THE IDEA IS WORTH MORE THAN THE INFORMATION - Part 3


Yesterday we talked about the idea being worth more then the information when writing good marketing. We started to talk aboutthe advice slant as it relates to writing marketing for a chimney sweep. Here's more:

Now that we have identified the right slant, we need to come up with what type of information or evidence would be best. Or better said, the slants indicate what the ad and campaign would be best validated by. In the case of the Advice Slant, there are three sources of validation (evidence):

• Statistics
• Reports
• 3rd party groups or individuals with credibility within the field


In addition, each slant comes with the associated headlines as well. Not surprisingly then, here are some suggested headlines from our headline bank to work off of:

Should You Take It Back To The Photo Shop? How To Tell If The Processor Is To Blame For Your Bad Snapshot

Right And Wrong Farming Methods – And Little Pointers That Will Increase Your Profits

The Secret Of Making People Like You

Here is the headline I wrote for the chimney sweep:

Advice To Homeowners With A Blocked Up Chimney…
Don’t Buy From The First Guy You Find

Now how many different directions could this take? Where could we go from there? Here are a few ideas:

• There are organizations (3rd parties) for protecting and informing people on blocked chimneys. Can you say National Chimney Sweep Guild? Borrow information from their site.

• Did you know in a northern state last year, there were 23,600 houses burned down because of blocked chimneys? You could pass along that info; use it in a postcard to prospects and how they can tell if their chimney needs sweeping.

• Did you also know that the type of wood used can speed up the blockage? Again, the basis for another advice ad. Could be used with our headline here.

• At the home page of the Chimney Safety Institute of America, you can find volumes of information that would be appropriate to use.


Point of the matter is, just by choosing the slant you set your foot on the right path, all you have to do is follow it to its logical conclusion. No brilliance, no inspirational flashes, no deep dark meditation until the light turns on in you head. Just follow the line till it’s played out.

One caution: you will still need a bit of imagination. You will still need to explore the options of the slant. But it boils down to organizing the information you can get with the push of a button.

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