What a UFC pay per view can teach you about your freelance business
While watching a recent UFC pay per view, I had a different mindset than I normally had. I usually just sit back with a couple beers (12 to be exact) and watch the fights while screaming and cheering every time someone gets knocked out or submitted), but this time my mind was so focused on business that I couldn’t stop thinking about all of the awesome things that the UFC does to help promote their business and build a solid business.
So today I am going to cover some tips I picked up and believe they can be used, today, for your freelance business.
Up-selling works
If you watch any UFC PPV you’ll see a lot of cross promotion happening. They’ll talk about upcoming Ultimate Fighter episodes as well as show commercials for upcoming PPV’s. The reason the upcoming PPV commercials work so well is because you’re already buying one PPV so the odds of you buying another one are much greater than someone who isn’t currently watching.
What does this mean for your business? If you run a web design business, try selling some hosting along with the design you’re doing or adding in an extra package of promotional materials (twitter background, banner ads, etc). You could also use your newsletter to cross promote and send out an auto responder message a week or so after the person signs up letting them know about something you have for sale (an ebook/guide, WordPress template, etc).
Pack in TONS of quality
When you watch a UFC PPV, the one thing you’ll notice right away is that they pack their PPV’s with as much quality as possible. From the high quality production of their show (lights, camera work, etc) to the amount of action packed fights they have on each PPV, the UFC makes sure you’re getting your moneys worth when you buy one of their PPV’s.
By following this method as a freelancer, you can make sure that every product you put out to the public is top notch. From the designs you create, the words you write, the downloads you give away and the for-sale products you put out there. If you know that they’re worth above and beyond what the price tag says, you’re doing it right.
Find what works best – and do it
The UFC will outright tell you that their PPV sales are their biggest earner, overpowering the at-the-gate sales, DVD sales, etc. So instead of focusing too much on other aspects of their business, they put a lot of time and energy into their PPV’s and make sure they’re not only as awesome as possible, but they put them out there as much as they possibly can.
In your business, is there one area that earns you more than any other? Do you know of a place where you get the majority of your work from? Why not take some extra time today and work that area a bit more than you usually do and see what you can squeeze out from it – you might be surprised how much your business grows when you get that laser focus.
Giveaways ALWAYS work well
Besides the monthly PPV shows that the UFC puts on, they also have between 5-10 shows a year that show up on free television. They also put free under card fights on television before the PPV starts so that way people watching it can see that the full PPV is about to start, which causes them to want to jump up and buy – especially if the fights are good.
When you have an opportunity to give things away as marketing for your business, make sure you’re doing it as much as possible and aiming at the right target audience. If you’re a blog designer, give away some free advice to bloggers or give away a free WordPress theme. If you’re a copywriter who writes a lot of ad copy, put out a free e-book that teaches businesses why great ad copy can build huge profit for their business.
Even more MMA related articles
This isn’t the first time that MMA has been mentioned here for a couple of reasons. One, I’m a huge MMA fan. Two, you can learn a lot from unlikely sources (take our “Marketing Tips From…” series for instance) and since I learn a lot while watching MMA, I make it a point to showcase the tips I pick up here 
Looking for more MMA related posts here?
