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We’ve talked about the 4 Steps To Discover Your Unique Selling Proposition (USP), which is a focus on differentiating yourself from your competitors.
But how do you be different so that you can rise about the “noise” – all the other ads your audience is bombarded with every single day?
This is where novel thinking comes into play, as is the case with the Rich Jerk persona being used to sell “make money online” products.
Since most people used plain sales letters to sell goods (which works, by the way), introducing a character into the marketing mix drew attention. He rose above the noise and said “look at me!”
People DID notice.
It worked.
Sure, you can create a character in your niche too (for example: the UberGeek to sell computer stuff).
But that’s not what I’m telling you to do.
I’m not saying, “create a character.”
I’m saying “be different.”
Take a moment to run one of your favorite searches on Google or Yahoo, something you commonly search for that has plenty of hits plus paid advertisements. Take a moment and look at those ads. Are any of them different enough to draw your attention?
Some of them may differentiate themselves by offering a low price or a bonus. Yawn. It’s a method that works, but it’s getting tired.
Look at the wording. What captures your attention?
Example time….
Let’s suppose you were looking to buy some “Greenies” chew treats for dogs. You head over to Google, type in “Greenies chews,” and then your eyes fall to the paid ads at the top and on the right side of the page.
You’ll see ads like this (these are the top five ads currently running on the right side of the page):
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Do any of them capture your attention? What would motivate you to click?
Basically they’re all trying to draw people in by telling them they can save money. Buyers get savings, or they get free shipping, or they get discounted shipping, or they get “bargain prices.”
The ads are about the same. The person looking for Greenies would likely scan those ads and choose the one that most appealed to her (e.g., maybe she’s a sucker for free shipping).
The good folks running those ads probably all get clicks and conversions, so they’re making money.
But let me ask you this…
Let’s suppose you were in the market for these Greenies, and you saw the five ads from above plus one more that looked something like this:
Beware of Greenies…
The Terrifying Story of How
Greenies Almost Killed These Dogs
www.TruthAboutGreenies.com
Which ad would you click? Would you click one that promised discounted prices or free shipping? Or would you click the ad that suggests that Greenies could kill your dog?
That’s right, you’d probably click the “Beware of Greenies” ad. That ad would be extremely hard to ignore amongst the other relatively boring same ol’, same ol’ ads.
I made up that example, although you really could have a headline similar to that.
Greenies were in the news some time ago as possibly being dangerous to dogs. Maybe they took the “bad” ones off the market, in which case your landing page could say that. Or maybe you can recommend a better alternative. Either way, even though this is just an example, it’s NOT a misleading title since there are documented cases of dogs almost dying because of Greenies.
So, being different certainly have your content stand out from the crowd.
Therefore…
Be different.
Tags: be different, success
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June 3rd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
I get stuck in this rut all of the time. It’s always the same advice: put stuff like “free shipping” in your ad copy.
I read once that bidding on cancellation/refund keywords led to decent sales, because people are curious about that stuff right before they buy a product.
June 3rd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
A very interesting article with excellent points.
Be Different.
June 4th, 2008 at 1:18 am
Yes, its true that we have to be different instead to make a new character.
I hope can make a lot differences after read this post.
Thanks.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:08 am
Yes, it nice to be different and stand out from the crowd. One need to understand the market, is competitors and invetigate the market to know what is miising and how to package is product and make it unique.
June 4th, 2008 at 9:09 am
7 Yummy Greenies Recipies for your Dog =)
Thank you My Friend for the reminder and advice =)
June 4th, 2008 at 9:27 am
Well I get your point but I tell you the truth, I don’t like this kind of advertising. Though I surely would check the site to read what about the dangers of greenies, I would never buy there, because of this behaviour.
June 4th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
Man this is exactly what I have been looking for! I want to make money online but i couldn’t see how I could avoid being another adsense clone. Thanks!
June 4th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I read once that bidding on cancellation/refund keywords led to decent sales, because people are curious about that stuff right before they buy a product.
nice works.
June 4th, 2008 at 6:04 pm
A USP is incredibly important for any niche but for highly competitive niches especially.
I have seen ads that say “dont buy XXX” and I’ll admit to having clicked the ad even though I wasn’t in the market.
Its up to the landing page to convert. The ad needs to draw attention, be appealing, and be honest.
I have used >> characters ( » )with good results in snippet titles instead of the typical dash or vertical bar.
June 5th, 2008 at 7:46 am
This is very consistent with the proven facts that advertising that identifies “pain” and offers a solution for it tends to be more effective than ads that appeal to “pleasure”.
June 5th, 2008 at 8:29 am
Thanks for the responses guys!
@Reverse Mergers
I hear you. And can feel your aversion. Just try another approach to be different.
But read Mark’s and Pole Buildings’ comment first. You may want to reconsider.
If you still feel the same, just don’t use it. This was only an example and there are plenty of alternatives.
June 7th, 2008 at 12:25 am
Hmm..i should try to use extremes a bit more in my ads. I guess im pretty happy with my cpc for my keywords with my adwords campaigns so i never considered altering the ads. But i guess i could always get better rates!
June 7th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I really like this topic and agree with you. In my idustry which is online t shirts, a company is selling loads of shirts and uses the shock and awe approach when it comes to advertising. That is the key to their success but they have the offensive t shirts to back up the strategy.
June 11th, 2008 at 9:26 am
The basic point you make is sound. It’s great to get people thinking about more imaginative use of Adwords copy - and it’s a real discipline saying something eye-catching in 35 characters (I used to write headlines in a tabloid newspaper and it’s a similar thing). However, I’m not sure that dog lovers would enjoy this particular example!
Mark
June 12th, 2008 at 7:29 am
Great post. I’ve been thinking about taking this approach when writing my ads but for some reason I still haven’t moved forward it. It’s almost as if I’ve gotten so used to the standard way of writing ads that changing it up is sub-consciously freaking me out! lol
But I definitely am going to try this with my sites that I have PPC campaigns for soon
June 12th, 2008 at 8:31 am
Nice post! I’ve done a bit of writing on U.S.P., too.
Actually, one of the ebooks I ghostwrote for someone was U.S.P. focused, designed to help the reader “become famous.” Can’t say I tried it myself, though.
June 12th, 2008 at 10:23 am
It is important to stand out of the clatter and the noise but it is equally important to make sure you make the right noises at the right time to ensure that your existing and prospective customers always feel at home with the services/ products you serve, one of the important ways to stand out is your customer service, remember DHL they create a sense of being with their customers all the time by answering their phones within 10 secs that is what it means standing out of the crowd .
June 20th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I appreciate the advice. I try to write copy that would attract me as a buyer — and I’m interested in the “cancelation/refund” policies — so that is an approach I’ll definately adopt.
June 24th, 2008 at 8:27 pm
That idea while it sounded wrong at first. (like evil not wrong wouldn’t work) Is the same damn thing they do on the news. They’ll give you some crappie teaser and expect you to wait around through the commercials for more.
Never thought about applying that to ads. Smart.
June 25th, 2008 at 11:08 pm
Amazing thoughts. Seriously your have chosen a right title for your post. Your post is truly deserve it.