A Secret Expert Glimpse Into PROFITABLE April Fools Day Postings (ie, how to write one)

OMIGOSH, it's April 2nd!

Which meant….yesterday was April Fools Day!

Did YOU take advantage of the sheer lusciousness of potential viral marketing such a day offers?

No?  Well, why on earth NOT?  April Fools Day is the ONLY day in the year where you can cast your humor and bizarreness to the ends of the universe…and if you plan smart-like, increase your profits for 2011 and beyond.

Here's how.

First, though, I'd like you to take a peek at MY April Fools posting:  it's over at:

Funnier Than Dilbert??? – Fresh New Nicky510 Top Contender For 2011 Comic-Thon!

G'head, click on it, read it in detail…and then come back here.  I'll wait.

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Oh, you're back again?  Wonderful!  Now, let me first give you some background on that post.  You see, Nicky510 is one of my favorite comics…and I personally think it's one of the funniest, freshest comics I've seen for years.   So sharing it with the Internet is my pet project.

With that as an introduction, let's start from the beginning.  As you read, keep asking yourself….."How can I apply this to MY business?"  The answers might prove most profitable indeed!

Step 1.)  Ask yourself: What is the goal you want to achieve?

For me, I want to get the word out about Nicky 510.  I'm not trying to get anyone to buy anything; I'm trying to generate a word-of-mouth avalanche. 

Step 2.)  Ask yourself: What popular events are similar to your goals' niche?

For me, Nicky 510 is a comic….therefore, I wanted to explore comic-related events.  And WHOMP – I discovered Comic Con International.  Alrighty now, I now had a very popular, world-known conference I could spoof!

Looking for trade shows/expos in your niche?  Check out:

• Trade Show Directory
  
  
• Biz Trade Shows
  
  
• Conventions.net
  

Step 3.)  Ask yourself: How can you spin the niche event name?

For me, I looked at Comic-Con and immediately thought of Comic-Thon (you know, telethon, marathon, anythingthon, etc.?).

Need a way to find rhyming words?  Check out Rhymezone!

Step 4.) Ask yourself: How can your goal be applied to your imaginary event?

Once you know the name of your imaginary event. you need to relate your goal to it somehow.  For me, I want Nicky 510 to become on everyone's radar, so I decided to create a "contest" and promote Nicky 510 as the top contender.  The category I chose was:

Freshest New Funniest Comic of 2011!!!!

Well, why not?  2011 is next year; that gives me 20-odd months for my story to be in the search engines and increase in rank/visibility.  Always give your goal as much time as possible before it becomes yesterday's news.

Step 5.)  Prepare all the backend stuff

Prior to writing my April Fools post, I created the official Nicky 510 Facebook Fan page.  I also bought the domain ComicThon.com (can't believe it wasn't taken!); if I was going to write about an event in 2011, I needed a splash page landing page as well.

Then I configured an optin form too, just to build a comic-related list.  I used my aWeber account for that.

I built ComicThon.com by installing WordPress and using the one column Detour theme I used at Income Fitness Short Copy.  I'm big on software-reuse – I only had to tweakize the header image to get it all together.

Step 6.)  Ask your children for assistance in copy!

I confess – comics are NOT my forte.  That being said, I was able to find the most popular categories in this niche (part of the Inner Expert training I'll be offering)….but still, I wanted to zero in on the more outlandish of ideas.

So….I turned to me kids and friends and sent them this text:

quick, i need comic categories. ie, best comic of 2011, most political comic of 2011, etc.etc.etc.

And my final categories became:

• Freshest Comic of 2011
• Best Political Comic of 2011
• Best Tragic Comic of 2011
• Most Unique Comic Art Style of 2011
• Most Memorable Comic of 2011
• Most Unbelievable Comic of 2011
• Most Manliness of Men Comic of 2011
• Most Womanliness of Women Comic of 2011
• Most Suspenseful Comic of 2011
• Best Character Development
• Best Setting/Premise
• Most Rabid Fans
• Best Transition to Anime
• Best Appreciation of Coffee

Yes, the last category was from me.  🙂

Step 7.)  Make sure you have all the images you need at hand.

I didn't like the Facebook fan page badge Facebook offered, so I photoshopped my own:

 

Step 8.) Write your April Fools Post with a twist.

Ah, the most important part!!

Go back now to your original goal.  For me, it's to get Nicky 510 known…so the Comic Thon part is really secondary.  I wanted to hit my readers FIRST and FOREMOST with the BENEFITS of Nicky 510 . 

So….2/3 of the ENTIRE post is SOLEY about Nicky 510.  'Matter of fact, I took most of it from the New Here? page.

And that brings me to a VERY important point.  You do NOT have to be an epic writer (unless you're creating an entirely new post from scratch, like my 2009 April Fools post, Rainbows follow ME in search of GOLD – Make Money and Lose Weight).  You simply have to Just Freakin' Do It!

Reusing what's already there can be a Very Good Thing indeed.  🙂

Back to the post – once you've written your critical material, you segue into your Facebook Fan page like so:

And talk about Social Media – there's even a Facebook Fan Page you can join to keep abreast of all the current goodies as well!

And THEN…then start to write about your imaginary event.

Step 9.)  Promote the April Fools Day post to your network

Finally, when you're done with everything….promote your blog post to your network.  That means Twitter, Facebook, Ping.fm…everyplace you think it can catch fire and cause a word-of-mouth avalanche of publicity.

Recap of A Secret Expert Glimpse Into PROFITABLE April Fools Day Postings

The key to profitable April Fools Day postings is to plan AHEAD.  Think what keywords would be used to find your topic/product/niche/etc., and then give yourself the 20-odd months to continue to build the momentum.

The steps you've just read include:

• Step 1.)  Ask yourself: What is the goal you want to achieve?
  
• Step 2.)  Ask yourself: What popular events are similar to your goals' niche?
  
• Step 3.)  Ask yourself: How can you spin the niche event name?
  
• Step 4.)  Ask yourself: How can your goal be applied to your imaginary event?
  
• Step 5.)  Prepare all the backend stuff
  
• Step 6.)  Ask your children for assistance in copy!
  
• Step 7.)  Make sure you have all the images you need at hand.
  
• Step 8.)  Write your April Fools Post with a twist.
  
• Step 9.)  Promote the April Fools Day post to your network
  

Remember this for next year's April Fools Day posting…your bottom line will thank you for it.

Enjoy,

Barbara Ling

ps – if you liked this post, why not join our fan club for other secret goodies I share as well?