The Biggest Advertising Mistake Most Businesses Make

Advertising has one goal.

It’s to get people to take action and buy your product.

But most advertising is really bad. And some advertising is really, really bad.

So how do you make sure you get it right and not waste all of your money on ads that don’t work?

First, you need to avoid the biggest mistake most people make when it comes to advertising.

The biggest advertising mistake most people make is…

Trying to be clever.

It sounds simple but it’s true.

We’ve all watch hundreds of ads on our computers, phones, and TVs. After watching them, most of us think that the secret to great advertising is being clever, but that’s simply not true.

My team at ConversionEngine has learned this lesson by spending millions of dollars on Google and Facebook ads.

Time and time again, clever ads simply don’t work…at all. And by clever I mean when you try to come up with a line that’s fun and cutesy instead of thinking about what’s going to sell your product

Great ads have a lot more to do with selling than being clever.

Let me give a few examples…

Example #1: Geico Commercials

Most of us watch Geico commercials and think, “Wow, those are good because they’re really funny.”

What most people fail to notice is that Geico commercials always make sure they do two things in addition to being funny.

First, they make sure to mention the company name multiple times. This means that after watching the commercials, you aren’t likely to say, “The commercial was so funny, but I can’t remember, was it a Geico or Farmer’s Insurance commercial?”They constantly reinforce their company name on purpose so they don’t waste their advertising dollars.

Second, they always mention their famous tagline: 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. In other words, they don’t waste their money on just being clever. They always leave you with their famous, ultra-specific value prop in hopes that you’ll take action. But even if you don’t, you’ll never forget how much you’ll save and how long it will take.

So that’s one example. Here’s another…

Example #2: William Painter

After watching that ad, most people think, “Wow, that works because it’s sooooo funny.”

What they don’t realize is that humor is just the hook. It’s the attention grabber.

I’m not saying the humor isn’t important, but this commercial also does some hardcore selling. It holds your attention by being funny, and then it sells you on all these points:

(1) “Did you know designer sunglasses and $5 sunglasses are all made out of the same cheap plastic?” This is a technique at ConversionEngine we like to call “throwing the competition under the bus.”

(2) “Do they come with a 100 dollar trial and a lifetime guarantee? Ya, they do.” This is an important selling technique called risk reversal.

(3) “State-of-the-art materials and the highest quality lenses.”This is where you use adjectives to make sure people put a higher value on your product and don’t write you off as generic.

(4) “You’ll look good when…” This is where you sell the outcome of what the product will do for someone after they buy it, i.e. how it’s going to make their life better.

(5) “We use aerospace-grade titanium like NASA uses in its rockets.” This is where you make a comparison to something very impressive to make your product seem even more valuable.

The list goes on, but the point here is that yes, this video is funny, but the reason it works so well is that the sales script does a lot of heavy lifting that convinces people to buy and not to just share the video.

These examples are the reason why at ConversionEngine, we place a premium on ads that sell.

After spending millions on ads, we’ve learned that clever rarely gets the job done. It can be a tool you use to get your point across, but 9 times out of 10, it won’t generate more sales.

This is also why we have an intense research process in place for our new clients. 

We meticulously read through hundreds of reviews to find what customers actually care about and why we buy. We also study the products themselves to learn what makes them special and unique. Last but certainly not least, we study to find out what hurdles are preventing people from purchasing so we can address those points. Then, we write and create ads that sell millions of dollars worth of products and aren’t just clever or funny.

At the end of the day, running ads is like sending out thousands of automated sales people into the field each day. These “sales people” need to sell and not just be clever, the same way they would need to sell your product if they were talking to someone in person.

Here’s the main takeaway: the next time you create an ad, don’t fall for the trap that cleverness is the secret to unleashing an advertising goldmine. Instead, take some time to find out why people want to buy what you’re selling, identify the top things that prevent them from placing a purchase, and then find a way to accomplish that through ads.

If you have any questions about how to do this and to run ads that profitably generate millions per year in sales, let me know; if not, best of luck to you and your team!

About the Author: Joe Putnam is the owner of ConversionEngine where his creative team helps eCommerce stores 2X-10X their sales in months, not years.