Trent Reznor is a hard core rock n roll singer who looks the part and acts the part. He is the centerpiece of a very successful band: Nine Inch Nails. What can Realtors learn from a screaming rock God?

Marketing direct to the consumer is all about giving away what your target audience values, continuously giving value to your audience, and giving away value without asking or demanding anything in return.

Reznor’s Plan A Purple Cow?

Seth Godin author of “The Purple Cow” and marketing guru for the ages suggests many of the concepts Reznor has adopted in his approach to marketing his music.

Value Prop #1: Giving Away “The Slip” As An Introduction

In a great article by Eliot Van Buskirk of Wired.com NIN’s latest album “The Slip” is being offered online for free to any fans who wish to download the music to MP3, lossless (FLAC or Apple) or 24-bit, 96-kHz WAV files. The album-CD goes on sale in July so this is a free introduction to fans

Realtors: What can you provide your audience for free that is of value and makes you a valued expert in the eyes of your audience? Blogs written with expert advice, sources, tools, and tips would fill this order

Value Prop #2: Selling Tickets Direct To Fans

In an effort to remove the inflated ticket prices that come with widespread “scalping”, Reznor now sells concert tickets directly, through their website, to fans. Each ticket is printed with the fan’s name on it; the supply is controlled giving the perception of exclusivity while keeping the average fan coming out due to ticket affordability

Realtors: How can you help a consumer save money, avoid dishonest deals, or help them understand the changing real estate landscape? Educate your audience on deceptive lending practices, on proper home inspection, or provide them information on avoiding PMI

Value Prop #3: Staying In Direct Contact With Your Audience

nin.com provides their audience with Official NIN news, discography, tour dates, video clips, and answers to submitted questions. Fans can subscribe to the site feed and everything is free. In addition Reznor and the band communicates directly with their audience by posting articles and answering fan questions

Realtors: If you believe that staying in touch with today’s buyer or seller entails placing a listing print ad in a local rag, commenting to a real estate columnist in a local rag, sending out email announcements aka Spam, or writing a 1x per month newsletters you are mired in Web Zero and in need of a Web 2.0 makeover.