Hi everyone,

It's been a while. I've been working almost nonstop since January on a huge project for some folks in Australia. Actually spent three weeks down there. Learned to say “G'Day” pretty well.

Anyway the whole project went bust the first week out of the gate. The response rate was pretty darn good ... 13,000 out of 60,000, but the website just crumbled and the back end turned to dust. Only 11 people were able to complete the signup process. Unbelieveable. The guy who hired me went into seclusion and of course the checks stopped coming. Such is the life of a freelancer.

Now I'm working on a project with my 12-year-old son. He wants to be an entrepreneur. God help me. The site offers a new twist on an old childhood pastime ... making paper airplanes. Take a look. Let me know what you think. Whatever we make goes towards his college fund.

http://www.buildpaperairplanes.com

And hey ... take advantage of the free trial.

Roger

Roger,

Neat idea! Personally, I see a PUBLICITY BONANZA in the making.

It could easily get featured in major, major media -- it's a unique story. If he makes a go of it -- it has major show (like Oprah) written all over it.

"12-Year-Old Entrepreneur Rides Paper Airplane To First Meeting With Success!"

Also, here's a "JV" thought or two:

a) JV with hobby websites and even hobby stores

b) (much bigger idea) JV with the "pr dept" of one or more of the major airlines to have a printable paper airplane that features their logo and branding stuff on the sheet. Then, get them to "promote" through their pr channels, inflight mags, employee newsletters, etc.

Please keep us posted here with play-by-play progress on your son's new venture. And, thanks for sharing!!!

JP, I'm glad you like it. It's been fun. And yes, the Oprah thing did cross my mind. Pretty scary. The tough part is keeping Christian focused. Yesterday he was filming a skateboarding video with some neighborhood kids. Today he's got four bikes in various stages of disrepair sitting on my patio. Now he's in the bike repair business.

The JV ideas are super. Thanks for sharing them. I'll get right on them. Right now I'm writing a press release for PRweb. I'll keep ya posted.

Roger

Fantastic... post your release here -- love to see it.

Roger,

Where's the price? And how's a child supposed to pay for this when presumably they can't get a credit card?

I don't know what the laws are regarding marketing and selling to minors over the internet, but don't you have to be careful that you're not seen as exploiting them in any way?

Couple of typos, and I didn't think the handwriting font looked like a child's writing. Also, the copy, to me, still reads like adult copywriting that has been "kiddified" a bit. What does you son think? Would he really speak like that?

But seems like a great idea - certainly a new one on me!! Is there a big market for paper aeroplanes? (I just used to make something that looked a bit like concorde and watch it drift inexcorably [sp] into a puddle).

Could be major opportunities on the backend - selling balsa etc. plane kits. Or even go off line and do it as a monthly magazine.

Where does your son get his designs from?

Also, presumably the educational side of it is for the parents' benefit - so do you know if they'll be reading your copy as well?

Jane

Jane makes a great (and valid) point re: minors.

I'm guessing... Roger you can correct me... that parents would buy this stuff for their kids -- just like at a hobby store.

Perhaps you should slant your copy that way anyhow... bring back a little nostalgia to your kids... sort of like buying them a yoyo or stilts or something you had as a child.

Going with JP's theme - you can really make a point of how this isn't mind-numbing computer games, it's educational and it's helping children develop motor skills etc. In other words, this is one toy/hobby that is good for their minds and development (especially if it gets them outside running around), rather than them lurking in chat rooms on the internet or monging in front of their playstations. You could even play up the creative side i.e. once a child has made x many planes from the designs, they'll start creating their own.

Also, I hope you have the domain name prominently on the design paper so that when the kids are playing with other kids or are at school, it can become like a virus. You know how kids are - once one decides that something's cool, they'll all want in on it.

Jane

Hey Roger,
Looks like fun for the entire family!

To add another benefit that the parents can get out of this...

seems it would be a great way for a parent to bond with their child (building these planes together).

As far as whether you should direct this sales page to parents or children...

I'll tell ya from experience that if a child really wants something bad enough, they will get it!

Being a marketer (and a dad), I'm sure you know this...

Sweet Kid's Cereal - eye level
Candy shelves - eye level
Toys - eye level
Kids products - Saturday morning cartoons!

Who "are" these crazy marketers selling to anyway?

Hi Jane,

Thanks so much for your input. I'm not going to mention price until the final autoresponder goes out. First, I gotta build up the excitement and get people acclimated to receiving a new design every four days. But to answer your question, it'll be in the $15 to $20 range.

I've thought about the minors thing a lot. In one of my original copy iterations I asked kids to get their parents approval before even reading the content. But I'm really figuring my audience to be parents from the get-go. I'm not advertising during Saturday morning cartoons here. Today I'm doing some viral marketing tests with homeschool groups.

I admit I wrote the "kiddfied" copy. The general public doesn't seem to mind based on the handful of responses I've received so far today. JP, I'll rework the copy so there's no mistake parents are the audience. Stephen, you're right. Marketing to kids can bring financial reward, but marketing to kids on the Internet can be a real legal minefield. I'm hoping not to have to corporate-ize the site with all sorts of legal disclaimers.

Jane, Christian and I both work on the designs. I've been able to fill a rather large moving box with planes that crashed and burned. Sometimes I feel like Edison on the 99th light bulb.

And I try real hard not to duplicate a design that's already out there. Don't need any copyright infringement hassles, but there are only so many ways you can fold a piece of paper. Of course some of the designs we feature are quite ubiquitous. I do all the graphics.

There. I think I answered everyone's questions. And thank you all for the great copy ideas.

Roger

Roger -- I never even thought about that.

I learn something new every day - that's why I come here.

Thanks!