What I Learned About Marketing In My Seminary Preaching Class!

Dr. Bill Nieporte

The distinguished professor of preaching stood before the class of young "preacher-boys" (and a few "preacher-girls") and began his lecture. Two decades earlier he'd preached weekly to over 3000 people in his west Texas church.

When he "taught" potential preachers how to preach, he spoke as a person of authority. He'd been there. In fact, he still was there. Almost each weekend he'd fly across the country to preach in some of the largest churches in North America.

He spoke with a deep that resonated across the lecture hall. It was the kind of voice that would hush in a moment a crowd and entice them to listen.

"There are lots of things that I will can teach you about preaching," he said.

"I can teach you many different ways to craft a sermon so you can gain a hearing as you communicate the gospel."

He was silent for a few moments. He looked around the room to be certain he had everyone's attention. He did.

"But while I will teach you the latest theory in homiletics, I must say from my experience that there is one formula for preaching that almost always works."

"When you begin you sermon tell the what you are going to say!"

"In the body of the sermon tell them what you said you'd tell them!"

"When you concluded tell them what you told them!"

Go back and read those statements again!

I believe that this simple formula for preaching is based on good marketing theory. In fact, some of the most successful sales letters I've read have used this formula.

Let's explore this a bit more and see how this simple formula might help you create powerful and effective sales letters for your business.

PRELUDE

Before we dive directly into the "formula," let's pause to remember that both for preaching and for sales the assumption is that the message to be shared is GOOD NEWS for the hearer.

For the *Christian Preacher* the content of the sermon is the GOSPEL--a word which literally means GOOD NEWS. The preacher wants to communicate to his or her audience the BENEFITS of believing and acting upon the message that is proclaimed.

For the *Marketer* them content of the sales letter is the GOOD NEWS associated with the product or service that is being sold. The marketers wants his or her audience to see the BENEFITS of acting upon or responding to the sales letter's invitation to buy.

In both cases--the focus of the entire letter is the potential BENEFIT of the message for the audience.

As a preacher I can talk all day about the "attributes of God," but if I don't show how these can become personalized blessings for the person.

As a marketer I can write all about the features of a particulate product, but if I don't communicate how the person can benefit, then I am wasting their time and my effort.

So we begin with the focus of communicating BENEFITS. With that in mind we move toward the...

HEADLINE: TELL THEM WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY

In this fast-paced world people seldom have the time to focus on every advertisement and sales letter that crosses their path. This is especially true for those of us on the Internet who are been condition for almost instant gratification. If your web page or email letter does not immediately capture their attention and entice them look further--then the sale will never be made.

In your headline you need to tell them WHAT YOU ARE GOING TO SAY about how the product will benefit their needs. You've probably got less than 30 seconds to make folks want to read the rest of your letter--else they will delete your email or click to another page.

Here's a page that gets the job done in about 15 seconds.

Visit over and read the headline at Yanik Silver's "Instant Sales Letter"--then come right back here when you are done.

Visit Here Now! http://www.roibot.com/w.cgi?R250_instantletter

Here's the headline:

"In Only 2 ½ Minutes You Can Quickly and Easily Create A Sales Letter Guaranteed To Sell Your Product Or Service...Without Writing!"

Right here--at the very outset of his letter--Yanik Silver has communicated the CORE BENEFIT that he will expand for the remainder of his sales letter. He immediately answers the question: 'What do you have for me?'

By purchasing this product Yanik says that you will benefit by being able to develop a sales letter guaranteed to SELL YOUR PRODUCT even if you don't know how to write a sales letter.

This is basic communication stuff!

If I don't grab their attention early in my sermon--their minds will wander and it will be extremely difficult to BRING THEM BACK half way through the message.

If you web page or sales letter does not immediately GRAB THEIR ATTENTION, then they will be gone within 30 seconds and you will probably never get them back.

Make sure that your marketing pieces begin with a BENEFIT RICH headline that tells the reader how they will benefit if they read your letter and act upon its invitation. Tell them immediately what you have that will benefit them, or the sale will be lost.

BODY: TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM YOU'D TELL THEM

With the headline Yanik told his site visitor he'd show them a way to create a successful sales letter without writing. Next--in the BODY of the letter--he needs to tell us HOW this will happen and expand on how that will benefit the people visiting his site.

Yanik does a masterful job.

He describes the feature AND BENEFITS of his products. When you get done reading the Yanik's letter you will know...

... exactly what you will get if you respond to the letter

... the specific features of Yanik's product with their benefits

... testimonials of how others have benefited.

CALL TO ACTION: TELL THEM WHAT YOU TOLD THEM

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Source:

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What I Learned About Marketing In My Seminary Preaching Class!

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