Two days ago, on a dark desert side road, I checked into the Hotel California.
That’s not what it’s really called. But that’s what it makes me think of, whenever I step outside my room.
The place in question is a 10-storey complex with five or six apartments on each floor. My guess it has a 10% occupancy rate.
There is staff floating about without ever seeming to do anything. They don’t speak English, and they don’t seem interested in dealing with guests.
There’s also a tiny pool and a basic gym on the top floor.
And as a curiosity, the sides of the building are open. In other words, as you climb the stairs, you first see a normal hotel… and then the walls disappear to give you a direct view to the city below.
For me, it all has a surreal feel. That’s why I liken it to the Hotel California. You know, in the Eagles song. “You can check out any time you want… but you can never leave.”
Because this place is convenient enough, but nothing spectacular. And yet, some small barriers to actually leaving, such as the grave-digger staff, might keep me here for eternity.
So what’s my point?
I’m not sure. Perhaps only a reference to an eye-opening insight from Gary Bencivenga, who was called the “world’s greatest copywriter.”
Gary said that wealth is an income stream. In more detail:
“You don’t build great wealth by merely creating a great product for a hungry crowd… not even a great product for a hungry crowd and a great piece of copy to sell it.
“No, you build great wealth by creating a product for a hungry crowd, plus a built-in way to keep that hungry crowd frozen in place and buying from you again and again whenever they’re hungry. In other words, you want a marketing system that rewards you with substantial income right away, and then — much more important — rewards you repeatedly with an automatic back-end revenue stream.”
And speaking from personal experience — as a buyer rather than seller:
It’s not that hard to get your prospect to check in and never leave.
Of course, he might resist at first at the possibility of having to pay forever.
But a sexy front-end offer and urgent copy will often get him over that hurdle, at least for a one-night’s trial.
And later, all you really need is something like my Hotel California to keep your customer frozen in place. A product or service that’s nothing spectacular, but is convenient enough… and some small barriers to actually leaving.
And now for the coda of the song:
“Relax”, said the night man. “We are programmed to receive.” You can sign up for my email newsletter any time you like… and you can also leave whenever you find you don’t want to receive it any more.