If a tree falls in the forest, does anyone care? If your content has no consumers, what's the point? The first step in content marketing and demand generation is getting people's attention. Without that, you have no readers, no viewers, no visitors, no leads, no marketing qualified leads and no customers. Nada. For emails, it's opens. For ads and calls to action, it's clicks. There has to be a motivation on the part of the viewer to do something, and if your content is ignored, there is no chance of getting any kind of conversion. So we should be working hardest on the opening line—the attention-getter, right? But what's the catch? The catch is that we get attention-getting stuff shoved in our faces 24-7-365. We're used to the bold headlines, the free stuff and the last chances at salvation. We're immune to all of it. So what's a marketer to do?
The simplest approach that works well, according to a lot of marketing gurus, is to appeal to your audience's primary senses and emotions using key words in your headlines and subject lines.
Do these tactics work? It depends on how they are used. The trick is to be just a little bit over-the-top but still believable. Here are a couple of examples:
"Top 10 Killer Tactics for SEO That Will Skyrocket Your Website Search Rankings"
"The Truth About SEO - 10 Game-Changing Strategies"
Now for me, I probably wouldn't open either email or click through on an ad, but the first one is worse because it's too over-the-top. The word "killer" is overused and it sounds like total BS to claim any set of tactics will skyrocket your search rankings these days. Granted, some people still believe this is possible, so there will be some takers. The second headline, while still a bit hyped, sounds more genuine, like there could be some useful information I might not know yet. Not everyone has my instincts and sensibilities, though, so an A/B test would be in order.
While I don't completely discount the use of emotional language to get people's attention, I wouldn't go to the well too often. We get this stuff in our email, social networks, texts and blogs all the time, so we have learned to immediately discard most marketing messages. What I would recommend is attempting to make a real connection through some common ground, for example:
Finally, it's crucial to dot the i's and cross the t's. Proofread every bit of copy and make sure there are no typos, grammar flubs or formatting errors; people will bounce immediately when they see those. Also, make sure all of your communications are branded and attractively designed.
The key to getting attention nowadays is being someone people want to hear from and delivering something of value. Focus on those two things, and your conversion rates will skyrocket!
Photo credit: 16 Miles of String
With over 30 years of business and marketing experience, John loves to blog about ideas and trends that challenge inbound marketers and sales and marketing executives. John has a unique way of blending truth with sarcasm and passion with wit. Connect with John via Twitter, LinkedIn or Google Plus.
