What do Taylor Swift, Tony Robbins & Apple have in common?

Hi Shannon,

This summer, there’s been a lot written in the news about Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. From crazy ticket prices, scalpers, and Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s conglomerate controlling 70% of live-event ticketing — to are Swift’s fans more like a cult or cure for adolescents and teens?

I have to admit, I haven’t really listened to Swift’s music in a while. Plus, I don’t have kids who would fall into her demographic. Yet, I stumbled upon various articles in the NY Times about her infamous sold-out tours and fandom this summer.

That’s when I realized this would be a terrific mini-case study, so I wanted to share it with you…

So, what do Taylor Swift, Tony Robbins, and Apple all have in common?

They know how to create a like-minded community (online and offline with their music or products and at live events), take care of it, “feed it,” “water it,” and create an incredibly successful business while changing and impacting lives at the same time.

Let me elaborate and give you some terrific takeaways for your own business and marketing…

Much like the Grateful Dead and a sporting event, thousands of fans would set up camp (or tailgating) outside of the arena of Swift’s concert. This is also what Saturn used to do with anyone who bought a Saturn or Harley owners with their motorcycles. They created members-only events, adventures, a place to gather, connect, and more.

It’s actually something ingrained in our humanity – like-minded people have gathered together for eons, whether it was because of religion, politics, ideology, a cause they believed in, or more.

Think about what Tony Robbins does for personal development with his anthems of “Raise your hand and say I” and “Play full out with me.” He’s creating a safe space for people to grow beyond their limitations.

And what Apple does for creatives… Remember those commercials? Are you an Apple or a PC? There’s a big difference between Apple product owners and PC owners. Apple connected with those folks in that gap.

When you harness this sense of community and belonging as a business, you create a “cult-like” atmosphere that’s safe, authentic, and a transformational space for your dream clients/customers to connect, learn, grow, and have fun together.

Core Principles of Building Your Authentic Community of Your Dream Clients:

Creating a Journey or Experience For Your Dream Clients (Online or Offline)
When you go to a Taylor Swift concert, it’s not just an event, it’s an experience. She takes you on an authentic journey of the 44 songs she’s either written or co-written. These songs are almost like ballads or drum beats to help like-minded adolescent girls, teenagers, and women of all ages know they’re not alone in their experiences in life.

Create Your Online Or Offline Journey to Attract Your Dream Clients: (Creating this can be pretty complex. And there are many courses around this, including mine. 🙂 Baring this in mind, here’s a shorter answer.

Look at your dream client’s wants, desires, fears, frustrations, and what gets in the way of their success.

When you know this, then you need to answer this question – how does your product, course, or service help them? You need to reach in and really address what they’re struggling with to be able to then know what to create.

Your Journey is a simple online (or offline) sequence of events that you take your dream prospects through to turn them into dream clients. Start with what you’re selling first, then work your way backward to your free lead generator. Whatever you give away for free to build your list of dream prospects has to lead up to you selling your product, course, or service.
Building A Community:
What’s up with Swift’s friendship bracelet giving at concerts? I had no clue why I was seeing all these pictures of concertgoers in the media with arms loaded with bracelets.

After doing a little digging, lo and behold, Swift encourages her fans to create bracelets and bring them with them to her concert, where they can give one to their seatmates or anyone they meet at the concert.

What a terrific idea to help fans connect with each other. She’s basically built a community around her music. Many successful bands and businesses have done this, and it works. And I’ve often shared with my clients that all you need are 1,000 fans who spend $10 or more with you a month.

What Can You Do to Create a Sense of Community and Belonging? I created a Soulful Marketing Manifesto. These are core principles and affirmations that will attract and connect with my dream clients. You can check it out here.
Surprise & Delight Your Dream Clients:
Swift also plays a surprise song at the end of each of her concerts, and her fans (who are called “Swifties”) always look forward to it. And they try to guess what song it would be. Plus, she’s often brought fans on stage and done other things at her concerts to surprise and delight her fans.

How Can You Surprise And Delight Your Dream Clients? It’s all about creating tremendous value and overdelivering. Brian Kurtz, a friend and colleague, wrote a terrific book I’d recommend on this very subject – Over Deliver. You know the feeling you get when you buy something, and then they add on a sweet bonus or two or three.

That’s what you need to do for your dream clients. It’s about appreciating them and also making them feel special and a part of your community by surprising them with added value.

These are all valuable lessons, and I hope you will use them in your business. I also wrote another article a while back—Would You Ever Consider Joining a Cult? If you want to check out more strategies to build your business.

Here are some core reasons why people join communities, groups, or memberships:

Sense of belonging and being around like-minded people where they will feel safe.
Have a place where they can learn, grow, and share.
They will be accepted, feel good about themselves, and help others.

Happy community building!

August is officially done and dusted today – wow, goodbye summer. It was fun while it lasted. Here’s to cooler nights and shorter days – the pumpkins are coming! 🙂

Quote I’m Pondering:

“In talking with people, don’t begin by discussing the things on which you differ. Begin by emphasizing—and keep on emphasizing— the things on which you both are striving for— the same end, and your only difference is one of method, not purpose.” ~ Dale Carnegie, How to Win Friends & Influence People—published 1936.

Powerful Mantra to Inspire:

“I attract success by being my authentic self.”

“I am wonderfully unique.”

Weekly Book Review:

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Weekly Photos:
Today Alice and I are in Portland, OR. And because I set this up before I left, I’ll share some pics with you when I”m back next week. Until then – I got this pic of Emma in mid-tongue – I couldn’t do that again in a million years. And then some pics of Whiskey Town Lake from our drive last week to Weaverville.

Then one early morning on the deck for coffee, we caught this doe hanging about in our yard. It’s amazing to watch them jump over the fence like it was nothing! Then we had that bizarre hurricane last week. First hurricane warning ever for CA. We got the remnants of much-needed rain all day. And it made for some amazing morning clouds before the storm.