What The Hunger Games Can Teach You About Killer Marketing

I'll never forget the day I opened The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and read:

"When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold. My fingers stretch out, seeking Prim’s warmth but finding only the rough canvas cover of the mattress. She must have had bad dreams and climbed in with our mother. Of course, she did. This is the day of the reaping."

Reaping?

What the heck is "reaping"?

I…was hooked.

But it didn't stop there.

The whole concept of The Hunger Games, aka "May the odds ever be in your favor", introduced to the readers a world they could simply never imagine (children killing one another for sport)…but one that continuously drew them in.

Not just for one book, no.

There's:

• Book 1, The Hunger Games
  
• Book 2, Catching Fire
  
• Book 3, MockingJay
  

3 books that have ended up creating:

An incredible Hunger Games fan base:

• Hunger Games Trilogy
  
• MockingJay.net
  

Lots of Hunger Games controversy:

• New Hampshire Parent Challenges 'The Hunger Games'
  
• We Didn’t Start the Fire: Young Adult Reading Controversy
  
• Conclusion to "Banning the Hunger Games?"; The Hunger Games STAYS!
  

A breathless anticipation to the 2012 movie release of The Hunger Games:

As you can see, The Hunger Games is big business indeed.

So what can you take out of The Hunger Games success and apply to your own business?

Bunches! And here we go.

1.)  Assume you'll always have a followup product to release.

We don't just have The Hunger Games Book 1….we also now have Book 2 and Book 3.

Always begin your product design and marketing by assuming….it's not the end.

You can always add a follow-up product that either enhances the first, or brings the buyer to the next level.

When you offer quality stuff, it's natural that you'll start to develop a fantastic reputation within your niche.  Former customers will want to buy the next release you offer.

Don't disappoint them.  Offer it!

2.)  Add mystery and create new definitions, words or even worlds.

The Hunger Games introduced the concept of "The Reaping."

What new definitions does your product bring to mind?

What new words can be derived?

I remember back in 2005, I wrote Dynamic Affiliate Profit Linking (Book 2 of the Rich Hermit series).  I made up the word:

DAPL

It meant (most appropriately) a dynamic affiliate profit link.    And it was received quite well in the marketing to boot.

But you can take this further, and create your own brand new world for your customer to imagine.

A world, I might add…that is accessible solely through your products.

And finally…

3.)  Compel your network to tell their friends about you….and build your community.

Word of mouth marketing…it rocks!

Hunger Games fans now gather in popular forums, post their fan art, write their fan fic and much  much more.

Such activities go light-years towards building a community.

When your products or site reach a tipping point, create a community for your fans to network.

• It could be as simple as a WordPress Membership site.
• It could be as engaging as a Community Forum.
• It could be as easy as a Facebook Fan page.

Whatever it is….when your customers want it, make it available.

Your popularity will only grow and grow.

The above are just 3 killer marketing tips *you* can take from The Hunger Games. 

Make them your own….today.

Grow strong,

Barbara Ling

ps – speaking about The Hunger Games, have you seen:

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"Hey there, thanks so much for stopping by! If you enjoyed this article, please do feel free to tell your friends about it or use those nifty neato social icons above to spread the word. I love sharing great info, and would really appreciate it...thanks!"
-- Barbara Ling