by Jeff Tippett
Once it’s all out there, it’s time to begin the process of crafting that simple, persuasive message. This content will be a living message; it’ll continue to evolve over time. Don’t aim for perfection. Your goal is to refine and improve the messaging as you walk through these steps.
2. Ask yourself: “What problem does this solve?”
Every human being has three fundamental areas of concern: money, relationships, and health. Despite life’s complexities, most all problems can be tossed into one of these buckets. Offering solutions to issues in one of those categories is a great way to motivate people to take action.
The common practice in marketing a product or service is to stress its selling points. But that might not be exactly the right motivation. If you want people to care, show them how what you’re offering will solve a real problem they face.
Start with the problem/solution model: My audience has a problem, and I can solve it. If nothing immediately stands out, this would be a great time to reread all your content and identify the problems you can potentially solve. People will pay attention if you’re solving a real problem for them.
I regularly use an app called SendJim. It’s a service that sends out hand-written notes, has gifts delivered—it does all kinds of things I have difficulty finding time to do on my own. I understand the value of the extra gesture, of a personalized service. But I’m a businessman and a dad, and I generally just don’t have the time to do all that on my own. So I’m willing to pay a surcharge for it.
My monthly razor service is another example. It saves me time. It solves a problem.
So what are you bringing to people that they’re willing to pay you for? That’s what you need to focus on, not on all the bells and whistles and all the wonderful things your product or service can deliver—at least not yet. No. First, you need to articulate what problem you’ve arrived to solve.
So, can you, in one succinct sentence, explain what that is?
Look at these two sentences. What’s different about them?
My new book, Pixels Are the New Ink, gives advice for building your social profiles.
My new book, Pixels Are the New Ink, teaches thought leaders like you how to make money sharing information already in your head—online.
While the first sentence is true, it isn’t persuasive. The second sentence, on the other hand, assumes that my reader would like to make more money (and that’s probably a fair assumption of most people) and offers the opportunity to do so.
Do you think I have their attention? Likely so.
Time to move on to the next step.
3 . Ask what is crucial. Strike everything else.
• •
“The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary may speak.” —Hans Hoffman—
• •
I vividly remember the first paper I submitted in graduate school. I was rather proud of it, actually. I put a lot of thought and work into that paper. I was quite certain it was the best in the class.
But my English professor didn’t see my work in exactly the same light. My masterpiece was returned to me, bleeding a slow death of red ink, with a note asking me to speak with her.
How could this be? My undergraduate English professors loved my work. Though they consistently offered ways to improve, they never totally rejected my writing. But, in this case, I was called out for verbosity. In my quest to appear smart, I’d loaded every paragraph with every concept within the universe. And, as a result, I’d failed. Miserably.
I’d like to say that my “masterpiece” just needed some slight revisions. But, in reality, it needed total reconstruction. My writing needed to be reborn.
I’m convinced that, as you’ve started drafting your thoughts, you’re a lot closer to your intent than I was with my first grad school paper. But there’s likely some bloat. As you craft your message, read with a critical eye. You’ll likely immediately begin to see what needs to be trimmed. Focus on eliminating any and all unnecessary elements.
Let’s go ahead and get this out there now: Most likely, your users won’t care as much as you do. So give them only what’s necessary.
One of the greatest lessons Twitter has taught me is how to reduce content and communicate only what’s most important. Maybe you’ve done this, too: You type out your tweet, and it’s 180 characters long. You then begin to remove unnecessary words, even letters, until you hit that magical 140.
This is the same process I’m advocating for here, just on a larger scale. Take out your red pen. Start striking through non-crucial elements. Ask yourself what details really don’t matter. Everything else must go!
But what I mean by that is that it must go for now. Just for now. There’s probably value in that content, just not quite yet—not here in the core. Don’t discard it, just file it away for now. There may well be some very important points in there that will come in handy later.
Think in terms of creating an inverted funnel of information, and share that information in stages. For example, if your messaging lives in an online petition, you can capture email addresses as people sign it. If they allow you to keep the communication alive via email, you can develop a campaign that feeds them this additional information. You can take a similar approach if you’re communicating about a product you’re selling.
Prior to Twitter, most of us didn’t appreciate the value of shorter messages. But shorter is where we’ve arrived. Facebook is now prompting you to write more succinct messages. They know people will respond better, and so they’ll put it in a bigger font.
So ask yourself: What does this word add? If it adds nothing, lose it. Take it to the extreme: Can you convey everything you want to say in a single word? If so, do so. It’s more likely that your reader will stick around.
This is all about honing your message, then broadening it as your opportunities unfold. There will soon be opportunities to delve deeper. But start off too deep, and you’re going to lose your audience. Save that more penetrating material.
You’ll need it later.
Think one word at a time. People are making decisions one word at a time. Too many details, too much embellishment too soon—they’re gone.
And the final step . . .
4. Remove all internal (or generally unknown) jargon
We often communicate with insider language that isolates those who aren’t “in the know.” Perhaps it makes us feel smarter—a member of some inner circle—to use esoteric terms. But anytime there’s an inner circle, there are, by definition, people left outside.
There’s a fine line between conveying that you’re the expert and using “insider-y” language. Old-school thinking was that, when you pitch, you want to wow them with the jargon. Those days are gone.
Be careful not to unnecessarily alienate the people you’re actually trying to persuade. If the internal jargon isn’t necessary, strike it. If you use an acronym, define it. Then stick with it.
Here’s an example of what can go wrong when you use an unnecessary acronym:
While writing copy, you use an obscure, undefined acronym. Your user Googles it to learn its meaning. Another person, vying for your user’s attention, serves up an interesting ad on that page. Your user clicks that ad, which is actually an action-packed video. While watching the video, a text message pops up. It’s an invite to dinner. Think your user cares about your message now? Probably not. Now the question is, “What’s for dinner?”
Bottom line: Don’t create barriers with language. When it’s time to introduce denser language, introduce it with some context.
“Simplicity is an exact medium between too little and too much.” – Sir Joshua Reynolds
Here’s what we learned: Less is more. Focus only on what is necessary and important. Everything can be saved for later.
Another industry expert’s perspective:
Early in my writing career, I learned to ask “so what” after each sentence w
ritten, to make sure that each word had a purpose, and offered value to the message and the reader. Whether it was a blog post or leadership tip that I’ve circulated monthly since 2004, I’ve been carefully aware of the mission of getting people hooked immediately, or risk losing them forever. I do that by putting my head into their shoes (that’s just thinking about what it’s like to be them), and serving up what they want immediately. We could ramble on our keyboards typing so much content, but the real nugget that people can expect to take away and keep for a long time is just a tiny little bite sized habit breaking, new habit-forming idea, phrase or story. Here’s how I “so what” my writing after it’s drafted, to make sure it catches the audience’s attention.
Example: One of the root causes of conflict that I’ve experienced while working with many organizations is that front line leaders—supervisors promoted from the front line level—don’t often have the skills necessary to manage people. So What?
Some tend to say the wrong thing, or say things the wrong way, or handle issues and problems less effectively than they could. So What?
Conflict is a high cost that is quite preventable. So What? Solution = Training.
By reviewing my work, I ask, “So What?” at the same time I imagine myself in the audience asking that question to evaluate whether that sentence gives me something of value, or if its just a bunch of hot air.
People want WIIFM . . . (what’s in it for me? . . . so just give it to them)
—Penny Tremblay
PennyTremblay.com
Ready for the next step? Let’s talk about how to capture your audience’s attention early.
Questions for Reflection
Think through some area in which you need to persuade. Take a few minutes to debrief yourself. What is the simple essence of what you want to communicate?
Can you say it in 25 words or less?
What problem does this solve for the person you’re trying to persuade?
Reread your response to #1. Have you framed this concept from your audience’s need or your own?
Reread your response to #1. Are there any words you can strike? Look critically at each word.
Now, can you communicate the main message in #1 in 10 words or less?
Perhaps more than ever before, you’re going to have to work hard to capture your audience’s attention. Some studies indicate that our attention span today is less than that of a goldfish. Whether in person, on the phone, or online, you’ve got but seconds to capture your audience’s attention.
A study from Canada illustrates this point. It concluded that attention spans have decreased from twelve seconds to eight seconds since the mobile revolution began in 2010. And content is being consumed on mobile devices now more than ever.
People today have a lot of noise thrown at them; they’re bombarded almost every waking moment. The Internet has made content generation so easy, which is great; it’s an accessible platform on which to communicate.
On the other hand, the fact that it’s so easy means anybody can post things. There’s so much out there. Just think about what an average Google search yields. Finding what’s most relevant takes some digging and a discerning mind.
As I noted earlier, readers today more commonly scan than read. They’re making decisions in two to three seconds on whether to stay on a page or exit. That’s why those first couple of sentences are so critical. The goal is to immediately pique interest. How do I capture their attention sufficiently enough that they’re ready to move forward with me—to give up the time when time is so constrained? They’re not going to read sentence three if they’re not engaged with the first two.
If you’re failing to cut through the clamor, your readers will tell you really fast, by not responding.
I do a lot of research to see what resonates online. I use Twitter to test messaging. It’s very easy to create 140 characters and try out several versions of a message, to determine which one gets clicked, retweeted, liked. You should do whatever testing you can early on.
I grew up respecting the “golden rule.” You know, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Then once I entered the business world, the rule changed to, “The one with the gold rules.” But in today’s digital world, it’s shifted again. Today, we say, “The thumb rules.”
What does this mean? Watch someone on their phone. The thumb scrolls feverishly, wending its way through content as it sits on its throne of decision-making. People are making decisions with the thumb; sometimes, the thumb moves ahead of the brain. This tendency isn’t generational, as some argue. Young people may have shorter attention spans, but I go out to dinner with people in their fifties and sixties who can’t stop looking at their phones.
Every link clicked must pass the thumb test, and most links fail. You have two seconds to keep the thumb from moving on. What makes your content any more likely to be clicked?
If you want your content to be consumed, you must win over the thumb. Your audience has a world of choices, with access to more content than could ever be consumed.
But here’s a secret: Most content is vanilla, boring, mundane, unexciting, monotonous, ordinary, uninteresting . . . It doesn’t take a whole lot to stand out; the bar isn’t that high.
You can prevail.
In most cases, you’ll have primary, secondary, and tertiary goals for your messaging. When I’m trying to close a deal with a client, whether online or otherwise, I aim to operate in three steps: know, like, trust. These steps need to be well defined up front. And they have to be done in order—no jumping around.
Again: know, like, trust.
Your audience must first come to know you. They can’t make a decision to move forward with you if they don’t know who you are. In that first step, your goal may simply be brand awareness—you simply want them to learn your name. You craft messaging, share on social media, people see your name and, perhaps, form some type of impression.
But if you need action—like signing a petition—and they don’t click through, you’re not succeeding. You only have seconds to capture their attention. You must immediately stand out.
• •
“Writers have nanoseconds to compel readers before they flit to another headline or toast another Pop Tart.”
—David A. Fryxell—
• •
If they didn’t click through, does that mean they don’t like you? Not necessarily. It could be any number of things. Maybe their kids started screaming. Maybe the phone rang. A text message popped up. They abandoned you (for the moment). Don’t take it personally. Don’t give up. Analyze it to the extent that you can. Maybe something’s just a bit off.
Examine it, but don’t beat yourself up. Strive to improve.
The beauty of online content is its immediacy; we’re constantly getting feedback. You run a direct-mail campaign, and once you’ve printed it out and sent it off, it’s done. But, online, when people aren’t responding, you can immediately make adjustments.
Your readers are informing you. Listen. Learn what you can through trial and error. And be willing to accept it without internalizing. This just didn’t work. Okay. What does work?
A word of caution:
You want to stand out in a way that matches who you are; all communication should stay true to your established brand. Otherwise, you send mixed messaging, giving the user whiplash.
Be unique, stand out, give the thumb a reason to click—but stay true to your brand messaging. When we represent our brand in such a way that deviates from who we are, it works against us. People need to see the consistency of a brand over and over.
I know from personal experience the cost of ill-advised brand deviation. Once, in an attempt to grab attention, I deviated from my personal brand standards. I wanted to try something new. There are people online who have a very snarky voice; they can get away with it because that’s who they are; that’s the brand they’ve established.
But t
hat’s not who I am; that’s not my brand. Mine is much more colloquial, friendlier. That’s what I try to convey. Not snark. And when I tried it in a blog post, it backfired; it blew up. It was horrible. And it took time to repair. It just wasn’t who I was, and it made my audience angry. To those people I’d offended, I apologized, privately. And, in my public profile, I went back to who I am.
It’s okay to push your brand, but you need to understand where the boundaries are. If you need six or seven interactions, they can’t be all over the place, lest people become confused about what your brand represents.
Okay, so you’ve got your basic messaging in hand. Now, run it through the following filters. Use these eight tips to help you craft messaging that will capture attention:
1. Start with them
Find a way to use the word “you” at least once. Do this very early. By speaking to your audience directly, using the word “you,” you’ll pull users into your messaging and allow them to feel a connection: “Let’s talk.” You’re identifying with them. Can you show you understand their struggles, fears, frustrations? If so, you’ll connect early on in your messaging, increasing the likelihood they’ll continue to listen to you.
2. Use short sentences
Your freshman English professor will probably balk at this statement. Most of them taught us to write sophisticated sentences, with modifiers and connectors and whatnot. But, online, you need to use short, powerful sentences. Push for the period sooner than later. Why? As stated earlier, people don’t read, they scan.
Why use truncated sentences? Because they . . .
boil things down to their essence
create a sense of urgency or tension
provide immediate emphasis on the power words (single words that convey a mental picture; the association is immediately there).
