Advertising. Curse? Money hole? Or powerful venue?
It seems so obvious: where else, for a few hundred dollars, could
you get in front of thousands of people? And it's true that many
of them are really wanting what you're offering.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of advertising ends up being
good to wrap fish in, and not much else. People cry up "But it's
getting me exposure," and that's true, to a point. However, is it
really increasing sales? Is it really getting people the help
they need?
Every time I look through a newspaper, especially the alternative
papers, I see so many ads, and my heart feels a little sad.
Because I know behind most of those ads there is a jewel of a
human being, really wanting to help. But the ad isn't making the
connection at all.
Let's think about it for a minute before you rush to get your
hard-earned money in before the publication deadline. What's
going on for the person reading the newspaper?
First: they've seen it all before. Second: your offer is probably
between the 100th and 1000th (literally) that they've seen today.
Third: even if they are an ideal prospect for you, they are
probably thinking about something other than your business.
Because of this overwhelm, most advertisers try to keep turning
the volume up higher and higher. I just opened up an alternative
magazine randomly to a two page spread of ads. Out of 16 ads,
12 of them have some "special offer" of one sort or another. And
14 of them are making a direct pitch to have you "schedule an
appointment" or otherwise buy something now. Of the other two,
one is a restaurant, and the other doesn't make any kind of offer
at all.
Does it work? No, it doesn't work. I've called people to find out
how their ads were working for them, and they told me: "I get a
couple of calls from it, maybe."
Remember that people only buy when they feel safe enough- when
the relationship has built to the point where they can trust
their initial attraction.
Here's The Foundation You Need To Make Your Ad Effective:
* Know the Three Journeys.
The First Journey is when a stranger becomes interested in your
business, and chooses to become a prospect. A prospect who is
looking for gold in your business.
The Second Journey is when that prospect spends time in direct
relationship with your business, and when they see enough gold,
they become a customer.
The Third Journey is when they've had an ecstatic experience as a
customer, and want to help other people find the gold, so they
become a raving fan.
Advertising is First Journey marketing. Your only goal in
advertising should be to show enough gold to get them to
want to be a prospect. Forget about selling them anything.
How do you show them the gold?
Keys to Effective Advertising
* Talk to one person, and call their name.
On a crowded Manhattan street, elbow-to-elbow with a sea of
people, I still heard someone speak in a conversational voice-
"Mark." I turned my head around. Of course they were talking to
someone else, but it still caught my attention.
Your ad needs to speak to one person, and call their name. In
marketing, the next best thing to a personal name is your Who and
What. "Golfers"=who "is knee pain affecting your swing?"= what.
* Educate them in a helpful way.
If you have room, take the time to maybe explain one point that
will be helpful for them in the problem they are facing. For
smaller ads you can just point them towards a web page where you
want to educate them about something helpful.
For instance: "Most pain is actually caused by stress. Stopping
the stress means decreasing or stopping the pain. Right now, just
notice your knee pain. See if you can notice where your legs and
hips feel tense, and breathe into the tension. As it relaxes, see
how the pain feels." If you have more space, you can go into more
detail.
* Offer a trade: their contact information for something
valuable.
"Of course, your knee pain isn't gone completely. This is just a
clue. If you'd like a free article, with illustrations, on how to
decrease knee pain and help your swing, just go to
www.golfkneepain.com. And, we'll give you an additional golf
swing tip every week."
* Finally, don't ignore design.
Keep it simple. In a loud, overcrowded world, simplicity and
straightforwardness have the best chance of being noticed. Use
plenty of white space. Easy-to-read fonts, avoid cursive or fancy
fonts, and avoid complicated patterns.
Try Robin Williams (not THAT Robin Williams) book, The Non-
Designer's Design Book.
Have fun with your advertising.
My very best to you and your business,
Mark Silver
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