Having trouble developing your message? Suffering from a case of what some people call writer’s block? There’s a very simple technique that can help you get started.
All you have to do is identify the main message you want to convey to your audience. Don’t worry about finding the exact words or the best way to say it — just type that main message that’s at the heart of what you want to get across.
You’re probably familiar with the phrase “elephant in the room.” In the unlikely event you’re not, it refers to a difficult topic about which everyone is painfully aware, but that is so uncomfortable that nobody is willing to mention it publicly. It’s like the flask Aunt Sadie carries in her purse — everyone has seen it, but nobody will ever admit to that.
Companies and organizations are often vexed by their own elephants. Maybe it’s a deficiency in a product. Maybe it’s an advantage a competitor has. Maybe it’s a past mistake or a scandal that left a stain on the organization’s image.
If you’re not a history buff, you may not be familiar with the Maginot Line. After being battered by Germany during the First World War, and nervous about a second invasion, France decided to protect itself by building an amazing “wall” of defensive artillery along the Franco-German border. They put all their faith in this technological marvel, knowing that Germany could not plow through it. And the Germans couldn’t, so they simply went around it on their trip to Paris during WWII.
Many marketers approach media the same way. They decide to place all their eggs in that proverbial basket, which can be effective as long as the basket isn’t flawed or dropped. Facing higher postage costs and the many advantages of email and other newer marketing options, many marketers raced away from direct mail.
Many people claim the title of Marketing Guru, but Seth Godin is one of the few who actually deserves it. In a recent TED talk, he said something that everyone who sells to consumers — whether those consumers are ordinary people or business customers — really needs to take to heart.
“Customers don’t care about you at all. They just don’t care. Part of the reason is they’ve got way more choices than they used to and way less time.”
Some years ago, there was an excellent campaign for oil filters, of all things, that featured an auto mechanic warning that you could pay him now, or you could pay him later. The message was that by spending a little more now on the superior brand of oil filter, would wouldn’t have to pay for costly engine repairs down the road.
Henry Ford put it a bit differently: “If you need a machine and don’t buy it, you will ultimately find that you have paid for it and don’t have it.”
Watching this year’s national election debates, I’ve been particularly fascinated by the moderators on two fronts. First, there are the styles each has used, and second, there’s the uproar their performances trigger among the partisans on either side. (Those who know me well know I’m apolitical, so if your immediate response to that sentence is to castigate one of those moderators for treating your candidate shabbily, this blog’s comments section isn’t the place.)
They fascinate me because they serve a similar role to that of the copywriter. They have to defend the interests of the audience from those who wish to control both the message and its delivery. Regardless of their own personal beliefs about the matters at hand, to be truly effective, they have to operate with objectivity and continually ask themselves whether the ultimate audience is getting the information it wants.
Planning to share some information with a reporter or editor, or trying to interest him or her in a story? You’ll be more likely to succeed if you start by asking a very simple question.
That question would be “Is this a good time?”
I recently re-encountered one of the best descriptive quotes about marketing. Professor Theodore Levitt of Harvard once noted that people don’t care about a quarter-inch drill. “They want a quarter-inch hole.”
It’s a simple concept, but it’s one that’s lost on far too many marketers in all industries. Instead of thinking about the prospective customer’s ultimate need and desire, they focus on their product’s attributes or what they think is most important.
While tooling down the Interstate the other day, I listened to a succession of local radio stations, and almost swerved off the road when I heard one small-town announcer deliver a carefully scripted commercial for the national Quizno’s sandwich chain.
He talked about the many delicious sandwich choices available at the local Quizno’s, adding that they were all carefully prepared on Artesian bread. His reading underscored the danger of using big, fancy words in copy — words that everyone may not understand.
In the old days, before marketers began to mistake technology for knowledge and sophistication, most companies relied on a variety of tried-and-true tactics to make the most of their marketing budgets. One of the most effective tools they used was called the split test.
Essentially, what they would do is make two different offers to two identical groups. Suppose they had a mailing list with 50,000 names. They would take 1000 names from that list, divide them into two groups, and send them offers that differed in content or approach.