Why do we marketers obsess over the copy of our latest email, but treat the subject line as an afterthought?
Why do we create well-written, highly-informative white papers and throw together a really boring cover page?
Why do we put our executives on stage with bullet points on the slides behind them?
We should know by now that perception is everything. Very few prospects are reading that white paper. But the topic and cover made them take action.
Our prospects are judging us the only way they can before they get to know us. They judge us by what they see first, what they see before they get the chance to read more.
First impressions are important.
If you’re brave, try a little experiment. For your next white paper, put 75 percent of your time, attention and budget on the cover page and artwork. Don’t exactly phone in the content, but let your prospects judge the book by its cover.
I bet your response rates go up significantly, and I bet lead conversion isn’t materially impacted in a negative way.
