Websites are popping up to teach basic skills that I was sure everyone learned from Mom. I’m obviously wrong, because several very popular new sites are delivering videos on subjects like how to brush your teeth or use the shower. Wait, don’t rush to click through, the instructor for the shower video is the fully-clothed 79-year-old man who started the site, VideoJug, when he couldn’t remember how to change a flat tire. But don’t dismiss him as some crazy old coot either. How to fold a t-shirt in two seconds has been viewed 76,000 times.
This might be a real business. ViewDo is a similar site that went live in June and already counts Panasonic among their paid advertisers. Plus the story made page 1 of the Wall Street Journal on Oct. 15, 2006 (sorry, you can’t see the full article online unless you’re a subscriber).
Is there a moral to this story? If you’ve had trouble reaching buyers, remember that you are probably not the buyer persona. There are markets full of people who are nothing like you. Start thinking like your buyer persona and the ideas on how to market to them will be obvious. The personas who read the Journal may not need to learn how to boil an egg, but they do manage businesses that buy ads.
