The Growth Newsletter #195

Play the long game with soft-sell ads and content

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Read on demandcurve.com The Growth Newsletter #195 Play the long game with soft-sell ads and content Y'all know the old adage:   If you want to go fast, go alone.If you want to go far, go together. ‍—African Proverb   Well, here's a new one for you:   If you wanna grow fast, sell hard. If you wanna grow far (steadily, consistently, and healthfully), sell soft. ‍—Neal O'Grady (me)   Today, we cover soft-sell ads and content to your marketing mix. Brought to you by Poplar—a modern approach to direct mail.    Digital ads are getting harder to crack due to privacy regulations. And people are increasingly inundated with email and SMS. Performance for both is on the decline.   But direct mail is only getting more effective thanks to improved tech.   With Poplar, you can easily launch powerful direct mail campaigns in minutes with the tech-driven features you're used to, like event-based triggered campaigns, 1:1 personalization, and real-time attribution reporting.   Use it for abandoned carts, lookalikes, upsells, cross-sells, win-back campaigns, and whatever else your creativity allows.   Book a call and get a $250 credit when you deposit $1000 into your account. Want to be featured in front of over 101,000 founders and marketers? Learn more here. Play the long game with soft-sell ads and content Insight from Nice Ads and DC.   Hold up, what's the difference between hard and soft sell ads?   A hard sell is classic direct-response advertising. Think: Bold claims Coupon codes, offers, trackable links Sometimes (though not always) a focus on product features (not benefits) The goal is an immediate sale or at least get you into a funnel   For example, this static ad from Vessi: Can't get more hard sell than that really.   With soft sells, the goal is to connect with the viewer by showing them you understand their lifestyle, values, and pain points. It's not about an immediate sale but rather forming trust that you can trade for a sale (or referral) later.   A soft sell looks like this: No pushing for clicks No discount codes Highlighting your product's benefit to the viewer (not the features) Solving a problem the viewer is experiencing Gently positioning your product in the context of something the viewer already finds valuable Tapping into the user's identity   Let's look at three examples: a B2B one curated by me and two B2C ads curated by Nice Ads.   This first one is from Thermacell What I love: Feels like an organic post. The creator walks through a solution to a familiar audience problem: mosquitos. This is the type of content most folks follow this creator for. The creator highlights the product's benefit (rather than a feature). We don't care how the Thermacell works. But we care a lot about a fun evening outdoors without mosquitos. It's a soft sell. There's no link. No discount code. They're earning trust and playing the long game (and hopefully increasing branded searches).   This second one's from Jack Links:  What works? It's goofy and entertaining. The entire video is raw. You can't tell it's an ad until the creator specifically highlights Jack Links halfway through. Even then, it's about 2% of the video. This is the type of content people follow this creator for. Simple, but that's what makes the ad engaging. Again, it's a soft sell. The mention of Jack Links is concise and positions the product as a solution to this audience's known problem. Hungry while out adventuring? Jack Links is for you.   Last one, B2B this time, and an ad for Instantly   Check out the full post here, but here's the opening:   Why I like it: It's legitimately useful content for people trying to set up a modern cold outreach practice. It gives free value. It shows how Instantly fits into a workflow, removing the confusing guesswork for them. In no way does it feel like it's promoting Instantly. They aren't mentioned until tool #4, and there are 4 other tools mentioned.    This organic post is now being promoted by Instantly as an ad to drive leads to their product (using the Thought Leadership ad type on LinkedIn).    Often, the best ads are great organic social posts.   Just so we're clear, we don't hate hard sell ads. Far from it.   They're valuable and have a place in most solid ad strategies.   The ideal playbook is a combination of hard and soft sell ads, for example: Hard-sell ads targeting folks who watched or engaged with soft sell ads. Soft-sell when using influencers (as they'll be concerned about enraging their audience, and a more organic plug will likely perform better). Or even soft-sell organic content and promote it if it does well. Hard sell for retargeting campaigns.   Use both in your ad strategy to grow fast and far 🙂 Something fun   From Wes Kao. How many problems can you get away with on your climb? How we can help you grow Read our free playbooks, articles, growth guide, and teardowns—we break down the strategies & tactics used by fast-growing startups. Need help running ads? We've built the ads agency for startups. Looking for a growth freelancer or agency? We'll match you with a vetted partner for free. Get in front of 101,000+ founders by sponsoring this newsletter. What did you think of today's newsletter? 😍 Loved it:  Forward to a friend, or reply—a simple 😍 will do! It really helps. 🤷‍♀️ Meh: You can unsubscribe here, or manage your subscription here. 🤔 I'm new here: You can join the party here. 🤩 Give me more: Check out all previous growth tactics in our Growth Vault. Thanks, everyone! Have a glorious weekend. Neal O'Grady Justin Setzer Nick Costelloe © 2024 Demand Curve, Inc. All rights reserved. 4460 Redwood Hwy, Suite 16-535, San Rafael, California, United States Unsubscribe from all emails, including the newsletter, or manage subscription preferences.