Is Hype Good OR Bad - Are You Sure??

[jamawebinc]

There seems to be a new tactic online to be anti-hype. Many internet marketers now make a general statement about all the hypey garbage stuff out there and try to promote their own stuff as anti hype.

Sometimes they will even say so in their salesletters. Words to the effect of "No hype here" or "I'm not going to hype you". But if you have to explain what you are supposedly NOT doing, aren't you actually doing it anyway?

If you say "I don't mean to put pressure on you, but..." in essence aren't you putting pressure on someone but just don't want them to think you are?

I have heard many definitions of what hype is from people who sell online. The only thing is, those definitions mean absolutely nothing.

The only thing that matters is what your customers say...and if your customers do not buy because they feel something is too hypey, even if you feel you went to great lengths to not make it hypey, does it matter? Because, to that customer, it is still hype.

There seems to be a big trend now of "don't be a salesman, be a friend recommending a solution". However, this must be defined as well.

Eventually you must present an offer for someone to buy a product. And it seems to me that the same people who pan hype and tell you it doesn't work still use some hype in their salesletter...at least how I define hype.

If someone makes a video about how John Smith used their product to make $20,000 in 30 days...isn't that hype? Not bad hype or anything, but it is still hyping the product in the same way a movie gets hyped before it premieres

I am not saying it is bad to use hype. But hype means different things to different people. And without a clear definition...making a blanket statement such as...

"Hype doesn't work" or "Don't hype your customers" doesn't really mean anything because it can mean so many different things to different people.

If someone makes a claim like: "Greatest Ever, Will Have You Doing XXXX in 7 days or your money back?"

Is that hype? I think most people will say yes.

What about a headline like this:
"How to Skip the Hardpart of Making Killer XXXX...and Overnight put 5 XXXX to Work For You"

You could fill in many different things for the XXXX's

Is that hype? Some people would probably say yes. Some may say no.

What about a Headline like: "Find the XXXX You Need To Succeed With XXXX"

Again, some people may say yes and others may say no.

Of course, the ONLY thing that matters is, do your potential customers think it is hype and is that hurting sales?

[radhika]

It is just a copywriting tactic that makes the buyer feel that the product is legit over other so called hype products mentioned there.

I think buyers are smart enough to know the truth and need for the product.

.

[artwebster]

at least how I define hype

and therein lies the problem.

Hype is a subjective judgement, not objective so that one man's hype can be another man's reasonable description.

[billnad]

If you look at AIDA then you will see that you can not build desire until the third step. Gurus on big product launches have already built up the attention and interest by proxy by having other friends and marketers build that attention and interest so once the page is live the desire can be built up though hype for the sale.

[1bad55]

I think Hype if used properly is a good thing and don't Confuse hype with deception or lies.

You have to reach the emotions of the buyer and what better way to do it then by making claims (Hype) that spark emotions from your buyer.

You must sell to your customers "Pain". Their Pain is why they are at your website in the first place so you have to tell them why your product is better then the 10 million other products that are out there.

People do not buy for our reasons they buy for their reasons so you have to use phrases that grab their attention. If you want to call that hype I guess that is ok but I think it is a good sales strategy.

Use phrases that reach the customer and NEVER use deception or lies to sell a product.

[hernan10]

hype or anti hype doesnt bring sales
manipulation and seduction does....

[ashleybaker]

I think its proven - There is NO such thing as bad publicity.

I did a little test over at digital point a couple of weeks ago, and it led to a few sales

[jamawebinc]

Originally Posted by artwebster

at least how I define hype

and therein lies the problem.

Hype is a subjective judgement, not objective so that one man's hype can be another man's reasonable description.

Yes this is precisely what I mean. Some big name internet marketers teach that you cannot use hype to sell. Just be a friend recommending a solution to a problem.

However, when I go to their sites, I still see hype.

Others may call it hard sell / soft sell.

I am not saying that it is bad to use hype. For my definition of hype may be different from someone else's. But when someone sells a product about selling without hype and I see them still using what I consider to be hype, this can only lead to confusion and thinking that they are not practicing what they are preaching.

If you look at a larger online store, they do not sell with hype (by my definition).
They write compelling copy, tell you what you will be getting, but no hype.

Some of you may even differentiate between some large internet marketers.

You may think Person A is very hypey and Person B is not. However I can see person A and B both being hypey. Again, it depends on your definition of hype.

And if your customers get turned off by the hype (by THEIR own definition) of your selling process, this is when you will have a problem. And unless you can stand back and realize that your sales copy may be too hypey for your market (again by what THEY define as hype) you will not understand why sales are low.