Today, we can build audiences by studying legendary marketers.
I’m thankful for these unprecedented opportunities because there has never been a better time to create a life we love.
What do I mean?
Because of technology, we live in a time where it is easier to connect with anyone than ever before.
Think about this…
If we want to meet someone… we log on to LinkedIn, Facebook, or any other social media platform and ask people in our network for an introduction.
If you want to learn about your audience, then join a Facebook or LinkedIn group and see what posts have the most comments.
If you want to connect with people in the group to get to know them, then start commenting and responding to their posts.
Plus, video technology allows us to meet with anyone in the entire world face to face and have conversations in the comfort of our own homes or on our smartphones. Amazing!
Building Your Audience
Today, we can also build our audience of like-minded people to grow a business in ways previously unavailable.
We can do this by leveraging our own content such as podcasts, blogs, social media posts, or building our email list.
We can literally wake up in the morning, write a post or an email and connect with people in our audience all around the globe.
We can also leverage other people’s audiences to build our audience.
Free ways to leverage other people’s audiences
One of the easiest ways to build our audience is to leverage other people’s audience. This method of building audiences started with direct mail and other forms of direct marketing more than 100 years ago.
Today, there are more ways and more opportunities to leverage other already built audiences than ever before. And even though each person’s audience always begins at zero followers, today, we can build an audience faster than ever.
We can guest blog on other sites, be a guest on other podcasts, or participate in newsletter swaps. Plus, we can contribute content to other people’s premium content, such as membership sites. We can co-author books with other experts and leverage both of our audiences.
It’s not always about building huge audiences but more so about building an audience in a well-defined engaged niche.
It’s not always the size of the audience but the responsiveness of the audience.
Paid Methods to Build Your Audience
We all know about Google and Facebook ads, but what are other ways to build your audience.
Have you ever thought about buying a banner ad in an email newsletter of your ideal customer?
Banner ads, text ads, and promotional emails are all sponsorship opportunities to reach your ideal audience.
Other types of sponsorships are podcast sponsorships, sponsored articles on blogs, social media takeovers, and even press releases can drive traffic to your website and build your email list.
Learning From Legendary Marketers and Copywriters
Because of technology, we can also learn anything we want.
Do you want to learn how to cook a particular meal? Not a problem.
Do you want to learn how to care for a particular plant? There are countless blogs.
Repair something in your home… there are plenty of videos.
One of my favorite things to do is learn from legendary marketers who paved the path for today. I enjoy studying the ads they wrote for several reasons.
Why do I study legendary direct marketers and copywriters?
With direct mail, there are significant expenses involved in a campaign. There is renting the list, printing, postage, and paying the copywriter to write the ad. Now imagine you are mailing 20,000, 40,000, or 100,000 pieces of mail. These expenses can add up quickly. For direct mail to be successful, the copy needs to be tested and optimized before this many pieces of mail are sent.
Studying proven classic ads written by legendary copywriters can dramatically improve your skills when writing ads to promote your business today.
The mechanisms to deliver the ads do change…whether we use social media, email, direct mail, or long-form print ads to reach our ideal customers.
What does not change very often are the fundamental principles that motivate people to respond. These principles are timeless. Human behavior and emotions are everlasting.
By studying legendary marketers and copywriters, we can apply these same principles to building our businesses online today.
Here are 6 things that we can learn from legendary copywriters that will help us connect with more people, build our businesses faster and convert more customers.
Ultimately, we will have stronger, more stable businesses that help more people and earn more revenue.
6 Things We Can Learn From Studying Legendary Marketers and Copywriters
1) Improve writing headlines
There are six different types of headlines ranging from direct headlines that include the offer and price to indirect headlines that are story-based. By studying classic ads, we can improve our headlines and even create templates for future use.
2) How to structure an ad that leads the reader to take the desired action
The beginning of an ad is known as the lead of the ad. It should naturally flow into the call to action. Often, I think of the lead as building the momentum of the ad, so it shapes the argument and then gets the reader to take action. Studying proven ads improves our ad writing skills.
3) How to develop the lead of an ad that flows into the call to action
Similar to the different types of headlines, the lead of an ad can be structured in comparable ways. Regardless of how the lead is structured, it needs to flow into the call to action. By studying legendary marketers and copywriters, we can increase our skills in writing the openings of our ads, so the call to action converts more.
4) How to engage an audience
Some of the legendary copywriters, who wrote long-form ads, often used educational-based marketing. Each ad should deliver value to the reader and promote the product, or service. The longer the copy, then the more informed the reader is about the product or service. The longer someone is engaged then, the more qualified they are in regards to purchasing the product.
For each piece of content that I write, I want it to add value. I do this with articles, blog posts, newsletters, promotional emails, and Facebook ads. Every touchpoint I have with a person, I always want to be delivering value in addition to promoting the offer. This is a skill I am always striving to improve.
5) How to create the call to action
How you structure the call to action can increase the number of people who take the desired action. By studying classic ads, we can learn how to create stronger closes.
What are we trying to get the reader to do?
Are we trying to get them to click a Facebook ad or a promotional email? Are we trying to convert a prospect into a customer or move a customer into the next phase of the customer journey? What is the primary goal of the content, and why?
Once we understand the purpose of the content, then we can craft the message and structure the close. How we close, an ad is essential to maximize response.
By studying the ads of legendary copywriters, we can improve our skills in writing the call to action.
6) How to tap into one core emotion of the reader
People buy on emotion and justify the purchase with logic. Each ad should focus on connecting the product’s benefits to one core emotion that will initiate a response.
Identifying the core emotion and then building the copy around this emotion is not always easy. Normally, weaving an emotion throughout the content, sales letter, and marketing campaign is a high-level skill.
Studying legendary ads enables us to hone our skills by identifying the core emotion the copywriter focused on and then improving our own ads.
Gratitude for Today’s Opportunities
So, yes, I am grateful because today, we can build audiences faster than ever before. I am thankful for all of the opportunities to be of service to others.
I’m grateful that we can study legendary marketers and copywriters to improve our abilities to connect with more people in a variety of ways.
Most importantly, I am grateful that we can build amazing businesses, improve people’s lives, and create the life we choose.
We live in a time of unprecedented opportunities and abundance! Yes, there are ample reasons for us to express our gratitude and to be thankful.
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