The other day I was reading Variety and it dawned on me that internet pre launches are a lot like movie releases.
Why is it that many really bad movies rake in tons of cash whereas other brilliant works of art are hardly heard of let alone seen?
Well, there’s a couple of reasons - the biggest being the amount of advertising dollars spent to promote - whichever film gets the bucks to put it out there wins - no matter how good or bad the film is.
Another reason is competition - which is why studios try to time releases when there’s little else coming out.
Opening weekend is when the most money will come in for a new movie. It’s the make or break it time.
Even huge blockbusters are not immune to this phenomenon. Usually by the second week it is not uncommon for the numbers to drop 30-60% as they are up against the NEWEST, latest, greatest release.
It’s just human nature. People are attracted to what’s new and exciting. They want to be up on the latest craze and not miss out.
But all is not lost to the person who misses out on the prelaunch. Sometimes the company is a classic.
Classics that even years later you want to go back to and watch over and over. In some cases are Re-released to a new generation of movie goers.
However, for the serious entrepreneur, jumping on another prelaunch is not like taking in the latest movie. This is a business… His business, not some temporary entertainment distraction.
If you are already established and have a LIST and the new company is a good fit to your business portfolio, then it can be a good move. But what I see is two different mindsets going on. The established, successful entrepreneur unemotionally weighing the pros and cons of a new ’sure thing’ verses the currently unsuccessful entrepreneur looking for a magic cash printing button that usually spits out wooden nickels for him even when it’s printing C-notes for the accomplished entrepreneur.
My advice is to stick to the basics. Keep building that list, network with others and spend your money on smart advertising. Once you have chosen a particular program or company, don’t go dropping it for next week’s promising start-up or you’ll never get past the starting line.
Posted under internet marketing
This post was written by Terry on April 20, 2009
