But the book didn't sell itself.
Tim's unique and electrifying success is due in a large part to his commitment to creating a personal connection and building a brand supported by a passionate community.
How did he do it?
Through a creative, intelligent and disciplined approach to marketing.
Every marketer should take a lesson from Mr. Ferriss. In fact, here's 8 of our favorites.
8 Lessons from Tim Ferriss Every Marketer Should Learn
The Tim Ferriss Method to Success: Embrace Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing is a way of life and requires the mastery of tools such as blogging, email and social media. Tim Ferriss has built his entire brand around these two concepts. Embracing the way of life and then using the tools to make his brand a success.
We have broken each concept down into 4 important lessons.
A Company Culture Based on Inbound Marketing
1. Ditch the Hard Sell
Take a look at Tim's site.
It's a challenge to find a product he is asking you to purchase. Instead, is giving away valuable content all over the site. As you spend time on the site, users come across offers for "Exclusive Member Content".
By entering an email, users get even better access to Tim's insights and recommendations. And now the site has converted visitors to contacts.
2. Build a Community
People LOVE Tim.
Evangelism is a key part of his marketing success. Word of mouth and social shares have driven his growth. By building a community of passionate supporters that spread his message, Tim created an army of free advertising.
3. Get Personal
A genuine personal connection is what makes Tim different than every other lifestyle/business blogger out there.
Making a personal connection isn't easy.
Creating a personal connection is more than just posting a blog.
It is giving the reader something of yourself, designed to appeal to them, which leads them to think, "This guy really gets me".
And then keep them coming back for more.
A valuable relationship is an ongoing, two-way dialogue. Notice how Tim frequently acknowledges his community. He responds in a timely manner to current events and hot topics his readers care about and essentially is always "there for them" via his blog and other tools.
4. Make it Easy to Join In
Tim is incredibly accessible without being personally available. His face tops the blog and readers hear from him all the time. What does he ask in return?
He wants to hear from you.
By encouraging comments and questions at the end of blog posts and having easily accessible share buttons strategically placed on the site, Tim achieves two important goals.
First, he uses that feedback to hone his product offering and content. His user personas are fed and enhanced by a constant stream of comments that gives Tim the opportunity to adjust his content quickly to based on user feedback.
Second, it is simple to make a new reader feel acceptance. Read a post, feel a sense of community and join right in by liking his Facebook page. With ample opportunities to speak up and join in, Tim is continually reinforcing the strength of his brand.
The Tools Of Inbound
5. The Power of The Blog
What makes a blog powerful?
Readership?
The quantity of readership of Tim's blog is huge but what makes it so successful is the engagement and that only happens when high quality, consistent material and content is provided. Every article is carefully arranged, curated and edited with one specific goal; to provide value to the reader.
His blog is fun to read, engaging and you get a lot out of it.
Original content is key but that's not all. By highlighting successful personalities from business, art, entertainment and publishing, Tim is able to get cross-over traffic and keep the new users rolling in, while simultaneously with expert analysis, advice and opinions from other top notch content creators.
6. Use Customer Personas
As we mentioned above, Tim knows you.
Oh, does he know you.
At the onset of his book launch, an effort was made to target a specific target market that Tim believed would be interested in his book. Then all efforts were focused on that one target; essentially, guys a lot like Tim.
Tim tailors the content to that target market and then delivers it via tools that market trusts and relies on. He successfully to harnesses the attention of his buyer personas keeps them engaged.
7. Convert with CTA's
While subtle, there are CTA's everywhere.
The website is designed for maximum conversions, in a very simple straightforward request. These CTA's almost always require one piece of information, email. In exchange, subscribers get full access to the community, or some other offer, such as "11 Must Use Apps & Tools". Pretty straightforward and low risk.
However, the 4 Hour Workweek Blog, is not afraid of special offers and giveaways. In fact, they made headlines and created major buzz with the announcement they were giving away over $4 million dollars in prizes to purchasers of the most recent publication.
8. Use Email Marketing to Full Potential
Tim was notoriously and vocally opposed to email. But once he had collected all those emails, it was time to re-consider. What did he do? He spoke personally to his readers via the blog, saying, "It’s not spam. It’s from me."
And so it began.
By proclaiming, "I'm not spam" and positioning his email newsletter/blog post updates as personal emails from a friend, Tim invited himself into millions of users inboxes in one simple blog post.
The message? If you've got 'em, use 'em.
You've converted users on the site, now put that work to action via email.
Take Marketing To the "Tim Ferriss" Level
Emulating the success of Tim and "The 4 Hour Work Week" requires dedication to the Inbound Methodology, incredible content creation and development of the right delivery tools. But your dedication to the lessons above will pay off.
Implement even a couple of tips from this pro and watch your marketing KPI's explode.
Image Credit: Brian Solis
