Alex Fraser Bridge

I am reading a book by Joseph Jaffe titled, "Join The Conversation". The subtitle is, "How to Engage Marketing-Weary Consumers with the Power of Community, Dialogue, and Partnership."

The traditional old style advertising is all about interrupting what you are doing and forcing you to listen and buy. This kind of communications is a form of power and control, to buy, whether we need it or not - and it is going away.

I have a wonderful classical station that I listen to, lovely music that drifts throughout the house in a thoughtful way. Yesterday, right after a beautiful piece, a car dealership jumped in and screamed out (literally) "Buy Now!", "Don't Wait!", "Sale Ends Tonight". It was way louder than the classical music and had a scratchy guitar over-dubbed. They said these words over and over again. I ran to the radio and changed stations.

People click away because it isn't engaging, it is forcing. Invitation is actually much more powerful than promotion; it is personal and relational. People are moving away from "Advertising" to "Inviting"; sadly, it looks like the advertisers will be the last ones to find out.

So how can written communications reach out in an inviting way?

• We can develop an ear for our particular audience. Are we on the same page? We consult the "Clicks" reports in OnWebManager or other reports that are available - to see what people are showing interest in.
      
• We can write like we talk. Speak things into the air and hear how it sounds. How would I respond to this? Am I force-feeding people?  How can I be a resource to people?
      
• We can build dialog into what we write. Ask some open-ended questions. This gives people a chance to breath and think about how it is for them as well. A rushed writing style is a way to try and control what people are thinking - an overwhelming experience. Add white space around and inside what we write, so that our words are the thoughts of a friend rather than a huckster.