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Writer's pictureJohn Brandt

3 marketing secrets from in-app purchases

There’s a lot you can learn from the “freebie” games that offer in-app purchases.


Fortnite is the most popular example. Mobile phone games like Clash of Clans walked so Fortnite could run. And if you’re over 20 years old, you probably remember Farmville, which you played on Facebook, that walked so Clash of Clans could run.


During Fortnite’s peak, they made a ludicrous amount of dough. Something to the tune of more than $5 billion in a calendar year.


For a free game.


Where the only in-app purchases they offered was new costumes, which offered no competitive advantage.


Wherein lies our first marketing secret:


People like status — and they’ll spend inordinate amounts of cashola to peacock their status to others.


Best part?


As Fortnite shows us, it doesn’t even have to be real status. Fake, digital status also makes cash registers falsetto.


(Which could become essential as Zuck tries to imprison us all in His metaverse. And yes, “His” with a capital H because that’s how he thinks of Himself.)


As for the second marketing secret…


Well, this ain’t so much a secret anymore, but it’s how guys like Russell Brunson built an empire with Clickfunnels (even as it’s laden with glitches and annoying problems)...


The free book (“just pay shipping”) funnel and the freebie games with in-app purchases run off the same secret:


Break even on marketing and make your money back in the backend.


If you can figure out the backend to your offers, you’ll never go broke (even as crypto, the stock market, and even real estate—remember: new metaverse dropping soon—go to zero).


In fact, the best businesses are the ones who can afford to spend the most per attracting new leads.


Counterintuitive, but true.


Why?


Well, if you can afford to spend $500 for every new lead while your competitor can only muster $50 per lead, you’ll win in the long term. That’s because if you can spend $500 per new lead, your LTV (lifetime value) is at least $501. (Otherwise, you’d be robbing your business blind to spend $500 to acquire a new lead.)


That’s what Fortnite did with its advertising and the fact that anyone could download this app. (Including my younger cousin who downloaded it, somehow connected my credit card, and bought hundreds of dollars in fake gear from Fortnite.)


And that’s how Russell Brunson created his Clickfunnels empire.


Moving onto the last secret…


These businesses run on consumption more than anything else.


“Consumption marketing” is something only a select few marketers preach. The great Sean D'Souza being one of them.


But your LTV will be shite if’n nobody consumes your content.


Clickfunnels never would’ve become an empire without consumption, i.e. people using—and succeeding—with Clickfunnels.


That’s what spawned their “one funnel away” mantra. Their 7 figure club. Their 8 figure club. And their car giveaway (which idk if they still do anymore, but they used to buy their best clients a new car).


Same hap’n’d with Fortnite:


Without an army of gamers, streamers, and YouTubers playing Fortnite, they never would’ve made billions.


Fortnite fast tracked the rise of esports in a way no other game did either. I have many friends who never played Fortnite who would watch other people playing it online.


Say what you will about League of Legends and other absurdly popular online games, but those games aren’t as addictive to watch (not even play) as Fortnite was.


This even applies to Clash of Clans…


During their heyday, they hosted Clash of Clan live events and tournaments.


And they’ve riddled away into nothingness in recent years because they reached a point where it would take months to finish a structure in their game, which killed consumption.


IYKYK.


And you know what?


Consumption also applies to your business:


The more your customers or clients consume your services, products, and offers, the more successful you will be.


Before we wrap, here’s one last bonus secret for ya noggin:


This bonus secret applies to the previous 3 I shared. And it’s the engine that makes this entire approach work:


It’s easier to get previous customers to whip out their wallet and fork over their hard-earned money to you than it is to attract new customers.


Capisce?


Need help making oodles of dough through email (without typing a single word yourself)?


Let’s set up a call, and see if’n we’re a good fit. Grab a time here.


John


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