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August 25, 2006

Insider Tip of the Week - 08/22/06

Are You Misreading Your Prospects?

by Bob Serling

Zogby International has just released the results of a
poll they conducted and it is both disheartening and
shocking. And it holds a powerful lesson for marketers.

Here's a sampling of the results they discovered:

1. 75% of Americans can correctly identify two of
Snow White's seven dwarfs. Only 25% can name
two Supreme Court justices (and there are nine
of them, not just seven).

2. 57% could name the boy wizard of British author
J.K. Rowling's books - Harry Potter. Only 50%
could name the British Prime Minister - Tony
Blair.

3. 60% could name the fictional planet Superman
is from - Krypton. Just 37% knew that Mercury
is the closest planet to the son.

Wow! Are you as shocked as I am?

We could ponder why the average American (and
people all over the world, by the way) seem to have
little grasp - and even less interest - in the world
around them for hours. But regardless of why this
is occurring, if you don't take it into consideration
in your marketing, your sales and profits will suffer.

Suggestions for coping with this disturbing trend

If you think this trend is short-lived, or occurs just
among the younger generation, think again. I live
in the 8th largest city in America - San Diego. In the
10 years I've been here, the philharmonic orchestra
has shut down twice due to lack of funds. Only a
$50 million endowment from a local philanthropist
keeps it open.

Regardless of age, education level, sex or race,
people seem to be less interested in serious topics
these days. If you try to fight that, you can seriously
compromise the effectiveness of your marketing.

Here are a few things you can do to live with, and
even capitalize on this trend:

1. Keep your copy simple. Assume that your
prospect has a sixth-grade education. Many
do, and those that have a higher level of education
generally use language skills at about that
level (dude).

2. Avoid too much technical jargon. As wired as
people are these days, the majority of their
"wired" efforts are dedicated to various forms of
entertainment. Don't assume this technically savvy
time we live in equates to a higher degree of
intelligence. Simple sentences, simple paragraphs,
simple words work best.

3. Become a student of popular culture. Read the
comics. Read the sports page. Read the
entertainment section of your paper. These are
the areas where most people connect with each
other. You'll gain tremendous insight about society
in general, and the people who make up your
market in particular, by reading these sections that
reflect the true interests of so much of the
population.

4. Don't make the mistake of skimping on copy.
Online or offline, in almost all cases, longer copy
still does a more effective selling job. Just because
people aren't interested in more serious topics
doesn't mean they're any less devoted to the topics
they do pay attention to. The more you write about
a person's self-interest, the better chance you have
of making the sale.

Now, if only I could remember the names of those
other five dwarfs!

====================================

How did one of my students sell 9,500 copies of his
information product with almost no prior experience?
http://www.directmarketinginsider.com/9500copies.html

Posted by Bob Serling at August 25, 2006 09:44 PM

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