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| | The The CopyWriters Connection Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | Views: 398 | | Nov 11, 2005 3:11 am | | Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | # | 
Steven Boaze | |
Most advertising isn't interesting or fun to
read. In fact, too often it is boring. Don't let
this happen to you! Providing products and
services is a people business. And people like to
hear good news for a change. They also like to
have a good excuse to smile or laugh, too.
You can combine humor with attention-getting
messages that will make your phone ring with
calls or people showing up at your door.
I hope you're starting to get enthused about what
you're seeing here. I can show you how to get a
lot more business than the "old ways" of
marketing you've been taught.
I trust you're noticing a big difference between
the kind of ads, postcards, etc. you've already
seen, and the ones that most business owners or
sales people mail out.
You see, its not just lead generation I'm talking
about. You'll see examples of ads, and you'll see
examples of sales letters and other things that
are designed to get people to read and respond.
Remember, advertising isn't supposed to be
boring. It also isn't supposed to be so
professional and so uninteresting that nobody
pays any attention to it.
Advertising that works has got to create
interest, which means that it cannot be boring.
For example, I get people sending in things for
me to review all the time. If they're in
financial services, they send me a brochure that
says things like, "Planning Retirement: We here
at of the believe that planning for retirement is
one of the critical objectives in securing your
future. There are many different ways to meet
future financial needs - from stocks and CDs to
IRAs and Keogh accounts: These and other
financial products can help you meet
contingencies while you save...blah, blah, blah,
blah, blah...”
See what happens? This sounds so professional and
so boring that even if anybody was the slightest
bit interested, you'd lose them right in the
beginning.
Advertising and marketing that works is never
boring.
Now, you have to be honest with yourself. Is the
stuff that you are sending out, or giving to
people, or advertising with - boring?
One of the biggest mistakes business owners,
professionals and sales people make is thinking
that what's interesting to them is what's
interesting to a potential or actual customer.
Think about this carefully.
Is your marketing interesting to you and your
peers? Do you talk about all the features and
technical details of your products or services -
things that would be interesting only to another
person in your field? Or, do you talk about the
benefits of what you can do...and what those
benefits mean to people?
Keep in mind that people only care about what's
in it for them. People are only concerned with
themselves and their own problems. They couldn't
care less about what you think is interesting. If
you want to ensure that little attention will be
paid to you and your marketing, just maintain the
boring, professional stuff, and you won't be
disappointed.
Yes, just like you, others are only interested in
learning what's in it for them. And, if we accept
the fact that people are only interested in
what's in store for themselves, we have to accept
the fact that this selfishness must be the center
of all your marketing.
You only have a couple of seconds to get their
attention. Just the blink of an eye. If you have
some message that might potentially interest
people, they may stop for another couple of
seconds. Maybe. But, if you just get their
attention and then bore them, you lose
them...Like that!
Your message has to get, and keep, people's
interest the entire through your entire message.
Imagine if you had to stand up to that kind of
test. Would your marketing hold up to such
intense scrutiny? Well, you'd better think about
it, because your marketing does face that same
sort of pressure.
If your prospective customers get bored, they
won't click you off, they'll just dump the piece
in the trash, or turn the page. Remember, boring
marketing is ignored marketing!
Steven BoazePrivate Reply to Steven Boaze | | Nov 11, 2005 11:57 am | | re: Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | # |
Antara Banerjee | | Hi Steve,
I agree with you completely.Being a copywriter I prefer making ads with humorous headlines BUT even after lots of arguing and debates sometimes clients dont agree to that.
They would go ahead with silly headlines which are nothing but a summary of the heavy bodycopy.
But still I am not giving up so easily.
Take care
AntaraPrivate Reply to Antara Banerjee | | Nov 11, 2005 3:46 pm | | re: re: Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | # |
Rajeev Kumar | | Maybe brilliant copywriters like Antara should get clients to bring along their own test audiences and do an impact survey on the spot, and in their presence, to convince them what works better.
A practical demonstration of impact should win over the clients too. But we know that some clients are without a funny bone and so they get what they deserve.Copywriters will then need to practice their art with some detachment.Private Reply to Rajeev Kumar | | Nov 11, 2005 4:45 pm | | re: re: re: Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | # | 
Sanooj Y K | | To add humour to advertising is great, but, then again it all depends on the persona of the brand or the persona of the brand you want to create.
And again, there are different tastes to Humour and various customers may read it in different ways. Some may not even understand them as there are always demographic factors associated with Humour.
Some clients do not want humour, not because they lack the funny bone, but because the humour may not suit their target audience.
Finally, if the people who are taking the product or service can't enjoy the joke, how would that humour be reflected in their attitude when the customer comes to them expecting a laugh.
Humour is great, but, at times can be a slippery floor too.
Cheers
Sanooj
P.S. I do personally wish if I could crack a few jokes in my copy too...
Private Reply to Sanooj Y K | | Jan 03, 2006 7:04 am | | re: re: re: re: Creating Advertising That Is Boring To Read | # | 
farrukh_copywriter(at)yahoo.com | | The greatest risk of a boring ad is not that people won't like it, but that they won't even notice it.
No client can afford that. (Even the guy without the funny bone.)
A good ad gets attention, arouses interest, fuels desire and prompts action: the traditional A-I-D-A model.
So, we the creative people have to not just convey the client's message but convey it in the most attention-grabbing, desire-generating, ice-breaking, action-prompting and memorable way.
There are so many ways we all have to make 'interesting' ads, in addition to using humour:
Humility ('We try harder' by Avis)
Honesty ('Lemon' by Volkswagen)
Seduction (The Axe Effect)
Intelligence (The Economist campaigns)
The words of teacher Bernbach ring true, as always:
“The truth isn’t the truth until people believe you, and they can’t believe you if they don’t know
what you’re saying, and they can’t know what you’re saying if they don’t listen to you, and they
won’t listen to you if you’re not interesting, and you won’t be interesting unless you say things
imaginatively, originally, freshly.”
Hope that adds to the great ideas being exchanged in this forum,
farrukh
copywriter, journalist, etcPrivate Reply to farrukh_copywriter(at)yahoo.com | | |
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