Satyagraha, Your Secret Marketing Weapon
Posted on 02. Jun, 2011 by Daniel Levis in Articles, Blog, Ghandi, hype, Influence, John E. Powers, John Wannamaker, Martin Luther King Jr., mindshare, Motivation, relationship, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, story, transparency, trust, truth
Satyagraha was popularized by Mohandas Ghandi in his fight for Indian independence and became synonymous with the use of civil disobedience as a political tool.
Ghandi believed that truth had great moral power to galvanize resolve against an oppressor, while also garnering support from the rest of the world. And history proved him right.
A young black minister in America studied Ghandi’s struggle and ideas and was profoundly influenced by them. He used Ghandi’s Satyagraha precepts to achieve a similar human rights triumph here in the West. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
In both cases, people from around the world with no direct interest in the conflict sided with the freedom fighters. Unyielding non-violent revolt in the face of violent counter-reaction was shocking. It seized global attention and sympathy.
These watershed moments in history prove that human nature has a built-in recognition and appreciation for what’s right and just and true.
Ever since the motorcycle accident I’ve found my brain has a weird way of associating things. As such, it seems to me this core kernel of Satyagraha has broad application to sales and marketing as well.
In times of over-communication and intense battle for consumer mindshare…
… Brutal, uncompromising truth has enormous attention-getting power.
One of the father’s of direct response advertising built his entire career on this fact.
His name was John E. Powers, arguably history’s first hired gun copywriter. In 1880 Powers was earning $100 a day as a freelance copywriter, an enormous sum at the time. And his ads often worked like gangbusters. Why?
This was the first golden age of advertising. The industrial revolution was sweeping the developed world. All manner of time and labor saving conveniences were making their debut. And John Wannamaker had just invented the department store.
By the late 1800s, newspapers and magazines had become so stuffed with advertising that an arms race took hold with each advertiser trying to out-gun, out-claim, and out-hype the next.
Power’s approach was so novel and rare it was shocking — Tell the Truth.
One of his headlines read: “We have a lot of rotten gossamers we want to get rid of…” Another famous Power’s ad announced, “We are bankrupt. We owe $125,000 more than we can pay, and this announcement will bring our creditors down on our necks. But if you come and buy tomorrow, we shall have the money to meet them. If not, we shall go to the wall.”
The sad truth is that most marketers lie through their teeth. Somehow, this has become accepted, part of the game. It’s just what marketers do.
Clever flim-flam artists know what their customers want to believe, and they twist the truth into a mangled wreck to give it to them. The even sadder truth is that in many cases this actually works, at least in the short term. And the saddest truth of all is the toll this approach takes on the trust of the consumer. The honest eventually get tarred with the same brush as the abusers. And everyone loses.
The answer is of course: Tell the Truth. The truth the flim-flam artists are so cleverly hiding. The truth that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re here to create real value for people and win/win relationships capable of withstanding the test of time.
Let there be an arms race of truth.
Here are a few practical ideas for cutting through the clutter, gaining attention, and inspiring trust in today’s cynical, over-communicated world:
Amp up the Transparency — Show your customers the inner workings of your business, the good, the bad and the ugly. If the truth is untellable, fix it. Rectify what’s wrong with your business. Trust is such a rare commodity these days. Start looking at it as a competitive weapon.
Reveal Your True Motivations — Tell people the real reasons you created this product… why you priced it the way you have… why you need them to order right now… and so on. Don’t be afraid to reveal what’s in it for you as well as what’s in it for them. A sale is a transaction where both parties should win.
Avoid Unsubstantiated Hype and Exaggeration — There is a difference between delivering honest, heart-felt enthusiasm and spouting baseless, over-the-top claims. The former, when backed up with sound reasoning, leads to conviction. The later demands even more lies and obfuscation to maintain.
And as we all know, sooner or later, a business built on lies falls down like a house of cards. If your product or service doesn’t make your heart race with breathless excitement about what it can actually do for your customers, work on it until it does.
Commerce is a relationship. When you harness Satyagraha — openly revealing your vulnerabilities, imperfections, and limitations as a seller in an interesting and dramatic way – you quickly build a bond of trust, even affection with your market.
Can you think of a better way of sweeping aside the number one obstacle to acquiring a new customer?
Until next time, Good Selling!
This article appears courtesy of
Satyagraha, Your Secret Marketing Weapon
Posted on 02. Jun, 2011 by Daniel Levis in Articles, Blog, Ghandi, hype, Influence, John E. Powers, John Wannamaker, Martin Luther King Jr., mindshare, Motivation, relationship, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, story, transparency, trust, truth
The word, Satyagraha, is a portmanteau of the Sanskrit words Satya and Agraha. Loosely translated, the word means “Truth Power”.
Satyagraha was popularized by Mohandas Ghandi in his fight for Indian independence and became synonymous with the use of civil disobedience as a political tool.
Ghandi believed that truth had great moral power to galvanize resolve against an oppressor, while also garnering support from the rest of the world. And history proved him right.
A young black minister in America studied Ghandi’s struggle and ideas and was profoundly influenced by them. He used Ghandi’s Satyagraha precepts to achieve a similar human rights triumph here in the West. His name was Martin Luther King Jr.
In both cases, people from around the world with no direct interest in the conflict sided with the freedom fighters. Unyielding non-violent revolt in the face of violent counter-reaction was shocking. It seized global attention and sympathy.
Eventually, these outsiders — bound to the protestors by nothing more than their humanity – put unbearable pressure on those they perceived to be outside of the realm of truth. And justice was served.
These watershed moments in history prove that human nature has a built-in recognition and appreciation for what’s right and just and true.
Ever since the motorcycle accident I’ve found my brain has a weird way of associating things. As such, it seems to me this core kernel of Satyagraha has broad application to sales and marketing as well.
In times of over-communication and intense battle for consumer mindshare…
… Brutal, uncompromising truth has enormous attention-getting power.
One of the father’s of direct response advertising built his entire career on this fact.
His name was John E. Powers, arguably history’s first hired gun copywriter. In 1880 Powers was earning $100 a day as a freelance copywriter, an enormous sum at the time. And his ads often worked like gangbusters. Why?
This was the first golden age of advertising. The industrial revolution was sweeping the developed world. All manner of time and labor saving conveniences were making their debut. And John Wannamaker had just invented the department store.
By the late 1800s, newspapers and magazines had become so stuffed with advertising that an arms race took hold with each advertiser trying to out-gun, out-claim, and out-hype the next.
Power’s approach was so novel and rare it was shocking — Tell the Truth.
One of his headlines read: “We have a lot of rotten gossamers we want to get rid of…” Another famous Power’s ad announced, “We are bankrupt. We owe $125,000 more than we can pay, and this announcement will bring our creditors down on our necks. But if you come and buy tomorrow, we shall have the money to meet them. If not, we shall go to the wall.”
The sad truth is that most marketers lie through their teeth. Somehow, this has become accepted, part of the game. It’s just what marketers do.
Clever flim-flam artists know what their customers want to believe, and they twist the truth into a mangled wreck to give it to them. The even sadder truth is that in many cases this actually works, at least in the short term. And the saddest truth of all is the toll this approach takes on the trust of the consumer. The honest eventually get tarred with the same brush as the abusers. And everyone loses.
The answer is of course: Tell the Truth. The truth the flim-flam artists are so cleverly hiding. The truth that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt you’re here to create real value for people and win/win relationships capable of withstanding the test of time.
Let there be an arms race of truth.
Here are a few practical ideas for cutting through the clutter, gaining attention, and inspiring trust in today’s cynical, over-communicated world:
Amp up the Transparency — Show your customers the inner workings of your business, the good, the bad and the ugly. If the truth is untellable, fix it. Rectify what’s wrong with your business. Trust is such a rare commodity these days. Start looking at it as a competitive weapon.
Reveal Your True Motivations — Tell people the real reasons you created this product… why you priced it the way you have… why you need them to order right now… and so on. Don’t be afraid to reveal what’s in it for you as well as what’s in it for them. A sale is a transaction where both parties should win.
Avoid Unsubstantiated Hype and Exaggeration — There is a difference between delivering honest, heart-felt enthusiasm and spouting baseless, over-the-top claims. The former, when backed up with sound reasoning, leads to conviction. The later demands even more lies and obfuscation to maintain.
And as we all know, sooner or later, a business built on lies falls down like a house of cards. If your product or service doesn’t make your heart race with breathless excitement about what it can actually do for your customers, work on it until it does.
Commerce is a relationship. When you harness Satyagraha — openly revealing your vulnerabilities, imperfections, and limitations as a seller in an interesting and dramatic way – you quickly build a bond of trust, even affection with your market.
Can you think of a better way of sweeping aside the number one obstacle to acquiring a new customer?
Until next time, Good Selling!
Photo: Wikipedia
This article appears courtesy of Early To Rise, a free newsletter dedicated to creating wealth and success through inspiration and practical, proven advice. For a complimentary subscription, visit http://www.earlytorise.com.
Satyagraha, Your Secret Marketing Weapon originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.
Why Email Marketing Doesn’t Work…
Posted on 30. Mar, 2011 by Daniel Levis in Articles, Blog, brand, buzz, email, hype, open, pitch, professional, promise, proof, publicity, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Traffic
Despite all of the buzz and excitement swirling around social media marketing — much of it driven by hype I might add — email remains the killer app for online marketers who demand an immediate and measurable return from their marketing efforts.
Given a choice between 100 visits driven by social media and 10 from email marketing I’ll take the 10 any day of the week.
My professional opinion is that traffic is only as valuable as the conversion (leads and sales) it brings you. “Buzz” should never be a primary aim, rather a by-product of generating leads and making sales. And in most markets, email driven traffic is 15 to 20 times more likely to convert than social media traffic.
So why are so many marketers struggling these days to make email marketing work?
One reason is because they’re wasting too much of their time with social media.
Here’s the pop theory…
Social networks are like backyard barbecues. You head on over and sit around the barby sippin’ a few proverbial wobbly pops, chatting up the locals, making friends, talking about the weather and the game and other idle gossip. And sooner or later somebody is sure to ask: So what do you do?
And that’s your chance to invite ‘em over to your place — your blog, I mean. And on your blog you’ve got plenty of hearty hospitality that proves you’re a swell guy or gal definitely worth knowing the next time your new-found friends ever need what you’re selling.
Now, even a hair-on-fire social media fanatic will tell you your next step in the long and winding road to revenue is to try and get these visitors to sign up to your email list. So you’ve got an email sign up box on your blog with a delicious free gift your new friends can take home with them. That way you can market to them on demand — well into the future.
Just one problem with all this awesomeness: Way too much work for too little return. You have to sift through far too many of these social media butterflies to find a serious prospect. I mean, why do people go on social media sites? To socialize! That’s why they’re called “Social” networks.
Why not start with quality traffic in the first place…
… People who are actively searching desperately for an answer to the problem you solve. Duh!
Beware the social media cool aid that says you can get all of the traffic you could ever want for free. Nothing’s free. You got into business to leverage yourself, not to become a $2 an hour social media slave.
Go out and buy yourself some decent traffic, or do some good old-fashioned joint ventures, or publicity. And build you list on a solid foundation.
Another reason marketers struggle with email these days — even those who understand that you need quality traffic to begin with — is what I call the curse of voluntary anonymity.
I see this all the time and it breaks my heart.
What am I talking about?
Simply this: Business owners hiding behind their “brand”… or their “product” instead of interacting personally with people.
There is an epidemic of distrust on the Internet…
Unless you’re a known brand like Apple or Amazon, the first thing a new prospect does when they come to your website or blog is try to figure out who the heck you are.
Before they engage with your promise and sign up to your email list, they want to know if you seem honest, competent, and sympathetic. And if they do decide to connect with you via email they want to be subtly reminded of these qualities each time you drop in to say “Hi”…
Yet you’ve seen it a thousand times before… flashy html emails from waxing poetic about — the whole piece written in disembodied voice.
This kind of an approach might work fine in the offline world, but it’s just not how email works. Think about it: email is the most personal marketing medium on the planet. You trade emails with your friends and family. And you do it in plain text. You read those emails. You trust those emails.
If you send flashy looking html masterpieces, instantly you go in the spam folder of your prospect’s brain. Your email looks and feels like an intrusion.
Even if someone does open your email, they’re ten times more likely to trash it. You failed to make a human connection. Email is a one-to-one medium. Get personal, or go home.
One more reason email doesn’t work (the last one I’ve got time for today)…
It’s when marketers become extremists. Instead of walking the middle road between providing valuable information and asking for a purchase, they’re either all content or all pitch.
You need both. If you run your list like a soup kitchen you’re just training people not to buy from you. On the other hand, if you’re emails are just pitch, pitch, pitch — nobody’s going to open them.
Mix it up for heaven’s sake.
Email may not be the idiot proof marketing money machine it once was, but make no mistake, it’s still the cornerstone of Internet marketing.
With a little ingenuity, it’ll work for you just fine.
Until next time, Good Selling!
Why Email Marketing Doesn’t Work… originally appeared on The Michel Fortin Blog. Please visit to subscribe to it, or Tweet This.
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