Your headline—whether on a Friday Market on an email list, in a newspaper or program, on your flyers, or any other place you advertise—is your one and only opportunity to get a potential customer intrigued and curious and interested!
BUT--The only thing your potential customer cares about is how his life gets better. He doesn't care about you, your stuff or what you think or what you want. He's only interested in himself.
When you learn this one big thing about marketing you will have mastered the trick to getting people interested in what you’re selling.
I could write (actually I have written) at length about this principle of marketing. It’s the biggie. It’s all about the customer and how he feels, what he thinks, what he wants, what’s going to make his life better in some way. It’s putting the customer first and getting out of your own head (barn, workshop, wants and needs). Why do you suppose that every religion that ever was, has some version of the golden rule? Because it’s hard for people to put others first. We tend toward ego centric thinking. Good marketing starts when you go beyond your own self and touch the customer’s self interest.
How? Start with this VERY BIG question: Who am I talking about? If you’re talking about yourself and your stuff, you’re not putting the customer first. Animal, vegetable or mineral….listen up!
I know, your stuff is so cool! The customer doesn’t care.
You really need to sell this thing (animal, vegetable or mineral—or a service). The customer doesn’t care.
You’re so proud of your product, service or experience. The customer doesn’t care.
Are you getting the idea? He really just cares about his own life and stuff.
Let’s take an example of a service, since I don’t talk about services very often.
Suppose you have a service for sale. You have umpteen certifications. You are reasonably priced. Your client list reads like a who’s who. You’ve provided this service for umpteen years. You teach people (or reach, or coach or do something they don’t want to do for themselves). All those things are features. They are the facts –ABOUT YOU!
What does all that do for the customer? How does that stuff make a customer feel better, have an easier time, improve his chances of getting the feelings he wants?
"Easier in some way" is one of the best marketing phrases. Simpler life or happier life, or self esteem or better relationships, or peace of mind or confidence or ????? Depending on your service, what does the customer end up with that’s about his psychology—how he feels. Because feelings sell. Features don’t. If you’re farm sitting, you’re actually providing peace of mind. If you’re doing some sort of evaluation, you’re giving them tools for improving something which could be pride or confidence or happiness or.... If you coach or council in some capacity, you make them feel more confident about some aspect of their life.
There are tons of possibilities here. Do you offer a service? Want some ideas? Send me an email about your service and I will use it as an example in my next blog post!
Touch people’s hearts in some way and they’re yours. That’s what a headline can do for you.
Here's a service I offer: Another blog I write is called "Minding the Middle Aged Middle and More". I'm actively seeking readers. Here's my headline and the first few lines of my ad.
"If You Just Want to Feel a Little Better or You're Confused by 'A Healthy Diet'..."
Join us at "Minding The Middle Aged Middle and More" blog to cut through the hooey and malarkey of what really makes a difference in how you feel and how you age--perhaps even what eventually kills you.
Blog located here: http://www.mindingthemiddleagedmiddle.blogspot.com/
And if you want the posts in your inbox, send a blank email to
mindingthemiddleagedmiddleandmore-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
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