Over the years I've talked about dozens of ways to get attention for your business. And my biggest focus has always been on delivering a message that speaks to your prospects' needs.
But marketing messages need to go beyond logical explanations of what you can do for your clients. Your message needs to come from a passionate place. If you're not excited about your message, why do you expect anyone else to be excited?
So, even if you have a very good message, if it's delivered in a careful, suppressed or constricted way (in order not to offend anyone) it doesn't do much more than put people to sleep.
This is a lesson I learned from an old colleague, Joe Meissner, who started an innovative outplacement company in the mid 80's. Joe was always doing things differently and made a point to be controversial. He wrote op-ed pieces for the San Francisco Chronicle that were contrarian and attention-getting.
I remember an article where he lambasted Bay Area firms for being so bad about retuning calls. He didn't cut them much slack; he regarded it as not only arrogance but bad business practice, in that their isolationism cut them off from what was really happening in the business community.
Joe got a lot of calls and letters because of that article and he turned some of those calls into new business. Joe gained a reputation as a no-nonsense person who said what he meant (He also happened to be from Texas). And that earned him respect and a degree of visibility and fame for his business.
Do you do this or do you play it safe?
I read a whole lot of marketing material every week that simply fails to make a solid stand for anything. It's boring stuff. And, as David Ogilvy once said, "You can't bore someone into doing business with you!"
Admit it. Your marketing is boooooring.
So how do you step out of the boring rut? How do you make your marketing messages, communications and overall business a little more exciting, dynamic and attention getting?
Even to supply a formula for this would be dangerous. Better people that me have tried and failed at this. But here goes anyway! (That's why I make the big bucks, right?)
1. Risk. What this means is doing something that has a chance of bombing. If you always play it safe, you are playing not to lose, not playing to win. So swing out once in awhile and put something out there that's controversial and bold and that people just may hate. Don't worry, you'll recover.2. Be Spontaneous.
Don't plan everything for an eon. You suck the life out of it. People always ask me if I write several issues of this eZine ahed of time. Surely you jest! I write it the night before. It's what's on top-of-mind today. It's also a lot more fun.3. Be Generous.
A big part of marketing is making offers - something people will respond to. Offers need to be compelling and immediate and relevant as well as good deals. One of my best promotions ever was a free one-day workshop. About 180 people showed up. That launched the InfoGuru Manual.4. Be Contrarian.
Like Joe Meissner and, of course, Alan Weiss. He makes his living being contrarian. He'll take the prevailing point of view and turn it on its head. There's more than one way to view reality. Be bold enough to say "that's nonsense" and then offer your perspective. Some people will stand up and cheer.5. Find Your Voice.
You can't be a carbon copy of everyone else and expect to get attention. Somewhere inside (sometimes very deep inside) is a voice crying to be heard. You have innovative ideas that can change the world. People actually want to hear them.6. Don't Believe What You Think.
Thinking is very unreliable. Remember, as I said last week, it's reasonable. It keeps you safe. It follows all the rules. Trust something deeper than thinking. What you need to say comes from your heart and your gut.
Now forget all the rules and try to communicate something about your business that isn't deadly boring. Some people just might take notice. (You might also need to stay up until midnight until inspiration strikes.)
The More Clients Bottom Line: If you want to get your marketing message across and get some real attention, you need to step outside of your usual safe, comfortable, and boring ways of communicating.
What are you doing to combat boring marketing? Please share on the Blog this week. Just click on the Comments link below.
Hi Robert
You are spot-on. I believe that not only is it a big marketing sin to be boring, it is also unprofitable and makes one look uncreative too. My husband and I always take the road not taken in our marketing and business approaches but we do it genuinely and we always aim to have fun. Using our blog for instance we poke fun/critique/lambast but deliver at the end a compelling marketing message/core to our readers who are our clients and yes, sometimes even competitors! And we realise we have so much fun doing it! Instead of saying, let's not bore our customers to death, how about asking: what creative/interesting thing can we do today to give our clients something gorgeous to talk about?
Posted by: Krista | February 17, 2007 at 12:20 AM
I hate to admit it but I overthink many things, My art and my marketing, it's an industry that doesn't give second chances. My blog is my best marketing tool. because I specialize in nudes I try to keep most of my headlines a little cheeky, I have a saucy photo up that puts a face (and legs) behind my work. It's a bit risky but lends a fun air and also supports my work and generates an image and attitude. I have only received one condemnation and lots of good feedback.
The biggest thing is I am terrified of is taking risks, this is only a small one but it's a start!
Posted by: Jennie | February 07, 2007 at 04:52 AM
Thanks for your comments Robert. They are always right on!
Last week I decided to take a risk and write my second ever press release. I am a dating and relationship coach and had recently heard of Dump Your Significant Jerk week (Feb 4-9). I had a chuckle with that and realized that it fit nicely with my new workshop: Soulmate or Stalemate: 6 Steps to Finding the Perfect Partner. So I wrote up a press release and sent it out- figuring it was either a unique and fun angle that might get some attention OR people would laugh at it because it was ridiculously "not newsworthy." Guess what? I got to be interviewed on the Saturday morning news for our local ABC affiliate! And a local newspaper wanted to feature me and my class in an upcoming column. Wow! I never expected to get on one of the big 3 TV stations! And the interview went great because I was willing to be myself (with practice of course!)- sort of sassy, not stuffy. But believe me- both sending out the release and doing the interview took a ton of courageā¦so if you have a creative idea- go for it- even if it scares you!
Jennifer Oikle, Ph.D.
Coupling Connection
"Turning Singles Into Happy Couples"
www.couplingconnection.com
Posted by: Jennifer Oikle, Ph.D. | February 06, 2007 at 12:23 PM
Hi Robert I'm going for risk, spontaneity and generosity by posting free to all single women who are alone on Valentine's Day, a book/e-book on internet dating which had become a labour of unpublished love for too long in my life.
Of course I will ask for their email addresses. But I am going on radio and in the press here in South Africa to talk about genuinely wanting to "coach" and help hurting singles "stay sane, safe and savvy in the sometimes choppy waters of online dating."
Posted by: Caryl Morgan | February 06, 2007 at 11:48 AM
Your timeliness is uncanny.
Just last week I sent out an email promoting some Web marketing classes I'm teaching. I was sending this out to my local contacts (about 450), not my email newsletter list. I wanted to get people to subscribe to a new list so I wouldn't bombard all my contacts with an alert for every class I was teaching.
At the same time, I didn't want to lose them. So I tried a provacative subject line: You Won't Be Hearing from Me Again! The rest of the email was equally as snarky.
Two people responded that they didn't appreciate the tone. One contractor thought I was firing her. One prospect thought I was upset she hadn't made a buying decision yet.
Yikes!
So I sent out another email with the subject line "I'm Sorry" explaining what I was trying to accomplish.
That got OVER 100 RESPONSES, mostly telling me that people thought the first one was funny and not to change a thing. I got about 20 people specifically requesting to join the new list and sold 7 or 8 seats to different classes.
I also got one (going on two) blog posts about it, and made the front page of MaineToday.com (the online version of the newspaper chain here) with the first post entitled: The Votes Are In: I'm a Jerk!
Yes, but a successful jerk.
Posted by: Rich Brooks | February 06, 2007 at 08:53 AM
Robert:
I love the newletter and blog but you need to be a tad more regular with the proofreading: retuning = returning. There's a few spelling errors in the newsletter today as well, but I can't recall what they are.
Not that I am in any position to be critical as I commonly make the same mistakes.
Keep up the good work though.
Posted by: Mike Drips | February 06, 2007 at 06:47 AM
I try to be at least a little provocative. I think you have to have a way of getting people's attention. For instance, I did a free teleclass called "3 Sentences That Keep Coaches Poor". It created a LOT of curiosity, and I had fun doing it. Imagine! Having fun marketing!
Carol Solomon
Posted by: Carol Solomon | February 06, 2007 at 05:59 AM