Are You a Passive Advertiser?

by Pamela Geiss)

What kind of a marketer are you? There are many ways to advertise. Some we are very familiar with, such as hype. There is a LOT of hype on the Internet. And I'm not going to tell you that hype doesn't sell, because it does. You see it on TV every day. Someone yelling outrageous claims. And some people respond to that type of advertising. It moves fast and furious and tries to get to you through your emotions, hoping you will act BEFORE you have the chance to think it over. There are many infomercials that work this way. All of a sudden before you know it, you are caught up in the excitement of it all. And it works! But just because it works, is it really the way to go about it? Many businesses think so. They are looking at numbers. The more sales they bring in, the better the ad was, in their opinion. But if you did a study, how many of those who bought came back to the same place to buy again? How many were really satisfied with their purchase? Just because there were no returns, or few returns, is no indication that a customer was satisfied with his/her purchase. Many people just don't bother to ask for their money back, for one reason or another. The real "proof in the pudding" is how many of the customers refer their friends to that business? How many of them come back to make another purchase? The businesses who will ultimately survive are the ones who have repeat customers. Most companies who do infomercials aren't concerned with repeat buyers. Many of them offer one product that doesn't lend itself to repeat buying. So for them, hype works. I have always been of the opinion that if it takes hype to sell it, it isn't worth much. If you have a good product, you don't need to hype to sell it. And after a few customers buy, they will help to do a lot of selling for you by referring your services to others and by coming back to you to buy again. When you resort to hype to sell your product, you exaggerate what your product does, and in doing so, you will find customers who are not satisfied once they buy your product. Why? Because you made it sound better than it is and they expected more from it than they got. You may even find that you have a lot of returns to deal with. Returns will also be a factor if you "push" your customers into buying. Infomercials also work this way. "Buy within the next 10 minutes and you'll not only get this, but this and this, too!" Buy today and you'll get this special price only available today." When I have a sale on my site, I put the end date on it, so you know for sure it's a true sale and not a "push" to get you to buy today. Some sites say, "Buy today. Sales ends today." And they give a date, but if you bookmark it and go back tomorrow, you will see that the sale ends tomorrow. That's what a good software program will do for you. Just remember, if it's good, it will still be there tomorrow. Spend some time checking it out. Talk to others who have used it. When you are honest with your customers, they will appreciate it and learn that you are a person of your word. My Dad once said to me, "Your word is the most important thing you have. Never promise anything you can't deliver." Advertising is the same thing. Never promise anything you can't deliver. Let your product sell for you. You can get them to your site without hyping them: try different ads until you get one that is getting results; buy guaranteed visitors; advertise in different places. Then let your site sell for you. Don't hype your potential customers - be a passive advertiser.