Believe it or not these are real headlines from real websites. Whats even harder to believe, is that the same people using these headlines actually paid good money to have some else write them. "And you wonder why you are not making any money online."
I hate to be the bearer of bad news but someone has to say it. The days of the hard sell are gone! Finished, finito, dead.
Here is why; If you stayed awake long enough in statistics class you know that they can provide a great source of knowledge, especially if you know the right questions to ask.
So...Let me ask you a question: Who uses the internet the most? Is it A) your mother B)Your Kids C)You or D)your grandparents
Depending on your age, the results of the survey above may vary, but I will give you the answer. It is me! And the rest of my coharts disturbingly labeled the MTV generation. We are making and spending the money. And we are without a doubt the most rabid of internet users. Yet everyday, new business opportunist send out more and more messages that just do relate to us at all. So, sit back, relax and get yourself something to drink, because I'm about to tell you what makes my generation so different. And like my good friend G.I. Joe used to say "knowing is half the battle."
The first thing you need to know is that we are natural skeptics. "Think about it", if you grew up in the 80s and you halloweens consisted of going to houses for 2 hrs, trick or treating, and then going to the hospital for another 4hrs so you could get your holloween candy x-rayed; it might make you a little skeptical over time. If your message is hyped up, you have almost zero chance converting someone from my generation into a customer. We prefer facts over promises, and our shopping habits tend to be pragmatic almost to a flaw.
The second reason your product may not be working is because we are very computer literate. As the first generation to grow up going to computer camp instead of baseball camp, the internet has been a very natural transition for us to make. When you couple a natural curiosity to understand everything foriegn and forbidden with the ability the internet gives a savvy information seeker to do a months worth of research in a matter of minutes, you are heading for disaster if you aren't participating in legitimate online ventures.
And last, "We don't do brand loyalty", unless you are special. Why? Blame mom for that one, or better yet blame dad. Almost 50% of us grew up in single family homes, myself included. That fact alone has made us extremely resourceful; clipping coupons in the Sunday paper ans shopping for the best deal is almost second nature to us. We are very price consious unless you are special. I like to call it the "Chucky Cheese theory."
There is no substitute for pizza, a good time, a mouse and a good price to boot. To put it simply, you have to do something different to connect with us. You have to cater to our interest, not just sell to our interest. If you price is higher than you competitors you better be doing something to justify the price difference. If you are selling information thow me a freebie. If you are selling hard goods give me more information to help me make a better decision, do what it takes to make yourself stand out as the best, just saying it is not enough.
In short, if you are thinking of buying that new system because it will make you rich, "DO NOT DO IT", you won't have any customers to sell. Instead take the time to develop you own concept, we love creativity.