Blu Maya Digital Marketing Agency

Exclusivity and participation are powerful word of mouth tools.

One website on the Internet that has one of the most unique stand out personalities is The Art of Manliness, and they recently put exclusivity and participation to work. The brainchild of Brett & Kate McKay, The Art of Manliness is a blog dedicated to uncovering the lost art of being a man with the goal of helping men be better husbands, better fathers, and better men.

Participation stimulates engagement

The Art of Manliness has a tight, large community of fans who helped them create a Lessons in Manliness ebook. The community submitted essays on the lessons they’ve learned from a man in their life and to encourage people to submit something to the project, they offered a Box of Manliness as a prize.

We received 46 submissions from men who shared stories about the grandfathers, friends, and mentors who have lived lives that showcase the very best in being an honorable man. I’ve finally put all the submissions into a nicely formatted eBook so that everyone can enjoy and hopefully learn from the lives of ordinary men who have helped pass the art of manliness on to others. At over 100 pages long, it’s pretty substantial for an eBook. And it’s completely free.

Exclusivity creates uniqueness

You see Hollywood do it with the Special Edition Movie Box sets where you get some insider information in a fancy looking package, The Box of Manliness works the same way. First of all it’s a very cool looking box indeed and it comes with some branded manliness arsenal that will make people go ‘what’s that?’:

• Merkur Safety Razor
• Taylor of Old Bond Street Sandalwood Shaving Cream
• Badger Hair Shaving Brush
• Mustache Handkerchief
• Case Pocket Knife
• An Art of Manliness t-shirt of your choosing
• A signed copy of the Art of Manliness book

Key takeaway:

As you can see exclusivity and participation are powerful word of mouth tools, they can turn your community into rabid fans. When you engage people in a product and make them feel as though it is their product, it translates directly into a desire to talk about it.

Engage your community and empower them to talk about you.