This month we've been talking about the deadly communication sins of advertising from my article, "The 12 Deadly Communication Sins of Advertising." What a coinkydink, eh? Today I'd like to talk about: *Badly* Grammar and *Speling* The written word has always required proper grammar, spelling and punctuation, but in recent years, email has become an accepted form of communication with our customers. Email is generally a more informal communication prone to incomplete sentences, abbreviations and typos. These are all generally accepted as appropriate among friends and co workers, not, however, for customers! Misspellings, typos and bad grammar all tell our customers that we don't take the time to do things properly. Done too often, it can make a message almost...
The 5th Deadly Communication Sin of Advertising is... Loooooooooong Sales Copy There is a controversy over this among the marketing gurus out there, but in my humble opinion, long sales copy only sells to men and, then, only when they are deeply interested in that subject. If you market to women, keep it brief! Most women are busy wearing many hats: wife, mother, housekeeper, baby sitter, teacher, medic, career woman... Most of the women I survey say that they don't have the time to read long, hype-y sales copy that doesn't reveal what they are selling until the very end. Most women like short and sweet ads that grab their attention and give them a way to find more information...
Liar, Liar Pants on Fire! I hope nobody reading this is making a practice of lying to their customers, but I have seen spam come through with subject lines like..."Knew you would appreciate this site!" and "How are you?" Anyone who knows me knows that I most certainly wouldn't appreciate a website that sells pornography so when I open an email to find this website link, I am a little miffed to say the least! This is an extreme example, but I have also seen subject lines that have nothing whatsoever to do with what they are selling. Most people find it offensive to open an email entitled..."re: your inquiry" only to find an ad for something that they had...
3rd Deadly Sin of Advertising: Feigning Ignorance Have you ever known someone who posted something on one of your business email groups knowing that it probably wasn't allowed but they would rather ask forgiveness than permission? When caught, they usually say something like..."Oh! I am so sorry. I didn't realize that wasn't allowed!" Now sometimes they truly had no idea that a certain rule exists, but many times they secretly hope they will get away with it and rely on the kindness of people to forgive their little sin. Be careful! I have seen people do this once too often and it can backfire in a big way. The net is a surprisingly small world. Many of your group members...
It's Dr. Seuss' Birthday today! To celebrate (and continue discussing “12 Deadly Communication Sins of Advertising"), let's talk about how advertisers can sound a lot like Dr. Seuss wannabees! It happens when marketing begins to hype it up. Here's the excerpt from the article on hype: "Error #2. Hype it Up Today's consumer is very savvy! People can spot hype a mile away-unless it is their own! Too much glitz and glam can make your company, product or service sound too good to be true. Just as I began writing this article, I got a phone call from a salesman who told me that I had been chosen to win a free computer, $1000 shopping spree to some website I...
