If the person writing that email could have given me one succinct, believable, and real reason, then I could have been persuaded. But they didn’t and I believe they can’t. Which means it’s not a real argument, there’s not a true case for why I should take action, and they’re covering it up with a bunch of words.
This truth immediately brought my mind to the world of advertising. We, as consumers, can tell when companies don’t have a true unique selling proposition. Sometimes we don’t find out until we’ve purchased the product or used the service, but many times we can tell just from the ads and we’re not ‘buying’ it.
Think of light beer ads that claim to have great taste (see my blog on ‘Drinkability’), ads with ‘real’ consumer testimonials that are obviously fake, sugary cereals telling me their whole grains will make me healthier, or fast food companies that claim their ingredients are fresh.If you can’t build a real case for why I should take action (or even care) then spend some time thinking about it more. And if you still can’t after that, then don’t bother making the argument in the first place. At least that’s my 2 cents.
