“It’s not always who you reach. It’s what you say.” – Roy H. Williams, The Wizard of Ads
Going through my spam filter, here are some subject lines the spammers used to try and draw me in:
Save you big bucks! Discount online pharmacy!
Finest luxury watches available here
Hydrocodone, Vicodin, Codeine. Buy Direct from wholesaler today!
Twitter? Similar. “TGIF – what are your weekend plans?” is posted for the general public by a well known person who has 10,000 followers. He sends this same tweet every Friday. Like he could really care or would bother to respond. Another: “How much money would you want and what would you use it for?” Twitter spammer.
Spammers, voicemail leavers, and twitterers all want the same thing: your attention and your response. Exactly what all salespeople want from customers. The elusive trick is in how to get them. Why Williams has it right. Reaching the people is easy. What you say to them isn’t.
Google AdWords
Ever try to write one of those AdWords advertisements you see on the right margin when you Google? It’s not easy. You have four lines and 130 characters to convince the reader to click on it to see your offer.
The most important part of the ad is the headline. You’re limited to a maximum of 25 characters. That’s about four words. Less is better. The purpose is not for the ad to sell what you sell, but to convince the reader to click on the ad. Like a spammer wants you to open his email, a caller wants you to respond to a voicemail, or a twitterer wants you to twit a tweet. (Can you both twit a tweet and Trick or Treat on Halloween?)
But unlike email, voicemail, and Twitter where you incur no costs, your AdWords ad not only has to get qualified prospects to open it, but must discourage unqualified ones from clicking, because every touch costs you money.
Karon Thackston has an article on writing AdWords and she quotes Mark Twain. “If I would have had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” She said that your headline should state a benefit or an end result, and not a feature. You have to know what your customer is looking for and it’s “vital that you find a so-called nail and hit it right on the head.” All in four words!
Email, voicemail, and Twitter
Where’s all this leading? If you want to get someone to take action, then you better say the right thing.
I would only add to Williams’ quote that what you say has to be believed. If I were to mumble “watch out”, you probably wouldn’t budge. I reached the right person, said the right thing, but you didn’t believe it. But if I were to suddenly jump up, point above your head, and yell “WATCH OUT!!!” I bet you’d jump a mile high.
If I were to sheepishly stick my head in your office door and say, “I smell smoke?” you might glance around, look at me with suspicion, and ask some questions. But if I came barreling through your door yelling, “FIRE! FIRE! GET OUT OF THE BUILDING NOW!” you’d knock me over getting to the door.
What makes what you say believable? Saying it with emotion. Saying it with urgency. Saying it like you mean it. It’s the old saw, “It’s not only what you say – it’s how you say it.”
Let’s nail it down
When you want to move people to action, remember these three things: reach the right person, say the right thing, and make them believe it. That’s hitting the nail on the head.