007 Squatty Potty: Unicorn Poop Gone Viral With Bobby Edwards

12/01/15 • 35 min

The Ghost Influence Podcast: How Viral Happens On Reddit

Bobby Edwards just wanted to help his mom poop. Having discovered the extensive benefits of squatting to poop, he set out to create "the stool for better stool". It wasn't until a barrage of awkward Christmas gifts resulted is raving enthusiasm that he truly realized the potential of his poop platform... or as it's famously known today — Squatty Potty.

Brilliant in it's simplicity, much like the product itself, Bobby's initial marketing strategy was to find bloggers in the health space and send them a Squatty Potty. That led to a phone call from The Doctors and later an endorsement from Howard Stern. Bobby eventually took the business to Shark Tank and landed a deal with Lori Grenier who got them prime placement in Ben, Bath, & Beyond. All of that... and they still only had 1.2M customers.

Working with The Harmon Brothers, the marketers behind the viral success of Poo Pourri, the Squatty Potty team produced a three minute promo video titled "This Unicorn Changed The Way I Poop" and drove over 48M views (between Youtube and Facebook) and was submitted to Reddit 42 times within the first 50 days it existed. Bobby shares the details about the creative process and how this viral video catapulted their sales.

Create social leverage with the Ghost Influence community.Music: 'Contact - Somewhere (LIONBLOOD Remix)'

Create social leverage with the Ghost Influence community.Music: 'Contact - Somewhere (LIONBLOOD Remix)'

Previous Episode

006 Pixel Thoughts: Meditation Tool Gone Viral With Marc Balaban

Marc Balaban wanted to escape his job in tech recruitment to improve his web development skills and move towards something more creative. He joined a hackathon to push those boundaries and was challenged to create a product in a weekend. Living in San Francisco, California where technology and mindfulness are commonly included in the same conversations he opted to create a sixty second meditation tool. He dubbed it Pixel Thoughts.

Some weeks after the hackathon he finished the app and submitted it to Reddit's /r/InternetIsBeautiful where it received far more traction than he ever expected. While his intention was to build something that showcased his skills, he never anticipated that a fun project would generate such substantial professional leverage. Marc's story is a phenomenal example of how powerful passion and self-education can be as tools for marketing your creative skills.

Create social leverage with the Ghost Influence community.Music: 'Whylex - Brillante Atardecer (Especial Sunset Mix)'

Next Episode

008 The User Is Drunk: UX Design, Alcohol, & Internet Fame With Richard Littauer

Richard Littauer was more than a few drinks in when his friend asked for feedback on the user experience of his website. While he warned of his inebriated state, the friend persisted that he wanted to know his thoughts. Hesitantly, Richard began diving in and soon realized that his lack of verbal filter was proving entertaining — yet surprisingly helpful feedback. The idea percolated into the purchase of the domain 'theuserisdrunk.com' which sat dormant until a hackathon where he felt it was time to bring the project to life.

Setting up a simple, one-page website, Richard built his consulting offer whereby he would get drunk and make a video reviewing your website. Within an hour of submission, he was at the top of Hacker News. He had just under 100,000 visitors on the first day and within a week around 300k. He was interviewed by FastCo, Tech.co, Gizmodo, VWO, Hubspot. The project quickly became massive leverage for his consulting work and has been ever since.

Create social leverage with the Ghost Influence community.Music: 'Marko Stc - Apollo 13 (Renan Willian Remix)'