I admit it, I’m a geek.
No, seriously, it’s true.
For example…
One of the first sites I read each day is a comic book movie fan site. I get much of my inspiration for my ads (power words, unique phrases, story ideas etc) from comics and RPG’s I played as a kid. And I’m prone to seeing certain movies (like Star Trek, Star Wars, Spiderman, Batman, Lord Of The Rings, Terminator, etc) multiple times.
So calling me a geek is truly an understatement.
BUT… being a geek has its advantages, too.
Especially in copywriting.
Take for example, an incident that happened to me last year.
I was reading one of my favorite comic book movie websites at the time. Going through the week’s stories and getting my “geek fix” for the day.
When, I see something that really intrigued me.
I don’t remember exactly what it was. I think it was a link to an article about an upcoming movie or something stupid like that.
Whatever it was, one thing is sure:
It shot my geek antenna up like a pop tart out of a toaster.
So I scroll down, click the link thinking I’m getting some juicy movie details when… I’m shunted to some dorky (even by MY standards) Rick Astely video on YouTube.
Turns out I got rickrolled.
This is basically where you put a link on a web page or in an email that promises something really cool, so people eagerly click it, only to send them to this extremely lame Rick Astely (thus “rickrolled”) 1980’s music video.
And you know what?
This sort of thing happens ALL the time in advertising, too.
One infamous example is the headline: “SEX!”
But the body of the ad has nothing to do with sex. It’s about life insurance or some other subject as dry and dead as a horse’s skull in the desert.
Anyway, it was a great “wake up call” about what NOT to do.
I mean, let’s face it:
Sometimes it might be tempting to make a promise in a link that gets oodles of attention, but that doesn’t describe your ad, blog post, article, etc at all.
It’s one thing to rickroll people on comic book fan sites.
But rickrolling your market will KILL your response and credibility.
Anyway, for more geeky comic book inspired copywriting secrets, put on your cape and tights and fly on over to:
Ben Settle
