Attention! This Book Will Make You Money: How to Use Attention-Getting Online Marketing to Increase Your Revenue

Chapter 64. Does Making S#*% Up to Get Attention Work?

Sure it does, it happens all the time. A town in Israel is claiming a mermaid shows up at night to frolic in the sea for all those that want to watch. Local officials are now offering a cash prize of $ 1 million for the first tourist to take a photograph of the mermaid. Look, we all know there is no mermaid, so nobody is going to make the million bucks, despite what "the town's people say." What's more likely: That there is a real mermaid or that the local tourism board or a politician made up the story to drive tourists to visit their town? What happens when you have tourists? They spend money on food, beverages, lodging, and merchandise. Once again, attention equals revenue.

How many millions of people have visited Loch Ness in Scotland to try to catch a glimpse of the legendary Nessie, the Loch Ness Monster? How much money have people made off tracking down Bigfoot, or the lost city of Atlantis? How many historical societies have claimed ghost hauntings to get more people through the doors? How many people have flown to Area 51 in Roswell, Nevada, to see for themselves if aliens do in fact exist?

The answer to the previous questions is a lot. More than you can count, and they're all customers.

From the time when each of us was a little child we've been told stories, and usually the best ones are the ones we remember the longest. Books, movies, radio programs, and so on, and now on the Web. There's an opportunity for you to tap ...