HWW #31 – Fishing For Ninja Lessons
Hey Folks,
Busy times here at Hard Working Words Headquarters. Projects piled up like Jenga pieces, clients calling with effusive praise. It’s a tough life. I’m booked out for the next several weeks. If you’ve got a burning project you want to talk about, pick up the phone, call 206-550-5558 and let’s talk about it now so I can get you on the schedule.
And now on to the main course.
Warning: This may be the most offensive issue of HWW ever.
Really. I mean it.
So don’t go writing me later and saying I didn’t warn you.
In today’s issue you’ll learn:
* What homeless people know about marketing that most high-fallutin business owners don’t.
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Fishing For Ninja Lessons
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The guy had a crazy look in his eye. Crazy and mean. He stared right at me, grinned wide with broken yellow teeth and held up his battered cardboard sign like it was a prized summer squash and I might be the judge who would finally make his County Fair dreams come true.
“Ninjas Killed My Family,” it read: “Need Money For Kung-Fu Lessons.”
I smiled nervously, gave the guy a buck (because I really do think we need more homeless folk with badass martial skills) and shuffled on my way.
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And I Thought About How Some Homeless People Seem To Know Know More About Good, Effective And *Profitable* Marketing Than Most High-Fallutin Business Owners Do
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Because, you see, this wasn’t the first time I’d seen that particular Ninja sign. As a professional Copywriter and Marketing Wonk (and a born-and-bred East Coaster living in the passive-aggressive West) I travel a lot and have a tendency to pick up on recurring messages . . .
And it seems like every city I go to, I see the same “headlines” plastered on well-worn cardboard signs . . . .
* Ninja Killed My Family . . . in San Francisco . . .
* Fishing For A Beer . . . . outside Atlanta . . .
* Need Money For Bus Fare . . . in LA
And a whole slew of other time tested and proven money makers spread out all over this country being used again and again to drag dollars and coins out of millions of harried pedestrians and to keep hundreds of thousands of desperate street folk in the the food and/or vices of their choice.
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Alright, Haddad, What’s Your Point?
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Just this:
A homeless person standing on a street corner with a sign in his hand and a hat at his feet is, just like the rest of us, in the business of selling. . .
But unlike a lot of marketers, homeless folks aren’t worried about creativity . . .
They’re not worried about being clever. . .
And they’re not worried about what people think or what their golf buddies might say after tipping back three beers and rounding on the back nine.
All they *are* worried about is making the sale.
So when they’re sitting down to draw up an “ad” or to come up with a pitch designed to part you from your cash, the only thing on their mind is “What can I put on this sign that will put the most amount of money in my pocket today?”
“What message can I put down here that’s going to pull the heartstrings just the right way or make people giggle just enough for them to reach into their pocket and give me some of that change so I can get a burger in my belly or a roof over my head?”
So homeless folks, unlike a lot of high-fallutin well funded marketers *swipe* proven concepts that have worked before (or are working right now) and *test* their signs. . .
If they hear about a sign that’s working really well in another “market” they draw it up and try it themselves.
And if they find something that works, they ride that horse hard day after day until it sputters and collapses just about dead at their feet or until they find something that works even better.
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In Other Words, They Act Like Smart and Savvy Direct Marketers.
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Yesterday I was chatting with my friend and Mentor (yes, he deserves a capital M) David Garfinkel about this, and he spouted off with this little piece of wisdom: “The cost of failure is huge, but the cost of advertising is negligible.”
Which means it’s a lot cheaper to do some testing and fail small, than it is to go in both guns blazing and fail big.
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So Here’s Your Assignment, Faithful Reader
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1. Next time your walking down the street and accosted by a homeless person with a particularly good sign (and one who isn’t holding a bottle of vodka and isn’t shouting at you) drop a buck in his hat.
2. And take a long hard look at your website, your ad or your other materials and ask your self “What can I do to market more like a homeless person?”
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That’s all folks. See, I told you it was going to be offensive. Well, offensive to some.
Comments, questions, harsh invectives? Hit me up at chris@haddadink.com
And you can learn more about what I do and how I do it at http://www.haddadink.com and http://www.haddadink.com/blog
