Albert Einstein was a conversion marketing genius.
Seriously.
In fact, his never-fail formula for conversion marketing is more useful than his Theory of General Relativity – at least for us non-geniuses.
And what exactly is Einstein’s never-fail formula?
Patience, young Grasshopper. All will soon be revealed.
Lemme illustrate the problem first, then I’ll give you the formula.
Check out this real live Mission Statement from a company here in my town. (The identity has been removed to protect the guilty.)
Original Mission Statement
- From inception, it has been [our] mission to revolutionize our industry, from our core mortgage solutions to a range of complimentary services, innovating and leading through the integrity of our employees, a commitment to world-class professionalism, unparalleled service, and selfless attitude.
- We value personal empowerment, consistency, knowledge, respect, loyalty, and honesty: principles that have guided us in helping to positively impact the lives of our clients and employees, and the local communities beyond.
- We make financial savings simple through the product of shared expertise and a dedication to putting our customer’s needs first, respecting your experience and then backing it with ours.
Ah, such fine-sounding words, right?
I’m sure they paid lots of money to a high-priced consultant for it.
But what the heck does it mean?
I’m not sure.
That world-famous Marketing Genius Mr. Albert Einstein gave us the key to unlocking the meaning.
Let’s see what he had to say.
Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler.
Hmmm… I think this Mission Statement could be a lot more simple, don’t you?
Let’s see what happens when I rewrite it using the 1000 most common words in the English language.
The Same Mission Statement – 3rd Grade Vocabulary
- From day one, we decided to change how this kind of business is done, from finding money to loan, to all the other things that must be done when making a loan. We decided to come up with new ways to do things, to lead by making our workers always tell the truth no matter what, to make our workers be as good at their jobs as anyone could be, to take care of you better than anyone else and to think about your needs first.
- We care a lot about these things:
- People should be free to decide things on their own.
- Do things the same way all the time.
- Knowing things
- Be kind to people.
- Always be a friend, no matter what happens.
- Tell the truth.
- These things help point the way we should go so we can help the people who buy from us, the people who work for us, and our neighbors.
- We make it simple to save money because we share what we know and we promise to put your needs ahead of our own. The things you know matter as much as the things we know. We put the things you know together with the things we know.
Complex Content = Stupid and Contradictory
Now it’s starting to make sense. In fact, some parts of the simple version sound better than the original.
Other parts sound just plain stupid. Like this gem:
We care a lot about… knowing things.
<facepalm>
You can’t blame the stupid stuff on the simple vocabulary.
Nope.
The stupid stuff was there all along, hiding behind the fancy language.
Once we made it simple though, you can see just how confusing it really is.
- You can’t be revolutionary and consistent at the same time. Which one is it?
- You can’t dictate your workers attitudes and empower them. It’s gotta be one or the other.
The Cost of Confusing Content
What if that was your Mission Statement?
The language in the original is confusing.
And when people are confused by what you write, they find it easy to distrust you.
And when people distrust you, business suffers.
Confusion ==>> Distrust ==>> Suffering
Have you ever wondered why people don’t seem to respond to your marketing messages?
Maybe it’s because they just do not understand. Maybe your message is confusing.
How do you go about fixing a problem like that?
Clear Content = Conversion Marketing Success
Einstein’s never-fail formula for better marketing results was to make everything as simple as possible, but no simpler.
That means you say exactly what you mean.
You say it as simply as possible.
And you don’t try to make it sound fancy by using fancy words.
Take a good look at all your written content. Your marketing materials. Your free reports. Your landing pages.
Ask yourself:
- Does my content say exactly what I mean?
- If my content was more clear, would my customers buy more?
- If my marketing was more clear, would more prospects become customers?
- If my words to my workers were more clear, would they do a better job?
It’s a Law of the Universe: make your message as simple as possible, and you will see business improve.
You might protest, “but I don’t have time to fix all my content!”
No? Do you have time to deal with confused workers, confused customers and confused prospects?
Give us a shout. We can help.