Messaging Tip of the Day: Give 'em What You Promised, or They'll Leave

I'm a big Denzel Washington fan. One of my favorites of his movies is "American Gangster" where he plays Frank Lucas, notorious gangster who rose from nothing to become a powerful drug dealer in Harlem. In the movie, his mother admonishes him regarding his decisions in a gripping scene (that I think of often for many reasons), "(...effectively, if you keep making these decisions)... they will leave you.....I....will leave you!". It's powerful for many reasons, and perhaps the most trite of these is marketing copy, but I truly think of it every time I address what I'm about to address here, simply because it's the most important aspect of the online marketing sales funnel: clickable messaging.

What is Clickable Messaging? Glad you asked

Clickable messaging is the message you use to get someone to click on a piece, most of the time in social media. Without naming it or its author, I'm referencing a piece that I encountered just minutes before writing this. It was a Twitter post that promised me some great quotes by entrepreneurs. Now, I like me some quotes. Particularly, I like me some inspiring quotes by people who've walked the path I walk but with more success. Since I like quotes, I clicked. What follows is the story of my experience, mixed with some warnings.

How NOT to do Content Marketing

First, I was greeted by GIGANTIC FONT of the website title, which included the owner's name. Then, in SLIGHTLY SMALLER BUT STILL LARGE FONT, the subhead of the owner's services. After that, a big image of the owner doing something (by this time I was losing interest). THEN, and only then, did I get to my precious quotes.

Great Content Can Convert, Even With Bad Tactics (this wasn't great)

At this point, I'm ok. I think to myself, "OK dude, nice swipe at self promotion. If the quotes are good, I'll share this anyway". That's an important lesson, I think: Great content overcomes weak tactics. I'm slightly put off by the font that has nothing to do with why you asked me to click; but ok, I'll still read the piece.

Then, the final and ultimate betrayal. No quote authors listed. SO. WEAK.

NEVER betray your "clicker" (the prospect who clicked), and NEVER list quotes without attribution to the author. That's pretty close to stealing. Plus, it actually weakens your content. You're depending on the strength of the quote itself, which is usually good, and losing all the punch of the author's name, which is usually famous.

As an example, which of these is stronger?

"Never give anything less than your best. It's a felony" -Gary Vaynerchuk

or

"Never give anything less than your best. It's a felony" -Bob, middle management of XYZcorp

or even worse, this:

"Never give anything less than your best. It's a felony" (no author)

If you say the second one, you should hit yourself in the forehead with a small tackhammer. If you believe Gary said that, hit yourself again. If you recognize the cultural reference, you can unhit yourself exactly one time.

Why is this important? Because you promised me quotes from big entrepreneurs. Deliver on what you promised. What you DIDN'T promise was LOTS of self promotion in giant font plus some weak quotes later on down the page, which is what you actually delivered.

Always Add Value: Give More Than You Get

Always give more than you receive in your content marketing. Be of value. What does your prospect value? Give them that. In this instance, give me what you promised in your link (and a little more; for instance, you could use a twitter post like "9 inspiring quotes", then offer a download of 125 quotes. Make it free, and go overboard to ). If you promise inspiring quotes, give me those quotes. Don't, and you risk losing my trust, and probably my business.

Remember what the fake Frank Lucas's fake mom (kinda) said: if you don't deliver on what the click promised, "I will leave you!".