It’s long been said that one of the most effective words you can use in an ad is “free.” The idea is that people love getting stuff for free, so offering them something for free will get a big response. It’s a rule a lot of companies still follow. How many TV ads do see that say “buy one, get one free” or offer something like a “free credit report”? How many online ads say “download our free white paper” or “get your free sample” just for giving them your email? And that’s the problem – these days it seems like virtually everyone is offering something for free, so “free” isn’t considered as powerful as it once was.
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Thoughts on Advertising: The Power (And Danger) Of “Free”
January 30th, 2018 /
Advertising /
Thoughts On Advertising: What To Do When Your Subject’s Taboo
October 20th, 2017 /
Advertising /
If you make a product that solves a problem, you need to advertise to reach the people who have that problem and make them aware of your solution. But what if it’s a problem that people don’t like to talk – or hear – about? This has always been an issue for companies that make such products. A century ago, when advertising was done in newspapers and magazines, mixed among the ads for new shoes and automobiles would be discreet ads for products that cured embarrassing medical problems, all very serious and discreet.
4 Tech-Driven Content Marketing Trends We Like
August 31st, 2017 /
Marketing /
If you engage in content marketing, i.e., creating and sharing content, you’ve likely noticed the increased effect that technology plays in your marketing strategy—from PR and social media to advertising. If not, you will. Technology is driving content marketing and will continue to do so as we increase our consumption of content on mobile devices, and as improvements in reporting tools and personalization, mobile optimization, and virtual reality continue. Here are a few developments that we think are interesting that were recently discussed in a Forbes article.Read More
4 Tips for Organizing A Large, Complex Marketing Campaign
July 20th, 2017 /
Marketing /
A large, comprehensive marketing campaign is a bit like a three-ring circus – there are a lot of pieces and parts to manage, and they’re usually all going on at the same time. For that reason, the idea of launching a large, complex campaign may be overwhelming and cause a business owner to just not do it. Instead, they stick with the one or two types of marketing they’re comfortable doing. But these days customers get information from too many channels for business owners to simply rely on one or two types of communication. An effective campaign has to reach people using many different types of communication. The key is to organize your campaign so it’s manageable, even if you have minimal marketing staff. Over the years I’ve relied on a few tips to help keep large campaigns organized and on track, and they can help you do the same.Read More
Randy’s Handy Copywriting Tips: Solving A Comma Problem
June 27th, 2017 /
Marketing /
If you want to start a rowdy debate among writers, proofreaders or a bunch of English professors, bring up the Oxford comma. The Oxford comma is the comma that appears after the last item in a list, such as:
Harvey brought hot dogs, buns, chips, dip, and drinks to the party.
The whole point of advertising is to get noticed. If your ads don’t get noticed, then no one gets your message, so what’s the point? But how do you get noticed? One surefire way is to be controversial. The thing is, if you court controversy, you must be prepared to deal with the consequences. Let’s look at two examples of small businesses that ran controversial ads, one on purpose and one by mistake, and what happened as a result.Read More