Is your big marketing promise believable?
You know the formulas for writing persuasive copy: Picture, Promise, Proof, and Push is one of the most popular. But it only works if the promise has enough believability to keep your prospect reading.
Some marketers get so carried away with the big promise that they forget to see how it looks to their prospects. And sometimes, it looks so unbelievable that people disregard the message without even giving it a chance. So be careful.
Your job as a marketer is to cause them to think “How could that be?” or “Says who?” and read on just a bit.
If you have a fantastic promise, your next paragraph needs to quickly show why it could be a true promise. If instead you go on about the promise, your readers will likely lose interest and fail to read far enough to find the proof.
I was reminded of this yesterday when I saw a TV ad for an air freshener. According to that ad, if your house is filthy, all you have to do is spray this stuff around and then go spend the rest of the day playing. When you and your family return home in the evening, the house will be clean and fresh and wonderful.
OK then. I guess that spray has gremlins in it that remove the dirt, dust, and pet hair. And they do the dishes and laundry too, while they’re making the beds and putting things back in their proper places.
When you write your ads, you don’t want to cause a reaction such as the one I had to the air freshener ad. Tone down the promise enough to allow your prospects to believe in what you’re saying – at least enough to read on. And then offer them some proof.
Go write something believable today…
Marte
Posted: November 3rd, 2008 under advertising, marketing.
Tags: believability in advertising, marketing, proof, the big promise