Article Contributed by Troy White
The entire marketing and advertising business is backed on testing. If you are not testing different marketing methods, different advertisements, different media, etc., then you will never know what works and what doesn’t. It’s not exactly rocket science what I just said – but the fact of the matter is that less than 5% of businesses test anything.
So if it is so simple – why aren’t more people doing it?
Laziness, time constraints and lack of knowledge are the most common reasons I hear. I can’t help you with the first 2 – but I will share with you a number of marketing ideas you can test. Try one – measure the results, then test another. You are looking for the most powerful marketing method that you can continue to run for months/years to come.
(1) Tell a story – one of the best ways to pull your readers into your marketing and get them to buy. The Wall Street Journal runs a one-page story talking about Two Young Men – both from the same upbringing and neighborhood – how one went on to accomplish great things and the other went about life with dismal results. This incredible story has been running for decades now and in that time it has generated billions of dollars in subscription sales.
(2) Use clichés like “sick as a dog” – people can relate to them and there is a comfort feeling around them. As well, most people talk in clichés – so you must write like you talk. But a word of caution, do not over use them.
(3) Never write any marketing pieces if you do not believe in what it is you are selling or trying to accomplish – it will be very obvious to the person reading it that you don’t believe it.
(4) Don’t try and be cute or sophisticated. Be sincere, educational and passionate in your writing. Do whatever it takes to get into a peak emotional state before you start writing – be it music, exercise lots of coffee – whatever floats your boat.
(5) Write to a grade 7 reading level. This can be easily checked in Microsoft Word – go to “Tools at top – then – Options: then Spelling and Grammar: check the box that says Show Readability Stats. Every time you do a spell check form now on it will tell you what grade level your writing is at. This is your lowest common denominator and a guideline you must use in all your business correspondence and advertising – unless you know without a doubt that 100% of your market is at a Ph.D. level.
6) Pretend you are sitting around a fire with one of your best friends. You know that they have some possible interest in what you are selling. But they are skeptical at the best of times. What would you say to them to get them to try it out? How would you say it to them? This is exactly what your ads need to read like.
(7) Always use real postage stamps on your envelopes – never metered mail. Make it look as personalized as possible – not like it came straight from a machine.
There are 7 simple ways to get better results in your marketing and advertising; but they are useless if you don’t try them. Try one this week and see what happens. And please let me know how it goes.
About the Author
Troy White is a top marketing coach, consultant & direct response copywriter based in Calgary, Canada. He has a powerful approach to growing small businesses and entrepreneurial run ventures on a budget. His FREE Cash Flow Surges newsletter shares tons of great strategies and he blogs at http://www.smallbusinesscopywriter.com
He also publishes the incredibly powerful Cash Flow Calendar system that gives you daily, weekly and monthly marketing ideas to promote your business and stand out from the crowd. To get your free tips for growing your business, you can register at http://www.cashflowcalendars.com
Or you can take his business mastery course in marketing and advertising at http://www.thebusinessmasterycourse.com