The message itself informed me that the sender had written me yesterday and I had not responded – so I had BETTER respond today.

As the old saying goes: “Three guesses about what I did, and the first two don’t count.”

I just can’t imagine what this person was thinking. That he could force me to care about whatever he wanted to promote?

The words “don’t ignore” could be properly used – as in don’t ignore the warning signs of something, But it has to be tied to a benefit to the reader – NOT a benefit to the marketer!

And perhaps this person did have something to offer that was a benefit. But he didn’t take the time to explain that. He’s one of those who sends such brief emails that you never have much of an idea what it’s about – the only thing that comes through is he wants your money.

The bottom line – before you use a subject line, stop and think about how YOU would feel if you saw it in your own in-box. Would you open and read, or simply delete?

You probably know that the purpose of the headline or subject line is to get readers to read the first sentence. The purpose of the first sentence is to get them to read the second – and on and on.

But sometimes, a brilliant idea for that first sentence just isn’t there.

Here’s good news:

This morning’s email included a Target Marketing message that should help. It offers up a list of 48 “starters” that have been proven effective in marketing over the past many years. Some come from the pre-internet world of direct marketing, but that’s OK – our methods of communicating have changed, but human nature has not.

Readers STILL want an answer to “what’s in it for me” before they read on.

I personally disagree with a couple of the suggestions on this list. A couple would actually make me delete the message immediately. For instance “We’ve missed you.” My mental response is that I don’t care – I left/unsubscribed/quit buying your products because that’s what I wanted to do.

Notice that this irritant begins with the word “we.”

All of these have been proven to work, but to be on the safe side, I believe you should “choose and use” those that are customer-focused and avoid starting any message with “we” or “I.”

Anyway, if you’ve ever been stuck, take a minute to visit Target Marketing and print off their list of 48 “starters.” It just might come in handy one day.

Hello,

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If this is a legitimate webinar, then the marketers are pretty foolish, because there’s nothing in their email to tell me what it is (Mobile Money – what is that?) or why I might want to attend.

Since I haven’t signed up for anything, it’s NOT legitimate. So it can be only one of three things:

• A misguided attempt to gain a new follower / buyer
• A phishing scam
• A virus threat

Since I don’t care to find out which, the message has been deleted.

Before you sit down to write, think about the people you want to reach. Then narrow that down to just one of them. Picture that person in your mind’s eye…

What will they be doing when they get your message? What will they be thinking / worrying / dreaming about? That’s what you want to discuss with them.

Now pretend that you’re sitting across the kitchen table from them, sharing a cup of coffee and perhaps a plate of cookies – and just talk.

The message you write will be much more natural. Your words will flow easier and you won’t be tempted to throw in any “$40 words” for emphasis. (You wouldn’t do that in person, would you?)

The best part – people will enjoy reading what you write, and they’ll respond… What could be better? (The cookies, maybe??)

The rule is: Remember that it isn’t about you.

Your marketing, if it’s to be effective, HAS to be about your prospective customers/clients and what they want or need.

Test each of your marketing messages (including web pages) by checking to see what the first sentence is about. If it says “we” or “I,” rewrite it.

Then count the number of times you say “we” or “I” or any variation thereof. Next, count how many times you use some version of the word “You.”

Unless you’ve used “you” at least 3 or 4 times as often as you’ve used “I,” – rewrite it.

The first step is to pass the “glance test” and to create a friendly feeling in the minds of your readers.

First pay attention to the “from” line: Make it clear that the message is from you. Use your name and/or your agency name, not just some address at gmail or yahoo.

Then consider the subject line: Make it interesting, but true, and make it relevant to your message.

Consider your own reactions. When the subject line is clearly an attention getter to make you look at the message…and has nothing to do with the message… doesn’t it make you cranky? It does me!

Take a little information out of your message and turn it into a hook to draw your reader in. If you’re telling about a new listing, say so. The people who are looking for a home will read it, but the ones who are hoping for an offer on their short sale probably won’t. That’s OK, because they’re not your target audience.

If you have interesting news about a political or social development, don’t say “news.” Say something specific like “HR 345 passed! Here’s how it affects you.” You have about 40 spaces, so use them!

Every day my mail… and probably yours… is filled with e-mail from people who are trying to trick us into reading their messages. I get mad. That means that even if I wanted what they offered I’d ignore them.

Now pass the second “glance test.”

What about the look of the copy? How many times have you started to read an e-mail message and stopped because it was too much work?

A long block of copy might work in a book or a magazine article, but on the screen it’s difficult to keep your eyes on the right line when there are too many lines.

Copywriters call it a “gray wall” and it is a wall. It’s a wall between you and your intended readers, because many people simply won’t bother to try.

The answer is to use short paragraphs with blank lines between them. Break it up, make it easy to scan, and use bullets and sub-heads to draw your readers to the most important points. If you want your message read and understood, present it in bite size pieces.

The bottom line is that you need to do everything possible to create trust in your reader, and to make it easy for him or her to read and comprehend your message.

One of the easiest ways to accomplish that is to put yourself in the reader’s place… If you got that e-mail would you read it or delete it? If you’re not sure, ask a friend to read it before you send it.

One of those details is flow… how the words roll through your reader’s minds, carrying them onward through your message.

You know what I mean. Sometimes you try to read something and an awkward sentence acts like someone pulled the emergency brake. You come to a screeching halt, re-read the sentence a couple of times, and then haltingly go forward. The momentum is gone, along with most of the enthusiasm you had for learning what the writer had to say.

When it’s something you’re required to read, research on a subject of importance, or new news that could affect your life, you struggle through it. But when it’s a marketing message, you’re more apt to just move on, deciding your time could be better spent doing something else.

The Rule of Threes:

Copywriters use all sorts of flow techniques that would make their high school English teachers cringe – and hand out an “F.” Things like beginning a paragraph with “and,” using plenty of ellipses and dashes, and writing incomplete sentences. We do that because that’s how people talk in real life. (Probably even that English teacher.)

So what about the threes? When you’re giving reasons why your prospects should choose you as their Realtor, three seems to be the number keeps the copy moving forward while still offering enough information to be convincing.

I know, you may have 15 reasons, but you can probably pare them down to the 6 or 9 most compelling, divide them into logical groups, and space them throughout your message.

If you try to list all 15 in one paragraph, your readers may not make it past number 7.

Note: If you do have a long list of features or benefits that should be placed together, put them into a bulleted list. That sets them apart visually and makes it easy for your reader to skip through and catch the ones most important to him or her. And that’s all any of them are searching for.

Check your work! Before you send an e-mail, print a letter, or send any promotional material off, read it aloud. See if it flows easily. If it does, wonderful! But if you stumble in a spot or two, take the time to re-write that section until it does flow.

The very last thing you want to do to any of your prospects is cause them to disregard your message!

He wants me (and everyone else on his list) to promote his books and to invest in his new marketing company. He says he’s an expert marketer.

But I have good reason to doubt that.

The copy he uses to try to convince me is filled with “I” and “we.” In fact, more than half of the sentences begin with one of those words. And then, it doesn’t include a single benefit to the reader. It’s all about him and what he’s doing and how wonderful he is. Ugh.

This isn’t marketing. It’s ego stroking – his ego, that is.

What is good marketing copy?

Copy that answers the reader’s question: “What’s in it for me?”

An expert marketer – or even a good apprentice marketer – focuses on the reader, not the writer.

And just as soon as the page loaded, it started talking. It wasn’t just an introduction, either. It was a 15 minute video. I didn’t want to take the time right then to watch a video, so thought I could “turn it off” and come back later.  Nope.  It was going to play until I exited.

So I exited.

If I don’t lose track of the email over the course of the day, I might go back tonight and click again.

But if I’d been given a choice of when to watch that video, the page would be sitting at the bottom of my screen, waiting for me. I probably would have come back to watch it when I needed a break from writing, or even after dinner.

As it is, I may never get back there – and in that case, they will have lost a customer.

Three reasons why your website shouldn’t automatically play sound.

1. It is annoying, so sets the wrong tone for your sales message.

2. Insisting that visitors hear your message right now is disrespectful of their time, which again sets the wrong tone.

3. Consumers who are checking out your web page when they’re supposed to be working will click away at the speed of light.

Yes, some of your would-be customers are at work.

I know – any employer would say that they shouldn’t have been there in the first place. But we all know that a good share of employees are cheating their employers by doing online shopping, using Facebook, searching for a new home, writing personal emails, etc. while they’re being paid to work.

It’s not good, but it is true. And those folks would prefer not to be “caught” doing it.

If you want to exclude them as customers, audio will do the trick.

Think about that. I recommend that you give your visitors a choice of when to hear your audio.

Usually, it’s when they’ve been complaining about lack of business and someone is throwing out suggestions for improvement.  In most cases, the person doing the suggesting is someone who has gotten results with whatever marketing tactic they’re suggesting.

Now I realize there ARE some ideas that won’t work in some markets. For instance, when I was in real estate, open houses didn’t work. People here just aren’t in the habit of attending open houses, so they don’t. Agents who try it had better take along a good book or some paperwork to do while they sit there.

BUT – the reason I know it didn’t work is because we tried it – several times.

Other marketing practices wont’ work for certain people – but it has to do with the person and the way they do it, not with the method.

For instance, cold calling. Some people can call and get a great response, while others hear a lot of slammed down phone receivers. (Or, today, clicks.)

Yesterday I wrote an Active Rain post about using web capture forms on your website to gather leads – and then drip marketing to them.

While most either wrote “I need to try that” or “I do that and it works,” some wrote and said “That won’t work in my market.”

How do they know if they haven’t tried it?

I’m not going to say everyone should do it, but I do think none of us should reject a marketing idea without giving it due consideration. After all, people are people and human nature is the same no matter where you go. So a marketing method that works in one market should be worth a try in another – even if you think your customers are “different.”

That’s kind of like looking at the food on your plate and saying “I don’t like that” without even tasting it!