Good morning, fellow Member. I need your help bringing more folks like yourself to this grand experiment in liberty.
We devoted much of 2019 to transitioning to a new BillWhittle.com website and recurring payment platform, working through the inevitable bugs, and making continual feature improvements. That work continues.
We’re finally ready to focus on inviting more liberty-lovers to become Members. We have made it this far with virtually no marketing. I’ve drafted what’s known in the business as a landing page, the sole purpose of which is to tell the story of our Members and bring new ones into the family.
Please take a look at this (not ready for prime time) draft page, and use the comments on this blog post to make helpful suggestions, and to note what you like about it. Remember, it’s designed to reach folks who are not yet Members, but who would be a good fit.
One more favor: We need to some pithy testimonials on the page to let folks know why our existing Members find it worth their while. Feel free to post one of those below as well, realizing by doing so you give us permission post it on the website, on a billboard outside of Paris, or in the smoke of a sky-writer above the beach at Monaco, as we see fit.
Here’s the link to the draft landing page.
Thank you.
29 replies on “Recruiting New Members: Help Us Draft Our Approach”
Overall a lovely piece, Scott. Good stuff.
I agree with the other commenters that this needs to emphasize fun. Clips in the montage should include things like:
James Bond does not deliver a strongly-worded letter from the UN and drive off in a Prius at a reasonable speed.
We’re the ones with hot women, guns, and fast cars. Why is this hard to sell?
A clip from the post-Romney loss where Bill points out that the Left is doing EVERYTHING right and the Republicans are doing EVERYTHING wrong, and it’s STILL a 50/50 country. (I can’t tell you how much hope this gave me at the time.) Perhaps a bit about how the media gives a 15-point advantage to the Democrats, about how the only thing we need is an real press.
A bit about the Emperor’s New Clothes (Trump and Kanye).
A bit from the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bomb video pointing out that we know the Japanese weren’t going to stop and we didn’t have to ask them because they hadn’t stopped after the first bomb.
A brief (hahahahaha) clip about r/K.
A brief ( yeah, yeah) clip about Star Wars, perhaps one about Kirk vs. Picard.
A clip showing how something the Democrat media complex is claiming is straight out of Rule for Radicals–has he pointed this out recently vis-a-vis the impeachment being a pre-emptive libel that Trump did what the Democrats provably did in reality.
EDITED TO ADD: a clip around minute 24 of today’s BWN episode explaining about the cycle of civilization possibly being interrupted by the internet allowing rubes like us to communicate with each other at BW dot com.
I could go on and on. Do you want me to?
I disagree that you need a female presence. I think that’s condescending and concedes the entire identity politics narrative to the Left. People’s sexes and colors and origins are irrelevant. Ideas are paramount. I actually get really annoyed at the Daily Wire’s videos that feature a token female asking questions. I know that the female in question is in fact quite smart and that she is a very long-time friend of Ben’s but she sounds ditzy and it feels like pandering. I would probably like her a lot in real life but I don’t like her in their videos. As far as BW.com goes, I guess it would depend a lot upon the individual woman. I would probably never tire of listening to Natasha talking about comparing the US to the USSR, for example.
I agree with those commenters suggesting making it shorter and pithier. As you can tell from this post, this is definitely a pot and kettle problem for me personally. The really hard editing is cutting out all the beautifully-phrased verbiage that doesn’t change everything by the end of the scene.
I do not have an opinion on reaching young people, except to say that I think what we need here on BW dot com is a lot of the 30-50 demographic to pay for content Bill wants to produce which is aimed specifically at young people.
Finally, I’d be happy to correct a few punctuation errors that I found, if you want those kinds of corrections, bearing in mind that my red pen is merciless.
Pithy testimonial: “This is my social media.”
Re-re-reading it, it is a thing of beauty. If you do rewrite it, archive the current one. It is one of your symphonies of words.
But, again, it won’t reach the youth.
It’s wonderful…if you’re trying to reach older folks.
If you’re trying to reach younger folks, it’s too wordy and heady.
I’m reading it through the eyes of the high schoolers I am surrounded by daily, and very, very few of them will take the time to read that. For me, it is written beautifully, but through the eyes of those kids, the wording is too flowery, and the ideas not relatable.
Your page will reach the most intelligent, the deepest thinkers, but it will NOT reach the average student, of which there are many more.
You want younger members? Go simple. I read something about a video montage. If you make one, target the every day student.
Scott, I am one of your writing’s biggest fans, You know that. But what you wrote will not gain the interest of who you are targeting.
I agree, Scott is joy to read. He’s very inspirational. Yet, targeting different demographics with a single message is difficult, and while his message is music to some it is cumbersome reading to others. Further, I’m not sure students can/should be the target. First, they tend not to have much money (you have to point out to them that a monthly membership is equivalent to 2 visits to Starbucks). Second, they’re generally not sophisticated readers; witness the disappearance of the classics from academia.
Hi. Me again. I’m just trying to add to comments by Martin, Nolan and Karl. Speaking from the commonly-accepted but leftist challenged female XX side….
Have you thought about a couple of embedded links in the landing page? Perhaps from Bill’s virtual presidential videos that address the issues that are contained in the recruitment piece. Just a few seconds of his ideals/vision that focus… you know, the applause lines. It not only would highlight his brand of humor in the face of serious topics, but also would show an attractive alpha man with very attractive thoughts. Get the ladies, guys. We’re out here, and spit on pajama boy.
Good stuff.
All great comments here, especially about producing a short promo video montage (like I know you have all the time in the world for that). I took my red pen out and humbly offer my thoughts. Bill doesn’t know it but I have considered myself his invisible gravity-loving wingperson for a long time. FWIW, I’ve shared his great Firewall piece about the bombing of Hiroshima with many of my “peace through pussyfooting” friends. Anyway, here goes…
1. A little more optimism
“You are all that stands in their way”
One of the things that many people think is that they are powerless to personally make any meaningful impact. Give them hope, e.g., “With your help, we can turn the tide.” It’s a little Sally Struthers, but it’s effective.
2. Stronger, more pithy headers
“Progressives Sweep the Republic
Destroy what makes America Great”
You make kind of a subliminal reference to Trump’s signature line. Trump supporters are already in your wheelhouse. Reach for those who like your ideals, but may have issues with the president himself. What I like about BW.com is that it’s not wall-to-wall Trump.
I would say this instead: Progressives Hate What America Stands For”
3. Shorter, stronger sentences. I think it used to be called the 5th grade rule.
I would rewrite the paragraph that begins with “When they controlled the three networks…” as follows:
When they controlled the three networks, the press, Hollywood, public schools and academia, nothing could stop them from creating an anti-American narrative. They rewrote America’s unique and exceptional history as an embarrassing stain on humanity.
I have a couple of more ideas. I think you could re-order the opening paragraphs. If you begin with “We hear it daily”… you would be inviting us identify with your club, rather than opening with words that, frankly, made me more depressed right off the bat.
Let me know if I should drill down a little more…or tell me to stop nitpicking about WORDS. In any event, I’ll send along a testimonial some time soon.
Liz
Liz, this is terrific and I appreciate the time you invested to make this better.
Thanks to suggestions from Martin, Nolan and Karl, I’ve updated the headline to make it more succinct, and add a dash of fun. Let me know if y’all like this one better. I’ve also changed the Become a Member button display. Click here to see…although keep in mind that I’m always fiddling with it and it might have changed again by the time you get there.
I like it !!!!!
Bill’s best selling point is him talking. What the landing page needs front and center is a dynamite, world class, spectacular, bite-size clip of Bill in one of his finest hours, or a montage of short clips. I’d suggest a selection of such clips to show a wide spectrum of his opinions and expertise. It’s not like Bill is Rush Limbaugh, and no introduction is needed. Without having to shoot new material I think he should be introduced to newcomers with a highlights reel to wow them. It should be between two and three minutes long, and have the call to action spoken over the end, along with the transcript of same on the screen. Apart from recording that, you already have a wealth of material to choose from, and it only needs an editing job done on it. (Tom Cruise used to have a landing page consisting of a long montage of spectacular short clips from his movies. It was “couldn’t look away” compelling.) I would suggest that if Bill finds it difficult to pinpoint clips he likes, you might ask the members for suggestions.
That’s a great idea. Be sure to include some humorous, non-political moments as well, just to show how much fun right angle can be.
thanks. There’s a few VDH yt clips where the clip begins right when he starts talking. As VDH is such an interesting guy to listen to I for one end up watching the whole thing, even if I may have seen it before. The same would apply to Bill.
Good idea, Nolan. That was definitely missing from my first draft. As Joker would say, “Why so serious?”
I don’t know this but I am think Bill’s membership probably leans toward the more 35/40+ types. I probably think that because I hear Bill talking about the average age of Republicans in the groups he speaks to being “deceased” but I know we have at least a few youthful members at BW.com. The BW.com message holds up well for all ages. I would love to make sure the we get a good push toward 30/35- and under crowd with this a well. Nolan and anyone else reading, please keep us in play with the youth.
I think you’re on the right track, Buck. That’s why I like the image of the teenagers with American flags. We definitely need to do a better job at reaching younger people, as well as women.
Yeah, this place IS kinda a sausage fest. But so is the TSL FB page. I think the demographics of both places are pretty identically split.
Looks pretty good, but I do believe that Ralph does have a couple good points. What BW.com did for me was saying what I believe and think, but could never really find my own words. I believe that I am getting better at that and have (sorta) quoted you guys in my discussions with a few less conservative friends. Keep it up and I’ll hang around. My folks always said that people will judge you by your friends and I believe that my being judged will be just fine…. Thanks !!
Thanks, Karl. So the “product” we deliver is not just videos to watch, but equipping you to connect your friends with your conservative ideas? Or would you have a better way of saying that?
Scott— That pretty much sums it up… please don’t take this wrong, but you say it in a bit “too businessy” way (i know, not a real word) but your assessment is correct…If I were just jawing with a friend and telling them about what I stand for and how your site has helped me (on several occasions) to put my thoughts in perspective or some kind of order, I would say — Hey Bill, you and I are pretty conservative, right? Well, if you want some straight talk about what’s goin’ on today BW.com is a great resource….I’ll send you the link.. check it out..you’ll like it (or some such similar thing) BUT, in all honesty, I think that “word of mouth” has and will serve you well… what you put at the top (I don’t believe) will make that big a difference….. Karl
Scott – I will likely post several comments; this type of thing has been part of my job for a long time.
First comment: Way too long. Or as the internet crowd would say TL;DR.
2: The top comment “We equip. . .” is accurate; but I don’t think it is exciting anyone. I think back to Bill’s CSR videos and think something along the lines of “Tired of the nanny state “Elites” telling you how to live? We are too. Join the fight for freedom.”
Instead of Become a member; how about Fight for Freedom? Or maybe even Join the Rebellion. Or just REBEL.
Much more to come as I cogitate more.
Who is the target audience? What do you want them to do from here? First action they will take beyond read. Since the show is video, there should be a video of you Bill and Steve talking about what’s you are trying to accomplish and why.
I will be back with more.
Thanks, Ralph. Keep it coming.
No Problem. I will have many more. If I write a dissertation I will email you privately.
Target audience is conservatives frustrated with the Leftist trajectory, ideally who want to get better at communicating their ideas in ways that connect with others.
Of course, we could just provide videos that assure you that you’re not alone…things I agree with in words I wish I could conjure in the moment when needed. But I’d like to think that continued exposure to these videos enhances the Members skills.
And of course, it’s not just the videos and conversations we provide Members, but the opportunity to get these ideas out to others.
Does that make sense? What suggestions do you have related to the target audience, Ralph…and other Members reading this. Thanks. We’re all in this together.
Just spit balling a little, but I am getting a sense from other comments that the goal here is to give us the ammunition we need to engage the left and start the process of changing their leftist vote to a conservative vote.
The key part of that phrase is give us the ammunition. This ties in with the video game aspect of young people with the popularity of first person shooter games. Ammo up is an interesting phrase. Again, stream of consciousness stuff, hope others keep the brainstorming going.
“But the other side is EVIL”. Unfortunately the “two sides” have been successfully defined by the Dem media complex (in the liberal mind) as good vs evil. For me it isn’t about “ammunition” for the (futile?) argument. BW content counters the “evil” image.
The reason I am a member is I support your production of entertaining content. Most of the value I get out of the content from BW is enjoyment of watching Bill get wound up by Scott and spouting brilliance off the top of his head, and how RA has the three of you having fun dissecting and explaining today’s events from a rational perspective where everything is not underscored with this doomsday thread (ORANGE MAN!!!!!!) that permeates the leftist media. This spirit of fun and, dare I say, optimism needs to come through in this pitch. A lot of political content now is so depressing people shy away from it. Prospective members need to see that they will WANT to spend 10-15 minutes at a time watching THIS political content because it is fun to watch and it cuts through a lot of BS.
It feels like reaching more women will require mixing a woman into the crew. I think women (and men!) would enjoy seeing Bill being questioned by a woman for some BW Now episodes, specifically to prime him with questions from the female perspective. As for reaching the younger demo, perhaps someone aged 20-30 could frame questions for Bill from the younger perspective in such a way that his answers could be more easily received, understood, and internalized by their cohorts.
Bill, thank you for this thoughtful analysis. Quite useful.
This spirit of fun and, dare I say, optimism needs to come through in this pitch.
Bill completely agree with this. It’s why brainstorming works. People working off each others ideas. The fact that these shows are fun is extremely important. Though I do enjoy getting ammunition for discussions with Bernie Bros and so-called socialists who like their 6 figure salaries but think other people should pay more in taxes.