🐰Marketers being too timid?

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Morning, good people. 

If I see one more LinkedIn post with the AI-written line, “It’s not ____— it’s a ____,” my head might pop right off. AI makes folks sound like a broken record without a lick of writing ability. 

With that off my chest, today’s Feature Story shows you’re likely not being aggressive enough in your marketing. It includes a lady I know who goes after prospects like a dog on a bone. 

After that Feature Story, you can sift through the following sections: 

• The Knowledge Base  

• Self Help (idea overwhelm) 

• Facts & Stats (RTO, really?)  

• Get Hacking  (truthy data) 

Ok, let’s crack open today’s Feature Story…

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Feature Story

Being Too Timid in Your Marketing?

Everyone worries about being too aggressive with their marketing and sales tactics. 

Except sociopaths, I guess. 

The truth is, though, most marketers and salespeople are not aggressive enough. 

For example, they write 50 good articles aimed at lifting their Google ranking with SEO. But hardly ever point out why their company is the best choice for helping the reader with their problems. 

They stick one call-to-action at the end of each article. And that’s all. 

Pretty timid. Each article should be sprinkled with details on why the company is the go-to option for the reader for products and services. 

Their unique selling proposition should be sold inside the article!

Your reader isn’t going to be offended by you telling them…

• Your company has a 4.8-star rating on BBB and Google.

• You’ve been serving people for 17 years.

• That your brand pays for single moms to go to college. 

Be aggressive. Tell them. Be like Kate…

“I Want People to Say No.”

Kate must’ve been a bulldog in a past life because she really does say, “I want people to say no,” when she asks them to donate to a non-profit she volunteers at.

She likes the challenge. Loves it, matter of fact. 

Is she too aggressive with her tactics, such as…

• Telling vs. asking big business leaders to donate?

• Hitting up a business three times in one week?

• Publicly calling out a fella who failed to donate what he promised?

Yeah, probably overboard. But I admire the tenacity. Most salespeople walk around terrified to hear the word “No.”

Kate can’t wait to hear it. Pretty sure she has sweet dreams about hearing it. While the person on the other side of the table has nightmares about her. 

Maybe that’s why they give in and give Kate whatever she asks for. 

Easier that way. Since she’ll keep coming back like the Terminator, they might as well say yes the first time. 

That’s the point. Being overly timid with marketing and sales efforts makes it easy for prospects to say no. Or to say “I’ll get back to you.” 

Why wouldn’t they?

There’s no worry in their mind that timid people will even follow up. Ever.

Kate’s cut from a different cloth, though. Sure, she believes in the non-profit’s mission. But, without me knowing her backstory, she must’ve been in sales before she retired. 

Or maybe she’s just a natural born killer. 

• Unafraid to offend people.

• Unafraid of the word “no.”

• Unafraid of being labeled too aggressive. 

She’d love that label. If she knew I was writing this about her, she’d be tickled pink.

But, I get it…

Not everyone can be a Kate. You have to stick to what feels natural. You can’t force yourself to be a bulldog.

I’m with you there. 

However, you should consider dialing up your aggressiveness 20% at least. Here’s why.

There’s another “Kate” out there with your prospects on her radar. 

Prospects you’re trying to sell your widget to in a webinar. People you’re targeting with your SEO articles. That other Kate will get them to say yes to her instead of you. 

What she lacks in subtlety or friendliness, she’ll make up for in aggressiveness and single-mindedness. She will get the “yes” you’re looking for. 

Unless you can swipe some of her mindset. Just a bit.

Alright, onward to The Knowledge Base, starting with the cheapest marketing tricks.

Self-Help

Lack of ideas is a problem for most folks. An ocean of ideas afflicts far fewer.

There are lots of ways to get new ideas. Not as many tips out there for avoiding slowdowns in real work due to distracting ideas.

One tip I need to restart is to jot down cool ideas that pop in my head. At the end of the day, put the truly good ones in Trello and throw the paper away. It gets ideas out of my brain quickly so I can move on with work that pays the bills.

Facts & Stats

Bonus: How many companies will be fully in-person by year’s end? Answer at end of email.

Get Hacking

A specific strategy to implement today

Today’s hack requires dusting off your thinking cap. 

There are tons of ways to use data (and create content around it). But we’re all too eager to accept data at face value. 

What if we thought hard about widely accepted data? Surely, we’d find holes in the info and unique angles to help us as marketers and biz owners. 

Lots of “truthy” sounding “facts” out there. For instance, everyone believes Craigslist is what killed off thousands of newspapers. 

Not fully true, if you look at data from decades before Craigslist arrived. Newspapers had a hey-day and it passed. They got lazy and too dependent on classifieds. That’s the real story, but I would’ve never known if I hadn’t been doing research about the founder of Craigslist (for an edition of Inbox Hacking).

So, stress-test widely accepted facts and stats. See if they’re true or just sound true. 

An example to get you going→ Test any AI claim that comes out. Since all the fanboys-n-girls are parroting AI companies’ talking points, that gives you a shot to create helpful counterpoints after you take time to test claims that 99% of creators will not.

Thanks for reading Inbox Hacking. Please share it with your peeps - it’s sugar-free but stings a bit.

Shane McLendon - Copy Kingpin

Bonus answer from Facts & Stats section: Only 27% of companies will be fully in-person by year’s end. That means pure, old-school office life is now the minority. ~Founder Reports

“It pains me to see good entrepreneurs chase bad opportunities.” ~ Kevin O'Leary of Shark Tank