How To Create Scarcity So Others Feel Extra Special

Choosing who is going to be in the room with you beats reaching out to anyone.

Being in big groups doesn’t really make sense. Just because someone has many followers, the chances of having a one to one conversation with hundreds/thousands of people at one time is never going to happen.

This article is about looking to create scarcity, so others feel even more valued and special. I now believe that the future is about championing being smaller, rather than reaching out to the world and anyone who comes into eyeshot (or earshot). The reason people search for mass is to be accepted.

When you choose on virtue, it beats throwing the net out randomly. Sometimes you have to recognise that less, definitely means more.

You create value for the right people, not chasing a life of clicks, views and likes.

Let me explain.

Coming to the seaside next month is one of my marketing heroes, Mark Schaefer. Marketing Rebellion was released in January 2019 and is such a great book. Mark’s recent talk at Social Media Marketing World, brought 5,000 people to their feet. On Friday 10th May, Mark is going to share his talk and we’ll have a lot more lined up, in a room of 50 or so people. This is a far cry from 5,000 people lapping up every word.

Sometimes you have to take a deep breath and say to other people that this occasion only has room for 55 people.

Access can’t be open to everyone, everywhere.

It works like this. It starts with an email from me to people who are coming to the You Are The Media Conference on Thursday May 23rd. This is effectively giving those who have committed to the conference, first refusal. They are being treated differently from those who just want to come, but there is no connection between me and someone else ie. they may not be part of the You Are The Media community. Those who come to the conference are effectively being given VIP status to see a respected marketing thinker, writer and speaker. Even better, this is Mark’s only visit to the UK this year. On a personal level, to come to the seaside means a lot.

It is about being honest with the selection process. If you are coming to the conference, let’s make the whole month that little bit more special. If there are spaces available a week before the event with Mark Schaefer, it will be open to others.

There doesn’t have to be some out of the box, genius metric to bring people to your side, it is about finding ways to create value and impact.

It works even better when you know the names of the people who are on your side, rather than a random photo of someone on Twitter who you will never meet, apart from a brief encounter where they give a ‘like.’

Scarcity sits in a totally different place from reach. Dr. Robert Cialdini looked at this element of persuasion where the more difficult it becomes to obtain something ie. a place, your content, your product, the more valuable it becomes. 

When looking to make your world smaller and choose who is going to be at the party with you, it is more about the impact you want to make rather than just the money you will take.

Here is what you can do when it comes to choosing to create scarcity and you create value.

i) Give something people want to get behind.

This is all about the cause and who you create for. Creating content that resonates with others, that isn’t in abundance, can make someone else’s experience with you a positive one ie. it made them think, it made them laugh, it made them act.

ii) Acknowledge others at the start of the journey.

This is about acknowledging those who step forward with you. For instance, everyone who subscribes to the weekly You Are The Media email gets their first email from me, not a robot. 80% of people who respond is always along the lines of, ‘I wasn’t expecting a personal reply.’ In a world of automation, being present and a thank you is worth its weight.

iii) Let people know why they are getting the special treatment.

Rather than everyone treated the same, you let those people who are with you know they are treated a bit differently. For instance, if someone is a You Are The Media member, they get access to a rate for the You Are The Media Conference that is slightly less than someone who is not a member.

iv) Let people know you are here and not going to go away or change tact.

If someone has made that commitment ie. subscribed, downloaded, purchased, the least you can do is keep consistency or at least if things start to pivot, they understand why and you let know why. Keep it conversational, not spammy.

v) Be clear why there is a finite amount of love to go round (and why not everyone is coming in).

This is about taking everything away from reach and mass and being crystal clear why someone feels like a VIP. The event with Mark Schaefer is only available to 55 people, whilst I know not everyone would be able to make it who is coming to the conference on May 23rd, I made it clear that if someone has booked, they get the first opportunity to say yes or no. They made a commitment to me (coming to the conference), the least I could do is let them know that they deserve the reward for their time.

vi) Tell people why it is not for them is just as important as telling others why it’s for them.

It is just as important to retract people, as it is to pull people in. For instance, the people who walked out of the first date of the You Are The Media winter tour, were more into finding out how to convert someone from a subscriber to a sale in the quickest time, rather than build their audience. I now realise you have to be clear on who you are not, just as much as who you are.

When you can architect the entire experience, people are going to be more satisfied. Just because someone clicked a button, their world doesn’t then have to be automated from you. If you can create scarcity, you can receive appreciation.

You don’t want people looking for alternatives.

This is why the future is looking to small groups, you can have that one to one connection when the time is right, rather than an unfamiliar message to direct someone to somewhere else.

When there is a flow of information ie. via social and the channels you own, you nurture the right environment for the right people. It is built on trust, reciprocity, connection and knowing that when there are enough people to go round, you don’t have to fit in with everyone.

When you build your space, you can choose who comes into the room with you.