Hurry Up and Wait! The Power of Hype and Anticipation.

Twenty hours. 

No sleep. 

A folding chair next to a pair of locked doors.

Nothing to do except wait for a GameStop store in Laguna Hills, California to finally open. 

That is what my friend recently went through in order to be the first in line to pre-order the next generation PlayStation console. Yikes! 

As of the time of writing this, both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X video game consoles are officially set to be released a little over a month from now and it’s a pretty big deal. 

Online pre-orders sold out so fast that they crashed websites. Unlucky adults and children alike screamed in horror at the thought of having to wait a little while longer than other people to experience the next generation of video game hardware. 

Scalpers on EBay began charging ludicrously high amounts of money for consoles that were already fairly expensive to begin with. 

So why would so many seemingly rational people be willing to partake in all of this madness? Why were they so eager to hand over hundreds of dollars for a product that will inevitably become cheaper and more available over time? 

That’s the raw power of building up hype and anticipation. 

And if you have an online business, you should take a moment now and consider whether or not there is a way for you to take advantage of these principles as well. 

In the case of Sony and Microsoft, I’d be willing to bet a silver-plated banana that the demand for their next generation consoles probably did not depend much on any significant Search Engine Optimization trickery or major pay per click advertising. 

How stressed out were they about having a strong Google Ads campaign? My guess is that it wasn’t much of a concern.

You see, one of the main reasons people were so eager to hand over cash to them was due to the fact that these consoles were teased over a long period of time. There was plenty of hype and anticipation leading up to the madness of the pre-orders going live. 

Nobody at Microsoft said, “We just made a new Xbox and it’s for sale in stores starting immediately. Go out and buy yourself one. Surprise!” That would not have built much anticipation and their sales would’ve suffered. 

In fact, that’s exactly what happened back in the 90’s with the Sega Saturn video game console and the results speak for themselves. Not only did Sega have a bad console launch, but it gave their competitors a huge advantage and destroyed their business for years to come. 

Ok, ok… I know what some of you might be thinking.

“That’s all well and good for massive corporations that are selling world famous products, but I’m just a small business owner with a Squarespace website and a dream. What if I don’t have a fancy PlayStation console to sell to people? Do these principles apply to MY stuff?”

Yes, they do! 

It doesn’t matter if you’re trying to sell people some deluxe sunglasses or a jar of mustard. It doesn’t matter if you’re based in Boston, Massachusetts or Tokyo, Japan. It doesn’t even matter if you have a physical product or if you’re trying to sell some sort of service. 

If you can figure out a way to somehow incorporate this strategy, chances are your sales will improve.

While having an established world famous product is certainly very nice, the fact of the matter is that even an average product being launched for the first time will sell better if there is hype and anticipation surrounding it. It’s all about creating a mood that climaxes to the main event. 

Many times simply stretching advertisements out over a longer period of time can build anticipation. 

Consider the sales letter, for example. If you’re using one, is your sales letter one big wall of text that your potential buyers see just one time? Or could you break it up into multiple smaller pieces and send those pieces out over a longer timespan? 

What about a promotional video? Instead of just one long video, how about having multiple shorter videos released over the course of a week or two? 

Another great tool for creating a sense of hype is the use of “social proof”, which I’ve already discussed in a previous blog. Basically, the idea is that people tend to do what others are doing. Monkey see, monkey do. In that sense, social proof is a form of hype in itself. If you let your potential customers know that your products are popular, then that can create an atmosphere of expectation and ultimately increase sales. 

I suggest e-mailing your potential buyers multiple times leading up to the launch of a product. Once again, it is important to spread the e-mails out over a period of time. But then, be sure to mention how “highly anticipated” your product is before release. That is where the social proof aspect comes in. 

If you’re selling your services as a content creator or copywriter, for example, it may be useful to mention how others are already eager to work with you. Previous success can be used to create future success. 

The key here is to inform buyers that others are impatiently waiting for whatever it is you’re selling. 

Think of how Apple launches its products. Or how crazy some people get while waiting for the new pair of Air Jordan sneakers. Or a new graphics card from Nvidia. 

There are plenty of examples out there to learn from. Try to incorporate whatever you can. 

Regardless of the specific tactics, creating suspense can do wonders for profits in the end. 

So tell your potential customers to hurry up and wait already! It can make all the difference!

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