Dear Online Marketer: Do your ads look like this?:
Best Home Business In The Universe!!!!!!
Earn $20,000 Your First Week!!!!!!!!!
YOU WON'T BELIEVE THIS ! ! ! !
INCREDIBLE ! ! ! !
FANTASTIC PAYOUT ! ! ! ! !!!!
If the sentences above resemble the ad copy you’re using online,
I can tell you why the money’s not rolling in: You’re killing your
credibility, which kills your sales. The exclamation point is the
most over-used and abused character on the keypad these days, and
the "quotation" key is getting mighty jealous. (I’ll explain what
that means in a minute.)
Much in the same ways that insecure kids become bullies in the
schoolyard to compensate for their weaknesses, unsure online
marketers are littering their sales pitches with enough exclamation
points to declare the internet a disaster area.
Tell-Tale Sign
If you feel your sales pitch needs a few dozen exclamation points
to raise the enthusiasm level, it’s a sure sign that your ad copy
is weak and needs improving. Stating the benefits of your product
with quiet self-assurance and backing it up with concrete facts,
enthusiastic comments, and real testimonials will beat exclamation
points any day of the week. (Testimonials don’t get used nearly
enough online - that’s what I meant about the ‘quotation’ key being
jealous.)
Which of the following is more convincing to you?
1) Earn $100,000 a year or more with this exciting product!!!!
2) Our top rep earned $127,432 last year, and many others earned
between $41,489 and $105,995. This proven product almost sells
itself, and with our ongoing one-on-one help, you can do the same.
Remember: We’ll be by your side every step of the way.
(Did you choose #2? So does everyone else.)
1) Our MLM is incredible!!!!!! Your downline does all the work!!!!!
Most generous payout in the industry!!!! There’s nothing else like
this!!!!! Sign up now!!!!!!!
2) If you’re wary of MLM programs or have had bad luck with them in
the past, I understand your skepticism. MLM has gotten a bad rap from
some fly-by-night companies selling shady products. Let me assure
you that our program is completely different from anything you’ve seen
before. With our top-quality product, experienced leadership, and
generous pay structure, we are positioned for success - especially for
those who get in on the ground floor. Sign up right now and get all the
facts immediately. If you’re not convinced it’s everything I’ve said it
is and more, your membership fee will be cheerfully refunded.
(Deal with known concerns - It makes your offer more believable.)
As you can see from the above examples, here’s the bad news: Writing
without exclamation points requires more ad copy. (I call that bad news
because for the person trying to write the ad, it seems like more
"work".) In fact, when I re-work an ad that is riddled with !!!!’s,
sometimes the ad winds up being 3 times longer than before.
THE GOOD NEWS
The good news is that longer ad copy is necessary to make the point
and to make the sale, and it maximizes your chances of success.
If you’re still not convinced: Have you ever noticed that on your
favorite television sitcoms you never notice the laugh-track?...That’s
because you’re laughing at the same time. On really BAD sitcoms, the
laugh-track can drive you crazy with its inane guffawing after every line.
That’s because the lines aren’t funny, so the canned laughs feel forced
and remind you how bad the show really is.
The same goes with exclamation points. When they naturally follow an
unusual or strong statement, you don’t even notice them. But when
they follow sentences that just aren’t convincing or exciting, they
seem forced and actually DRAW ATTENTION to the fact that the ad doesn’t
seem genuine or effective.
The internet community is an intelligent, educated bunch. They’re more
likely to read U.S. Weekly than The National Enquirer. They won’t be
sold by empty hype and incomplete explanations. In addition, a good
percentage of them have been taken advantage of through the internet
before. They’re wary - and for good reason. Using too many exclamation
points is the sign of an amateur, and people want to deal with
professionals.
So go forward, be fruitful, and un-multiply.
(Your exclamation points, that is!)
About the Author
Tim Gross is the director of the "Masters of Marketing Inner Circle"
as well as being an online marketer and webmaster. He credits his
success to using little-used credibility-building tactics. Go to
http://www.enlowcircle.com/go/credibility to download a free complete
14-chapter marketing course on credibility and internet marketing now!