Write From "Me" to "You"

By Michael Q. Pink

They say the only thing constant is change. Certainly with respect to business or the economy that seems to be true. Right now the economy is teetering along a razor's edge while staring some pretty significant threats in the face. America has stared plenty of threats down in the past but as these ones dissipate or come to pass, we will find a way to carry on.

In the midst of uncertainty, there are always those who find a way to prosper. I want to tell you about one such person who not only is prospering but is helping otherwise fledgling or mediocre businesses actually multiply their revenues during a down economy that is full of uncertainty. In fact when my good friend David Johnson told me about Becki the florist and how using his latest strategies actually quadrupled her revenues in the first quarter of 2010, I had to learn more. What he shared with me is something I want to share with you.

I have asked David to host a webinar with me on Tuesday, July 6th at 9:00 PM Eastern Time. You won't want to miss it. He will be sharing some highly practical ways to significantly and rapidly grow your revenues and they really work! To help reacquaint you with David, I have asked him to share some of his marketing wisdom with you in the next few blogs. I hope you enjoy them and I invite you to register for next Tuesday's webinar when we make the details available in the next blog. Now, here's David…

David G. Johnson, Founder Epiphany Marketing, LLC

Write From "Me" to "You"
I have a shocking revelation for you: Your future customers don't care about you.

That's right. I said it. I'll say it again.

They don't care about you.

Why then, is so much of our marketing material all about us?

When we put it so bluntly as this, it seems so obvious. But somehow we get stupid when it's time to create the ad, write the e-mail, or put the content together for the website. And we make a massive blunder: we make it all about us.

Your audience only cares about themselves. They're incredibly selfish. But who can blame them? They're busy. They have things to think about. Stuff to do. If you don't answer the question right off the bat:

What's in it for me?

…you'll lose 'em faster than a 2-year-old watching C-SPAN.

So… one way you do it, is talk to them about them. Put a picture of your best customer in front of you (a person, not a company) and write to them as if he or she were the only human being on the planet.

This means you use a lot of words like

• you,
• your, and
• yours,

and not much of

• we,
• us,
• ours,
• they,
• them, or
• theirs.

What About Writing in the 3rd Person?
If there's a faster way to put an audience to sleep, I'm not sure what it is. So… just for the record: don't do it.
Now of course there are exceptions to every rule. But remember: effective marketing is about starting or cultivating a relationship. This happens one person at a time. It happens one-on-one with your marketing–whether you're speaking to an enormous crowd or sitting across your prospect's desk. You would never talk about your company or yourself in the 3rd person while face to face, would you?

This might seem like a subtle nuance. But I guarantee you that if you keep in mind the end goal (the relationship) and you intentionally incorporate the "me to you" approach, you will get significantly better response.

Up next in this series: "So What?!"