Marketing Success--Why Facts Tell But Don’t Sell

Last week we talked about the importance of attention-grabbing,
specific headlines.

Now let’s talk about your second chance to make a first impression…
the first few lines following your headline. The truth is, you can have
a knock-out headline, but if the first few lines of copy don’t back up the
promise you made, you’re sunk.

Prospects will not only use your marketing piece to practice shooting hoops
in their wastebaskets, they probably won’t read any future communications
you send them. Nobody likes to be tricked. Nobody likes to be made a fool.
So if your headline promises something great, make sure you deliver.

And that brings us to this week’s topic,
“Why Facts Tell But Don’t Sell.”

It’s true; you need to back up the claims you make in your headline. But doing it with boring, dry, textbook-like facts is more likely to cure your prospects’ insomnia than it is to make them to take action.

Think about it. When you were a little girl or boy, did your parents tell you bedtime stories or bedtime facts? Most people are conditioned from a very young age to relax, listen to and absorb stories.

Example:

Fast, Easy, Affordable Solutions To Fix The Lies
Your Image Is Telling

When Carol Bollinger came to me, she was headed to Arizona for an interview with a company conducting a nationwide job-candidate search. She knew she was qualified but wanted the competitive edge an enhanced image would give her. Applying the techniques and tools she learned in her individual session with me, Carol said she felt so confident about her new look that it made her interview a breeze. She got the job!

Entice your readers, draw them into the fold by using stories to lower their guards. Lull them into receptiveness and your message will be received. Use stories to reveal the facts and your marketing piece will go farther than the wastebasket. And chances are good that the next time they receive a mailer, e-mail, letter, or other marketing piece from you, they’ll read that one too!

Remember, who do prospects buy from? People they like and trust. People they like and trust.

In your next Marketing Success e-mail, we’ll discuss the power of “you, you, you” not “me, me, me.”

Committed to your marketing success,
Lina Penalosa
April 13 , 2005