In the legal world, there is a term called "Smoking Gun" which
refers to that critical piece of information which makes it
impossible for your opponent to win a court case.
It's a fact, a piece of evidence or whatever which proves what
you have to say beyond any seed of doubt.
And there are a lot of correlations between law and advertising
because when you are selling via the printed word, your jury is
your customer.
And you must do everything in your power to prove your case
beyond any shadow of a doubt.
So what could be some examples of a "smoking gun" in the
advertising world?
Well, let's say I own a piece of property on the coast of
Western Australia and I want to sell it. But I am having trouble
getting the price I want.
Perhaps a "smoking gun" piece of information I could find is
the fact property in coastal areas has gained 20% or 30% or 40%
(or whatever) greater capital growth returns than properties
anywhere else in the country.
Makes sense, right?
Of course, I have no idea if it is true.
But if I was the buyer, I'd find it pretty hard to ignore a fact
like this.
What about if I was selling tyres? Well, this is a pretty easy
one. If I owned a tyre shop, I would be looking for a piece of
information about what percent of accidents happen from old
tyres.
How about shoes?
If I was selling shoes, I would look for information about how
the shoe affected other areas of the body. Looking into things
like foot reflexology, and the interconnectedness between feet
and overall health, feet and its effect on back pain, etc.
And if I could find that little gem of information, no longer am
I purely selling shoes, I am selling an overall health solution.
And people will pay for quality if you can prove that it's going
to make their overall health better.
Makes sense, doesn't it?
So today, consider doing some research on these facts. Check out
web sites such as the Sydney Morning Herald, Daily Telegraph,
CNN, Highbeam Research and CNN and see what facts you can dig up
about your industry which could be your "Smoking Gun."
Scott Bywater is a direct response copywriter with extensive
experience in B2B and B2C writing. Mr Bywater is the author of
Cash-Flow Advertising and More Customers Made Easy. You can gain
access to his copywriting and marketing tips via his entertaining
and eye opening "Copywriting Selling Secrets" newsletter
available at http://www.copywritingthatsells.com.au/.
