Make it New...and Make it Now!
One of the dangers for any marketer is in getting too "comfortable."
I remember a great line from John Feinstein's classic book, "Season on the Brink" about being comfortable. "Season on the Brink" is Feinstein's bio of a season spent with coach Bob Knight and his Indiana basketball team in the 1980s...and Knight's outbursts in the book are legendary.
My favorite was when he stopped practice to criticize a player, yelling..."You act like all you care about is being comfortable out there."
As strange as it may sound -- "comfort" is also a danger when it comes to your marketing campaign.
I can't tell you how many times I've heard a marketer or publisher say, "We prefer the magalog as our format because that's what we've always done."
I'm of the school that says you must constantly test against your control in order to operate at maximum efficiency. If the magalog is still working for you, that's great -- but how do you know another format or idea might not provide a greater response unless you test?
I was taught over a decade ago that in order to maintain success with your marketing, you must "Make it New...and Make it Now."
Here's what that means:
"Make it New" is very simple -- your reader is very busy and doesn't have time to return to a place where he's already been. So if he has any opportunity to think, "I've seen this before" -- your promotion is headed for the recycle bin.
But by making your marketing "new" -- you have a chance to keep your reader's attention...even if the message is the same one he's seen from you multiple times.
How do you "make it new"? You can test a new format...test a new lead to your promo...test new terminology to describe your product or service...test a new angle...test anything!
I happened to play a small role in one of the most successful control packages in direct mail history. Back in the early 1990s, my boss -- a terrific marketer -- worked with one of the industry's best copywriters on an idea. They took a successful -- but tired -- #10 control package and turned that copy into a small paperback book...and they mailed it in a 6 x 9 envelope. That simple change -- making the format "new" and adding to the perceived value of the promotion -- resulted in millions of dollars in sales and a jump in subscriptions from 20,000 to more than 100,000 in just a matter of months.
That's what I call making it new!
As for "Making it Now" -- you can probably guess what this idea is all about. You can add to the perceived value of your marketing message if you successfully tie that message into current events, politics or the current overall market.
Think about it: "Seven steps to success" might work for you...but "Seven steps to success in a recession" certainly has more relevance today -- and a better chance of capturing your reader's attention.
So remember -- it's important not to get too comfortable in your marketing. Test often -- and keep your message "new" and keep it "now."
