22 Sep A lesson in advertising from a six-year-old girl!
I have a contrary six-year-old daughter. Particularly when it comes to fashion.
She likes to wear her tops back-to-front. Jeans under her dresses. Thongs with tights. And necklaces as headbands.
For four years, she and I had been battling it out. Until now.
My daughter has always known her unique dress sense frustrates me. But something recently occurred to me: I had never once sat my daughter down to tell her exactly what I wanted from her. I never told her – in clear, simple and specific terms – what I expected. So that’s what I did.
And it worked like magic. Power struggles, screaming matches, embarrassing outings for mum. GONE!
It seems so obvious now. But at the time, it was a revelation.
The next day, I was talking to a disillusioned colleague. She had been promoting her upcoming internet marketing training session for small businesses. But despite her high frequency advertising efforts, she received no bookings.
So I asked to review her advertising copy.
One thing was glaringly obvious. There was no clear call-to-action. She didn’t tell her target audience how to respond to the advertisement – or what she wanted interested people to do next.
She included a phone number and website link. But that’s not enough.
A call-to-action does not have to be a request for an immediate sale or booking. But it does need to be strong and persuasive.
Often, you simply need your audience to do something. That way they become more involved – and one step closer to making a commitment.
- Call today for a detailed course outline…
- Find out what others have said about my course by visiting…
- Book before 1 September to receive…
- Visit my website to learn why internet marketing is…
- Can’t make it to my next course? Then send me an email and I’ll…
Like me with my daughter, you can’t expect people to work out what they need to do. You need to tell them specifically.
And for even better results? Imagine your target customer is a six year old. Explain what to do in plain and simple English.
Have a look at some of your recent advertising materials. Did you give enough thought to your call-to-action? Did you tell your audience exactly what they need to do next?
