SwayingWords.com

10/06/2018

# Getting cheated can feel great

I’ve been lied to for years. I used to get my car serviced at this dealer who always gave me a great experience.

Their service was slick, timely, and personable. They made me feel looked after.

One day they told me I needed a part replaced. The price was a bit steep, and in a moment of doubt, I decided to get a second opinion.

The second agent assured me there was nothing wrong with the part. Drat! They’ve been lying to me?

Sure enough, I had it confirmed by a third party.

Turns out, I had been lulled into a false sense of security by the great experience with them.

What I should have asked about, was the results. What do I gain from replacing this part? Is it worth the money I’d be spending? Can they prove it?

Experience is all smoke and mirrors. And as long as people are willing to pay for that, there will be purveyors of parlour tricks.

As it turns out, the marketing industry is largely founded on this principle.

Public relations and brand advertising agencies don’t want you to know what your return on marketing is. Because you might just realise you’re overpaying them.

Instead, they’ll pander to your ego, and your attachment to your brand. Making it all about YOU.

Whereas it should be all about your CLIENT.

If you do hire someone to do advertising or public relations work, make sure they can track the results, or at least tell you how.

They should be able to demonstrate how much return you’d get from a reasonably successful campaign, so you can decide if your investment is worth it.

I simplify this game of risk and reward with my first-time advertising clients: we work out what would be profitable results, and then I ONLY get paid if my ad gets those results.

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05/06/2018

# Simple phrasing that fascinates

She was actually taken aback at my refusal, clearly expecting me to jump at the chance. To “win a gift”.

She was a young girl, working the crowd for a marketing survey. My guess is she just got started, and wouldn’t last long, unless she changed tactics.

Would you interrupt your day, and fill out a survey, for “the chance to win a gift”?

Of course not. Vague promises simply don’t inspire action.

Whereas precision, is INTERESTING.

If you CAN produce specific results, mention them.

Let’s say the prize for that marketing survey was… I dunno, a trip for two to Spain?

She could easily get twice the response by being more specific:

“Hi, want a trip for two to Spain, for 10 minutes of your time?”

Specific result, for a specific price. I’d stop, and at least consider. Then she could go into more specifics. What I’d have to do, what my chances are for winning, and so on.

Same thing with writing. Consider the first words they see: your headline or subject. If it promises specifics, people will be more likely to read the rest.

A typical example is the How-To headline. The formula is something like this:

How to [achieve something specific][within time / steps] [without having to “main objection”]

Or the Listicle:

[number][adjective] ways to [achieve something specific][within time]

But sometimes you can’t promise specifics, or you may be in a regulated industry where it could get you in trouble.

An effective answer here, is the Case Study:

How [someone][achieved something specific] [within time][without main objection]

Not happy with the response on that last piece you wrote? Edit it, and replace all the vague fuzzy words, with specifics.

It’s just a tweak in wording. But for this minor effort, you can easily get double the response in sign-ups and sales. Or more.

— You'll find more tips on writing and business growth over here:

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26/05/2018

# Bridging “engagement” to business

You see this desperate play for engagement on social media. Attention-seeking. Often getting wild reaction. But to what end?

If you’re running a business out to make a difference, then you should look to harness that energy for good – rather than just making more noise.

I recently wrote a social media post for a Chiropractor who was looking for more business.

It talked about the frustrations of trying to concentrate in the office, while suffering from neck pain. How the demands of the job – with it’s constant interruptions – can tax your patience.

Well that hit a nerve.

He paid to have the post promoted, but it got it’s own legs pretty soon.

People reacted with comments, shares and likes. Which means their friends started seeing it, and they reacted in turn. More people seeing it for the same cost.

The media platform detected this, and brought down the cost even further. It “learned” how to find more people with a similar situation, who would also be likely to engage.

But if we left it at that, it would be just more noise.

The post spoke of a pain people were already feeling. Something already on their minds. But it went on to reveal how often this type of neck pain comes from a particular habit of wrong sitting.

And how this Chiropractor developed a guide to fixing it. Downloadable on his website for free.

Now once they land on his website, they leave their email address to download it. And he follows up with even more practical advice and give-aways, all while gently reminding them he’s in the area if they ever need an adjustment or check-up.

So it all starts with engagement. Meeting them where they are. Talking to issues already weighing on their hearts and minds. Resonating with what they feel and experience.

But you have to decide what you’d like them to do next. And how to bridge the topic on to this next step.

So immerse yourself in their daily concerns, pains and desires. And always be on the lookout for how to build that bridge to you, helping them.

Cheers for now,
Leon @ SwayingWords

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22/05/2018

# What to do when your promotion fails?

Being met with silence is like a slap in the face.

You've spent days, maybe weeks, slaving over the new promotion. Done your research and planning. Sweated through the editing. Nervously pushed the publish button.

And nothing moves you quicker from high hopes and enthusiasm, into deep dark despair -- than simply getting no response.

"Well I guess THAT doesn't work."

The way to avoid this trap, is to see any "failure" as an opportunity to learn.

# # # There are no failures. Only scenic detours.

So here's what to do when -- not if -- your promotion fails: treat it like a science experiment.

Make a list of hypotheses, from most likely to least, and find the cheapest way to test them. Find ways to invalidate your hypotheses, avoiding the confounding confirmation bias (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confirmation_bias).

Here's a likely laundry list for hypothesising:

Start with the traffic. Find incongruities in messaging between where they came from, and where they went. Any surprises along the way?

Look at the kind of person you're attracting. How aware are they of the problem? How familiar with other solutions? Consider where the message might mismatch their expectations.

Then look at your offer. Value, price, inconvenience, trust, guarantees, desire, bonuses, urgency. Balance their pro's vs cons. Does it add up to a bargain for them?

Only THEN look at the copy. Does it use simple, conversational language? Talking directly to the reader? Flow? Driven by emotional benefits?

Next time you get an underwhelming response, immediately go into testing mode. That way you'll learn and improve, and side-step the knee-jerk reaction of despair.

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18/05/2018

# When they don't WANT your offer

Ever been stopped in public and asked to take a survey? Or seen it happen to someone else?

Annoying isn't it?

It's just not what you WANT right now. _Even_ if it may be useful to you in the long run.

Selling natural health or wellness can often be like this.

You may be offering what they NEED, but if they don't WANT it right now.. it will be extremely difficult to make the sale.

I've mentioned the importance of researching your clients. It's the process of discovering their typical fears, desires and beliefs. In other words: what they WANT.

Yes, even beliefs. A belief is a very powerful "want". You WANT to believe something.

But how do you take a seemingly unrelated "want" and translate it into the "need" which you are helping with?

Here's a beautiful little story illustrating how to do this, very simply, with a belief.

It’s a study from the book Pre-Suasion by psychologist Robert Cialdini.

They got a whopping 266% increase in response, when asking people to take a survey. All they changed was to ask a simple question first.

The question was this: "Do you consider yourself a helpful person?".

Powerful, yes. Manipulative? I say no.

Here's why.

Those who answered yes to the "helpful person" question already believed that of themselves. They were simply reminded _at the right time_: before they were asked to take the survey.

The belief of being helpful is directly connected to the action of taking the survey.

Yes, sometimes the "want" is not so directly tied to the "need".

That's when you need to find a step in between, which logically ties the two together.

And sometimes there is more than one step to navigate.

This is the art of spinning a good story. Grabbing your reader's attention and skilfully --- gently --- relaying it to the culmination: the response you're looking for.

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04/05/2018

I discovered a kind of apathy back in my corporate days.

I was on a big ticket software project, in a meeting with the client. They discovered a blatant oversight which could end up costing them dearly. Won't bore you with the details, but let's just say, if it wasn't taken care of soon, there would be legal repercussions.

I reassured them that it will be handled quickly, and wrote an email straight away after the meeting. I made the details clear, and I spelt out the consequences of not dealing with it soon. I sent it out to all the major players. Anyone who might have a say in dealing with it.

Felt good. I thought I handled it well.

But there was no response, for about three days. Nothing. I got antsy, and started asking some of the guys I emailed. Did they get it? Doing something about it?

One guy didn't even remember seeing it. Others vaguely implied they were not responsible.

So I went back and sent a second email. It was a copy of the first, but edited to address a single person: the project owner. And I moved every other email address into the CC field.

The ball started rolling that same afternoon.

This stuck with me. The principle goes something like this:

# # # If you want zero response, make your appeal to everyone. Or to no-one in particular.

I later learned the psychological term for this: Bystander Apathy. It's what happens when a crowd gathers at an accident, and no-one does anything. Because everyone expects "someone else" will do it.

Nothing nefarious about it. Just plain old human nature.

Which is why the opposite gets response: natural, direct personal conversation.

Conversation is what leads to the buying decision -- IF you have a good offer. And it works even when you're not there, as is the case with writing.

Conversation is what we do with those we trust, and it naturally leads to trust.

Conversational writing cures buyer-apathy.

So next time you have something to say to your clients, write it like you're speaking to a single person. Maybe someone you know. Picture them stepping into your office, sitting down, and having a good old chat.

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29/04/2018

Ok, I fell off the wagon a bit. I admit it. After suffering for years from chronic back pain, I finally went on a self-imposed elimination diet to find the culprit... Scientific branding https://swayingwords.com/archive/scientific-branding

29/04/2018

Ok, I fell off the wagon a bit. I admit it. After suffering for years from chronic back pain, I finally went on a self-imposed elimination diet to find the culprit... Scientific branding https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/scientific-branding-leon-van-der-walt/

29/04/2018

"Advertising is broken. There HAS to be a better way!" I was a little obsessed with this thought, to the point of annoying my friends and colleagues...

"Advertising is broken. There HAS to be a better way!" This was me, ten years before I discovered direct response copywriting. I was a little obsessed with this thought, to the point of annoying my friends and colleagues.

26/04/2018

We were all squirming in our seats, WILLING him to finish. It was the groom's father. And he was merciless...

We were all squirming in our seats, WILLING him to finish. It was the groom's father. And he was merciless.