I admit it. I’m addicted.

And this addicition has cost me thousands of dollars.

Today I’m going to come clean, reveal all, and let you see what drove this addiction.

In the process, you’ll pick up at least 7 marketing methods you can potentially use to grow your business…

Dolls…yes…I said it dolls. But not just any kind of dolls…we’re talking even worse…outrageously nerdy dolls from sci fi movies.

Of course we don’t call them dolls. We call them museum quality replica statues.

Doesn’t that sound better? Of course it does. Words do matter. But when the rubber meets the road, they’re dolls.

I collect dolls.

That’s something I never imagined myself admitting.

This addiction started at the Star Wars Celebration back in August. While I was there, neatly inserted into the little swag bag was a $25 gift card for a website made of pure evil…pure unadultered joyfully good evil.

Of course knowing I had $25 to my name meant I had to at least visit it and find out what I could get with it. Little did I know how much that little $25 card would soon cost me…

It was a paradise designed for nerds like me.

I guess I better give the website address so you can see what weirdness I had gotten myself into. This is not an affiliate link and I’m most definitely not telling anyone to buy anything or even sign up. Just look at it so you can see what I mean in the examples below, and how you can USE some of the same tactics they apply. They have absolutely nothing for sale you need in your online business.

http://www.sideshowtoys.com

I immediately bought a Luke Skywalker premium format for $299.99 plus shipping.

But that was just the beginning.

After you sign up, you can have them keep your credit card on file, making it very easy to buy anything else you want without having to input it again (similar to Amazon).

The purchases begun.

You’d expect my wife to put her foot down and stop this. Shouldn’t she say something like, “Honey, you shouldn’t buy so many dolls…STOP it?”

I mean…shouldn’t she?

But NO…not my wife. Her response, “I like Star Wars, but I like Lord of the Rings better…we should buy a whole new set of display cases and grab those. And we definitely need a Wolverine and an Iron Man. And I don’t have any who that guy is but he looks cool.”

So she onlly encouraged me and made the addiction worse. I think I have a handle on it now, although isn’t that what all addictioned people say?

Here is a rundown of some of the techniques you can see them using very effectively at least for me.

1. They target people who have money who are willing to spend it.

On their site, their CATALOG costs $19.95. That’s a nice catalog, but it’s still essentially a catalog. They’re connecting their products to emotions people feel towards movies and other characters they’ve seen. The movies created a desire that they’re simply fulfilling.

Aren’t we in the middle of a recession? Are people still spending money on these things? Sure looks like it as you’ll see in the next few points.

Remember, people are always buying something. If they’re not buying it from you, maybe you’re not targeting the right people.

2. Almost everything they offer is exclusive and limited.

Better hurry…because they only made 1,000 of these. Or you can get 500 of the “exclusive” edition or 1,000 of the regular edition. Even the regular edition is limited! The exclusive one is even more exclusive. Is that even possible?

If you miss out, you’ll likely have to pay more for it on eBay from someone who did get it. I also noticed they “limit” most products to only 2 copies per person…a little bit of a suggestion to buy an extra maybe.

3. They sell high ticket products which RAISES the bar on the other items.

Do you perhaps need a $5,950 full sized Terminator? If so, you’re out of luck. Yes, it’s sold out.

You could pre-order a full size Cyclon for $7,900 to fill that need.

Good thing there’s a couch over there…no empty space around here for that.

Or you could buy a 21 inch tall bronze Jango Fett for $4,500….but it looks like one or two more sales and he’ll cost $4,750. Yes, they even have a low quantity alert bar that runs out as the product is selling out.

Besides selling out, guess what else these high ticket items do? It’s a subtle psychology that goes on…well at least I’m not spending $7,900. That $300 item sure is a lot cheaper. I could buy more than 20 of them!

Give you any ideas for your own business….who are the extreme customers in your business?

4. They make it very easy to order.

You can have them store your credit card info making the checkout process very simple.

Plus you can pre-order the items coming up. And if you don’t have the money right now you can go on a payment plan for many of them.

Everything you order has little graphics at the bottom of the page showing other related items in case you want MORE. And if you’re a potential buyer, you do.

5. They actively contact and follow-up on their subscribers.

They run an email list…no surprise there. They also run a Youtube channel where they’re SHOWING their upcoming products in detail. They’re building demand way in advance.

In fact you’ll often see throughout the site that the exclusive version of the pre-orders sometime sell out in less than 24 hours from when they announce it on their list. I’m sure they encourage that message…

6. They run contests for geeks.

Yes, they’ve even called one of their contests the “Geek Contest.” They run these contests regularly and give some of their products as prizes. I’ve seen them target these to geeks, those in the military, and those who just post a comment on one of their articles.

They’re encouraging active participation while focusing attention back on their products.

7. They’ve encouraged communities around their products.

There is a forum called SideshowFreaks. Think about that from the concept of celebrity and fans we’ve talked about before here. They don’t just have Sideshow customers…they have SideshowFreaks.

Do you have any customers who are freaks for what you offer?

If not, why not…and how can you modify your business to encourage this outrageous behavior?

What Does All This Mean To You?

Other than proving once and for all I’m the king of nerds around here, what else does this post do for you personally?

All 7 of the marketing methods above can be applied to your business in some way. I’m sure you’ve heard of many of them in the internet marketing world before, BUT have you seen them all used together in other businesses?

You likely have, but a lot of times we don’t notice them.

I want to open your eyes to your online experience. You likely go to sites I never visit. You have hobbies others don’t have.

What motivates you? What moves you? Feel the emotions as you buy. They feel good. Recognize them and think about how you can duplicate them in your own business.

Always pay attention to your own buying habits. Buying is a very enjoyable experience.

But always go into it with your eyes wide open.

Take at least one of the methods above and committ to putting it in place on your website within the next week. Which one will it be? And how will it affect your business long-term?

If you have any comments, ideas, applications, etc. feel free to post them in the comments below.

By the way, does it look like to anyone else that Anakin Skywalker is trying to do a jedi mind trick in the video below?


Terry Dean
Terry Dean

Terry Dean has been in full-time internet business since 1996 and has helped thousands of entrepreneurs get started online through his articles and products. He lives in Ocala, Florida with his wife and 2 dogs. Find out more about how his step-by-step courses can help you today.