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By Jim Connolly
Do you want more client inquiries from your marketing? Would you like to make your marketing more compelling, so it encourages more people to take action when they read it? If you would, then read on!
Most marketing content is written to capture the attention of, and then inform, a targeted group of people. Great marketers add a 3rd element. They capture. They inform. They compel!
Compelling marketing
Average marketing leaves people thinking, “so what?”
Compelling marketing encourages people to take action.
Compelling marketing is focused on “them” not you. It’s about their needs and solving their problems and making their experience of you and your business as good as possible. Them, them, them.
Compelling marketing messages
One of the reasons small business owners find their written marketing far less effective than they want, is that it fails to inspire the reader enough, to motivate them to take the desired action. Here’s an example of compelling copy, which I wrote for a marketing company that had been really struggling to get enough people to subscribe to their newsletter.
“Boost your sales and profits starting today, with a free subscription to our marketing newsletter. Subscribe now and I’ll send you a FREE…..”
Previously, they were doing what 99.9% of newsletter providers do; simply asking people to:
“Subscribe to our marketing newsletter and receive a copy of our marketing check-list”
The new message, which out-performed the old one by over 850%, was all about the reader and giving value. It starts with a promise, to help them make more sales and increase their profits. It then gives them a direct request to take action now. If you want people to take action at all, ask them to take action NOW! It then finishes with the promise that if they take action now, as well as all that valuable newsletter information, they will also receive more great value, in the form of a marketing check-list.
Compelling marketing: 6 quick tips to motivate your prospective clients to take action
Here are some ideas to make your written marketing more compelling:
1 Scarcity: Whenever possible, give people a reason to take action now rather than later. This comes from the principle of scarcity. The fear of losing out on something is an extremely compelling reason for people to get moving!
2. Study your target market: The more you know about what’s important to them, the easier it is for you to understand what’s most likely to motivate them.
3. Avoid the use of generic terms: Generic terms simply wash over people. The most overused word in this category is the word “solutions.” It’s OK to use the word in context within a longer message (such as a blog post.) However, using it on your “about” page, social media bio or profile will hurt your response rates.
Telling people something like; “we provide solutions to the XYZ industry” means nothing and is not compelling in any way. If you build websites, which make companies look fantastic online and helps them attract throngs of eager clients – TELL THEM! Don’t say you “offer integrated website solutions.”
4. Headlines matter most: This one is simple. No matter how amazing your marketing message is, if no one reads it, it can’t convert. The headline or title of your marketing is what compels people to read it.
Why do you click certain links on Twitter, Facebook or Linkedin etc? It’s because the title makes the link sound compelling enough to check out. The title sells the link. Why do you open certain emails and not others? Again, the title or subject line compels you to open it. I recently blogged about how to attract more traffic from Twitter using attractive headlines. That post has some useful headline writing tips.
Tip: Keep a list of the next 50 links you click via social networks and study them to see what compelled you to take action.
5. Add to your marketing vocabulary: Having a limited vocabulary and trying to inspire people with your messages, is like having half the ingredients missing from a recipe and trying to make the meal taste right. Business owners always seem to assume that they have a great vocabulary. The reality, as you see every day for yourself, is the exact opposite. Most small business content and general marketing is written using an extremely limited palette of uninspiring words.
6. Embrace brevity: The fewer words in your marketing message, the more impact you can create. Most of the marketing copy I see is at least 50% too long; often 75% or more. A targeted, information rich message that is packed with value, will out-perform a long winded, meandering message that drags on, which few people even finish reading! In today’s marketplace, where people have more to do than ever before, short marketing messages have more impact than ever.
The bottom line
If you want people to call you, email you, buy from you, subscribe to your blog or newsletter etc – YOU need to motivate them to do so. If you get it right, the potential to attract more inquiries, clients and sales is enormous!
