certainly there are some
controversies that are simply “too hot to handle.”
Don't Burn Yourself Out
Unless you are Planned Parenthood, the
odds of a classic online business wanting to engage an abortion
controversy is almost non-existent. It's just a controversy that is
extremely volatile and can end up burning people out instead of
creating enthusiasm and genuine interest in the topic. So, engage
controversies that are interesting, have some oomph, but avoid the
ones that are going to cause problems for your public image or
alienate too many of your customers. If you do find that you've
inadvertently done that by accident, retract your support
immediately, issue an apology to all your customers, regardless of
the issue, and move on. So, it does take a bit of daring to engage
controversy, but the strategy can enliven your business overnight, if
done properly. If you do that, you can take a walk on the wild side,
and learn how to position your products to profit with a wave of free
publicity.
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