Consistent and Persistent AKA You Need to Be Writing

A common marketing statistic bandied about is that it takes 7-10 touches to get people's attention. Hence, why on radio stations, you'll hear the same commercials over and over - because advertisers know they can't just play the commercial once and expect people to buy their widget.

I've also seen reports where people have tracked their selling statistics, and they find they have much more follow-through after 14 touches.

What that means is that you have to put yourself in front of people - consistently and persistently. You need to get your message out there - often.

If you don't like the idea of marketing, think of it as the KLT Factor (Know-Like-Trust). You have to let people know you, which means being authentic and maybe even vulnerable. You want them to like you (not necessarily in a Sally Fields kind of way, but in an authentic, I-like-you-and-you-like-me way), and so you share personal content. You have to prove that you're trustworthy by giving good, solid content.

Also, remember that different messages reach people at different times. I can't tell you how many times it's happened that someone responds to the third email I've sent out about a new program... "This is cool! I didn't know you were doing this!"

Um, did you miss the first two emails?

It's not that she really missed the first two emails. It's that there's a somewhat delicate balance between the Message, what the market Needs, and the Timing.

There's a whole slew of reasons why people don't respond to a touch, a piece of content, an ad. Timing, things going on in their personal lives, overwhelm at the moment, on vacation, they don't need it right now, seems too hard, the problem your particular widget solves isn't quite bad enough for them (yet)...

And then there's the number one main reason why they do finally respond.

Because they need what you have RIGHT NOW.

What do people need? Well, they usually want/need one of twelve things:

1. Save time

2. Save money

3. Make money

4. Avoid effort

5. Increase happiness

6. Find success

7. Be pain-free/healthy

8. Have fun

9. Gain praise

10. Feel safe and secure

11. Feel liked or loved/be popular

12. Freedom

So, that means you need to putting yourself out there all the time - consistently and persistently. Make sure your message is clear. Direct your message to at least one of the needs above. And the more you get your message out there, the more likely you are that the timing will be just right.

What are you waiting for?