10 Common and Effective Emotional Triggers to Boost Your Copywriting

My latest article for Entrepreneur.com has been published.  This time, I explain how appealing to consumers’ emotional triggers can make your copywriting more effective, which is something I go into in greater detail in my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps.

You can follow the link to read my article on the Entrepreneur website: 10 Common and Effective Emotional Triggers.

PETA Launches Distasteful Tiger Woods Ad

I’ve written about my disliking of PETA’s marketing strategies in the past (you can read those posts here, here and here).  This week, PETA launched a new billboard ad that truly takes the cake in terms of being downright distasteful.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard about Tiger Woods’ infidelity.  PETA seems to have decided that Tiger Woods’ family problems is the perfect fodder for a new billboard, which will be rolled out in Tiger’s own town, Windermere, Florida right where he, his wife, and his children (albeit to young to read, but that’s not really the point) can see it.  You can check it out below.

According to Virginia Fort, a PETA campaigner involved in the ad’s creation, the billboard ad is, “a fun, tongue-in-cheek approach. … We’re sure Tiger will appreciate our attempt — from a story that’s distracted the world and followed Tiger — to turn it into something positive for little tigers.” (via The Orlando Sentinel)

I think that’s the worst attempt at justification I’ve heard in a long time.  I wonder if Tiger Woods will sue, and I wonder how many people PETA will offend with this “tongue-in-cheek” ad.  What do you think?

5 Most Listened to Podcasts in 2009

Anna Farmery of The Engaging Brand blog and podcast published a list of the 5 most listened to podcasts that she hosted in 2009, and I’m happy to announce that one of the podcasts that I particpated in with Anna ranked at the top of the list.

In this particular podcast, I spoke with Anna about my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, and the craft of creating compelling and effective marketing communications.  You can listen to my podcast here.

Check out the list of the top 5 podcasts on The Engaging Brand in 2009 below.  There are some great discussions!

1. Susan Gunelius with Tips on Business Writing
2. Sydney Finkelstein on Why Good Leaders Make Bad Decisions
3. Costas Kataras on Are we facing the death of the brand
4. Roz Savage on Facing the Fear
5. Roy Spence on Its not what you sell
   

Also, check out Anna’s blog for a list of the top 5 podcasts on The Engaging Brand of all time for more great conversations!

10 Reasons Your Marketing Messages Stink

My latest article is live on Entrepreneur.com.  It’s called 10 Reasons Your Marketing Messages Stink, and I look at the craft of writing effective copy from a different perspective than you might be used to.

You can check it out here.

What do you think is the main reason marketing copy is ineffective?  Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

Mercedes E-Class Ad Copy – ‘Butt’ of Critics’ Jokes

One of the points I stress in my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, is the importance of writing copy that speaks to your target audience.  If your audience doesn’t ‘get’ your copy or it doesn’t speak directly to them in a language they understand, appreciate, and relate to, then your ad won’t drive the sales you need from it.  Case in point — the new Mercedes E-Class print ads shown below.

Ad #1 Copy Reads: “Superfect. The E-Class Coupe. It deserves a whole new language.”

Ad #2 Copy Reads: “Fabuttractive. The E-Class Coupe. It deserves a whole new language.”

The problems with this copy are two-fold:

First, how many Mercedes customers would be motivated by the pre-teen, Valley Girl (okay, I’m dating myself there) language used in this copy?  Who is the target audience for these ads?  How many of them would be positively influenced by the word “superfect” or “fabuttastic”?  And would they want to be associated with a product and brand that is linked to those words?  It’s doubtful.

Second, the glaring inclusion of ‘butt’ within the word ‘fabuttastic’ is hard not to notice.  It’s almost laughable and is a great example of another point I make in my book – always show your copy to many people before you approve it.  While the creative team behind this ad may not have noticed the word-within-a-word subliminal message, many advertising critics have.  I don’t think many brands like Mercedes want to see the word ‘butt’ in such close proximity to their products and brands.

I’m just saying.

Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success

My latest article on Entrepreneur.com is called Create Loyal Brand Advocates – 7 Steps to Advertising Success.

In the article, I discuss the seven steps that businesses need to understand and follow in order to develop a long term, successful brand building strategy supported by effective marketing communications.  Follow the link above to read the complete article.

Read more marketing and branding articles by Susan Gunelius.

5 Myths that Can Kill Your Marketing Copy

Do you know the 5 myths that can destroy your advertising or marketing messages?  Find out what they are and how to avoid them in my new article on Entrepreneur.com.  Follow the link to read the 5 Myths that Can Kill Your Marketing Copy.

Are there any other myths you’d add to the list?

I’m Not a Doctor but I Play One On TV

Remember that phrase from the mid-1980s Vicks 44 commercials — “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV.”

There were two versions of that commmercial that I recall – both with soap opera actors (a quick web search reminded me the actors were Peter Bergman of All My Children and Chris Robinson of General Hospital). Both actors said that famous line, “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV,” and consumers everywhere were expected to think that acting like a doctor on a soap opera gave them some kind of special authority to recommend an over the counter cough medicine. Looking back, the only surprising thing was that it worked.

Do you think a similar direct claim like that would work with today’s more jaded and less gullible consumer audience?  If an actor from a soap opera used that famous line today, would consumers listen or would they laugh? 

Marketing messages have had to change a lot over the past 20 years to keep up with changing consumers.  Take a look at your current marketing and ad campaigns.  Are you speaking to consumers like it’s 1986 or 2009?

Win a Copy of “Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps”

Last week, Deb Ng, owner of the leading online community for freelance writes, Freelance Writing Jobs, published a review of my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps.  This week, she is offering a signed copy of my book through a giveaway on her blog. 

You can read the contest rules and enter here. 

Good luck!

Kick-Ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps Reviewed by Deb Ng of Freelance Writing Jobs

Deb Ng of the number one online community for freelance writers, Freelance Writing Jobs, published a review of my book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, this week.  In a nutshell, she liked it!

It’s a great write up, and you can read it here.

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