by Charles George
Have you ever thought about the difference between the marketing behind a blockbuster movie and a weekly sitcom?
Today, there are two different strategies for marketing products and services online, similar to how blockbuster movies are promoted versus sitcoms. Both methods are effective and can generate sales and revenue.
The two marketing methods are the launch model versus evergreen promotions.
Most industries have companies that use launches to drive subscribers, sales, and revenue. They can be highly effective at generating awareness, building an audience, and earning profit.
Evergreen marketing strategies rely on the marketing calendar, week after week, to build an audience and drive opt-ins, engagement, and revenue.
In this article, we will dive into the similarities and differences of each marketing strategy.
The Launch Model
The launch model is similar to the marketing of a blockbuster movie.
Here are a few ways that they are similar.
- Starts with a beginning and end date
Typically, like a blockbuster movie, launches have a beginning and an end date.
Blockbuster movies often release clips far before the release date to generate interest.
As the movie’s opening day gets closer, the advertising increases, celebrities acting in the film leverage their audiences to promote the movie, and the actors do interviews, etc. There is a build-up to the movie’s opening weekend.
This is similar to a launch.
Launches can start by dripping content on social media, podcast mentions, and hints in email campaigns to drive curiosity. As the launch approaches, more people and affiliates promote it. Plus, more content is released on specific dates.
There might be a video series, free reports, and other content assets deployed.
The launch may include a webinar at the end, with an email campaign that follows.
There is an end date for both blockbuster movies and launches. After the end date, most of the marketing stops or dwindles.
- Character development
A blockbuster movie typically takes 90 minutes to three hours to tell the entire story. So, the arc of the movie and the characters aren’t as developed as in a sitcom.
This is similar to a launch.
Launches leverage the relationships people have with their lists.
Because the campaign has a short timeframe, people may only have seven to ten days to get to know the person being promoted before being asked to purchase a higher-ticket product.
Thus, most of the trust comes from the affiliate’s endorsement to their list, about the person and the product.
- Larger Marketing Budgets
Top Gun: Maverick had a 125 million dollar marketing budget. The Joker had a 100 million dollar marketing budget. Avatar the Way of the Water and The Avengers End Game both had a marketing budget of 200 million dollars.
The average marketing budget for a studio film in the US is about 18 million.
Since there is a concrete deadline for when the movie opens, the marketing can be planned to build up to the opening weekend.
Launches may have large marketing budgets, because of the finite time to promote the launch. This could be media buys, social media campaigns, newsletter swaps, affiliate promotions, publicity, podcast interviews, etc.
How Evergreen Marketing is Similar to Marketing a Sitcom
When I think of evergreen marketing, I think of a podcast or a newsletter that shows up week after week. Each week, it delivers value and builds trust with the readers. It cultivates a relationship over time. It’s more like a sitcom. Viewers get to know the characters and connect with them on a deeper level.
Here are a few ways that evergreen marketing campaigns differ from launches.
- Smaller marketing budgets
The marketing budgets of sitcoms are normally minuscule compared to blockbuster movies. The network may advertise the show during primetime slots and use other low-budget marketing strategies. They may promote the show on their website, in their app, etc. As the audience grows, the network may invest more in marketing the show.
This is similar to evergreen marketing campaigns.
First, it doesn’t cost much to start a podcast or newsletter today. The marketing can start with no- to low-budget cross-promotions with other people you know.
As the audience and revenue grow, so can the marketing budgets to drive more subscribers and revenue.
- Deeper Character Development
Most sitcoms have between 20 and 26 shows per season. Shows can range from 30- 60 minutes. This time allows for deeper character development. Plus, sitcoms can run for multiple seasons.
Friends ran for ten years and 236 episodes. During this time, people got to know and connect deeply with the characters. Jennifer Aniston became synonymous with her character Rachel Green.
As the character’s popularity grew, it led to Jennifer Aniston becoming a Hollywood celebrity, starring in blockbuster movies, gaining endorsements, etc. She was able to leverage her notoriety into additional revenue opportunities.
This is similar to a podcast audience or a newsletter subscriber list. The audiences start small, but as they grow, they can lead to a large number of people connecting on a deeper level with the person behind the newsletter or podcast.
As the audience grows, it can lead to developing additional revenue streams from sponsorships, affiliate promotions, courses, communities, product sales, coaching, events, etc.
- Consistency builds an audience and trust
If you remember, before streaming, many TV shows came on the same night at the same time each week. The networks still follow this programming, except we can also now watch TV shows on demand.
Viewers became familiar with the dates and times. This consistency led to increased viewership.
This is similar to evergreen marketing. With a newsletter, pick a day and time to publish content each week. As subscribers become familiar with you and your newsletter, they will start to look forward to each edition.
Podcasting is more like streaming. Choosing a day and time to publish is important, but people often listen at specific times each week, in their cars, etc.
So, the episode must be available when they are ready to listen.
Consistency in both a podcast and a newsletter leads to more listeners for the podcast and higher open rates and click-through rates for the newsletters.
- Driven by the marketing calendar
Both models use the marketing calendar to drive engagement and results. Launches occur over a couple of weeks, whereas an evergreen calendar can be planned months in advance.
I plan for three different types of campaigns on most of the marketing calendars. I color code each one so it is easier to follow, visually.
1) Newsletters and promo emails to the list
These are the newsletters and emails being sent to the list. Often, I like to plan this calendar out at least two to three months in advance. This can include my own newsletters, promo emails, and products. Plus, it can be other people and their products being promoted. If I agree to promote someone, I schedule their content on the promised dates.
2) Affiliate promotions
If anyone is promoting my products, I also put this on the calendar. I want to make sure I give them any content they need well in advance. Plus, I like communicating with them leading up to the promotion to ensure everything goes smoothly.
3) Media buys to other lists
If I pay another company to promote a lead magnet or a product to their email list, I also put this on the calendar. I want to make sure they have any content and the assets they need for the promotion well in advance. I also want to be able to monitor the campaign, review the email before it is being sent to their list, etc.
What I like about evergreen campaigns is that there aren’t a lot of surprises.
They can become a predictable and stable business model.
Both Models Leverage Relationships
Often, big launches focus on shorter deadlines, rely on deploying content assets on specific dates, and require a larger number of people promoting for them to be successful.
Evergreen campaigns grow steadily and reliably week after week as you cross-promote with other people and their lists. Consistency drives the results.
These are two different approaches, but both models can be highly effective in building a subscriber list and driving sales and revenue.
Both models leverage the relationships of the list owners and their trust with their list.
So remember, whether you primarily focus on launches or evergreen campaigns to grow your business, relationships are the key.
It is your relationship with the people you promote, those who promote you, and your relationship with the subscribers on your list.
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