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Nobody cares – The Sunday Snippet – [7.15.12]

(Click on cartoon to see more Hugh MacLeod.)

Have you ever had to sift through pages and pages of marketing copy in order to figure out how a company and their services or products could help you? Have you ever asked yourself after reading a website or brochure “okay, what’s in it for me?”

We’ve all had to endure plenty of self-centered marketing copy. It’s pretty natural, we talk and write about what we know best – our products, our services, and ourselves.

Be careful with these copy headers. They are “me” and “we” traps that can kill interest in what you have to offer:

• “Who we are” – not important until after you establish a clear benefit for your product/service
• “What we do” – not as important as “why” you do it
• “How we do it” – most of us just want things to work; too many irrelevant details will lose folks
• “We do it better” – your clients are the judge of that – what do they have to say?

So there’s a really easy method for avoiding these traps and here it is: Imagine the whole world is yelling at you “Who cares and why do I need this!” That’s what all of us are really thinking anyway as we investigate ways to spend our hard-earned dollars.

Great companies know it’s about the customers and clients they serve. Their marketing copy starts with headlines and paragraphs that quickly explain how they make life easier, more efficient, and more profitable for their customers. They sound like this:

o “Making your mobile app work better”
o “Helping you be at the top of your business”
o “Run your business, we’ll run the numbers”
o “Take control of your future”

Notice the words “you” and “yours?”

Try this: Count how many times the words “us,” “our” and “we” show up on your website or in your marketing materials. If they outnumber the “you’s” and “yours” it’s probably time to even things out.

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