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Throw Away Your TV - If You Want To Die Broke
By Tim Gross - Internet Business Blog | March 1, 2007
I’ve read some very passionate arguments from marketers recently that watching television at all is about the most destructive thing you can do. For a variety of reasons, they say you should literally throw away your TV.
Here’s the problem - they’re telling that to other marketers.
You know, marketers… the people who are supposed to have their finger on the pulse of the common man.
New Flash: The “common man” watches TV.
-And that means so should you. But you should be watching it through “marketing goggles”, observing WHY programs are the way they are, why commercials are the way they are, and what about what’s going on in popular culture you can leverage in your sales letters, promotions, or even future products.
Does that mean you should waste your time mindlessly watching crappy shows on TV to the detriment of your work, family life, and personal growth? Obviously not.
Along the same lines, the most useless magazines you can read are the National Enquirer or The Globe, etc. (gossip mags)
…BUT AS MARKETERS, I recommend that you SUBSCRIBE to these magazines. (I do.) A colossal waste of time? Nope, there’s a tremendous amount to learn from these magazines. They’re sold in checkout lines at grocery stores, and their headlines and teaser pitches make or break sales.
I have a “swipe file” of headline formats that these magazines use, and I look through them before writing sales copy.
Money Shot: As a marketer, cutting yourself off from popular culture is the kiss of death. Ivy League graduates writing ads who have never sold door to door or even come in contact with “regular people” have no idea how to actually sell products. Throw away your TV and you’re throwing away a window into the inner soul of your customer. Beware.
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