Wizard Wisdom

From my email:

Dear Scott, Does your business have a blog? "It is very unlikely that you will make money from blogging, but if you do it with intent and authenticity, you will likely make money because of blogging." - Wizard Partner Dave Young In This Issue: The Little-Known Factors That Turn Business Signs into Landmarks 10 Things Never to Do in Your Advertising The Little-Known Factors That Turn Business Signs into Landmarks By Roy H. Williams (Edited from original) Here’s what every business owner needs to know. Most businesses have signs that are well proportioned, carefully balanced, tastefully drawn and perfectly color coordinated. In other words, they’re utterly predictable and effectively invisible. The 5 most common mistakes made in business signage are: 1. understated elegance. Attempting to “fit in,” or “blend into” a scene. 2. underspending. 3. including too much information. 4. placing the sign too high. The eyes of drivers tend to stay focused at windshield height. Low signs are better in town. Tall signs are better on freeways where they will be read – at windshield height – from great distances. Great signs are always the most interesting piece of scenery in their vicinity. This is why they’re noticed even when people aren’t looking for them. Would you like to have such a sign? Believe it or not, it’s possible. Not cheap or easy, but possible. Consider the sprawling white letters stretched across a hillside in southern California: HOLLYWOOD, a landmark known around the world. Did you know that sign was originally erected by a real estate developer to identify his remote suburban subdivision, Hollywoodland? These are the little-known factors that turn business signs into landmarks: 1. They are dramatic. This can be due to the fact that they’re: A. grossly oversized, B. strangely placed, or C. 3-dimensional The HOLLYWOOD sign fits all 3 criteria. 2. They are incongruent, contrasting sharply with their surroundings due to: A. Color. Snow white HOLLYWOOD letters against a hillside of dark brown and green. B. Installation. The famous HOLLYWOOD sign is not on a pole or a board. Its individual letters sit directly on the ground. C. Context. There is nothing immediately around it to distract from it. Or if there is something important nearby, it is incorporated into the sign itself. 3. There is something wrong with it. Ever notice how the HOLLYWOOD letters aren’t level, but rise and fall with the terrain? I doubt if the builder of that Hollywood sign did these brilliant things intentionally. The point is they worked, even if some of them were accidental. Do you have the courage and determination to repeat on purpose the things he did right by accident? These 4 obstacles could hold you back: 1. Sign codes and ordinances. 2. Opinions of friends. 3. Recommendations of “professionals,” such as the sign company, the architect, or the manager of the shopping center. (Remember, these are same the people responsible for creating all the signs that are currently invisible.) 4. The budget. If you are able to bulldoze past these roadblocks, the public will soon be using your sign as a reference point when giving directions. 10 Things Never to Do in Your Advertising Never, Never, Never By Roy H. Williams “The mundane, the predictable and the usual are filtered and rejected from our consciousness. Win the customer’s attention with words and phrases that are new, surprising and different.” 1. Never promise everything you plan to deliver. Leave something to become the delight factor. That unexpected, extra bit you deliver “because we love you” will go a long way toward helping the customer forgive and forget any areas where you may have fallen short. Great ads are written in three steps: (1.) How to End. What will be the Last Mental Image your ad presents to your customer? Begin with the end in mind. (2.) Where to Begin. A clear but interesting angle of approach will gain the customer’s attention. (3.) What to Leave Out. Surprise is the foundation of delight. What will you intentionally leave out of your ad so that you can deliver a delightful surprise? What will you leave out so that the imagination of the customer is engaged? 2. Never begin a sentence with the word, “Imagine…” If you’re planning to take your customer on a journey of imagination, plunge them into it. “The wheels of your airplane touch down, but not in the city you were promised…” “You must now choose between two good things…” “If you had more enemies like these, you wouldn’t need friends…” 3. Never include your name in an ad more often than it would be spoken in normal conversation. Cramming your name where it doesn’t belong is AdSpeak. Back when Americans encountered one thirtieth as many ads each day, the rule was to repeat the name of the advertiser as often as possible. Do this today and your ads will sound like they were written in the 1940s. 4. Never conjure an unpleasant mental image. Fear and disgust work face-to-face, but they often backfire when used in mass media. Conjure these unpleasant emotions in the minds of the masses and you’ll leave your listeners with a vaguely bad feeling attached to your name. They’ll want to avoid you, but they won’t be able to recall exactly why. 5. Never respond to a challenge from a competitor smaller than you. Drawing attention to a smaller competitor makes them larger in the eyes of the public. Conversely, if someone bigger than you is foolish enough to shine their spotlight on you, dance in it. 6. Never claim to have exceptional service. Most people won’t believe you. And those who do believe you will expect more from your staff than they can possibly deliver. It’s a lose/lose proposition. Rather than promise exceptional service in your ads, tell the public something objective, factual and verifiable that causes them to say, “Wow. Those people really serve their customers.” Never praise yourself. Do things that make the customer praise you. 7. Never mention the recession. I understand how tempting it is to say, “In order to help you combat the recession we’re offering…” But all that really does is remind the customer that now is not a good time to be spending money. 8. Never make a claim you don’t immediately support with evidence. Unsubstantiated claims are the worst form of AdSpeak. Give the customer facts, details and objective proof if you want to win their confidence. Specifics are more believable than generalities. 9. Never use humor that doesn’t reinforce the principal point of your ad. Here’s the litmus test: If remembering the humor forces you to recall the message of the ad, the humor is motivated. Good job. But if recalling the humor doesn’t put you in memory of the ad’s main point, the humor is unmotivated and will make your ad less effective. Sure, people will like the ad. They just won’t buy what you’re selling. 10. Never say things in the usual way. From billboards to storefronts to packaging to messages on T-shirts, ads whisper and wheedle and cajole and shout to win our attention. A 1978 Yankelovich study reported that the average American was confronted with more than 2,000 advertising messages per day. But that was 30 years ago. When Yankelovich revisited the study in 2008, the number had jumped to more than 5,000 messages per day. The mundane, the predictable and the usual are filtered and rejected from our consciousness. Win the customer’s attention with words and phrases that are new, surprising and different. Come to Wizard Academy. We’ll teach you how. Previous Issues: Making Your Name Stick Information. Ideas. Action. Commitment. Contrasting to Become the Unmistakable Choice Money is Flooding to Lower Ticket Items Closing Thought: “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” - Unknown Author Thanks to Wizard Partner Josh Stevens for sending the above quote. Catch you next week. Craig Arthur Wizard Partners - Helping Business Owners Attract, Convert, and Delight Customers Strategy + Persuasive Copy + Advertising + Customer Experience + Online Part of the Wizard of Ads group of companies PS. Need help to attract more customers and grow your business? Our Promise? We will NEVER try to sell you. So what are you waiting for? Pick up the phone and call, or send us an email. We look forward to hearing your story. Australia & New Zealand Call Craig Arthur - (07) 4728 4866 or send an email United States & Canada Call Dave Young - 308-254-2732 or send an email Call Tom Wanek - 440-610-9746 or send an email Call or email to book a FREE alignment meeting. No obligation. No pressure. It is at this meeting we both decide if there is a fit between our 2 companies. It is only then can we explore your options. We will never try to sell you. Call (07) 4728 4866.

Wizard Partners Australia. Call Us: (07) 4728 4866

Sphere: Related Content