1 . Stop Using Multisyllabic Words
Ogilvy taught: "I don't know the rules of grammar... If you're trying to persuade people to do something, or buy something, it seems to me you should use their language, the language they use every day, the language in which they think..."
Pretend that your customers 'brain bouncer' is dumb, I mean REALLY dumb.
My bouncer friend Chris has a college education and is smart. He is the exception to the rule.
The average bouncer is not the sharpest tool in the shed.
You will stump him by marketing with words like “superfluous” or "opacification".
2 . Would Your Grandma Understand?
I like "the grandma test." My grandma is 96.
She doesn't like things that confuse her.
The other day she was like "Tai, what is an iPhone?" haha...
If your grandma doesn't understand it, neither does your customer's brain.
Say things to your customers like: “I help customers leverage the value of social media to push their business into new paradigms of six sigma optimization...”
And you are well on your way to being broke.
3 . Do Not Lead With Logic
If you are trying to sell something that requires people to initially think deeply, it's not going to sell.
Focus on the first sentence, the headline.
David says:
"On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar."
Think of it this way.
A catchy hook brings them in and then after you can use logic to keep them there.
In the modern world people are EXTREMELY DISTRACTED.
The average person at work checks their email 30-40 times an hour, every 1.5 minutes!
Pull them in fast. Be catchy.
4 . The 'Take vs. Give' Ratio.
Your website and marketing should scream, give, give, give.
Follow a 3 to 1 ratio.
For every time you ask for someone to buy something give them three other things.
Inform them, entertain them, make them laugh, encourage them, warn them, befriend them...
Go easy on your CTA - call to actions.
Tell your customer all about the benefits you are going to bring into their life. Stop talking about how your product works. Tell them what it will do for them.
As Ogilvy taught, "A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself."
5 . Talk In The 2nd Person
“Do not address your readers as though they were gathered together in a stadium. When people read your copy, they are alone. Pretend you are writing to each of them a letter on behalf of your client.-- David Ogilvy
Check out this hilarious comedian Brian Regan:
Do NOT become the 'Me Monster.'
Remember if you are in a crowd and yell out a random name like "David" every David in the room will turn around.
100% conversion rate.
Nothing else will get that response rate. So do not say "I" or "me".
Say "you" or "your" a lot.
6 . Be Creative
David taught, "If it doesn't sell, it isn't creative."
The last thing the world needs is another stupid car commercial.
Go somewhere new with your idea. Be Seth Godin's, "Purple Cow."
Make sure you read a minimum of a book a week.
In the I teach that books give you the raw ingredients to 'stir' in your mind.
If you don't feel creative it's almost always because you aren't reading enough.
7 . Tell Fireside Stories
Ogilvy says, "I have a theory that the best ads come from personal experience. Some of the good ones I have done have really come out of the real experience of my life, and somehow this has come over as true and valid and persuasive."
He was right.
Biologists know that our ancestors didn't have TV or books. They sat around the fire under the stars and told each other stories.
When I lived with the Amish for 2.5 years I noticed how much they were fascinated by a good old story told around a fireplace.
Harvard professor Steven Pinker says in How The Mind Works, "There is no mystery to the question 'Why do people enjoy fiction [i.e. a story]?' It is identical to the question, 'Why do people enjoy life?' When we are absorbed in a book or a movie, we get to see breathtaking landscapes, hobnob with important people, fall in love with ravishing men and women, protect loved ones, attain impossible goals, and defeat wicked enemies."
Your customers want a story.
Their brain doesn't have to work hard to process a story.
Even in real life, bouncers love stories.
Years ago I was in Denmark with my friend German. We were staying at this hotel in Copenhagen and wanted to go out and party but had no idea where to go.
The valet at the hotel said go down the street and turn down a little alley.
Little did we know we were getting into. He sent us to the most elite club in Denmark. Gorgeous blonde Scandinavians everywhere.
We saw everyone going in the front door so we innocently walked right up.
The bouncer closed the ropes and said, "You guys aren't on the list. Bye."
Me and German stepped back and regrouped. I said, "Hold on, let me try something."
I walked back to the bouncer and I told him a story.
I said, "Hey man we're from the US, I own nightclubs in the US (which was the truth). I am traveling around the world touring all the best clubs to get ideas (which was slightly true - a bit of a stretch of the truth ha). Anyway we can get in?"
And he just smiled and said, "Yeah man come on in."
That is the power of a good story.
Tell the right story and your customers will let their guard down and pull out their wallet and buy what you are selling.
8 . Research, Research, Research.
David wrote, "Advertising people who ignore research are as dangerous as generals who ignore decodes of enemy signals."
Most business owners are too proud. They come off humble but if you watch their actions they do the opposite.
But the saying goes, "The meek will inherit the earth" and "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom..."
The most profitable business man of all time, Sam Walton, made $150 billion for himself and his family by being the most meek and humble.
He said that he had walked the aisles of more stores than any store owner in the world.
Humble entrepreneurs research.
They realize they aren't the center of the universe. Research more before you market. Find out what people really want, not what you are selling.
9 . Inform
"The more informative your advertising, the more persuasive it will be."
Ogilvy said this because he realized that in a world full of boring ideas, whoever said something informative would stand out.
I go all day trying to find something informative. Hardly anything qualifies. People and businesses are lazy.
Teach and train your customer with fascinating concepts.
10 . No Nudist Buddhists - Be Congruent
"Every advertisement should be thought of as a contribution to the complex symbol which is the brand image."
He means that you must start with the central thesis. What does your brand stand for? Then work backwards from there. Make sure every color of your website, word you write, video you shoot, idea you push, matches exactly with your central thesis.
Steve Jobs made Apple's central thesis beautiful electronics that run smoothly.
The shape of the iPhone, the Mac, even the layout of their stores never conflicts with this central thesis.
Figure out your central thesis and stick to it in every pitch you do.
The old sales quote is true, "A confused mind says no."
Remember, even if the logical mind of a customer understands what you're selling, if the instinct part is confused it shies away.
A good sales funnel takes advantage of the "consistency bias." Lead your customer step by step down the path to buying, never sending mixed messages along the way.
Be a luxury brand or a mainstream brand not both. Be a super expensive brand or budget brand but not both. Be a fun brand or a serious brand but not both.
My favorite saying goes, "You can be a nudist and people will think you are normal. And you can be a Buddhist and people will think you are normal. But you can NOT be a nudist Buddhist. It's too weird."
Don't let your message to customers get off of your core message
