We're a Nation of Lazy Communicators - Part 2
Friday we talked about why we're such lazy communicators. Today we continue on that subject.
Communication autopilot can serve us well in many situations. Don't think. Don't reason. Just talk. Ever heard this one before? You say to a guy, what's happening? He says, "Same old, same old." What a great answer! Same old, same old. Or maybe he says , "same stuff, different day." Ever heard that one? No thinking involved.
The problem is that these lazy communication habits spill over into marketing and advertising all the time where they can kill your chances for success. Show me 99% of advertising and I'll show you a huge jumble of hyperbole, fluff, platitudes, and yawnably unbelievable, black hole nothing words. Words like cheapest, professionalism, service, quality, speedy, convenient, and best are littered throughout advertising with reckless abandon. These empty words are the tools of the lazy communicator; they do absolutely nothing to communicate why you're the best deal. Why you're an exceptional value. Why or how you solve the problems that nobody else solves. They build no believable case for your product or service. Regardless of your product or service, you must build a case. But the fact is most businesses go on year after year spewing out the same junk that does nothing more than get their name out there if that. They just create NOISE that adds to the confusing mass of information flooding consumers.
Advertisements written using lazy communication are what I call "same old, same old" ads or "different ad, same stuff" ads. You've probably written a few of them yourself. Heck, we all have. You have to learn how to overcome these lazy tendencies. Start by writing effective headlines. The headline is the ad for the ad. It's what makes a person decide if he or she wants to invest any more time in your advertisement or not; it's the single most important part of any advertisement. You also have to judge whether or not the "things" in your advertising are powerful. Most of the time you will find that they are not. You also have to understand the nuts and bolts of effective ad writing like word choices and punctuation. Avoid the tiresome junk that English classes force students to endure - instead meticulously choose words that sell, educate, and eventually make you money!
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We're A Nation Of Lazy Communicators (Part 2) - Adult B2B Marketing Tip
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