Starbucks rapid rise to world-wide success began when their CEO, Howard Schultz, then Director of Marketing, returned from a trip to Milan, Italy.

There, he had seen first-hand how the coffee-shops sold coffee and espresso drinks.

He advised the owners to do the same, but when they rejected his idea, he started Il Giornale coffee bar chain.

Howard’s idea was a hit, and his chain quickly became successful.

Two years later in 1987, he bought over the original Starbucks chain from the owners, rebranded the Il Giornale outlets as Starbucks and quickly began to expand…

… and the rest, they say, is history.

By 2007, the Starbucks company

- had more than 16,000 stores in 49 countries,
- serving 50 million customers a week,
- earning $672 million in profits.

All from selling a plain commodity – Coffee.

How can Starbucks become a mega-success by charging $3.00 for coffee drinks that could be bought at the convenience store for $0.79?

Other people may say that they have superior coffee and great customer relations, but I doubt so.

I once tried genuine top-grade coffee that was made out of a vintage silver coffee-maker – the kind that the aristocrats used in the early 1900s.

The coffee was absolutely top-class. The after-taste feeling was out-of-this-world. And it made Starbucks coffee feel bland.

As for customer service, I’m not sure about America, but in my country Singapore, the barristas seldom greet me with a smile, because they are always too busy and stressed.

Yet, Starbucks is still the #1 coffee shop franchise in Singapore, and the world.

So why is Starbucks so successful?

A major clue comes from the man responsible for its success, Howard Schultz.

“Unlike many other places that sell coffee, Starbucks built the equity of our brand through the Starbucks Experience.” – Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks.

The Starbucks Experience. This is Starbucks’s unique selling proposition.

While coffee, customer service and store ambiance contribute to the experience, they are not the main reason why people visit Starbucks.

People go because of the Starbucks experience. And they love it, so they return again and again because they want the experience.

The benefit is not even tangible or logical. It’s psychological and emotional – it’s an experience.

But what is this Starbucks experience really about? Why is it so irresistible?

Herein lies the secret.

You see, when Howard Schultz went to Milan, he didn’t just see how the coffee-shops sold coffee.

He saw something that forever changed his perception about coffee-drinking.

He saw how ordinary coffee-drinking could be transformed into a classy, comfy affair that makes the coffee-drinker feel cultured and sophisticated.

This new perception that Howard got, that…

coffee-drinking should be a classy and comfy affair that makes the coffee-drinker feel cultured and sophisticated,

became his BIG IDEA.

And he introduced his Big Idea to the world with the Starbucks experience.

Today, almost everyone around the world perceives coffee-drinking differently, because this man introduced his Big Idea, his unique and sophisticated view about coffee-drinking.

Through the Starbucks experience, he has successfully influenced the world to take up his idea about coffee-drinking, and he is attracting massive crowds to his stores everywhere, day in and day out…

… because they want to enjoy the classy and comfy affair, and the feeling of being cultured and sophisticated, whenever they drink a cup of Starbucks coffee.

This, my friend, is the immensely powerful psychological force at work behind the success of Starbucks.

(This is important, so please read it again, starting from Herein lies the secret)

Can bloggers learn this?

Can bloggers create such powerful forces that attract massive crowds of readers to them?

Absolutely yes!

Many top-level information marketers have already done so, and are earning millions.

You may have heard of Frank Kern. He has successfully attracted a MASSIVE crowd of followers and customers. Needless to say, he is very very rich.

Many A-list bloggers have also done the same to influence and attract a massive crowd of readers to themselves, earning six-figure profits every year.

And they don’t work harder than other average bloggers. They just work smarter.

If you want to be certain of making it as a successful blogger, read part II of this article.

Because in part II, I’m going to go deeper into explaining

1. What a Idea is, and
2. How it draws loyal readers and followers to you as a blogger.

You’ll also understand why if you don’t use this concept, even though you may work harder than every blogger…

… you just won’t attract the masses of readers and you won’t earn much money (if any) as a blogger.