I’ve just finished a marathon session of Grey’s Anatomy, the medical drama.
Over the past few months, I’ve watched 13 whole seasons – that’s hundreds of episodes.
Hey, they don’t call it binge watching for nothing ☺
The problem is, when you watch that many episodes, they all start to blend into each other.
The medical emergencies all start to look similar… The dramas experienced by the main characters seem interchangable….
And it becomes clear that really, every episode is pretty much the same plot with different details. Someone always needs surgery… Something always goes wrong…. There’s always a couple getting together or breaking up.
It’s the same for virtually every television drama.
And there’s a lot you can learn from this if you’re marketing your business online.
If you want to send your email subscribers and social media audience the same key messages again and again without seeming really boring or sounding like you have nothing new to say, here’s a useful trick.
Think of yourself as a TV script-writer, who has to produce the same show week in, week out….. Keeping the same familiar elements the audience loves (or in your case, needs to hear), but changing the details.
In your case, you’re promoting the same product, service, course, webinar, event or piece of content….
But each time, tackle it from a different angle.
Here are five ways to do it – there are many!
1. Talk about the problems you solve.
List all the challenges your audience have in their lives right now that your offer helps solve.
Typically, your offer will solve one major problem, and many others your customers may not have considered.
For example, a bodyweight exercise programme from a personal trainer solves the problem of not having equipment to exercise with.
It also solves problems like:
- The guilt of paying for a gym membership and not using it
- Needing to exercise anywhere and at any time
- Failing to build healthy fitness habits that last a lifetime
- Not being able to maintain a healthy weight
Each of these is an email / email sequence / Blog post / social media update / eBook / video in its own right…..
Yet they can all lead to the exact same solution.
2. Talk about the benefits
What difference will this product, service or piece of content make to the life of your customer?
Does it save time or money, reduce stress, help them achieve a life-goal, teach them a new skill, or something else?
There are probably lots of different benefits you could highlight, each serving as the basis of a different campaign. Dangle those carrots……
3. Case studies
What success stories do you have from existing customers?
People love hearing about real people, just like them, who experienced similar problems but managed to solve them.
They connect to their hopes, fears and dreams, and start imagining themselves going through a similar process.
So emphasize the human interest angle.
From your point of view, it’s a great way to demonstrate value and show how your offer makes a difference in real life, while letting someone else (your customer) do the selling….
You can appeal to people’s logic and sceptics by showing measurable results comparing before/after scenarios, and appeal to people’s emotions by showing how your customers felt once you made a difference to their lives.
4. Go negative.
What alternative solutions has your audience tried that don’t work? Why don’t they work?
What will happen in their lives if they don’t take action now and buy your offer?
Going negative is the opposite of dangling carrots. It uses the ‘stick’ to jolt the reader into taking action.
Talk to your readers about the mistakes they’re making with their current approach, and help them visualise the future they don’t want….
Then lead them to your offer, so they get the future they do want.
5. Isolate different parts of your content / offer.
Break down your offer into different parts, and focus on them.
For example, if you’re promoting an eBook with several chapters, don’t just promote the whole eBook and again.
Think about the sub-themes in the guide, and structure campaigns and emails around them, too.
Or, let’s say you are promoting an offer where you deliver several different services. Yes, you could – and should – talk about the package as a whole.
But several months later, zero in on one of the more minor services that’s included – and write about that, promoting the offer again in a totally fresh way.
See how it works?
Just like the TV producer, you’re taking the same material, but constantly repackaging it.
The pressure to constantly think of new ideas goes away, and your marketing becomes more consistent too.
Do this right, and hopefully your show will run and run ☺
