Taylor Swift is everywhere right now. And for good reason too. Beyond being a highly respectable musician and songwriter, she’s also an admirable business woman. In this article, I breakdown the marketing lessons from Taylor Swift.

Enjoy Teach Languages Online Your Way

Before we get started, you can enjoy this episode in the way you prefer. We’ve got a video version and the podcast below. So pick your place and let’s go!

The Video

The Podcast

Marketing Lessons from Taylor Swift for Online Language Teachers

Taylor’s Versions

Let’s start with the big one.

When Taylor Swift announced that she’d be re-recording all of her first 6 albums to devalue her original masters that were sold to someone she didn’t want them to be sold to, some were sceptical.

Surely the magic of teenage girl love and fairy tale-esque dreams couldn’t be recaptured.

But, honestly, this has proven a smart move so far.

Not only does it give new fans a chance to revisit old work, it gives older fans a reminder of the nostalgia from those eras.

Plus, with each re-recording, she is adding something new – new music videos, new ‘from the vault’ songs (more on those later).

So more than a quick rehashing to devalue her masters, it’s become possibly the smartest business move she ever made.

Applying Swift Marketing

Consider the re-records a reminder that it’s ok to launch something more than once!

You know when you spend ages making a course? You put everything into the launch, and then…nobody buys?

It sucks, right?

Well, that doesn’t have to be the end.

You can relaunch your old products and services. It’s ok. It’s allowed.

And, just like Taylor’s Versions, you can give them a new look, some new additions, perhaps a complete re-record (I’m thinking video courses here!)

The key takeaway here is – launch more than once.

Some people might be new to your work and weren’t around when you first launched that course 5 years ago. Like the hipster dads that first started listening to Folklore.

Proudly let people know about your work and update it as often as you need to.

From The Vault

While we’re on the topic of re-records, let’s talk Vault Songs.

With each re-recording so far, Taylor has includes a number of additional ‘From The Vault’ songs.

These are songs that were originally scrapped from their respective albums, but have now emerged ‘from the vault’ as it were to be part of the re-recordings.

Some are award-winning (see All Too Well (10 Minute Version) (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault). Yes, that’s the full title.)

Some are forgettable (see…I forgot.)

But, all of them create a new buzz of excitement for both new and old fans around the rerecords.

Applying Swift Marketing

There’s two sides to this. Maybe three.

Firstly, you could see it as a reminder and permission to revive old ideas.

You know that list you’ve got lurking away in the digitally cobwebbed corner of your Asana? The list of ideas you’re 100% definitely going to execute but never saw the light of day?

Read them. Is there a golden nugget in there waiting to be lifted ‘from the vault’?

Secondly, part of the excitement around the From The Vault tracks is the featured artists.

I wasn’t really paying attention to Taylor Swift when she released Speak Now the first time around.

But I was paying attention to Paramore and Fall Out Boy circa that era.

So seeing their names on the From The Vault tracklist has me curious!

Who can you collaborate with that will resonate with your audience?

And finally, the From The Vault tracks are a great reminder than bonuses are a wonderful incentive to encourage people to work with you.

Whether it’s a limited time bonus with a launch or a regularly available bonus in addition to your service, we all love a little extra treat.

Folklore & Evermore

Most of us spent 2020 ‘hunkered down’ watching Tiger King and baking sourdough.

Not Taylor Swift.

She made TWO full length albums that were a noticeable step away from her previous music, garnered much critical acclaim, and a whole new wave of fans.

Applying Swift Marketing

This is a great lesson in trusting your instinct and breaking away from the expectations that, to be honest, we’re often the ones to set for ourselves.

Sometimes when you have an idea that you just feel is going to work, even if it’s a step in a new direction or “doesn’t fit” with your previous products or services, it can be worth the risk.

Multiple Midnights

When Taylor Swift released her album Midnights, there were FOUR vinyls available.

Each version was a different colour. Together, the backs of the vinyl sleeves make a clockface.

Then there was also a Target exclusive version. And the a version sold exclusively at a couple of shows with a new song not available anywhere else. And then another version including that previously exclusive Target track.

At this point, there’s too many versions to keep track of.

Applying Swift Marketing

This one…I don’t recommend.

Four vinyls for collectors? People could just about deal with (although naturally, some still moaned).

But eventually, people got tired.

This is a lesson in not confusing or overwhelming your audience. People will get bored and fed up.

So what can we do instead?

Keep things simple.

That’s not to say you can’t have choice. For example, offering different tiers that include different things can be a great way to show customers what they get, but too much choice can lead to decision fatigue.

And decision fatigue? That means people are more likely to opt out completely.

So, sure, have options including payment plans or premium tiers or bonuses, but if you can’t explain it clearly yourself, then it’s likely too complicated for your customers to understand too.

Snow On The Beach (feat More Lana Del Rey)

People were excited when the tracklist for Midnights revealed a Lana Del Rey feature.

However, they didn’t stay quiet when the subtly of Lana’s feature wasn’t quite as much as they’d hoped for.

A few months later, alongside adding that previously exclusive to the Target version track and an Ice spice feature on Karma, Taylor also included a new version of Snow On The Beach on the ‘Til The Dawn version of Midnights.

This one featured ‘more Lana Del Rey’, giving Lana a verse and altering production slightly.

Applying Swift Marketing

This is a great example of listening to your clients.

When people are clearly asking for something, if it’s something you can deliver that also benefits you, why not?

Knowing there’s an audience that are interested in how to learn French verbs (Snow On The Beach with more Lana Del Rey) means it’ll be easy to promote that new French verb course. Much easier in fact than it would be trying to explain why what they really need is your course on prepositions.

That’s not to say you shouldn’t make your preposition course (for example, Karma feat Ice Spice) but just be aware it might need more positive promo to pique people’s interest.

The Eras Tour Demand

I’m hoping I’ll get lucky and be able to attend the Eras Tour, ideally in London, especially seeing as the (current) last date of the whole tour will be my birthday. Come on, Ticketmaster, be my friend.

However, the truth is, most people that want to see The Eras Tour won’t be able to see the Eras Tour.

The demand is just too high.

This demand has stemmed from everything Taylor’s done in her career so far, but especially is due to the fact that there’s four albums of hers and two (very nearly three at the time of writing) rerecords since her last tour. Thanks, covid.

The quantity of shows on the tour schedule is already wild. 6 consecutive nights of 3 hour plus shows in Los Angeles? The ultimate test of stamina.

Applying Swift Marketing

There’s not much more that Taylor could do to meet the demand at this stage.

So the lesson here is really to think about what you can do in your business to enable you to meet growing demand.

A lot of that will come from automation. There may be some diversification of offers. Some of it might come from one off freelance hires. And some might even come from taking on a full or part time employee.

Whatever stage you’re at in your business, it’s a good idea to future proof things as much as possible.

Sure, you can accept one more student this month for 1:1 lessons, but is that it? Is that your ceiling reached?

Take an afternoon to experiment with Zapier, Airtable automations, and IFTTT to see what automations you can put in place for your business.

Chances are there’s also way to diversify what you offer to reach more clients without taking on more 1:1 students than you can handle.

And when it comes to bringing on extra pairs of hands, there are plenty of freelance options if an employee isn’t an option that’s right for you.

It’s also worth noting that the sheer demand for The Eras Tour is a great example of how trust builds up over long periods of time. Think of it as a reminder to show up and give your best to clients to continue building trust.

Easter Eggs

Taylor Swift is notorious for leaving little Easter Eggs for her fans to find. In her music videos, her Instagram captions, her pre-show setlists…they could be everywhere!

This leads fans down a rabbit hole of Swift lore. Her nails were purple, that means Speak Now is next. The golden thread in the Willow music video is a nod to the song ‘invisible string’. The number of holes in the fence add up to 5 that means…actually I’m still not sure what that one means.

Whether they’re intentional or contrived by eager fans, they keep people on their toes and keen for more.

Applying Swift Marketing

The Easter Eggs are another great example of trust building, and even further, community building too.

Even if there’s people in your audience who never buy from you, if they feel a part of something, then they’re more likely to stick around, support you, and recommend you.

This doesn’t mean that you have to start hiding cryptic clues across your website. But consider how you can incorporate nods of appreciation to those who stick around.

The simplest way to do this is with a loyalty card or reward system. Costa Coffee doesn’t offer me the best drinks for my taste, but when they add little rewards to my app like secret drinks or food discounts, I’m more likely to go there than I am to Starbucks.

For online language teachers, this could be a student-only private community, a flash sale exclusive to your email list, or a voucher for every 10 lessons purchased, to name just three options.

Surprise Songs

And finally, the surprise songs. To keep the interest of fans who aren’t in attendance each night of the tour, Taylor plays two surprise songs each show. One on guitar and one on piano.

She’s set herself some self-imposed rules that she’s shared, and each night, regardless of how many live streams that audience has watched of previous nights, they get something that’s just theirs.

Applying Swift Marketing

This is a great example of how to keep people engaged and paying attention over a long time span. Chances are your launch won’t last as long as The Eras Tour, but adding a last minute surprise bonus is a good equivalent of surprise songs.

The surprise songs should also act as a reminder to leave some room for fun in our business!

If your social media schedule is fully packed, what do you do when you get some amazing promo that you want to share right away with your audience?

I recommend setting at least one blank day a week for your social media, and (if your content is weekly) even one week in a month or two that’s to be confirmed and open to change.

If that makes you feel nervous, you can definitely have some back-up ideas ready and drafted, but just remember to leave some room for your own surprise songs. For your own bit of fun.