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Mouth Word of

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HEY GUESS WHAT?

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is not WORD OF MOUTH this crap:

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adding buttons and junk won’t suddenly make you buzzworthy

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Word of Mouth is content thoughtfulness solved problems ease of use your entire app

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Word of Mouth means people genuinely excited to share your product with their friends

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Word of Mouth means less work for you, with more impact

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This kind of buzz is contagious. It’ll take off without much intervention.

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“Word of Mouth” kind of a silly phrase

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Word of Finger internets for (since we type)

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Word of Mouf Ludacris by

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Let’s just stick with WORD OF MOUTH

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@holman

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No content

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Marketing IS NOT A DIRTY WORD

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Fine, I’ll say it... It’s good to promote your stuff.

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There’s some modest people in our industry.

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Don’t be nervous about sharing something you’re excited about

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REMEMBER ONE THING JUST

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Be genuine

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You can be WRONG MISGUIDED INACCURATE

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You may catch flak, but most people will still respect genuine excitement

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Be genuine

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Genuine marketing is the foundation of good marketing

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Humans don’t hate ads ...they hate most ads

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Everyone loves to discover things that make their lives easier cheaper lazier

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I see projects and products every day that I’ll never use, but I still love hearing about them. We love fresh creativity. We’ll love hearing about yours. Our industry loves a good story.

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Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there

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Surprise! AND DELIGHT

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SURPRISE AND DELIGHT is the best way to get people talking

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This is one of the most fundamental things in all theatrical movie composition yet magicians know nothing of it. Ready? “ - Teller of Penn & Teller Surprise me. That's it.

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This works in technology, too.

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the extra mile go

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The Extra Mile is the entire reason why these guys are so good. You

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Get them talking by going way, way beyond on customer service putting something novel in your app sweating the details

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Identify the mundane, then un-mundane-ify it

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Speak softly AND CARRY A BIG SHIP

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SPEAK SOFTLY don’t pre-announce features CARRY A BIG SHIP ship it. launch some great features.

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Surprise is almost always the safest bet.

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Shut up, and then ship something great.

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surprise & delight keep expectations in check

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Surprise! It’s just a regular Tuesday morning. Oh, and here’s something new that fixes and improves your life. nothing better than saying:

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This is mostly how GitHub works.

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It’s a safe, easy way of generating a lot of buzz.

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Speak loudly AND CARRY A BIG SHIP

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SPEAK LOUDLY pre-announce features CARRY A BIG SHIP ship it. launch some great features.

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37signals & Basecamp Next

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B

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B

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Anticipation is a powerful thing.

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Consider 2007. Teaser launches let you build irrational, fervent anticipation (this is a good thing)

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KEYNOTE Jan 9, 2007 LAUNCH June 29 June 26 Reviews AT&T Plans June 22 Guided Tour June 21 TV Ad June 20 YouTube June 18 Better Battery Announced Glass Screen Announced June 6 TV Ad June 3 TV Ads Feb 26 First Ad June 11 WWDC: iPhone SDK

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If you’re going to do this, knock it out of the park (otherwise you’re fucked)

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ARE REAL NICE Superfans

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Okay, some people like your product. Now focus on turning your fans into Superfans.

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are your most vocal supporters Superfans are your most vocal detractors help you out publicly and privately

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B

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Superfans They’ve bought in to your vision. listen to your If they’re confused or frustrated about something, that’s a big, big problem.

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Conferences & Drinkups & Hackfests MEATSPACE

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Everyone kfree stuff

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If you screw up, fix it. x You might lose the initial customer, but others may notice. Remember Airbnb?

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Superfans aren’t just for companies. You are your own brand.

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be novel be surprising delightful be word of mouth

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Thanks.

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Zach Holman zachholman.com/talks @holman