How Two College Students Made $ 600,000 in 24 Hours
The photo that started it all. @sunnycoclothing
Overnight, the number of Instagram followers grew from 7,000 to 784,000. More than 346,000 people took part in the action, which forced the guys to limit the offer to 50,000 units. Let’s calculate: 50,000 units x 12 = $ 600,000. No, this is not a typo. The campaign raised over $ 600,000 in 24 hours. It was so unexpected that the guys had to return almost $ 73,000, as they could not meet the demand. This created a lot of controversy and talk, calling the ad campaign a failure. One writer even thought that it belongs to the same category as the infamous Fyre festival. Not everyone was able to appreciate the full picture of what was happening.
Inventory issues aside, the reality is that two college students made more profits in one day than many businesses in a year. And they did it by actually spending $ 0 on advertising.
In truth, there is a lot to learn from this ad campaign, so let’s break down the strategy in more detail. In this article, I’ll go over the key techniques you can apply to your own ad campaigns. Then I’ll provide a template that you can use to help your ad become successful. Nothing Sunny Co did was revolutionary – it just did well. And if you follow the principles they used, you too can achieve tremendous success.
How much profit was there?
First, let’s take a closer look at the numbers. Unless you’re making your own product, the only way to promise a $ 12 swimsuit is through wholesale. Given this, it is likely that Sunny Co took the product from an overseas supplier. I did a quick search on Alibaba and found a similar swimsuit that costs $ 6.10 per item (over 100 orders). Let’s say they were able to negotiate a price of up to $ 3 per unit, given that the order was 50,000 pieces. In 2017, it was possible to ship a 7-ounce parcel across the United States via USPS First Class for about $ 3. This means we have $ 0.50 for packaging / branding and $ 0.70 for processing the payment, resulting in a total cost of up to $ 7.20. Estimated Profit = $ 12 – $ 7.20 = $ 4.80 per swimsuit. We know that in the end they returned about $ 73,000. But if they could predict the future and plan the supply chain correctly, then in 24 hours they would have made a profit of over $ 240,000. Magically.
Why did it work ?! Three key factors:
- 1. The word “free” makes you stop your gaze. Want to get attention? Offer something for free.
Note: As we can see in this ad campaign, Sunny Co has used the word “free” rather liberally. In any other situation, shipping $ 12 per swimsuit sounds outrageous. However, many shoppers likely realized the shipping cost was too high, but the word “free” won over people considering the swimsuit’s retail price of $ 64.99. The main reason is that people love the idea word “free”.
- 2. The promotion is valid for a limited time.
If “free” attracts the attention of the audience, then the time frame of the action leaves people no other choice, only to react. Sunny Co took advantage of this by limiting their campaign to 24 hours, which convinced their audience to take advantage of the offer right away. There is nothing worse than missing out on the chance to get something for free.
- 3. Adequate photo gives good conversion. It is necessary that people are interested in the picture.
This campaign has become popular for a reason. Points 1 and 2 are important, but they wouldn’t work if the Instagram photo wasn’t appealing to the audience. But this was not a problem for the Sunny Co team, which is why they chose this image:
- The picture looked like a regular photo of their audience on their Instagram feed (not a spam ad).
- Interests of their target audience (warm weather and swimming pools).
- Colors used associated with arousal (i.e. red).
All of these factors combined ensured attention to their campaign.
Template: how to make $ 600,000 in 24 hours
Here’s how you can replicate the success of Sunny Co.
- Step 1. Find an item on Alibaba…
The found product needs to be able to rebrand. As “shipping cost” we take into account the unit cost + shipping cost + desired profit. For example, take glasses with a Blue Blocker lens (glasses for working at a computer), which cost $ 1.80 per unit. You can ship them anywhere in the US for about $ 3 via USPS First Class. The total cost is $ 4.80. If you’re selling a product that has benefits (accessibility) and the ad is properly configured (for example, glasses with a Blue Blocker lens prevent headaches), I think you could convince your audience to pay up to $ 8 for “shipping.” So you get $ 8- $ 4.80 = $ 3.20 profit.
- Step 2. Order samples.
Check the quality and compliance with the declared characteristics of the product. This step is mandatory and will save you the terror of massive returns due to quality claims. Pay attention to supplier feedback on lead times. Make sure they can handle large volumes in a timely manner.
- Step 3. Set up your Shopify store. Create an attractive social media look.
As we said earlier, it’s important that the photo doesn’t look like an advertisement and is in the interests of your audience. I highly recommend including the person in your ad campaign. Still, people relate best to other people.
- Step 4. Organize a limited time reposting campaign.
Ask everyone you know to post a post or buy reposts from thematic blogger accounts. Your campaign should look something like this: “Over the next X hours, everyone who repost a photo on Instagram and tagged us will receive a free [продукт]… To take part in the action, you must be subscribed to our account. ” The Sunny Co campaign lasted 24 hours. You can run ads for a longer period, it all depends on your desire. Just know: short promotions create more buzz, which translates into better results. If you already have subscribers or an active social circle that you can use, I congratulate you, you can spend $ 0 on advertising. If not, create thematic Instagram accounts and buy ads worth at least $ 500.
- Step 5. Go viral and make a profit…
There are many important components here, such as how good your branding is, how attractive the product is, and the attractiveness of your photos is also very important. It goes without saying that the results will be different. But as Sunny Co has demonstrated, if you know your audience, then the odds increase in your favor. If you follow all the points, then there is no reason that success would pass you by.
Understanding the structure of an advertising campaign
After all, the key is the strength of the “free for a limited time” campaign model. Previously used this method to attract visitors to their stores. The goal was to encourage people to buy related products while customers were in the store. However, in the modern economy, you can now make money directly on the product that you “distribute for free”, since many goods can be bought abroad for a penny. So think and most importantly get creative. The next viral source of profit is just around the corner.
A bit of advertising
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