Last week a reader submitted a pretty cruel comment about me on my blog.
Name calling … swearing … references to my appearance … criticism about my credibility … inflated claims … false assumptions …
This guy’s comments — a result of my article describing two common advertising mistakes that cost companies millions — had everything you could ever ask for in an angry outburst.
And I loved every single word of it.
I probably read each sentence 10 times before clicking the “Approve” link so his written rant would post on my blog.
Sure, my first instinct could have been to react with my own callous comments. But when it comes to my marketing copy, I embrace critics. The nastier the remarks, the better I feel.
You see, effective marketing copy is designed to target emotions because they are the source of all buying decisions. We make purchases based on emotional reasoning and then our minds seek logic to support that decision.
The way I see it, my writing must have tapped a strong emotion to trigger such an aggressive outburst.
Keep in mind, you should never try to please everyone when writing your marketing materials. Every person is not your prospect. Even if you have a product or service with wide appeal, your prospects are only a tiny fraction of the world’s population.
Also, think of your marketing copy as a one-on-one conversation — just as if your prospect was sitting next to you.
- Write in a simple language your readers understand,
- Use the same words you speak in daily discussions,
- Get straight to the point, and
- Be yourself.
Here’s a link to the post: http://www.writewaysolutions.com/blog/255/2-common-advertising-mistakes-that-cost-companies-millions/. You’ll need to scroll to the bottom to see his remarks. In addition to my follow-up comment, I e-mailed the reader to see if he was interested in sharing his supposed $100,000-a-month advertisement. He replied back several times, but he still hasn’t shown any proof to back up his claim.
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