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Locked far away in some deep mystical cavern lies a hidden weapon in marketing. A weapon only the reincarnated gurus of ancient times possess. This sacred knowledge is reserved for those truly worthy. Here we’ll show you how to enter into this holy voyage to find that weapon.
Just kidding.
No need to conjure up your inner Indiana Jones to meet some Batman tier marketing trainer. In fact, we’ll be going in the opposite direction.
Instead, we’ll be taking a straightforward and easy approach to a very effective marketing tip. So put away your safari gear and let’s get into it.
A very important thing to remember when it comes to marketing is there’s a singular outcome that you should be aiming for.
Fill out a form. Send your name and email address. Or, click here to buy, etc.
The aim is to get a direct response from the reader.
That’s it.
Doesn’t really matter how you get there so long as your ad doesn’t get ignored. And the easiest way to get ignored is to leave your reader with confusion.
Confusing your audience has a terrible marketing result.
The reader arrives at the end of your ad and has no idea what to do next. So they do nothing. That’s why keeping your goal in mind at all times is extremely important.
Let’s say you do have to go on an epic quest to find some reincarnated guru. At the very least you’re going to need a map. Without it you’ll get lost quicker than a dementia riddled politician at a handshaking festival.
So, best to give your advertising a direction for the reader to go in. Take them from where they are to where you want them to go; to respond to your ad.
Getting a response does not come from making sure your marketing leaves a good impression. Or going out of your way to inform the reader like an infomercial often does. And don’t get me started on how useless it is to inject your ad with brand awareness.
The reader can’t do a thing with a good impression, a mountain of information or an awareness of your brand.
Nike’s “Just Do It” slogan gives you no reason to choose them as the brand to buy over any other. That phrase does very little as far as selling goes. It’s a call to be more athletic. To go and do more things.
It’s not a selling proposition
You think, “I need basketball shoes.”
And the ad offers, “Just Do It.”
How do you respond to the ad with your dollars?
Does that actually sell?
The short answer is no, it doesn’t.
With that slogan, yes, you may think of the inspiration they instilled and choose to buy their brand.
But that’s a very inadvertent way of selling.
We don’t have the luxury of selling by way of inspiration osmosis
Or take when an ad is trying to sell you supplements. Then informs you about the biology of your gut microbiome. The PH balance of the pollen from flowers found in southeast asia used in their patented proprietary blend and on and on…
…The ad overloads you with information, giving you a long list of features and benefits. Leaving you with no real idea of how this product helps solve your problem.
Old Spice is another brand with questionable marketing. Seems their aim is to give off a certain impression more than anything. “And a weird impression at that.”
These bad examples of marketing share a common thread of forgetting to get inside the reader’s mind to make it easy for them to give a response.
Make it complicated if you’re trying to hire people. Complex problem solving is a great filter for getting the right people into your workplace. But in the marketplace you’re selling to? Easy, simple and clear is the way to go.
Here’s some examples of simple offers:
“Get in touch with us today and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours”
“Order now to get 20% off for a limited time only”
“Call within 6 hours and your consultation is free”
Straight away you get a perfect sense of what to do. Something like that will surely deflect any reader confusion and easily give your ad a better response rate.
Put yourself in the reader’s shoes and ask yourself,
“Would this confuse the reader?”
“Am I making sense with what I’m asking them to do?”
“Are my directions crystal clear?”
Doing this will help you steer your ads in a more simple direction. And like Occam’s razor, simple makes sense. Simple makes it easy.
Simple brings home the bacon.
Give your ads an easy way out for the reader and they might just respond purely out of convenience’s sake.
Add this as one of your Golden Marketing Rules and your next ad campaign will be a success.
Remember, make it simple.
Care for more marketing tips? We cover some other topics here. And if you’re thinking about how to get more customers for less dollars then take a look at our Meta guide.
