Who Cares!
The following is from our scriptwriter and master marketer Steve Yankee.
How do you know when your promotional materials - your website, your brochure, your sales letters,
even your letterhead -are on track?
Here's a simple trick I learned years ago.
Just two words that'll get you moving in the right direction.
"Who cares?"
:::
Long ago, when I was in the agency business, I drove more than one art director or designer
to the point of madness by asking this question about every headline, every graphic, every
subhead and every paragraph of copy on our clients' brochures.
"Who cares?"
One Christmas, the bozos in the creative department (and being one myself at one point, I call them
that with great fondness) even had a "Who Cares?" rubber stamp made up for me -to save us both the
time of asking them that question over and over.
I didn't do it to be difficult.
I did it to keep them focused on the task at hand -which, pretty pictures and carefully
polished words aside, is to COMMUNICATE carefully and clearly to your target audience -that
message that you want them to hear!
And it's not just a rule for newbie writers and print designers; I do it to my own promotional
materials constantly -even after several decades of full-time writing.
"Who Cares?"
If you can't justify the headline, the picture or the sentence or the graphic...if you can't
figure out its relevance to your target audience... it's the wrong thing.
THEM: "We have digital camcorders!"
ME: "Who cares?"
THEM: "Well...they're better cameras."
ME: "Who cares?"
THEM: "The clients will care because we are
able to capture their presentation with
flawless, network-quality equipment."
Aha!
NOW we're getting somewhere.
Asking "who Cares?" as you work on your own promotional materials will keep you focused
on the BENEFITS that your clients receive from utilizing your video services, rather
than on the FEATURES; which, by themselves, don't provide much of a compelling reason
for people to sign that contract or toss a purhase order on your desktop.
:::
Pretty picture of a camera on your website?
Try it yourself.
Apply the "Who Cares?" question to your own brochures, every page on your website,
as you develop your business slogan and your letterhead.
You'll reap the benefit of powerful focus on the BENEFITS your clients will reap
when they work with you...and you can rest assured that everything you do to
promote your business will stay right on the track to success.
copyright Steven Yankee 2006 "used with permission" may not be reproduced.
posted by dw video @ Saturday, January 14, 2006
