What Kind Of Sales Copy Ticks You Off?
June 25, 2008
I’ve signed up to a few lists. I’m sure some of you have too. You know, the ones that promise great deals or exclusive content? Some deliver on their promises while others are a case study in how not to communicate to readers. This has caused to me wonder what the best approach is when trying to inform your audience or persuade them to buy something you may be promoting.
Don’t Tick Me Off!
So what kind of sales approach do you find appealing to you, as the recipient? What kind really ticks you off and makes you want to unsubscribe in a New York minute?
For me, my biggest gripe has to do with the ones that go on for miles and miles explaining how wonderful the product they’re selling is. Really? If something is so wonderful, so Earth-shattering, shouldn’t they be able to list off its features and let the product speak for itself? I mean, if so much effort has to be put into selling something, wouldn’t that make you suspicious? It does me.
“I have the power to raise the price,
and I’m not afraid to use it!”
and I’m not afraid to use it!”
And what about the ones that warn you that the price will go up every x number of minutes, so act now! I completely understand that there should be a call to action. I also find it acceptable to include a sense of urgency in the message; that’s Marketing 101.
But seriously — if the product is worth $10, $20 or whatever right now, then why wouldn’t it be worth that much in the next 30 minutes or even the next day? It’s not the value of the product that’s increasing, it’s the seller who is more interested in making a buck from you than he is with providing you a product that can serve you well.
A large portion of the relationship you build when you subscribe to something relies on trust. Without trust, there’s not much reason to do business with someone. Would you continue to do business at a grocery store if their products were always low quality? Would you continue to eat at a restaurant if the service was bad? I know I wouldn’t and it’s no different than online business relationships.
What are your thoughts?
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Written by 
Mark · Filed Under Enough Already | 17 Comments
Why Does Skin Color Matter?
February 11, 2008
How many organizations have you come across that have the color of the skin of its members in the name of that organization? Or maybe it included their ethnicity? Or maybe their sexual preference?
I’ll bet that of the ones that came to mind, not one of them had “white”, or “American”, or “straight” in their names. Am I right? Yet we see more often than not names like:
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Written by Mark · Filed Under Enough Already | 22 Comments
Wendy’s Doesn’t Know What I Deserve
January 13, 2008
I was eating a burger I had purchased from a fast-food restaurant, Wendy’s, last week. As I was eating it, I was reading the cup my soda came in. On the side it said, “Your deserve a download with your burger.” which was encouraging me to download a free music file from Rhapsody.
At first, that struck me as an odd statement because of all the burgers I’ve eaten, it never occurred to me that to make my burger more satisfying I needed a music download. At times I’ve reconsidered my choice in sodas, perhaps I should have gotten a shake instead. But I don’t recall ever saying to myself, “You know what this burger needs? A music download!”
Stay with me. I’m leading up to something. 
Then I pondered the use of the term, “deserve”. Really? I deserve a download? Who is Wendy’s to tell me what I, a perfect stranger, deserves?
As I scarfed down the rest of my meal so that I could get back to work, this whole idea of being told I deserved something stuck with me the rest of the day.
Of course, it wasn’t really about me deserving something. It was more about one company, Wendy’s, trying to influence my behavior by making me think I was entitled to something. This behavior would eventually (hopefully) lead to a sale.
I haven’t downloaded the music, but I’ll make an educated guess that it will involve me giving my personal information to Rhapsod and face some junk mail in my future. Or maybe it would ask me to enter my credit card information for a free trial of which I might forget to cancel and be charged for something. It doesn’t matter; these are just guesses anyway. But I’ve seen enough free things in my life to get an idea.
This whole idea of being told we deserve something for nothing, this feeling of entitlement is what I think plagues our society today. In fact, I think it’s the reason we see many people act so selfishly these days. I’m not saying that Wendy’s is at the root of all evil, but it’s the message they and others are delivering that are causing our wounds to fester.
Someone sues someone else because they feel offended. “Well, by golly, I deserve to be treated better, so I’ll show you!” A candidate running for office feels they deserve to be the winner, so they’re going to make sure everyone else running against him looks bad whether they have to lie or not.
No matter if what we hear or see is true or not, we’ll eventually believe it to some degree or at least that’s what advertisers are betting on. We’d like to think that whatever makes it between our ears is true, and indeed I’m optimistic enough to think that it is. But, I for one, will stop to examine what information I’m being fed to keep from becoming an automaton acting on someone else’s will. I encourage others to do the same.
What do you think? Is advertising going too far?
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Written by Mark · Filed Under Enough Already | 28 Comments
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
August 20, 2007
You may have heard in the news about an illegal immigrant who was hiding in a church in Chicago to avoid being deported. Oh! Did I type that out loud? I meant to say she was claiming sanctuary in a church in Chicago. Gosh, I almost made it sound like she actually was being wrongfully accused and hiding from the bad guys.
Oh wait, she IS the “bad guy”.
Her name? Elvira Arellano. What she does for a living? Comes to the U.S. illegally and claims that she has a right to stay here and demand she not be treated like a criminal. Hmm, I wonder if that job comes with a good dental plan. Probably, because it’s paid for by American citizens I’m sure.
Anyhoo, she was finally deported back to Mexico choosing to leave her 8-year-old son behind. Immigration activists (notice they don’t call themselves ILLEGAL immigration activists) are crying foul saying that they’re saddened and yet angry at the same time. “How dare they arrest this woman?” asks a confused man.
How dare they? Excuse me (ahem), but she committed a crime coming here 10 years ago. Hellooooo. 
And doesn’t her leaving her son here, who is a U.S. citizen, say anything about her? Of course it does; it says she knows he’d have a better life here than Mexico. If she truly felt wronged, then she would have taken her son with her. Nope, this is about the squeaky wheel think it deserves ALL the grease.
Pardon my sarcasm, but to get serious about this, where did our society lose its sense of justice? Not the kind that defends criminals, but the kind that actually says what’s right and wrong.
Is it that we have it so good that we’ve run out of things to complain about? Do we have to make stuff up and fool ourselves into thinking we’re being productive when in reality we’re really just slowing destroying our culture, our sense of right and wrong?
And what is Elvira going to do next? Why she’s going to lobby Mexican government organizations and officials, undoubtedly to prepare a major offensive against the big bad U.S. government for making a better life here than elsewhere. Hey, I’m not saying we have it perfect here, by any means, but is it too much to ask to have this type of person to look at the numbers? I don’t see a long line going out of the country.
Stupidity is a disease and it must be stopped in our lifetime.
Inspired by My Way.
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Written by Mark · Filed Under Enough Already | 2 Comments
Speak The Language Of The Country You’re In Please
July 29, 2007
I found this video a while back while browsing. The message is clear: America has gone too far to accommodate other people’s languages in its own country.
The one time that I have been out of the country, I appreciated the translations to my language when it came to signs, like the kind you would find in airports. But those are public places. I wouldn’t dream of demanding someone speak my language while in their homeland. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, right?
So why do immigrants think they should expect special treatment in my country?
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Written by Mark · Filed Under Enough Already, Humor | 17 Comments
No Good Deed Goes Unpunished
June 20, 2007
This makes me angry. A Jacksonville, Florida man, Colin Bruley, took heroic measures to save a woman’s life. His reward? Getting fired from his job.
Bruley worked as a leasing agent for an apartment complex. Late one evening, he awoke to the sound of gunfire nearby and screaming. He grabbed his 12-gauge shotgun and ran out the door to see what was the matter.
He found one of the residents lying down with a bloody leg, to which he immediately tended to.
The victim and her sister praised him for his help. But what did management do? They said he was in violation of company policy: brandishing a weapon on company property and failing to report the incident afterwards.
Excuse me? 
It astonishes me every time I hear of such ignorance. This is a perfect example of people refusing to think for themselves and doing the right thing. Instead, they smell “lawsuits” in the air and make themselves feel productive by doing something. And if that something has been written down somewhere, then certainly they’re doing the right thing. Right? Wrong.
Hey, here’s an idea for management: instead of applying a policy that clearly wasn’t meant to cover such an incident (fitting a square peg into a round hole), why not put some common sense effort into your actions?
Have we really sunk this low? Has common sense actually been substituted by playing it safe?
Hey, I’m all for planning ahead — I am, after all, a project manager by trade. But I know from experience that you plan for the unknown. You have a contingency plan for when things go astray. And if your contingencies don’t apply, then darnit you think of something that will!
When policy after policy is created, we run the risk of saying, “Hey we don’t have to think anymore because we’ve already done it.” Not so. Policies are important, but not to the extent that we remove ourselves from responsibility and stop being thinkers.
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Written by Mark · Filed Under Enough Already | 12 Comments
