HOLD FAST – The Cure For Distraction

Today, I have 10 words for you. The  or they can unify. My hope is that they unify here are, they are, the words are, we must stand firm in the faith of our fathers. I'll say them again. We must stand firm in the faith of our fathers. If it sounds like a religious quote, it is. I read this in an article written by a monk this morning, but you likely don't listen to me for religious purposes.
And I think that's a good idea on your part. You likely listened to me for ideas on how to do a better job of marketing and how to reach more people in your marketing and turn them into customers. And that's where that particular quote becomes very relevant to us as marketers. Here's why. These days, anyone with a cell phone that has a camera on it and the connection to the internet and the Slee, the ability to get a social media account, anyone with that equipment can become an influencer, which isn't necessarily a bad thing.
There is something interesting about that whole phenomenon though. I watched a documentary recently. I forgot the name of it. It was about a, an experiment that was done in Los Angeles, where people took four individuals, random individuals and manufactured celebrity around them and turned them into influencers.
And they did this by purchasing them. Fake followers and fake engagement on Instagram accounts, three of the four participants ended up sort of bailing on the whole thing they had. They had enough, it didn't really jive with them, but one of them. Ended up actually getting paid regularly and getting free stuff, regularly brands that wanted to reach her audience, which is amazing if you think about it because her audience didn't actually exist.
Um, obviously I don't advocate that behavior then I think it's only a matter of time before. Those chickens come home to roost for lack of a better word. So what does this have to do with that quote stand firm in the faith of our fathers? Well, here's the deal because anyone with a phone and a camera and access to social media can take an idea and circulate it and make it seem important.
We. Are susceptible to hearing those ideas and they're not always good and they're not always smart, but it's easy for us to let them come into our minds because in many cases they're presented in a way that's very cool with cool looking images and dramatic music and sound effects. And like, make happen  is that we can end up chasing,  or going down rabbit holes that lead to nowhere in terms of marketing.
We are now looking at a space in our field of marketing. That is a wash with people. Who are giving advice that really have no idea what they're talking about. And oftentimes you'll have one individual recycling bad advice that was given from another individual that really has no real world experience.
And to you. I would say that quote again, we must stand firm in the faith of our fathers and how that relates to marketing is this, there were many, many who have come before us that knew way more than we do about this craft, this art, the science that we practice called. Marketing and their ideas and we'll call them their faith.
In this particular metaphor here, they are proven and they are timeless. So I'm going to share some of those ideas with you that you can hopefully always keep at the forefront of your mind and use as a filter when presented with what might seem smart. But might very well be not so smart after all. I'll give you four.
Number one comes from David Ogilvy, O G I L V Y the King, in my opinion of modern advertising, my hero, he wrote the consumer is not a moron. She's your wife. What he meant by that is don't insult your reader. Tell them the truth. People aren't stupid. The reason I bring this up in this particular episode is because so much of what we see in advertising and marketing today, especially online is insinuating that the consumer actually is.
A moron really, really outrageous claims clickbait and other forms of trickery, including, but not limited to trying to make prerecorded presentations appear real fake comments, et cetera, et cetera. Never forget the words of David Ogilvy. The consumer is not a moron. She's your wife, she's a writer, your person, she's got common sense.
And those types of tricks that might seem cool and flashy in the moment will only backfire longterm if not immediately. So again, I urge you stand firm in the faith of our fathers. But our fathers in this case, don't have to just be men. Here's one from an icon, Coco Chanel, who doesn't get spoken very much in terms of marketing, but who was absolutely brilliant at that craft.
Ms. Chanel said simplicity is the key note of all true elegance. I believe she meant that. In a fashion oriented context, but it is no less important when it comes to marketing and sales. Personally, I've had some of the best luck with copy that says things like this, watch this. If you want more customers, very, very simple, but very, very effective.
So. If you find yourself being overwhelmed or you find yourself being stuck in writing some copy or creating some marketing stand firm in the faith of Coco Chanel, that simplicity is the keynote of all true elegance. Claude Hopkins, who is regarded as the father of copywriting. As we know it now wrote this, he said, remember, the people you address are selfish as we all are.
They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Ignoring this fact is a common mistake and the costly mistake. In advertising in an era where basically what we see. Are people trying to make themselves look cool. It is very easy to feel pressure that we must also somehow make ourselves look cool.
And it's very easy for us to develop a belief that will no, one's going to listen to me because I don't have the right car in my ads, or I'm not on a private plane or whatever. In those moments, if you ever have them, remember the words of Claude Hopkins again, he says the people you address are selfish as we all are.
They care nothing about your interests or profit. They seek service for themselves. Meaning. They don't care. What kind of car you're standing next to? They don't care if you're on a private plane or not, they only care if you can help them. Therefore. Really the best way to do that and to get their attention and to hold it is to use what I call the oldest trick in the book, which is to demonstrate you can help them by actually helping them.
That will get you significantly farther than posturing and appearance. And I'll leave you with one last. Bit of information from one of those who came before us, the lady, Gary Halbert, he said, products are a dime, a dozen they're important, but much less crucial to success than finding a hot market. I tell this to you because I see an increasing preoccupation.
With people telling you, they're going to show you how to create a winning product. And while creating a winning product is of great importance. I do not see people telling you how to. Find a winning market. Remember the market always comes first. The product is secondary. Wow. Of course it is important and it should be good.
It should not eclipse the market in terms of where your focus is, especially when you're starting a new project. So again, I urge you within the context of our craft and what we do. We must stand firm in the face of our fathers and Coco Chanel. May they all rest in peace. Thank you for listening. Take it easy.