Summary

The article emphasizes the importance of putting genuine effort into advertising and marketing, criticizing the ineffectiveness of lazy, zero-effort marketing tactics.

Abstract

The author of the article argues that successful advertising requires significant effort and strategy, contrary to the dream of easy success often fantasized by content creators. They highlight the rarity of viral success without hard work and engagement with the audience. The article uses an example of a poet who spammed a Twitter feed with a link to his work without any context or effort to connect with the audience, illustrating the pitfalls of such an approach. The author suggests that creators should strive to move their audience with authentic communication and storytelling, which is more likely to result in sustainable success and engagement.

Opinions

The author believes that the fantasy of effortless success in content creation is misleading and that creators need to invest substantial effort to succeed.
They express a strong dislike for zero-effort marketing, equating it to spam and highlighting its ineffectiveness.
The article suggests that creators, especially poets and writers, should use their skills to emotionally engage potential readers or viewers, making them curious enough to explore their content.
The author points out that a generic, copy-paste approach to advertising can harm a creator's reputation and is not a sustainable business practice.
Engaging with the audience by asking questions and providing meaningful responses is seen as a valuable strategy for understanding and reaching the target audience.
The author offers a template for a more engaging advertisement, demonstrating how creators can invite curiosity and emotional investment from their audience.
They encourage readers to support creators who make genuine efforts to produce quality content and to remember that every individual is worthy of love and respect, regardless of their circumstances.

Why Your Sad, No Effort Advertising is Failing You

You need to put in a lot more effort, dude.

Writing is hard work.

I know, it’s horrible to say that. You’ve probably got this dream where you’re sitting on a nude beach with your laptop and a Mai Tai next to you, sweating in the ocean breeze, with hordes of viewers and passive income rolling their way in.

You might even laugh a little, or at least shake your head at that poor schlub of a friend who’s still wrecking his life, his marriage, and his sanity pushing through the old nine-to-nine.

It could happen. You could get really lucky and get picked up by the mystical Almighty Goog or the wondrous algorithms of whatever platform you’re trying to work your hustle on. Heck, Oprah herself might find your article or book and think, “Wow! This is the bomb! I’ve just got to share it!”

It can happen. It has happened, but the rarity of it is as high as finding a fully alive-and-well dodo sitting on your bedpost the morning after a winter’s rain.

The reality is much different.

The reality, my good friend, is you have to put in a lot of effort to get the ball rolling before any of that can happen to you. An unfortunate aspect of making that develop is advertising.

I hate advertising, too. It’s rough out there, and unless you know exactly what you’re doing (or have Mister Dodo tell you his tricks), you’re in for a long haul up a steep hill. That hill, by the way, is covered in the burned out shells of all the other creators who came before you.

They fell apart because it wasn’t as easy as they thought it would be.

The worst kind of advertising you can do is zero-effort marketing. Ever hear of it? I had a great example of it come in on my Twitter feed the other day.

He didn’t even give the effort to say hi.

I asked a question to my audience. “What turns you off about an author’s book?”

There were some interesting answers. Some folks said they hated when there’s cussing in books. That’s fine. Nothing wrong with having a line you don’t want to cross. It may not bother me, but I know it grates the gizzards of some people.

Other responses were things like love triangles (I dislike them too, especially when they’re just there for drama), too much dialogue, or even, in one case, when there’s magic involved in a book.

Asking things like this to your followers is a brilliant method to know who your target audience is going to be. If you’re not already making use of something like this, you should start today.

One response was from a poet who simply dropped a link to one of his compositions with, “Check out my new poem.”

I’ve never interacted with this person before. I don’t know them from Adam or his twin brother. The damn dude didn’t even post it in a writer’s lift or anything. It had nothing to do with the question or conversation at hand.

Spam. Plain and simple spam.

This isn’t how things work, my guy…

Usually, when this kind of thing happens, I’ll just block them and move on. But this time it gnawed at me. Maybe the cat peed on my Cheerios or something.

Look, buddy… this kind of thing is not a way to grow a good business.

There was no buildup. I found not a slight hint of complexity. Nothing more than a copy and paste, no effort spam post on some random guy’s feed, hoping to drum up a view or two.

The guy claims to be a writer. A poet, of all things, should know how to use words to move people. Where were the drips of consciousness to drive me to my knees? He could have said something interesting about the poem, such as how he felt when writing it. What inspired him to create the piece?

Had he done something like that, it would have piqued my curiosity, at the least. I probably would have clicked it, just because I love reading poems and stories. Anything would have been better than the simple, “Yo, dude, read my shit,” that he did.

Any author worth their salt should be able to make someone fascinated enough to click that link. He could have written fascinating, heart-wrenching, knee-quaking words and chose instead to drip out the most generic drivel possible.

Even a newbie marketer could have done better.

He did his job, though, I guess.

You know what, though? He made me mad enough I did click to read the poem. It was bad. I wrote better poetry as an angsty twelve-year-old in my skivvies than this.

Still, I replied with an advertisement he could copy and paste, should he want to use it.

“This poem is a part of my soul, a piece of me based on an experience so awe-inspiring, I had to put it into words. Does it make you feel the same?”

See, that I would have clicked in a heartbeat.

Still, I guess he did what he wanted. I tapped his link and read his poem.

I won’t look at him again, though. That’s not good for his business in the long run, is it? It’s not sustainable.

Be the creator you are. Move us with your words, make us feel we have no choice but to read that part of your soul, or watch that video you created.

Just do better than zero effort at all.

Thank you for being you.

If you like my work and feel inclined to support it, please consider buying me a Ko-Fi. You can also join my Original Worlds Substack newsletter. The support goes directly to helping this blind man feed his family.

Keep striving to “be the best you that you can be” at this moment. Remember, no matter who you are or what you’re going through, you are worthy of being loved. Don’t let anyone teach you anything different.