Saturday, May 08, 2004
Afraid of Strong Copy?
This happens to me more with service professionals than any other group. I'll write strong targeted copy to one person and they insist on watering it down to be less than stellar. Their reasoning? Sounds too "salesy." Excuse me? Copy is salesmanship in print. It's purpose is to sell - not like a used car salesman, but there are proven methods of selling that continue to work...and that's why we still use them. Also, no one is going to read BORING copy. So get out of your own way and trust someone who knows what she's doing. :-) Seriously, studies show over and over that while people may not feel they want to be "sold," if blah language is used, it doesn't even get read.
Another reason - they don't want to alienate any potential clients. Trust me, the exact opposite happens. First of all, there are millions of potential clients. You don't need ALL of them. There are plenty to go around. If I were to shout your name out in a crowded airport, chances are you'd turn around. It's the same with copy. If copy resonates strongly with the reader, he or she will pay attention. For example, Volvo targets to one person - a 35 year old mother of two. Does that mean single women don't buy Volvos? That fathers don't buy Volvos? Of course not! But when you use the spray and pray shotgun approach, you DON'T have targeted copy. And trust me, that's when you're NOT going to get the sale. So don't complain if you change the copy to be something weaker and then don't sell as much as you'd hoped.
Please forgive my ranting. I'm done now. :-)
Another reason - they don't want to alienate any potential clients. Trust me, the exact opposite happens. First of all, there are millions of potential clients. You don't need ALL of them. There are plenty to go around. If I were to shout your name out in a crowded airport, chances are you'd turn around. It's the same with copy. If copy resonates strongly with the reader, he or she will pay attention. For example, Volvo targets to one person - a 35 year old mother of two. Does that mean single women don't buy Volvos? That fathers don't buy Volvos? Of course not! But when you use the spray and pray shotgun approach, you DON'T have targeted copy. And trust me, that's when you're NOT going to get the sale. So don't complain if you change the copy to be something weaker and then don't sell as much as you'd hoped.
Please forgive my ranting. I'm done now. :-)
Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Google AdWords
Having set up a failed campaign in Google AdWords about a month ago, I got busy with other areas of my business. Google bumped me because I sent the clicks to a different website than the one on my ad. See, I was trying to do an ASK campaign and build my subscriber list simultaneously. (I even had a good bribe - a free report with content). Anyway, Google didn't like it and shut me down. Well, last night I decided to take a few minutes to revive it. This morning I had gotten a few impressions. It felt like Christmas! You can tell this is still new to me. I didn't even make a sale, but I was ecstatic people had actually read my ad! I'm sure the newness will wear off quickly as I pay for clicks and don't get sales. In fact, I can feel I'm over it already.
Ever heard of kaizen? It's a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement no matter how small. The secret is to be consistent. I like it. It really applies to entrepreneurs and infopreneurs, doesn't it? It seems like we're never done with all the tasks of running a business. So this Google AdWords experience, no matter how small is my personal way of kaizen in business. We need kaizen in regular life too. In fact, I'm off to Tae Bo right now. Exercise is one of the easiest things to ignore, but it's really critical for your emotional and physical well-being. Gotta jet!
Ever heard of kaizen? It's a Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement no matter how small. The secret is to be consistent. I like it. It really applies to entrepreneurs and infopreneurs, doesn't it? It seems like we're never done with all the tasks of running a business. So this Google AdWords experience, no matter how small is my personal way of kaizen in business. We need kaizen in regular life too. In fact, I'm off to Tae Bo right now. Exercise is one of the easiest things to ignore, but it's really critical for your emotional and physical well-being. Gotta jet!
