In this blog—I’m gonna break down what you can learn about website design & marketing from Toy Story.
You’ll learn:
- Why you need social proof on every website page 🤗
- Why the quality of your images matters 📷
- Why you need to create consistent content 📇
- How to save the galaxy from the Evil Emperor Zurg 🌌
(Never watched Toy Story before or need a refresh? Click here,here,here, & here for the summaries.)
(PSA for this newsletter, I’ll be focusing on Toy Story 1-4 & not the various Buzz Lightyear spin-offs—otherwise this email will take 5 hours to read 😅)
Let’s start with the marketing & launch for Toy Story.
The OG Toy Story movie premiered in November 1995—followed by Toy Story 2 in November 1999, Toy Story 3 in June 2010 & Toy Story 4 in 2019 (#funfact the Pixar website is hosted on Squarespace).
To say the first movie was ahead of its time is kind of an understatement. It’s extremely common to see stellar graphics in film now—but in 1995? Not so much. That’s probably why both Toy Story 1 & 2 are at the top of lists going over the best-animated movies of all time.
^^^ And what can you learn from this?
The quality of your website photos & even your social media graphics matter.
And the good news is that it’s way easier than it was in the 90s to achieve good-looking imagery & it can make you stand out in your industry.
For graphics it’s pretty simple, you can use free or designer-made Canva templates for social media posts & even blog post images.
BUT when it comes to photos (and videos) for your website it’s a little bit more complicated. The ideal option is to hire a brand photographer for custom photography—but even if you do that, you’ll probably still need to supplement with stock photos.
And my best advice for finding stock imagery is to AVOID free sites like Unsplash, if at all possible. Not only is the licensing a bit sketchy, but because so many people use their images you risk ending up looking like every other business out there.
The best solution is to join a stock photography membership (even for only one month) to gather images for your website & marketing. Elevae Visuals has been my favorite for high-quality images, but like everything there are other options.
A big theme throughout all of the Toy Story movies is how kids eventually forget & about their toys…
^^^ Which is just like how people can easily forget that your business exists if you don’t stay top of mind.
That’s why consistent marketing is super important. Do you need to be on all 28 social media apps + have a podcast, blog & YouTube channel? NO. <<< But the consistency of how often you’re on the platforms is what matters—so you can stay at the top of your ideal client’s mind.
Here are some notable quotes & plot points from the scripts of Toy Story that can help you with your website design & marketing.
Quote: Buzz Lightyear: “This is no time to panic.” Woody: “This is a perfect time to panic!”
Business Lesson: ^^^ Panic is exactly what it can feel like when trying to get Buzz out of Spanish mode design & launch your website.
That’s why it’s okay to take it one page at a time so that it’s not as overwhelming. Designing an “easier” shorter page like your contact page first can help too vs starting with a long-form sales page.
Quote: Al McWhiggin: “To overnight six packages to Japan is how much? What? That’s in yen, right? Dollars?”
Business Lesson: I’ve said it once & I’ll say it again you NEED to show your pricing on your website because people don’t like sticker shock. Now, do you have to show exact to the penny prices? No, it can be my prices start at XYZ or my clients typically spend XYZ—but there has to be some sort of investment range listed on your website.
Quote: Buzz Lightyear: “I don’t believe that man’s ever been to medical school.”
Business Lesson: Consumer scam radars are stronger than ever—that’s why it’s so important to have you’ve-got-a-friend-in-me-style social proof on your website to back up your expertise.
That way it’s not just you saying how great your services are (even though I’m sure they are)—but your clients talking about the transformations you’ve helped them make. <<< It’s basically the business equivalent of having Andy’s name on your foot.
And while I could go into the problems with Toy Story 4’s storyline (i.e. the whole plot revolving around a spork) I digress…*sigh*
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