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It’s Friday and we’ve no time to lollygag. Or maybe, lollygagging would be the best use of our time? We’ll never know because…

The Main Thing is coming right at ya today as we answer a key question.

Are people stupider today than in the past? And if so, what it means for marketing. I’ve got two examples you’ve prolly never thought about, but they show just how much hand-holding people need with marketing content these days.

Also on tap, a few new tools in the Wrap-Up section. Let’s kick off a quick poll then get after it…

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The Main Thing

Marketers Have to Baby-step Audiences

It took me a long time to give in to this philosophy.

But finally I’ve realized it’s best to do lots of hand-holding with content I put out (though I’ll never go all in because the folks who read my stuff have common sense).

See, people in your audience who already know the basics of what you’re discussing can skip over the baby-step parts. People who don’t have a grasp of the basics will be lost, so they’re guaranteed to give up and click away from your content. 

Better to write or record content that covers the seemingly obvious parts. 

I made the following index card to remind myself of that… 

In case it ain’t obvious, I don’t know everything. But, like you, I know way too much about some things.

So much, that it bores me to cover some topics. Worse, it blinds me to the thousands of folks who lack certain knowledge and could benefit from me sharing the basics. 

What’s obvious to you is not always obvious to your audience. The following two examples make that clear.

Please Come Back, Captain Obvious 

Ever noticed the orange cones beside a giant semi-truck in a parking lot?

The tiny orange cones are meant to keep other drivers from crashing their cars into the big rig truck.

Yet, if an 18-wheeler, that’s taller than a basketball goal, and longer than a whale shark is NOT OBVIOUS to other drivers, what good is a small orange cone going to do!

Makes me mad.

However. That’s the point. Drivers do crash into giant semi-trucks that are sitting perfectly still in parking lots in broad daylight. 

So these trucks' sheer size and obviousness are NOT enough. If they were enough, the trucking companies wouldn’t bother buying millions of orange cones. And they wouldn’t have training for truck drivers to properly use cones 100% of the time.

2nd  Example (Guilty)

You may be guilty of this one, just like me.

I lost count of how many times I walked up and asked a needless question at a business’ service desk.

All I had to do was pause to notice an obvious sign in plain view on the door or at the desk. 

But for a hundred reasons, I did not. I bothered the poor staff member with a question they get hundreds of times a month… or they would not have posted a giant sign!

I’m as stupider 😉 as any moron around. 

This sign example is just another piece of evidence that what we think should be obvious to the person we’re writing or speaking to, might not be obvious. 

So, the only way to be sure your message is effective is to use baby-steps. Explain the basics.

And yeah, this depends on where segments of your audience are in the customer journey. Since I’m out of time, not focused on that topic today, and sick of talking about customer journeys, we’ll stop here 😁— and move on to This Week’s Marketing Wrap-Up…

Please share Inbox Hacking with a fellow marketing genius or business owner. I appreciate you reading and sharing. 

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin.

"One hundred years from now, the idea is still going to be more important than all the technology in the world." ~Bill Bernbach (Ad genius behind VW Bug)

Those notable CEO exits & questionable decisions…

John Sculley (Apple, 1993)

Sculley, recruited from PepsiCo, pushed Steve Jobs out in 1985, then got forced out himself in 1993 after Apple’s profits plummeted, partly due to failed products like the Newton. However, he was ousted mainly over a dispute about licensing Macintosh software, and Apple’s financial struggles under his leadership are well documented.

Ron Johnson (J.C. Penney, 2013)

Johnson’s radical overhaul, eliminating sales in favor of “everyday low prices,” alienated core customers and led to a 32% drop in same-store sales and a 46% stock decline. He was fired after just 17 months due to disastrous results.

Marissa Mayer (Yahoo, 2017)

Mayer’s tenure was marked by expensive acquisitions (notably Tumblr) that failed to turn Yahoo around. She cut thousands of jobs, but Yahoo’s decline continued, leading to its sale to Verizon and her exit with a substantial package.

Dov Charney (American Apparel, 2014)

Charney was fired “for cause” after an internal investigation into alleged misconduct, including harassment and misuse of company assets. His erratic management style and legal troubles contributed to his ouster.

Scott Thompson (Yahoo, 2012)

Thompson resigned after it was revealed he had falsified his academic records, claiming a computer science degree he didn’t have.