The Peanut Butter Elephant vs. 70247
Allow me to pose a question to you. Which would you remember more: the number 74702 or a peanut butter-eating elephant?
Because the elephant is a visual and engages many senses, it’s likely that you’ll recall it more easily. Whether you like peanut butter or not, you recall the scent.
Can’t you do it? Elephants are gray, while peanuts are brown, as you may know.
Maybe you’ve been to a circus or a zoo and seen elephants being fed peanuts. However, it’s unlikely that you’ve ever seen an elephant consume peanut butter.
Let’s return to that number now. Without scrolling back, can you recall what it was?
What if I told you it was a 747-400 with the number 02 on the tail? Is that going to help you recall 74702?
That’s because it provides you a visual representation of the number, and that tool or mechanism helps us internalize what we’re trying to remember.
What exactly is marketing?
Marketing is all about persuading people to imagine a scenario, or, better yet, a favorable result. It’s much better when you can engage a variety of senses in the process.
But all too frequently, you’ll see businesses mention features, advantages, and statistics without providing a visual representation of what they’re attempting to convey.
So why do so many individuals attempt to convey a narrative using facts, statistics, and numbers rather than visuals? That would be a lot more effective at getting folks to remember what you’re trying to say.
Put it in an eBook if you want your customers to actually look at it.
What exactly is an eBook?
An eBook, after all, is a digital book. At the end of the day, it’s typically a PDF that people download.
And if you’re really fortunate, they’ll read it. An eBook on its own is useful, but adding additional visual and mental stimulation may make it much more effective, and this is the method I’d want to discuss today.
So, first and foremost, let’s clarify what an eBook is.
It’s a visual adventure
It’s not simply a PDF; it’s a collection of pictures that combine to form a mental image. The text within is set up in such a manner that it should be able to convey a narrative from beginning to finish.
What is the issue, what is the remedy, and what is the end result? Last but not least, it should be a method that helps others remember what you’re attempting to convey.
This may assist your messages become more prominent in people’s minds.
It’s a system for telling stories.
So, how do you go about making that eBook? Well, it typically starts with an introduction that outlines what you’re going to say and ends with a summary of everything that happened in between.
The in-between is typically one to five distinct points or chapters that may be broken down into easily digestible chunks of data. In terms of a book, there are five to seven chapters, an introduction, three to five pieces, and a conclusion.
So, why is this significant? eBooks are content assets, after all.
It’s a versatile asset that can be put to a variety of uses. Its primary goal should be to gather names.
You may exchange the information included in that eBook for someone’s information, their name, their email address, or anything you want to gather by posting it on your website or on social media with a form. That’s the first step. However, the greatest issue with any eBook is that people will download it, but will they read it?
It’s a garden of assets and content
The benefit of having an eBook in your system is that it enables you to produce material that will encourage people to return to that eBook and, ideally, finish reading it. You also have the chance to remind them that they downloaded it and to encourage them to return to it on a regular basis.
As a result, you may develop a series of blog articles based on the eBook. Each of these links together as though it were a separate piece of data.
You may then compose a series of emails that essentially explain what’s in each of those chapters.
It may be a solo article that serves as a reminder to folks about the eBook. You may set up email drip campaigns that say things like, “In chapter one of this eBook, we discuss this.”
Go read more about it on the blog post.” You may place a banner ad on the blog article that reminds readers or perhaps tells them for the first time that there’s more to this tale and that they can acquire it in the eBook.
To accomplish the same thing, you can make a series of awareness graphics, basic tiny square images that you can post on social media to get across the important ideas within each of those chapters. “If you’re interested in learning more, visit the blog.”
The eBook may be downloaded from the blog.” You might also make a series of video clips that recap what’s in each of those chapters or blogs, taking people back along the same road.
And there are a slew of other things you can do with it. If it makes sense, you may turn it into a video series or even a full-fledged print book.
Recording your history
The trick is to organize the information inside the eBook. “I’ve downloaded a lot of eBooks, and they’re all just big sales pitches,” you may be thinking now.
The reason for this is that the majority of individuals sit down to create sales presentations. So you may want to try something new, and I’ve got a better method to accomplish it.
By interviewing individuals, I’ve discovered that I can capture better visuals that can be integrated into each of those chapters. More narrative emerges as a result of the interview process, which is fundamental to our humanity.
We tend to want to put the facts together when we sit down to write anything, and we spend much too much time on punctuation and sentence construction rather than just helping others comprehend what we’re trying to convey.
People will share tales, which leads to stronger eBook material, as I’ve discovered through hundreds of interviews. This allows them to divide things into chapters, resulting in a better platform for all of the extra sprouts that aid in the creation of an ecosystem.
The more awareness components you can include in your eBook material, the better it will be digested and comprehended. It will become more memorable as a result, and you will be able to produce more and better items that can be reused.
Last thoughts
I asked you to recall a number and a peanut butter-eating elephant a while ago. So here’s my query for you:
On a 747 with a 02 on its tail, what do you call a peanut butter-eating elephant?
On a Jumbo, a Dumbo.
Please accept my apologies.
Let the moans begin.
I’d be interested in hearing your views on utilizing eBooks as part of your marketing strategy to get customers to take a look. Share your views, ideas, and questions regarding eBooks and your own marketing strategy in the comments section below.
Thanks to Brian Basilico at Business 2 Community whose reporting provided the original basis for this story.
