How Believable Are You?

Here's a marketing tidbit I pulled out of my dusty notes from years ago . . . and it is more true today than ever before. I hope it might help you in some way.

Part of the craft of the marketer, especially a faceless online marketer, is to present one's self, products, offers, and claims in a way that others can accept as being "believable." Some of the related words associated with "believable" are honest, trustworthy, forthright, open, and sincere.

Why is being believable so crucial today?

Here's the answer: it softens peoples' defenses; their hasty "Yeah, right" response.

Let me explain and I think you'll quickly understand what I'm talking about.

As long as direct marketing (an offer aimed squarely at a single individual) has been around, marketers have struggled to get their message noticed and acted upon. Over the years (especially since the rise of mass media) the challenge has become increasingly intensified - to cut through all the clutter and noise and get the marketing message heard!

So the typical marketer response? When you don't think you're being heard, you yell louder! Make the promises, claims, and benefits bigger and bigger and bolder and bolder.

Example: It seems no one cares about losing weight slowly and methodically in a healthy way these days, do they? Who wants a plan that only does that? No, folks get all lathered up about "losing 50 lbs in 30 days without exercising!"

This same principle is at work in every marketplace I can think of . . . hype-filled claims with bloated benefits that are getting more and more out of hand and unbelievable day by day.

The same could be said for a marketer's personal claim of income and success, product benefits, sales letter promises, and coaching results.

How many of you find yourself, when confronted with . . .

• an ad that's too good to be true
• a product that promises everything good with no downside
• a politician who says he will cut taxes, make your world safe, and slash the budget
• a solution that will make you rich by next week

. . . put up your defenses and say out loud, "Yeah, right!"

We have been increasingly exposed to outrageous promises to the point that most people's immediate reaction after "Yeah, right" is to totally discount and then ignore the message.

So, I would ask: Does your audience mutter "Yeah, right" when they see you coming, hear your pitch, review your product, or read your ad? Just how believable are you and your promotions?

Here are five tips (all related) that should keep you mostly out of "Yeah, right" territory:

1- Don't make claims or benefits larger than your proof will verify.

2- Never make a claim without supporting it with truth from actual experiences.

3- Instead of bloating your promises, make them more believable with better and bolder proof.

4- Don't trigger "Yeah, right" with over-used marketing phrases that have become so suspect.

You know, the phrases that set most peoples' BS meter dancing: "get rich quick," "automatic income," "set it and forget it," "push button easy," "if I can do it, you can do it," "once-in-a-lifetime," "the last _______ you will ever need" . . . you know the phrases. These have been called "measles phrases" - when people hear or read them they run and hide so as not to be exposed.

5- When you have a big but truthful claim, couch it in "IF - THEN" terms. By qualifying the big claim with "if" - the requirement for making the claim come true is thrust upon the buyer. People see that as being more believable than the claim alone without any stipulation or strings attached. Make sense?

Here's an example: "If you give me 30 minutes a day, I guarantee you'll learn how to __________ like a pro." The claim is believable because there is a condition placed on the part of the buyer before the claim can be realized.

Marketers work hard for high response rates - it's what helps to pay the bills. Sometimes marketers forget how accustomed consumers are to outrageous claims and how quickly they apply "Yeah, right" to everything they have a hard time believing. If you want to become a successful marketer, you have to become believable.

The very best to all of you,

Steve