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Newsletter #805: The “Get Them Sharing” Issue

Welcome back to the Damn, I Wish I Thought of That! newsletter. This is text of the great issue all of our email subscribers just received. Sign yourself up using the handy form on the right.]

When you help your fans and customers share, it gets them talking and creates relationships between them. Opportunities to do it:

1> Their stories
2> Their rewards
3> Their donations
4> Check it out: Album Tacos

1> Their stories

When you can help people share their personal stories, you can tap into some powerful emotions. Bike lock maker Kryptonite found a unique way to combine story sharing with a contest — they asked cyclists who were now bike-less to submit their stories of thievery to ihateyoubikethief.com for a chance to win a new lock. They received hundreds of submissions from dozens of countries, many of them long, well-written essays detailing the heartbreak of losing a bike. The concept made for much more than a simple giveaway, it was group therapy.

The lesson: Your fans are often better storytellers than you. When you can help them share over emotional topics, you can create some powerful conversations.

Learn more: ihateyoubikethief.com/

2> Their rewards

If you have a rewards program, can your members share their perks with friends? With United Airlines, you can share the love. Executive-level members, for example, can check three bags at no cost and so can their companions. If a first-class seat is available, members get automatically upgraded and so does a friend that’s flying with them. They can also use their frequent flyer miles to purchase a ticket or upgrade for anyone they choose. None of this costs United anything extra — they’re perks and rewards they would already be giving away. But this way, friends get to experience the bonuses and get a peek at why they should join the program.

The lesson: Letting your members share their rewards with friends makes them instant ambassadors to all of your products and perks.

Learn more: IowaBiz.com

3> Their donations

When customers make a purchase for you, look for opportunities to make it more than a transaction by giving them the chance to donate a portion of the proceeds to the cause of their choice. For each ticket you purchase for “Waiting For Superman” (a documentary about improving education in America), you receive a $15 gift code to give to a classroom of your choice. It’s a powerful, tangible extension of what the film stands for, and fans get the opportunity to make an immediate (even if small) impact on a school they care about.

The lesson: Make it a purchase worth talking about by giving customers the chance to share some of the proceeds with a cause they care about.

Learn more: Waiting For Superman

4> Check it out: Album Tacos

Every day this site takes an iconic album cover and inserts the one element they all seem to lack: a taco.

Check it out: Album Tacos

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