Make a (legendary) game of your content

Jul 16, 2020 3:02 pm

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Hello Content Creators!


All my 15-year-old son wants to talk about right now is the cliffhanger left by the latest season of Apex Legends, a massively popular multiplayer online video game.


Apparently, the current Season's final story update just happened, and it left him wanting closure. It also means he's gonna have to wait at least a month for the next Season to start.


Each season builds on the next.


Which is weird for a non-linear, PVP (player vs player, dontcha know) game like this.


Except that it's brilliant, for two reasons.


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You gotta pay to play

First, if you want to play along in the story mode and participate in the narrative, you have to purchase in-game points. Or something. All I know is my credit card keeps showing charges, and he keeps handing me dollars.


Second, dosing chapter updates every couple weeks keeps him engaged. And talking about it. And looking forward to the next one, at which point he's all about Apex Legends again.


Could your content generate micro transactions?

...if your product's story kept people talking about it, month after month, year after year?


If your content marketing narrative kept people engaged and sharing it and wanting more, would they keep ponying up money to use your product or service?


This is more work than a subscription model. We all know people that continue to pay for gym memberships long after their January dreams fizzle and pop.


But we don't hear about gym chains growing to become $150 million dollar ATMs for the owners. (Competitor Fortnite, which launched the gameplay model Apex Legends is based on, is a Billion-with-a-B dollar franchise!). And micro transactions (aka "repeat business") can add up far more quickly than low value recurring subscriptions.


The trick, of course, is figuring out how to make your content into a story that people want to follow, and tying it to a business model. Food for thought, hit reply if you'd like to discuss ideas for your business.


A recent content project

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I wish I could take credit for this one, but alas, it's another brilliant ad from our friends at Harmon Bros.


If you haven't seen the commercial for The Murphy Ladder, go watch this video right now. It's 3.5 minutes of pure gold, and I bet it sold a LOT of ladders for them.


This video has it all: Features, Benefits, Humor, Characters, and, most importantly, it's wholly watchable.


It would have been really easy to do a very dry, matter of fact video showing how the ladder worked. But the only people that would have watched it (maybe) would be those people actively searching for a foldable ladder.


But by adding character-driven humor AND showing all of the features and benefits in real-world scenarios we can all appreciate (and some we hope we never find ourselves in but can still appreciate), it goes from being something you might find to something you'll almost certainly share.


Which means your audience becomes your sales force.


(Did you get this email from a friend? Click here to get your own!)


I'll bring back my "Cool Stuff I've Found" section in the next email. This week? Though I have been testing some really great mountain bike stuff lately, nothing seemed quite right. And I've gotta get up really early tomorrow for a little adventure I'll tell you about next week!


Make it interesting,


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Tyler Benedict


PS - Can you forward this to a couple friends that might find it interesting? Thanks!


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