You Must Create Top Of Mind Awareness

Your customers and prospects are bombarded with thousands,
sometimes tens of thousands of advertising messages every day.
Getting your email though to them is a very small part of the
problem. After it gets to your reader, you have to connect with
them on a conscious level. Something about your message has
to make them really read, understand and digest your message.
You have to create a "top of mind awareness." Otherwise, your
message isn't really received.

To make your message stand out, you need to be what Seth Godin
describes as a purple cow. He points out that if you're driving
down a busy highway, and pass a purple cow grazing in a pasture,
you would have to take notice. You'd say, "There's a purple cow."
And then you'd stop and take a closer look. Your email messages
to your customers and prospects need to stand out like a purple
cow.

So many messages that we get every day aren't fully "received."
We aren't fully aware of them in our environment. This point
jumped out at me a few days ago as I walked my shitzu (dog). I
knew there were bears in my part of Florida. There are signs
posted along some of the highways warning drivers. However,
I had never seen one until about a week ago. I noticed several
cars stopped along the street where I was out walking my dog.
I looked in the direction of the cars and there was a black bear. It
was about 3 feet tall when down on all four legs! At that point
the message that there were bears near where I lived was fully
received and felt on a very deep "gut" level. There was a
loose, wild bear, about 50 yards from where I was! Fortunately,
he was only interested in crossing into a nearby patch of dense
vegetation.

After seeing that bear, and reflecting upon how long the claws
and teeth were on those I had seen in zoos and museums, I now
appreciated the fact that there were wild bears around. Now,
when I heard a rustling sound in the bushes I paid more
attention. Previously, I had just assumed it was a porcupine or
an armadillo rummaging around for food. Now I was aware that
it might be something big enough to hurt me. Your email and
promotional messages to your reader need to be this impactful!

"Ok, Willie," you say. But how do I create this top of mind
awareness in my readers. "How do I stand out in their universe
like a purple cow?" "How do I have the impact of seeing a big
bear walking through my neighborhood?"

You increase your visitors top of mind awareness by showing
them in your messages that you understand their problems. You
show them that you really understand what it is that they need
or want. The words in your message to them shares what *they*
are feeling. Your empathy and understanding has to come
through.

Increasing your top of mind awareness in your readers and
prospects involves nothing more than showing them that your
thoughts are "what's in it for them." If you show that you
have their best interests at heart, and that you are working for
them, they have to appreciate you and what you do. You do this
by studying great copywriting - as I have pointed out before.
You do this by talking directly to them, as I am doing in this
article. You do this by using the words you and your more than
I, me, and my in your copy. This shows them who the message is
really about.

Making your message about your customer or prospect pushes you
to the top of their consciousness because you are communicating
about something that they care about. You are moving yourself
into a universe involving something they think about all the
time. Your prospects spend a lot of time and energy thinking
about how to improve their lives. It's human nature. If you also
spend a lot of time and energy thinking about how to improve
their lives, you naturally move into where you have top of
mind presence. You begin to stand out in their subconscious and
conscious minds like a purple cow or a wild bear!

Now you have the secret to breaking through the clutter of all of
the messages your readers get everyday. Simply make the
message about them. Simply convey," here's something that will
help you." Simply convey that you're working to make their lives
easier. It will be virtually impossible for you to be ignored if you
do this with sincerity.