Let’s see, how can I make this cover
page enticing? Given that people hate reading cover pages. Almost as much
as they hate stopping to read dull ads. Confess; you're not reading this, are you?
This gets to my core philosophy as a creative advertising professional: Nobody likes to read ads. Or be sold to. Or marketed to. These things are tedious. They're interruptions. They're annoying. They waste our time. So your pitch gets shut down as soon as you...
Well, I know how to get past the page flips or the "skip ad" button.
I use empathy. I just imagine myself on the receiving end. I know I’d better
make this good. It better be entertaining. That’s Step One in persuasion:
Disarm.
In my career, at least, this
technique has worked with spectacular results. Sure, I’ve won tons of creative
awards, Clios, Communication Arts, Beldings, Best-in-the-West, Webbys. But more
important, I’ve helped my clients jolt their sales by billions (over $70
billion, but who’s counting?). And I also had a small part in getting the International Space Station in orbit. See how I saved that for last?
But nobody likes long cover pages. Sorry.
