Radical ideas

[Rajtar]

After listening to your podcast with dr Iwan Nantschev i have decided to give answer to your question about reaching more people and expanding. My idea may seem a bit radical and unconventional but I am sure it will work. For 30 days only talk and focus on benefits of Starting Strength method, every time you write an article, post something on your website like a video or reply to someone on a forum, make sure you talk only in positive way about Starting Strength and resist the urge to criticise or even mention anything that media, doctors or other people like marathon runners, crossfit etc. are doing. Simply focus only on Starting Strength method for only 30 days, write articles about athletes doing the program and their successes, again never mentioning or criticising anything else. Focus on starting Strength coaches or any other coaches, doctors and regular people who are having success with the method. Write or talk about your hobbies or the movies you watched or books you have read but don't mention or criticise any other training method, business, books or anything that is not related to starting strength, and obviously don't criticise starting strength. Doing this for only 30 days should not be difficult as starting strength is changing peoples lives for the better, and you will only have to talk about that for only 30 days, for a start. By doing that you will only focus on those who really want to listen, and you can't reach those who don't so don't waste your time and energy on them.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Why will this expand our audience?

[Rajtar]

"Energy flows where attention goes", when you focus on what you want you will get more of it, when you criticise and give your attention to something you don't want you are getting more of it as well. This may seem crazy but have you noticed that really successful people barely talk about their competition, in fact I have heard about crossfit from Starting Strength videos and articles, before that I had no idea what crossfit was, often by talking about your competition even in a bad way you are giving them free advertising, they don't talk about starting strength at their seminars, in fact most commercial gym owners have never heard about Starting Strength. By only talking about how great Starting Strength is and how beneficial it is, like Dr. Sullivan just did in his video about Parkinson's disease and training' you will help others notice how great training system it is, and by doing that you will also change the way the energy is flowing in your favour. You can treat it as an experiment, you have nothing to loose by talking and writing in a positive way about your own company and leaving all the other bullshit that is happening in fitness industry behind, let them leave their own lives and don't give any of your attention to them.

[AndrewLewis]

Because prospects respond well to hearing about what's going to benefit them (which you do already do) and don't respond well to shitting on things they respect even if their respect is potentially misplaced.

As for doing it for a month straight and hammering it home, I think that's a bit much.
In my limited marketing experience, free content should be the primary source of "advertising" and actual sales copy/pitches should be used only once in a while.

The free content side is something that SS already does really well. The big problem I see is the off putting obstinate assertions (right or wrong) which come into play every once in a while.

That all said, I'm garbage at marketing and business.

[Mark Rippetoe]

You mean, ignore people who lie about us, and ignore people who are wrong? Certainly something to think about.

[Scaldrew]

But don't you have like a pill I can pop? Squatting seems like a lot of work.

[Eric Schexnayder]

There may be some validity to this idea. I don't see much shitting on StrongLifts 5x5 anywhere on the website, yet there are quite a few converts from that program to Starting Strength.

That being said, I don't think there's much wrong with pointing out how the CrossFit or "Functional Training" mantras differ from that of Starting Strength. Can't say I've seen a lot of "shitting" on those subjects, unless you consider a fairly objective analysis on the subject as "shitting".

I'd like to think the OP is a rare example of the directionality of free advertising in the fitness industry. I myself never heard of Starting Strength, but sure as hell had heard about CrossFit, PT, and GloboGym circuit training etc. Since that is probably what the majority of consumers in the fitness marketplace have experienced, I would think that those looking for an alternative would be relieved to find something that outlines why what they were previously doing was not giving results they wanted. I know I enjoyed reading such articles.

[Rajtar]

I know it sounds radical, but think about it this way, you have tried doing it your way and it took you so far, your company sure came the long way and you are reaching more and more people every day, and now think what if what I suggested works, and helps expand your business more than you have ever imagined. I am sure that you, and other people in Starting Strength are ready for that. I know it is not easy to simply ignore all the bullshit around you, especially if you have spend most of your life looking at it and having to cope with it, but this is the best way to move Starting Strength to the next level.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Since that is probably what the majority of consumers in the fitness marketplace have experienced, I would think that those looking for an alternative would be relieved to find something that outlines why what they were previously doing was not giving results they wanted. I know I enjoyed reading such articles.

Both our website traffic and our social media traffic vary directly with the level of conflict/aggression/shit-talk perceived to exist in the content. Sorry, but sweetness and love are not interesting to most people for whom barbell training has an appeal. As far as our competitors, we very seldom mention them by name, since doing so constitutes free advertising for them and has proven to be unproductive for our interests. So, the OP's perception that this website is currently a hate festival is simply incorrect. He does not know what I delete on a daily basis. And delineating our approach in contrast to the conventional wisdom is absolutely necessary, for reasons that should be obvious.

I know it sounds radical, but think about it this way, you have tried doing it your way and it took you so far, your company sure came the long way and you are reaching more and more people every day, and now think what if what I suggested works, and helps expand your business more than you have ever imagined. I am sure that you, and other people in Starting Strength are ready for that. I know it is not easy to simply ignore all the bullshit around you, especially if you have spend most of your life looking at it and having to cope with it, but this is the best way to move Starting Strength to the next level.

How do you know this to be true, and what does your approach look like, specifically?

[Rajtar]

Both our website traffic and our social media traffic vary directly with the level of conflict/aggression/shit-talk perceived to exist in the content. Sorry, but sweetness and love are not interesting to most people for whom barbell training has an appeal. As far as our competitors, we very seldom mention them by name, since doing so constitutes free advertising for them and has proven to be unproductive for our interests. So, the OP's perception that this website is currently a hate festival is simply incorrect. He does not know what I delete on a daily basis. And delineating our approach in contrast to the conventional wisdom is absolutely necessary, for reasons that should be obvious.



How do you know this to be true, and what does your approach look like, specifically?

I know this to be true from my own life experience, and from the accounts of others, mostly book authors and motivational speakers like Napoleon Hill, Sun Tzu, Tony Robbins etc. My approach is simple I talk and direct my thoughts towards what I want, and speak about things in a positive way, for example instead of saying I don't want to be sick I say I want to be healthy, instead I don't want to be weak I say I want to be strong, instead I don't like cold I say I like warmth etc. I believe similar tactic is being used by big companies and corporations, people respond better to a positive approach than to a negative one.
I never said that this site was a hate festival I just said that by focusing more on many benefits of Starting Strength can bring you more customers.
There are many books on the subject that are worth reading I said at the beginning this is a radical and very different approach, it took me many years of life experience and many many books to start understanding, and implementing it in to my own life.