Aerosmith Marketing Lessons

 Pat O’Bryan — no, that’s not him in the picture — just reminded me of an important marketing lesson.

It cost me $41,000 to relearn it.

But you can learn it for free by reading this blog post.

  I check ebay every day for key interests of mine. One of them is Panoz, the makers of my beautiful Panoz Esperante GTLM exotic sports car named Francine.

Yesterday I spotted a Panoz AIV Roadster from 1998 on auction. Panoz Roadsters are rare to begin with, as only 176 were ever made and the last ones were made in 1999.

The AIV ones are even rarer, as they were some of the first Aluminum Intensive Vehicles (AIV).

Only 72 Panoz AIV Roadsters were made in 1998, and only 7 in Sunburst Yellow.

But this particular one on ebay is even more collectible, as it was owned and raced by rock star Steven Tyler of Aerosmith (above picture).

He even autographed the car under the hood, and on the owner’s manual (writing, “Drive this way”).

I saw it about two hours before the auction was to end. I wanted it but talked myself out of it, saying I already had Francine, and she’s jealous as it is.

I emailed Pat and showed him the link to the auction.

This is where the marketing lesson began.

Pat pointed out that if he owned that car, he’d be making a big fuss over the fact that Aerosmith’s Tyler owned it and loved it.

Whoever was selling the car didn’t even put “Steven Tyler” or “Aerosmith” in the subject line at ebay. That meant only people top-level searching for “Panoz” or “AIV Roadster” would find the listing.

Big mistake.

Every good copywriter knows the subject line is the headline, and the headline is what gets people to read the rest of the story.

I suddenly realized that if I bought the car as an investment, and drove it around a little, I could later sell it as the “Rare Panoz AIV Roadster of Aerosmith and Joe Vitale.” (Believe it or not, people buy and sell “Joe Vitale” stuff on ebay every day.)

People searching for “Panoz” or “AIV Roadster” or “Aerosmith” or “Joe Vitale” would learn of the collectible vehicle, and someone would want it — bad.

I bid on the car.

I won it, too.

Let this be a lesson to you. Marketing is more than having a good product; it’s getting the attention of the target market who will want it.

And here’s a deeper marketing lesson:

People buy for emotional reasons and justify their purchase with logic.

Why did I just buy a 1998 Panoz AIV Roadster?

The emotional reason for the purchase may be that it was owned by a celebrity and that excites me. I almost bought actor James Caan’s car once for the same reason, but a Panoz hot rod is so much sexier than a Bentley. (Photo is of me giving James Caan my book,The Attractor Factor, in his Las Vegas TV show studio trailer.)

The logical justification for the Roadster is that it is an investment. I believe I can sell it for a much higher ticket later.

When you market your product or service, remember to cover both sides in your copy: the emotional as well as the intellectual.

Finally, here’s a metaphysical lesson for you:

When you are in alignment with your goals and deservingness, there is balance in your world.

For example, yesterday I bought Tyler’s Panoz AIV Roadster for $41,000 and today I received an offer to write a new book with an advance for far more than what I just spent on the car.

Way cool.

If you want more lessons about marketing and/or metaphysics from me and other speakers, consider attending Pat O’Bryan’s Un-Seminar #4 in Austin, Texas on November 9 – 11th. Details (and photos) are at www.patobryan.com/unseminar4.htm?a_aid=16d36c70&a_bid=7f41a5e1 

I won’t receive the car for weeks, so I have time to go reassure Francine that she’s the true love of my life (besides Nerissa, of course).

And then I’m buying some Aerosmith CDs. 

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – If you want to attract a new car, too, check out www.attractanewcar.com If you want to get clear of blocks inside yourself concerning money, see www.moneybeyondbelief.com If you want personal coaching in getting past your limits and achieving your dreams, consider www.miraclescoaching.com You deserve success, you know. Even hot-rod rock-star Steven Tyler would agree on that. 🙂

PPS – You can see some rare factory videos of Panoz Roadsters being built here: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2433890977080832004&hl=en And a nice article about the Panoz company in Fast Company magazine is here: www.autofieldguide.com/articles/050005.html Enjoy.

PPPS – I still want a Panoz Hybrid.