Are you committing the sin of assumption?
First a little housekeeping…
You no doubt missed getting a May newsletter. Things have been crazy busy and
I'll get this issue out in June by the skin of my teeth! But we just brought
Artina on board as project manager, and she's going to whip this group into
shape! Then no more missed newsletter deadlines by me. We're also very happy
to welcome Norma to the team as our newest copywriter! Like me, Norma has a
lot of high-tech copywriting experience, and it will be a great boon to our
clients to have her added expertise. (I'd link to her bio here but she's so
new, we don't have it yet.)
So if all these people are joining, someone must be leaving, right? Yes, sadly, both Jane and Mavis have been pursuing other ventures that take up more and more of their time, although Mavis will still chip in when we require her scriptwriting skills.
And I'd be remiss if I didn't take this opportunity express public gratitude for the two creative and capable copywriters who make my job fun and our clients happy, Marina and Jill! Onto the topic of this newsletter…
The sin of assumption
What is the sin of assumption? Assuming visitors know why they're at your Web
site, prospects know why they should read your brochure, recipients know why
they should subscribe to your newsletter…basically assuming someone cares.
You can't.
Whatever it is you're selling, it's much more important to you, the seller, than any potential buyer. So to communicate to that potential buyer, you must think like one. Remember, they don't eat, breathe, sleep and obsess over your widget, gadget or webinar the way you do. They don't know anything about it.
When you do get their attention, the worst thing you can do is assume. You know the old adage about the word "assume"…it makes an ass out of you and me? In this case, just you, sorry.
How to avoid sinning
Avoiding the sin of assumption is not hard. Just put yourself in your
customer's shoes, state of mind, worldview, whatever it takes. Talk their
talk. Talk to their concerns, not yours.
When someone lands at your home page or landing page, let them know right away why they are there, and what they can expect to find or accomplish. Instead of "Welcome to our Web site…," it should be to the point: "Find rental properties here." Ditto for your print collateral: Make it clear why they should care, why they should pick up and scan the brochure. Should the headline be a product name? Like "Presenting the XCB 300 series"? No. How about "Save 10% on your printing"? That tells me why I should care.
A classic and pervasive example
The most blatant yet sadly common example is the email signup on a Web site.
You're searching for something online, you end up at a new Web site, and
right there in your face it says "Sign up for our newsletter" and
you're supposed to just type in your email address and commit. Do I know why
I should sign up? No. Am I given reasons? No. Can I see sample issues? No.
I'm just supposed to trust this company and hand over my email address. I
don't think so.
If you do assume, you turn people off. They click the Back button, toss the brochure, delete the email…and your chance to start a dialog ends before it ever began.
Granted the sin of assumption hasn't made the Vatican's list yet, and might never. But if you're a marketer, it's one to avoid. Even a trip to confession won't undo the damage done.
Until next month,
Sharon
