Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Better than Rich Dad
Real estate mogul and cashflow tycoon Robert Kiyosaki has taught me a few things about marketing.
The first was with his premier book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He got help writing it, of course; otherwise, he might not have over 100 products listed on www.Amazon.com. As I remember the story, with the prejudices memory imposes, the first writer he interviewed wanted to help him write a fantastic book, the best of all possible books. He told her that instead he wanted to write a best seller, not a best book, and that he did. (Big clue: big difference!)
My next lesson was in branding. All his books had the same purple-to-black gradient, the same typeface on the cover--logotype, color, and typesetting specifications that would make the Royal Bank proud! A transfer from the corporate world. Good going! Besides a Time-Life series, or middle-school readers, I can't think of a hard- or paper-back series with more continuity, especially from a single author (which those others aren't).
Of course the content in his books and games is remarkable, and continues to be controversial. The world is still divided over whether a home is an asset or a liability. I've made my decision, but this blog is about marketing, not the product itself.
The Rich Dad Empire taught me how not to run an affiliate program. I tried to market that $200 game when it was closer to $100. But there were constant problems. I wanted to teach Robert what I knew about marketing online, but his people didn't pass on my offer. (At least that's what I choose to think.)
And recently, I learned another "what not to do" in online marketing. Rich Dad isn't the only one, just the most-recent. (Another I can think of is Royal Body Care.) Here's the lesson: When people shop online, they need all the details about a product or service. Some will not read all the ingredients, size, ingestion recommendations, etc., in a promised health-supporting product. But others want to know and to some the details are a life or death matter.
Not life or death with the Cashflow people (Kiyosaki's corporate group). But they still don't know much about online marketing. Possibly like direct-marketer to the stars Steve Weisenburger said, "Some people are making so much money, they don't care about doing things right."
I ordered replacement Balance Sheets for Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 game. The website didn't say how many came in "one pad." The "pad" was $4.00. The shipping was $6.08. A savvy consumer usually desires the shipping to be less than the merchandise. Should I order more pads, perhaps two or four? I looked again for a quantity. In exasperation, I ordered only the one pad. We both lost out--I on shipping; Kiyosaki on volume.
Put specific descriptions on your website, more like those on eBay where you can get canned if you deliver something different from what you advertise, in any particular whatsoever.
Then offer a ringer -- a pop -- for quantity buys. These days people will be happy just to save on shipping. However, a quantity discount for multiples of the same item is sure to increase your sales.
(Oh, by the way, there are 50 Balance Sheets in a pack for $4.00!)
The first was with his premier book, Rich Dad, Poor Dad. He got help writing it, of course; otherwise, he might not have over 100 products listed on www.Amazon.com. As I remember the story, with the prejudices memory imposes, the first writer he interviewed wanted to help him write a fantastic book, the best of all possible books. He told her that instead he wanted to write a best seller, not a best book, and that he did. (Big clue: big difference!)
My next lesson was in branding. All his books had the same purple-to-black gradient, the same typeface on the cover--logotype, color, and typesetting specifications that would make the Royal Bank proud! A transfer from the corporate world. Good going! Besides a Time-Life series, or middle-school readers, I can't think of a hard- or paper-back series with more continuity, especially from a single author (which those others aren't).
Of course the content in his books and games is remarkable, and continues to be controversial. The world is still divided over whether a home is an asset or a liability. I've made my decision, but this blog is about marketing, not the product itself.
The Rich Dad Empire taught me how not to run an affiliate program. I tried to market that $200 game when it was closer to $100. But there were constant problems. I wanted to teach Robert what I knew about marketing online, but his people didn't pass on my offer. (At least that's what I choose to think.)
And recently, I learned another "what not to do" in online marketing. Rich Dad isn't the only one, just the most-recent. (Another I can think of is Royal Body Care.) Here's the lesson: When people shop online, they need all the details about a product or service. Some will not read all the ingredients, size, ingestion recommendations, etc., in a promised health-supporting product. But others want to know and to some the details are a life or death matter.
Not life or death with the Cashflow people (Kiyosaki's corporate group). But they still don't know much about online marketing. Possibly like direct-marketer to the stars Steve Weisenburger said, "Some people are making so much money, they don't care about doing things right."
I ordered replacement Balance Sheets for Kiyosaki's Cashflow 101 game. The website didn't say how many came in "one pad." The "pad" was $4.00. The shipping was $6.08. A savvy consumer usually desires the shipping to be less than the merchandise. Should I order more pads, perhaps two or four? I looked again for a quantity. In exasperation, I ordered only the one pad. We both lost out--I on shipping; Kiyosaki on volume.
Put specific descriptions on your website, more like those on eBay where you can get canned if you deliver something different from what you advertise, in any particular whatsoever.
Then offer a ringer -- a pop -- for quantity buys. These days people will be happy just to save on shipping. However, a quantity discount for multiples of the same item is sure to increase your sales.
(Oh, by the way, there are 50 Balance Sheets in a pack for $4.00!)
