Daily Lab: Say it to someone

It’s a little silly to make such a basic point, but groups don’t really buy things—people do.

You buy things, I buy things. Sometimes we represent other people, businesses or organizations, and sometimes it’s not even our money—but it’s our decision.

But most marketing sounds like it’s being blasted out into space, toward some vague idea of an “audience,” or a fictional, fantastical “persona.”

How many businesses do you see messages from, every single day, that you’d never buy from? Let’s face it, it’s not because the message didn’t hit you, it’s because you didn’t care about it.

Because it didn't demonstrate any value to you.

So I recommend—even when you hope to reach a lot of people—starting by writing for just one in particular.

If you can demonstrate value to one person, you can do it for many.

But if you can’t, that tells you exactly what to work on to improve your marketing.

Read more: “Dear Charlie”