Poppermost Communications

Yeah, I said it: You’re WASTING some (or in some cases, all) of your advertising budget. Hundreds, thousands, or maybe even (gulp!) tens of thousands of dollars are just being flushed away every month, by companies large and small, and it’s all down to one reason:

The content sucks.

Spending money to drive customers and potential customers to content that just flat-out sucks is insane, but people do it every day. They buy online banners, direct emailers, pay-per-click ads. . .and then they link to content that is mis-targeted, jargony, poorly written, or painfully boring.

Back when Don Draper ruled Madison Avenue, advertisers had a better chance to win over customers because everything was static, linear—and delivered in hardcopy format. In the 21^st century however, we only have a few seconds to capture a prospect’s attention with landing page copy before they click away. So it had better be good. And by good, I mean GREAT.

And how to get great copy? Well, part of it is (ahem) having a great writer at your disposal, of course. But another tool in your utility belt should be what I fondly call The Crap Device (CRPDVC). When your content can pass through The Crap Device unscathed, it’s just about customer-ready. Here are the parameters:

• Crisp – Keep it simple; wordy is ugly and time-consuming!
• Resonant – Is this something they will remember after they’ve read it—for the RIGHT reasons?
• Provocative – It’s OK to make ‘em think a bit; challenge the industry standard!
• Distinctive – Is your brand voice coming through loud and clear?
• Valuable – Does it prove you understand and can solve their problem?
• Compelling – Make it clear what you want them to do—and why they should do it!

So before you make your next ad buy, put your landing page copy through The Crap Device. If it comes out the other end smelling like the back of Heidi Klum’s neck on date night, you can bet that you’re gonna score—with your customers, that is.