Advertising is often referred to as a hurt ’em and heal ’em business. This is true. Some of the best messages work by first highlighting a potential situation that the customer will want to avoid.
By setting the stage for the customer using statistics and a real life situation they will want to avoid, you can capture their attention.
After the subject line and a short intro paragraph, you then proceed to reveal the solution (your product).
Here is an example…
“This year, more than 200,000 companies will be audited at an average cost of $1,500 in legal fees. The IRS is cracking down and unfortunately many honest business owners are getting steep penalties for overlooking some minor tax requirements.
XYZ corp. offers a free 20-minute analysis that will tell you what IRS officials look for and if you are at risk of being audited.”
See how that’s done? The information used for that example is false, because I made it up. If this were an actual ad you would need to briefly research some accurate and truthful statistics and details so you could use them in your message.
This technique is by far one of the most effective strategies I’ve seen used in email marketing.
So give it a shot. Think about your product, service or information and what it helps your customer to avoid. Gather some facts and statistics and present your info with your product as the solution. This works especially well when promoting seminars and workshops.
About Jason Lexell
Jason is a Web Marketing consultant and the founder of Digital Harvest, a Tampa-based marketing firm that helps companies increase their online exposure and generate more business.
