Free-Reprint Article Written by: Mark Silver See Terms of Reprint Below.
***************************************************************** * * This email is being delivered directly to members of the group: * * [email protected] * ***************************************************************** We have moved our TERMS OF REPRINT to the end of the article. Be certain to read our TERMS OF REPRINT and honor our TERMS OF REPRINT when you use this article. Thank you. This article has been distributed by: http://Article-Distribution.com Helpful Link: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act - Overview http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/iclp/dmca1.htm --------------------------------------------------------------------- Article Title: ============== Avoiding The Third Degree Syndrome In Marketing Article Description: ==================== When you last wrote a flyer or a webpage, or when you last read one, what was the first bit of text on it, after the headline? I'm willing to bet you beads to bogarts that it was a series of questions. It's a common way to start out your writing, because it's easy. Unfortunately... it's not so effective. Additional Article Information: =============================== 723 Words; formatted to 65 Characters per Line Distribution Date and Time: 2007-05-01 15:36:00 Written By: Mark Silver Copyright: 2007 Contact Email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] For more free-reprint articles by Mark Silver, please visit: http://www.thePhantomWriters.com/recent/author/mark-silver.html ============================================= Special Notice For Publishers and Webmasters: ============================================= If you use this article on your website or in your ezine, We Want To Know About It. Use the following URL to let us know where you have used this article, and we will include a link to your website on thePhantomWriters.com: http://thephantomwriters.com/notify.php?id=4794&p=load HTML Copy-and-Paste and TEXT Copy-and-Paste Versions Of Article Are Available at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/the-third-degree-syndrome.shtml#get_code --------------------------------------------------------------------- Avoiding The Third Degree Syndrome In Marketing Copyright (c) 2007 Mark Silver Heart Of Business http://www.heartofbusiness.com/ When you last wrote a flyer or a webpage, or when you last read one, what was the first bit of text on it, after the headline? I'm willing to bet you beads to bogarts that it was a series of questions. Like this list I just saw on a website I randomly picked off of Google: "Are you: Feeling that more meaningful success and far better results are possible in your life, career or business? Wanting to be more fully engaged in your business or career, and achieve greater happiness and balance in your personal life? Wanting to discover your 'purpose', or 'values', develop your leadership capacity, and achieve goals that are truly important to you?" It's a common way to start out your writing, because it's easy. Unfortunately... it's not so effective. What questions do. Questions engage the reader. They ask the reader to read it, comprehend it, and then search into their own experience and come up with an answer. In other words, it puts the reader to work. Here's a question for you: does your reader really want to do all of that work right off the bat? No. Your reader needs your help- that's why they're looking at your website. They're tired. They're probably overwhelmed. And they probably feel a little helpless around what you can help them with. You've got them right where you want them. (Not.) Sit down and shaddup! Dark and smokey room. Tough guys in cheap suits with shoulder holsters and sunglasses. A bright light in your face- BAM! "Where were you on the night of April 15th?" "Who came to your apartment at 2am?" "Where did you last see Colonel Mustard-- in the library with the candlestick?" You're getting the third degree. Don't you feel welcomed? Isn't it helpful? (Not.) The Third Degree Syndrome Leading off with questions is what I call the Third Degree Syndrome in marketing. You've got your sunglasses on, and the spotlight is on the reader- you're making them look at themselves and their problems in the harsh glare of the fluorescents. Give your readers a break. They aren't criminals, just the opposite. They're looking for help. Leave off the intimidating and probing questions right at the first. So, what do you start with? Well, let's see... Keys to Opening Your Marketing * Start with Empathy. Instead of questions, use an empathetic statement. An empathetic statement is one that names an observation and a feeling. An observation is an actual event that happened- an action someone took, a thought someone had. A feeling is an emotion that comes up around it. Example: "If you're like most entrepreneurs, you probably feel a little overwhelmed looking at all your to-do lists." How does it feel to read that statement? Even though I just wrote it myself, I still took a deep breath of relief just reading it. * Use 'You.' There is a tendency to want to connect with the reader- and it's a good tendency. However, one strategy that doesn't work is using 'We.' Using the word 'we' instead of 'you' drains power and directness from what you are saying. When we tested this point in one of my classes, everyone agreed. 'We' came out sounding wishy-washy, weak. 'You' came out powerfully, connecting, and because of the power, considerable more empathy was delivered in the statement. Think about it. How do you have conversations with your friends? I bet you use 'you' when talking to them, dontchya? * An example. Let's take that first question from the beginning of the article, and turn it into an empathetic statement. Here's the question: "Are you feeling that more meaningful success and far better results are possible in your life, career or business?" An empathetic statement that replaces this question might be: "You're getting close into midlife, and you've done... okay so far. But, perhaps you're noticing that some of your success feels hollow, without much meaning. And, some of your most important goals feel out of reach, or completely out of sight." Read the question, then read the empathetic statements. And notice what happens for your heart. Your next step? Go find those Third Degree questions at the top of your marketing- your flyers, your website, wherever, and replace them with empathetic statements. And see what happens. The best to you and your business, Mark Silver --------------------------------------------------------------------- Mark Silver is the author of Unveiling the Heart of Your Business: How Money, Marketing and Sales can Deepen Your Heart, Heal the World, and Still Add to Your Bottom Line. He has helped hundreds of small business owners around the globe succeed in business without losing their hearts. Get three free chapters of the book online: http://www.heartofbusiness.com --- END ARTICLE --- Get HTML or TEXT Copy-and-Paste Versions Of This Article at: http://thePhantomWriters.com/free_content/db/s/the-third-degree-syndrome.shtml#get_code ..................................... TERMS OF REPRINT - Publication Rules (Last Updated: May 11, 2006) Our TERMS OF REPRINT are fully enforcable under the terms of: The Digital Millennium Copyright Act http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c105:H.R.2281.ENR: ..................................... *** Digital Reprint Rights *** * If you publish this article in a website/forum/blog, You Must Set All URL's or Mailto Addresses in the body of the article AND in the Author's Resource Box as Hyperlinks (clickable links). * Links must remain in the form that we published them. Clean links should point to the Author's links without redirects having been inserted into the copy. * You are not allowed to Change or Delete any Words or Links in the Article or Resource Box. Paragraph breaks must be retained with articles. You can change where the paragraph breaks fall, but you cannot eliminate all paragraph breaks as some have chosen to do. * Email Distribution of this article Must be done through Opt-in Email Only. No Unsolicited Commercial Email. * You Are Allowed to format the layout of the article for proper display of the article in your website or in your ezine, so long as you can maintain the author's interests within the article. * You may not use sentences from this article as an input for any software that steals sentences from others in order to build an article with software. The copyright on this article applies to the "WHOLE" article. *** Author Notification *** We ask that you notify the author of publication of his or her work. Mark Silver can be reached at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** Print Publication Reprint Rights *** If you desire to publish this article in a PRINT publication, you must contact the author directly for Print Permission at: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ..................................... If you need help converting this text article for proper hyperlinked placement in your webpage, please use this free tool: http://thephantomwriters.com/link-builder.pl ===================================================================== ABOUT THIS ARTICLE SUBMISSION http://thePhantomWriters.com is a paid article distribution service. thePhantomWriters.com and Article-Distribution.com are owned and operated by Bill Platt of Stillwater, Oklahoma USA. The content of this article is solely the property and opinion of its author, Mark Silver http://www.heartofbusiness.com/ --------------------------------------------------------------------- XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX ---------------------------------------------------------------------
