Or, why hype, hyperbole and too many claims will turn off readers and potential buyers every time! Whats wrong with a lot of hype and fantastic claims about a product? Plenty. First, your readers and potential buyers arent stupid, so dont talk to them as if they were.
Dont make a claim you cant authenticate with documentation or an objective test. This is fairly simple it means dont lie.
Finally, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is relentlessly on the lookout for consumer fraud advertisers selling but not delivering what they promise. Know your limitations
There are plenty of hypers out there, selling a miracle pill, weight-loss machine, slicer/dicer, you name it. But just take the time to look closely at the next 20 or so ads, articles and web pages you see and youll very likely realize that most companies play it safe. Why? Simply because the smart and successful organizations want your business and your repeat business and they want you to tell your friends to do business with them as well. Repeat and referral customers form a companys foundation, while first-time and one-time customers are often acquired at a loss. Fuzzy just wont do
Dont make a claim and surround it with vague qualifiers. Its far preferable to concentrate your efforts on claims that are honest and objective ones that can be tested and proven to be true or false. If you make a claim about your product or service, the FTC expects that you have the ability to fulfill your promises. In fact, the law states that substantiation must be based on fact and objective evaluation, not opinion or ambiguity. So heres what fuzzy will get you prospective buyers who are turned off, and a possible lawsuit. And if those all-important, existing customers lose faith in you, theyll likely take their business elsewhere. |
