What’s the number one problem for anyone who’s starting something new?
That’s right, it’s, “How do I get the word out?”
Because, even though there’s millions of people who might be your target prospect, you just can’t reach them all initially.
However, remember the saying that goes... what’s the best way to eat an elephant - piece by piece? Well, that’s exactly the way to approach the “getting the word out” problem, too.
In other words, before you get out and try to reach millions and millions of people, you should be looking at how to get an impact in a specific geographic market, first.
Think about how independent movies do it…
They don’t have a lot of money so they can’t afford a wide release. And what they do is, they start with a limited release in Boston. Or New York… or another localized area.
They focus all of their advertising and all of their budget and awareness to that one particular area. They rent the theaters, they sell the tickets… in short, they work on getting the word out in just that one city.
And then… they take the profits they've made in that one area… and go to the next city. Then the next one. And the next one. And so on. Until, city by city, (if the movie is any good, of course), they suddenly conquer the whole US.
Back in the old days of the movie industry, they’d call this approach “four walling."
And here’s something else…
When you think about every brand, business, or anything that’s global and dominant today… realize that at one point, they were local and brand new.
Oprah was a local Chicago TV person. Oprah Winfrey Show started as a local show in Chicago. The Beatles started as the best band in Liverpool… and even U2, at one point, were the second best band in Dublin...
Because you know what? If you’re great, you’re great. You can’t hide greatness…
But you do need to first conquer one city… if you then want go on and conquer the rest of world.