Kids teach us things like joy and patience. But who knew that all I needed to know about marketing writing I would learn from my kids? Listed below are a few gems I’ve picked up from them over the years. 
Start off with a “Guess what?!!” – How many kids do you know start stories off with the history first? No, they want your attention and they are very good at getting it. Having someone come up to you and say “Guess What?” forces you to focus and stop what you are doing to reply “What?.”
Use that attention grabbing technique with your customers. Start off with a statement or question that will get their attention and make them read on to find an answer.
Use your art project to tell your story – my son can go on and on about the clay fish he made in art class but when he actually shows it to me, then his story takes on a new dimension. I see proof of his accomplishment, it is now real and what I have imagined has been clarified.
Use graphics to make your point. Use the advice that is constantly given to novelists to “show me, don’t tell me”.
Invention ribbons give you credibility – my daughter won a large ribbon for her invention. The fact that she won an event wasn’t a big deal in her classroom until she brought it in to show her classmates. The ribbon was big and ruffled and shiny. The kids were in awe of it and suddenly her accomplishment seemed to have a lot more value.
Toot your own horn. Display your shiny ribbons and awards. People respect those who have won awards.
Answer the “But Why?” before it is asked – anyone who has kids knows that the pre-emptive strike of answering a “but why?” question before it is asked makes the conversation flow a lot better. “We have to go to the store…to get some bananas….because the ones we had were left in the sun and went bad.” See, you’ve avoided two “but why?” questions with one statement.
Anticipate where your customers are going to stop and ask “but why”. If they stop reading, they might not return. Address any why’s up front to keep the conversation going.
Sometimes a “Because I said so” can be very effective – I swore that I would never say it when I became a parent but sometimes a good authoritative “Because I said so” can put an end to all the stalling questions that arise. You have to go to bed, because you were sick today, because your body needs rest, because I said so.
You are an authority in your business. After you’ve hooked your customer, shown your product, shown your awards, and presented your case – sometimes the next best step is to firmly tell the customer that your product is better simply because you have the authority and respectability to say so.
Sometimes, just sometimes all the customer wants to hear is that it really is okay for them to go to bed.
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