Competing for Mental Bandwidth

"People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel." -- Maya Angelou Words don't matter as much as how you make your readers feel. Pretty wild hearing that from a guy who writes for a living, right? It's true. The most important aspect of powerful copy is the layout, flow, and feeling it creates. And in today's episode, you're going to learn my step-by-step process of crafting killer copy. If you hate writing, suck at writing, or are slow at writing, my step-by-step process will help you power through copy projects that will make your readers crave more.

People are overstimulated and bombarded with marketing messages everywhere they go. Capturing and keeping attention is a battle, and the days of poetic prose are gone. Be brief. Cut to the chase. Deliver the most concise message as possible. In today's Episode, we're dissecting real world scenarios as we dive into the art of simplicity.

My wife and I were strolling our downtown when we saw this ad in the window of a jewelry shop. Living in a town whose primary industry is tourism, we see a lot of ads, but this one was different. It stopped us both in our tracks. It read, "Long-Term Wife Insurance" and was accompanied by a photo of a diamond ring (see www.brainhickey.com/podast - Episode 25 for a picture of the ad). We cracked up laughing. Five months later, I'm bringing my wedding ring there to get resized. In today's Episode, you'll learn the psychology of why this ad worked (and the other one in their window), and how to maximize the real estate of your media to tell powerful, memorable stories that capture and keep attention.

This weekend I got a message on LinkedIn. It was from Angel. Angel is a Podcast listener and a connection of mine on LinkedIn. We've been sharing book recommendations, resources, and exchanging pretty regular messages on LinkedIn recently. A month or so ago, Angel sent me an Audible book. It blew me away. And this weekend, he asked for my mailing address to send me a print book in July. Funny thing is, I've never even met Angel in person, and he's my most memorable connection on LinkedIn. As I'm sitting there reading his LinkedIn message on Saturday night, I started to think about all the past gifts and appreciation gestures I've received over the years. I remembered them in great detail and have shared their impact with my circle of friends, colleagues, and clients. It got me thinking, "Customer appreciation gifts sure do leave a brain hickey!" And that's what this week's Podcast is all about. The power of a customer appreciation gift to leave a long-lasting impression, create brand loyalty and generate buzz around your business.

As I'm recording this Podcast a mule deer walked up to my window to say hi. Talk about timing... (picture below). Back to episode details. There is no better feeling than buying something that makes you smile. The joy, bliss, and excitement you feel erase any concerns about money. Remember that last check you got at a restaurant when you went a little overboard on food and drink, but the service was stellar? You probably laughed and happily laid down your credit card. But the bargain meal you ate with sub-par service...? Talk about regretting going out to eat. Same money. Different experience. When you're smiling, you just want to buy more. It's natural. In today's episode, I share personal stories and brand examples showing you how to turn smiles into sales.

In today's episode, we'll explore why none of the email marketing statistics, tips, and tricks are relevant. All that matters is your list, your audience, your credibility as a sender, and the data that you collect. I'll share some stories about how I tried to use the latest tactics and failed. What worked? Experimentation and exploration. I'll show you how I do it and give you some pointers to revitalize your email campaigns.

Modern marketing has sparked an obsession with "reach" and "impressions." As if that's the primary metric that matters. In today's episode, I dissect many falsities of modern marketing in order to refine our focus on the ONLY impression that truly matters.

Modern consumers have become savvy to the marketing tactics used to capture attention and make sales. Nearly anyone can launch a company online, buy Facebook advertising, and start showing up in the newsfeed of thousands of people within hours. This has led to an inherent distrust of online companies. Consumers start to question, "Are they credible? How long have they been around? Who is behind this company?" Many companies combat this inherent distrust by positioning themselves using ridiculously strong claims about their product or service. Consumers are responding with even more trepidation. In today's episode, I'll be exploring the modern (savvy) consumer's response to current marketing trends and showing you techniques to authentically engage with your audience.

Ever notice that a keynote speaker is always introduced by someone else? It'd be a little weird if he personally rattled off his accomplishments... but someone else doing it seems to build credibility and social proof. It's no different with marketing your business. You can make all the claims you want, but they only carry so much weight. The minute your customer says the same thing it becomes true. People believe it. This is the power of social proof. In today's episode, I'll be sharing stories, facts, and simple practices to transform your online reviews into marketing assets.

Sensory overload. It's what nearly all of us experience everyday day. We subconsciously disconnect from the non-stop bombardment of relentless marketing messages that appear nearly everywhere we look. As a marketer or entrepreneur, we need to compete for mental bandwidth (which is constantly dwindling in our fast-paced world). In this episode, I explore key strategies to join the dialogue that is already going on in the prospect's mind.