By Gary Christensen
My son and I were watching TV on Wednesday night and at 9 p.m. "Star Trek, Voyager" was just starting. They ran about five minutes of the show and then they cut away to run the titles, listing the names of the actors and then they went to some commercials.
My son asked, "Why'd they do that? How come they showed us part of the program, then they stopped it and showed us some ads?"
I tried to explain to him that it's what they do today, to get us "hooked." They show us just a few minutes of the new program and then they run the ads and then they continue with the program. Those first few minutes are "The Hook."
If you've ever been to an old carnival, where they have "The Side Show" you know that they usually bring out a few of the people from inside to perform free for you, to get you interested enough to pay your money, to get inside, to see the entire show! They figure it's just good advertising to give you a bit of a "Look" at what you'll see on the Inside. They'll give you a Free "Look," but just enough to make you willing to pay the admission price to get in.
What did they do? They "Laid the Hook." They hope you'll convince yourself to pay your way in and once you're hooked (and have "taken the bait"), you're ready to be reeled in.
Why do car dealers give you the keys and tell you to "take it for a spin?' They know that once you've driven that new car, and seen for yourself how it handles and how it feels and you've had a chance to think about what your friends will say when they see your new car, that you've taken the Hook and you're almost ready to buy the new car!
Why do you have to sit through three or four "previews" at a theater before the movie starts? You're watching what used to be called "movie trailers." They no longer "follow" a movie, like a trailer follows a car. Today, they're right up front before the main feature begins.
Those previews are The Hook and they show you just enough of a new movie to get you interested and set it in your mind, so that when that new movie comes out, you're going to be one of the first in line. You've taken the bait and you'll soon be reeled in.
Advertising today is not that much different than it was 25 years ago. Yes, today there are brighter colors and hotter music and better special effects, but people are the same as they have always been. They respond in the same ways they always have.
Take a tip from these "tried and true" methods of promotion, and give your customers a taste, let them touch and feel what you have for them, let them take a Look and then set the Hook, and reel them in.
Be as gentle as you can. Remember the girls at the cosmetics counters, at the department stores? They spray a little perfume on your arm and let you smell what they have to sell. Some put on a steak and let the smell circulate. The smell helps you sell.
Let people read a portion of your new book or give away a chapter to "whet their appetite," to make them want to buy your book. Let customers have a taste, give them a free cookie, to make them want to buy a package of a dozen.
Whatever you're selling, the best way to sell something is to give away a portion, a free sample or a free taste. That will do much more to convince people to buy what you're selling than anything else you could ever do. Give a thirsty person a free sip and they'll buy the bottle. Give a hungry person a taste and he'll buy the meal!
The above article was written by Gary Christensen, a Freelance Writer and self-published author of eight books and more than 100 original reports, like this one. Gary's newest report, "Use the word FREE in Every Ad You Write" is FREE from Gach98@aol.com or by regular mail from:
Gary Christensen P.O. Box 2411 Corvallis, OR 97339-2411
A text list of 600+ Free Subscription E-Zines is available at:
http://www.site-city.com/members/e-zine-master/
Gary's "Writers Connection Newsletter" is yours via email from: writers98@aol.com
Gary's many articles can now be seen at: http://www.webmasters-pub.com/articles/gary_c/
 |
|
 |
|
 |
