Does hype sell? Most of us would say no. In fact, we detest hype, right? But if you said no, you’re off the mark. Hype exists, because it sells.
And selling depends on one and only one thing to begin with:
It depends on the target audience.
The target audience is everything.
You might be talking to clients who are turned off by hype. And truly, that’s not your audience at all. Sure, you’ll get responses that say: “I don’t switch on to hype.” But you’d be totally off the mark.
You’d be off the mark, because you’re talking to an audience that is already biased against ‘get rich quick’, or ‘get thin quickly.’ But such an audience exists. And I’ve been to not one, but two seminars, where in one case they had to pay $2500 for three days, and in another case the audience had to pay $8000 for 5 days.
In both cases, the sales pitch was pure hype. In the first instance, they actually said you could (and anyone could) earn $20,000 or more in a day, even with zero-experience on the Internet. And then, at the seminar, they proceeded to prove the point. 249 people watched as one person became $20k richer (through a system that can only be considered a scam for those 249 people).
But hey, we’re not debating the scam part. We’re talking about the factor of ‘does it attract or not?’. And the answer is: It does.
To the right audience.
In the second instance, 450 people paid $8000 (do the math) to be at an event. There wasn’t just hype–there was super-hype. The presenter even flew in his two Porsches into the seminar tent. He sold them pictures of his mansion on the hill–and his unending flow of income.
It worked. You’re damned right it worked. And to date, it works in both these instances year after year, after year.
Because both of these seminars are actually running seminars (no, I won’t give you the names or venues).
So how do I know?
One of them I was asked to speak at. The other one, I was given a complimentary pass. Why did I attend? I wanted to see how these events are held (just so we could do the exact opposite–it helps to study what is being done if you want to know what to do, yourself).
So yeah…they work.
Not for this audience, but they do work for the right audiences.
And they work exceedingly well too!
Be aware of whom you’re talking to. Target audience is everything. 
And while we are indeed on a ‘hype topic’, which words signal ‘hype’ for you as a reader? Let’s see if one person’s hype is not another’s hype…
6 responses so far ↓
1 Crystal // Apr 8, 2007 at 8:29 am
Words that signal ‘hype’ for me are the big promises:
‘everything you’ve ever wanted’
‘anything you can imagine’
‘in no time at all’
‘absolutely no effort on your part’
‘you’ll never hear an offer like this again’
Of course, these are followed by a bunch of back-pedaling fine print disclaimers
2 Mark Silver // Apr 8, 2007 at 9:31 am
Hey Sean,
Good point- I think the question for me is: what is ‘hype’? I believe you are talking about hype meaning ‘exaggeration.’
And I take that to mean that while what is said may be literally true in some narrow way, it plays on a deliberate misunderstanding of meaning- for instance the $20k in one day person. And why does the misunderstanding work?
Fear- the people reading are caught up in fear.
I totally agree that manipulating fearful people works. But… there is a karmic price that your heart and soul pays when you do that. Never mind bad publicity from upset customers after the fact.
So- for me hype isn’t in the language itself- it’s in the intention to manipulate fear, and to deliberately create fuzziness and misunderstandings that benefit the seller, and not the purchaser.
How does that click with what you were writing?
3 Sean D'Souza // Apr 8, 2007 at 11:52 am
I’m pretty sure it’s fear. But fear is a hard to pin down word. It could stand for problems (which are good–because they get us to solutions). And in this case above, the fear is about manipulation. But here’s my point.
My point is one of ‘target audience.’ That people go on about how they’ll never be swayed by hype. And that it’s not true. You and I have, and will in the future at many points be swayed by hype. We’ll see a movie that we think was ok, but generated by hype. We’ll eat a meal at a restaurant that’s just tepidly mediocre, and yet the restaurant will have got fabulous reviews.
Hype exists where we can’t even see it, or often not even sense it.
So that’s one kind of hype.
But there’s another kind of hype, like the one above. And that hype isn’t totally out of place. I’m not saying you or I (or anyone I know) should do it. But when I was at these events, I largely realised who I was with. The majority of the crowd did indeed come to get that magic potion. They did indeed come to get that silver bullet and solve ‘all’ their problems at one go.
And for many, if not most, it was at least the third or fourth time they’d bit into the bait. So yes, the hype was playing to an audience. An audience that wanted the hype.
And while we may not approve (and we don’t), the truth lies elsewhere. The truth lies in the fact that the hype is solving the problem of those who want the hype; who want the magic potion.
And that’s what I was talking about. That hype may not ‘work’ for you and me (in many cases), but indeed it does work. And it serves the purpose of the audience that needs to hear that hype–just as a hypochondriac needs to pop those pills
4 Sean D'Souza // Apr 8, 2007 at 11:54 am
Crystal: I found this comment of yours really funny.
====================
Of course, these are followed by a bunch of back-pedaling fine print disclaimers
====================
Maybe that should be our barometer for hype. Go down to the fine print.
5 Mark Silver // Apr 9, 2007 at 8:48 am
Absolutely hype works- good points.
And, Crystal and I must have posted at the same time, because I didn’t see hers- I think she’s right- the fine-print disclaimers. Good thing to look for.
6 New Clinic Record! Oh wait… « Um. // Jan 15, 2008 at 8:31 am
[…] have to wait until August to hear the whole thing. This is horsepucky: I mean, I know–hype, it sells stuff. But c’mon! Eight months?! Really?! Could there be some kind of issue mucking-up the works? […]
Leave a Comment