Day 17: Why you must interrupt your prospects’ patterns
Published: Wed, 06/08/16
Every day your marketing message is up against 50,000 invisible competitors.
This is the number of thoughts the National Science Foundation says the average person has every day. Crazy thing is, up to 95% of these thoughts are just repeated from one day to the next.
Our brains are set in a mental routine. Breaking this pattern is your only chance at getting your marketing message noticed.
You see, most marketing is just a bunch of companies saying the same ol’ stuff. So your first job is to get prospects to recognize that you have something worthy of their attention.
This is where a pattern interrupt comes into play.
As the name implies, you simply do something that changes a particular thought or situation. Your message should serve as a surprise -- anything out of the ordinary.
This one concept was the foundation for my last book, Escape the Expected: The Secret Psychology of Selling to Today’s Skeptical Consumers. We also touched on this idea a couple days ago when we talked about starting your marketing strong. (All the example sentences you saw were pattern interrupts.)
Earlier today, I received an email with the following subject line:
Tom in Phoenix
Although I knew it was a sales message, I couldn’t resist giving it my attention. The subject line was like nothing else in my inbox because it referenced my name and where I live.
This is an example of a pattern interrupt using personalization.
The problem, though, is the subject alone wasn’t enough to keep my interest or enhance desire. The email lacked the additional elements of the AIDA formula.
Last weekend, I heard a great podcast interview with Noah Kagan, founder of SumoMe and AppSumo. So I checked out his website and saw this for his opt-in offer:
Get access to 85% of my best business hacks:
You'll learn exactly how I started 2 multi-million dollar businesses, grew a 700,000+ email list, and where to find the best tacos in the world.
I like this example because Kagan turned a common call-to-action into unique messaging by simply adding unexpected wording. He also gives a glimpse into his fun personality.
So how can you add the unexpected to your marketing message?
Talk soon,
Tom
NOTE: This is Day 17 of a 30-day marketing challenge for all my subscribers. These emails are designed to help you fix underperforming campaigns, cut marketing expenses and uncover overlooked profits in your business. Simply pick and choose a few strategies and apply them to your business. (Of course, keep me updated on your progress too.)
And if you’d like to discuss having me create a Guaranteed Marketing Profits Program for your business, please click here to get on the waitlist. You’ll be notified when an available spot opens.