Ah, Twilight. The total series has sold more than 42 million copies worldwide. The first movie in the series has made more than $379 million worldwide, and it took in nearly $70 million its first weekend alone.
These books have spawned a fan base that makes Trekkies and Star Wars fanatics look sane. These fans don’t just love the book. They worship the book. They obsess over the book.
They want to be Bella and be with Edward or Jasper or Jacob. They dress up like the characters and go to the DVD release parties and buy out the midnight screenings of the movie.
They start up fan websites where other fans can come and discuss the books. They talk about the book to everybody who will listen, and they defend it to the death when somebody trashes it.
Wouldn’t it be great if your customers were as loyal as Twilight fans?
It can happen. Just ask yourself one question: What did author Stephanie Meyer do to earn such a rabid following?
Simple. She did what every good marketer is supposed to do: she told her audience a story in their language. She spoke to them of a fantasy, tapped into their desires, and… well, you can see the result.
(Note that I said “simple,” not “easy.”)
Her audience was teenage girls. By and large, teenage girls want to be special. They want romance, a destined soul mate. They want to be the one to get the “bad boy” who ignores every other girl in school, and if there’s a bit of star-crossed Romeo & Juliet drama in there, so much the better.
Those are exactly the kinds of desires that Twilight hits. He’s a vampire, the ultimate bad boy. She’s a human, and her blood is ultra-desirable to him. He’s resisted every other girl in the school. But not her; she’s special.
What does your audience crave?
Have you discovered the true desires of your audience? Are you plugged into their current needs? Keep an ear to the ground for feedback on what your customers crave. Even complaints provide insight into unmet desires.
Go on the hunt. Dive into forums, blogs, social networks, groups, trade journals, and anywhere else you can get feedback from the source. Use Google’s free service, Google Alerts, to see what other people are saying about you online. Start eavesdropping on the conversation!
Deliver with style
Your marketing needs to tell a story that resonates with the desires of your audience. It rings so true that they want it to be true. And if you live up to that hype, then these people will become your most rabid fans.
Rabid fans spread the word. And they keep coming back, again and again.
Picture by Annafur
Woo-hoo! First post.
In all seriousness, you made a very good point here about her knowing and catering to her audience. I never thought I’d learn something from Twilight.
Writer Jack Bickham has some great points about popular literature in his book “Writing and Selling Your Novel.”
To paraphrase, many writers get snooty and look down on novels that the “unwashed masses” flock to like so many sheep. Bickham advises his readers to get rid of that kind of thinking. Popular novels are popular for a reason, and you should be studying them to see why.
That’s good advice for marketing as well.
Hi, cool post. I have been wondering about this topic,so thanks for writing.
Hi, gr8 post thanks for posting. Information is useful!
It’s a pity that people don’t realize the importance of this information. Thanks for posing it.