Thoughts on Marketing…

Whether you’re writing a postal letter, adding copy to your web site, sending an email, or placing an ad in your local newspaper, it’s important that your customers don’t have to think when they read your message.

OK – I hear you telling me that of course they have to think. And they do. They have to decide whether or not to take action, but that’s not the thinking I’m talking about.

I’m talking about having to stop and think before they understand your message. If they have to stop in the middle of the message and think about what you’re trying to say, the flow is lost, and quite often, the customer is lost along with it.

Instead, your message should flow smoothly from the words they’re reading, through their eyes and straight to the centers in their brains that let them understand the meaning of your marketing message.

The flow is important because from understanding they can move to feeling, and from feeling they can move to action.

Sure, they might stop at that point and think about whether or not they should act. They might even back up and re-read the features and benefits you’re offering. At that point they’re trying to justify why they should buy.

If you’ve done a good job, they’ll also have to think twice before they can justify saying no, because they understand the benefits of saying yes.

But you must not make them think about the words in your message.

How can you keep from making those customers think about your words?

First, by going over and over your message to see that each idea flows smoothly into the next.

One way is to break the rules you learned in 5^th grade and use words like “and” and “but” to start a sentence. Write the way people talk. Then, after you’ve written your message and you’re happy with the flow, read it aloud and change any spots that make you stumble.

The next step is to make sure you aren’t using any words that your target audience won’t understand. If your product is technical but your customers are not, stay away from the “techie” terms.

Now proofread – or better yet, get someone else to proofread.

Good copy does break the rules of grammar and instead follows the speech we use in everyday life. But you must check for misused words, because they are just like huge stop signs in the middle of your copy.

If you write something like “The Smiths want to sell there home,” anyone who knows proper word usage will be “stuck” right there. Their brains will be trying to reconcile the word “there” with the context of the sentence and it won’t be working. The flow of your message will be lost forever. Worse, they may have a negative impression of you – based on you choosing the wrong word.

There and there are two of the most commonly misused words, but there are more. Others words are hear/here; your/you’re; of/have, and are/our.

If you’re writing a marketing message and you aren’t positive about the meaning of those words, take the time to get out your dictionary and learn them, because misuse will hurt the effectiveness of your message.