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When you plan the graphic design and content for your brochure or website, you MUST keep the big picture in mind by asking this question:
Will this marketing piece either create immediacy and get people to act NOW or at least move people closer to the point of purchase?
Clearly, one of your objectives is to get people to take action. Preferably immediately. This minute. And that, right there, is the big marketing and sales challenge!
That MUST be your end-goal.
Even though they'll be better off as a result of responding to your marketing, people WILL procrastinate.
Like all of us, your potential customers will put things off. Instead of taking action, and spending money with you, they enjoy living on One Day Isle — that comfortable, do-nothing place where decisions can be left for another day.
We all do it.
You can just hear that little voice:
One day I’ll get some financial advice... One day I'll go for a dental checkup... One day I'll buy a new laptop...
Delay is comfortable for THEM. But delay is costing YOU business.
So... you must make tomorrow feel closer!
As a marketer, it's your job to make tomorrow become real TODAY, thus creating a sense of urgency to overcome that most frustrating of human traits, procrastination.
As all good copywriters will tell you, the secret to doing this is to avoid using the future tense in your marketing communications.
And while you might want to focus on the BENEFITS of what you offer, consider giving the pain-point some attention too. What will the person lose, miss out on, feel bad about or otherwise possibly regret if they put off taking action? While you need to be tasteful, pressing this point home is justified if that is what it takes to get someone off their rear end.
In fact, given that they WILL be better off as a result of doing business with you, one could argue that you OWE it to them to rattle their cage to get some movement!
For example...
Let's say you are a financial planner. In your brochure, you want people to see that they must get busy NOW to put their finances in place for the future. Don't just say:
You will need a minimum of $50,000.00 a year to maintain a DECENT lifestyle when you retire.
That is wishy-washy copywriting. It is a bland message. And it WON'T cut through.
Instead, even though the event is in the future, bring the pain into the present with:
In the year 2036, you are retired—and VERY worried.
Just food and a roof over your head is costing you $50,000 per year — that's $4,200 a month!
How do you get the money you need to make ends meet? You could hope for a miracle. Or go without health insurance, sell the car, let the tennis club membership lapse and forget about an occasional treat for the grandkids.
The better alternative?
Call us now. Today. And make SURE you have peace of mind about your future.
See the power of that copy? We touched on some pain points AND framed them up so it sounded immediate — as if it is happening right NOW.
Whether it is your brochure, website, direct mail or any other marketing communication, be sure to write in the present tense to make the benefits or the pain more tangible — and remind the prospect of the joy or misery they'll experience if they don't take action with you NOW!
Take this approach and you are way more likely to move them off One Day Isle, which is far better for your prospect, and naturally, far better for you.
