Tuesday 6 September 2016

Boring v Compelling - which ads are yours?

Can a compellingly written ad be more profitable than a boring, plain Jane type ad? 

Well, you don't need a side-by-side example to give you the answer, or do you?

Just look all around you and you'll find all the clues you need.

What do you with a boring tv programme? 

What happens if you read an article that drones on and on?

What do you do if you hear a speech full of um and ah monotony?

In almost all cases, you'd switch off, switch over, switch to something else that gives you a little more life.

Same too with ads and marketing communications.

Most ads ape and follow what's currently out there in the marketplace.

It's a continual cycle of the bland following the bland, the dumb following the dumb, the foolish following the foolish.

And it's generally not the fault of the business person because they've not received the right information, the right education, the right models of excellence. 

And why is that?

Because such information is rare and limited. (And because most marketing professionals are consumed by their own egotistical importance or are simply flat out incompetent, getting real valuable insight and information, is exceedingly rare) 

In fact, let's actually see a demonstration. A demonstration of what compelling copy looks like, and... what boring, non compelling copy looks like. 

And so imagine this was your business we're putting up on the hotseat here. (In fact, you could say this IS your business we're putting up on the hotseat here because your business communications are also either generally compelling, or... non compelling.)

Here's a typical, standard, off-the shelf type advertisement for a business:

Buy from us
We've been in business for x years.
We pride ourselves on our service, quality and reliability
No job too small or too big.
Your satisfaction is what drives us
We are very price competitive
No one does it like us


Slot in any kind of business or service and you'll understand why there's universal blandness and madness when it comes to promoting a business --  everyone is saying the same thing, the same way. And probably, getting the same kind of results. 

Does that kind of copy, that kind of static communication get the pulse racing, the glands excited, the heart and mind all joyful and engaged?

I don't think so.

So what happens when you choose to give life, dimension, embellishment to your ads and promotions - what kind of impact can you get? 

Let's see.

What if you owned an Internet Education marketing business where your services are centered around social media, PPC, SEO -- what would make an enticing, compelling ad? 

The headline would be imperative to get the prospect reading the next piece in the ad.

Because SEO, Social Media, PPC is somewhat a mystery, a minefield, an area most business people are scared of, frightened they'll get taken to the cleaners with. And so highlighting that fact in the opening headline will cause attention.

"Don't pay for SEO or Social Media marketing, Only pay for Results"
The ad can go on to say something like --

"It's an SEO and Social Media minefield out there. Who can you trust? How do you know you'll get the right kind of help? You won't really know the answer to that until after you've put your money down and by that time, it could be too late. You could've been taken to the cleaners already. We don't want to focus on your money. We want you to get comfortable with us. We want you to first get a hold of our copy of our special report that'll tell you why you don't want to pay for Social Media Marketing or SEO, and why you should pay for results instead. We'll show you the 7 key elements of a Social Media and SEO marketing plan and we'll show you how everything slots together. We'll show you how to turn your Social Media marketing into tangible results you can count. We'll show you the good, the bad and the ugly of SEO and Social Media marketing. If you like what you've read and you feel that we've helped shed a bright light for you on this mysterious world of Social Media and SEO marketing and you'd like us to arrange a no cost consultation where we'll walk you through the possibilities that exist for your business, then we'd love that opportunity"

Now what you'll see here in this ad is there's pure service. There's information and help on offer.

There's practical information and insight that helps a prospect move their mind towards wanting to find out more.

While most SEO and Social Media concerns are after the sealing the contract and not nearly interested enough in informing and educating the prospective customer, when it comes to making a decision in whom to go with for services, there's more likelihood the entity that educates, informs, gives service before asking for any money to exchange hands, will win the customer game.

What if your services or products were written and communicated in the same way as you've just seen (the second version), what kind of difference, what kind of impact would it make in the number of clients you secure and, in their cumulative total customer value?

Put pen to paper to it because that's the only way you can get a clear answer.

Compellingly written ads will always out-trump and out-money the boring or the hype filled variations. 

Test it. 

http://rajahireker.com/whythehell.pdf
07903 905 802 / raja.hireker@gmail.com