Even though he died when I was just 17, my Grandpa Irwin filled my head with plenty of what I call his Grandpa-isms that serve me well to this day.
For example, one of his favorites was “always watch where you’re looking“.
Now, just like my Grandpa himself, those 5 words are simple and profound in the same breath.
They mean you should always be focused on where you are going, but they also mean you need to be cautious of where you plan to go and careful not to try going where you don’t belong.
For example, they are great advice for someone who isn’t focused enough on their business–but equally great advice for a guy checking out another man’s wife.
5 little words that are sound advice which can be applied in a wide variety of situations. Simple and profound.
Another of Grandpa’s favorites, and this one has helped me more than anything else with my Internet marketing over the years, was “always mean what you say, and only say what you mean“.
In other words, speak the truth and refrain from the B.S. of hype and sensationalism.
I apply this rule in my sales copy and advertising all the time, and I believe it to be the main reason I’ve enjoyed success with online marketing.
First, it protects me from myself at times. More than once I’ve wanted to promote a product only because the commissions for it were high. It’s human nature, and regardless of how well intentioned we are, we all want to make more money.
But when I apply this rule to my promotional copy it forces the product to show its full value to me because once you strip away the hype what you’re left with is the true value of the product.
If it can’t stand on its own at this point, or doesn’t agree with the price tag you’re asking customers to pay, then it is not something you should be promoting.
The rule also helps me to deliver an honest marketing message every time. Without any hype or fluff what you have left to tell customers are the bottom line benefits they should expect from the product.
This leads to more satisfied customers, and more important, to less unsatisfied customers.
I’ve spoken before about under promising and over delivering in sales copy, and that’s what this rule helps to achieve.
Here’s how I break it down when writing sales copy or other advertising content for a product:
Always mean what you say
Only speak truth on the benefits of the product. Leave out unnecessary hype and superfluous fluff. I also call this the Dragnet rule, “Just the facts, Mam”.
If you can’t prove a claim, don’t include the claim in your promotional material. Always mean what you say.
And only say what you mean
Pick your words carefully. Think of your local news broadcast, how many times have you heard the anchor say something like “Passangers were startled when the plane accidentally rolled off the runway during the landing”?
Think about that statement, it implies that there are times when pilots will intentionally steer the plane off of the runway during a landing.
Sure, most of us understand that’s not what the broadcaster meant to imply, and we won’t give it much thought because we’ve become accustomed to such careless grammar… but words have meaning, and when you’re asking people to trust you and give you their money the least you can do is respect them enough to ask politely and correctly.
Another prime example which I’ve mentioned on this blog before is from when I worked for the U.S. Postal Service many years ago. A co-worker was fund raising in the office and handed me a brochure with this headline:
Support Breast Cancer
I nearly fell over. Several friends and family memebrs of mine have suffered through breast cancer, so I often support breast cancer research, awareness and survivors–but I will not support breast cancer itself.
Obviously the title was just poorly written and the funds were actually for research and awareness efforts, and since it was a charitable cause rather than a commercial sales pitch it probably had little negative impact (I hope), but I’m sure the title could have had a more positive impact on their fund raising efforts if it had simply said “Fight Breast Cancer” instead.
That would still be 3 words and would have fit on the brochure layout, but it would also have created an instant “call to action” with every person they handed the brochures to, instead of creating subconscious confusion with the phrase: Support Breast Cancer
So always think about what exactly you are trying to say in your sales copy, pick your words carefully and only say what you mean.
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