The Skybus Rules of Flying
Before Skybus went out of business, it offered “The Skybus Rules of Flying” which used straight talk to explain how the airline kept prices low. Brave choice…perhaps too brave?
3. Bring a book. We’re not big fans of fancy in-flight entertainment systems. So grab that best seller at the airport, or buy a Sudoku puzzle onboard if you’re feeling brainy. You’ll touch down before you know it…
5. Don’t be late. We won’t wait. Please arrive no later than 30 minutes before takeoff, or we’ll leave without you. Really. By that time, there won’t even be anyone to check your bag. It’s nothing against you–we just have to keep our flights on time, or things get expensive in a hurry.
Slicehost
Slicehost goes for the “we’re just like you” angle at its homepage.
Built for developers
We’re just like you. Sick of oversold, underperforming, ancient hosting companies. We took matters into our own hands. We built a hosting company for people who know their stuff. Give us a box, give us bandwidth, give us performance and we get to work…
The Why Slicehost? part of the site goes on to explain why it’s not the right fit for everyone.
We aim to please developers – people who know their stuff. People who write software, build servers and get things done. If you’re new to web applications and hosting in general, we’re probably not the best choice for you. If you want the cheapest price, go to any of the volume driven web hosts with outsourced support. But if you know what needs to be done and want a host who will help you get there, you’re in the right place.
Accentuate the negative?
Copywriting Tips: Accentuate the Negative says you should leverage (don’t fight) the customer’s belief in compromise by addressing a product’s downsides head-on.
People are as likely to assume that a downside has a corresponding upside as vice versa. They’ll also gladly accept negative admissions, whereas they’d otherwise demand substantiation for positive claims. Combined, these two principles work magic. For example, take this lame and totally unsubstantiated claim for a made up photo printer:
“Our new IQ268 photo-quality printer produces the most stunning, nuanced black-and-white prints in the business.”
Credibility on that one? Zero. Now read this:
The ink for our new IQ268 printer costs more than the competition’s — 30% more, on average. In addition to the normal five ink tones everyone else uses, our printer uses two extra gray-scale inks, exclusively for printing monochrome photos. Why the expensive ink? Because, without it, the IQ268 wouldn’t produce the most stunning black-and-white prints in the business.
Since the reader automatically accepts the negative admission, they become more likely to accept the implied upside. Does mentioning the extra grey-scale inks help, too? Sure, but only insofar as it’s linked to better picture quality. That association is more likely to be accepted coming on the heals of an admission. In other words, the downside still highlights the upside by contrast, making the bigger claims that much more believable.
Nice how-to blog post
How to Shoot Events is great example of an educational blog post.
2. Don’t Be a Dick
Dudes with cameras have a well-deserved reputation for being dicks. It probably has something to do with walking around carrying a giant phallus. Let’s not perpetuate that myth, m’kay?Smile at people. Be friendly. If someone waves you away, they don’t want to be photographed – move on. I’ve even taken to winking at people when they look at me like “what’s that guy doing here.” Winking is a dorky thing to do. No one seriously winks anymore. But it makes people laugh (or at least roll their eyes) and that lets me keep doing my job.
Do not get pissy when people tell you not to shoot. Most events happen on private property, and though an event-goer can’t legally kick you out, they can get an employee who can. A simple smile can diffuse a lot of difficult situations.
Headline formulas
Copyblogger offers 10 Sure-Fire Headline Formulas That Work. Cheesy approach but maybe inspirational?
1. Who Else Wants [blank]?
2. The Secret of [blank]
3. Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]
4. Little Known Ways to [blank]
5. Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All
6. Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]
7. Now You Can Have something desirable
8. [Do something] like [world-class example]
9. Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of
10. What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]
Related: The Most Important Words You’ll Ever Write [WPDFD] offers “Top 5 ‘Unbreakable’ Headline Rules.”
Mark
on 09 Jun 08Skybus’ headlines were so great, they went out of business!
laurie g
on 09 Jun 08Yeah, it’s a shame skybus disappeared. They sold the first 10 seats on each flight for $10. A great deal if you could manage to catch it just right. All the others were CHEAP too – could fly a family of 4 somewhere for $200 round trip.
mkb
on 09 Jun 08Skybus too brave? I would say that the reasons outlined in the first reply to that post are rather enlightening: doesn’t even have a phone line, doesn’t allow any outside food, have the worst seat pitch in the industry and pay their flight attendants only $9/hour (which is REALLY bad pay).
Benjy
on 09 Jun 08Now if only Skybus had had a rule about how they expected you to chip in for gas…
Matt
on 09 Jun 08Nice to see Slicehost on here. They provide inexpensive, solid VPSs. I’ve been using them for about 6 months now and I’m very happy.
Tom
on 09 Jun 08SliceHost rocks. Love it. Simple and effective. I host dozens of clients on it and I agree with Matt. AND their chat room is a campfire room to BOOT!
Peter Urban
on 09 Jun 08Great post on writing re: accentuating the negative.
People don’t want BS anymore and they can detect it from 500 miles away. Providing a well balanced view on your product definitely gets you instant credibility.
Magnus
on 09 Jun 08+1 Great copy and service from Slicehost! Their SliceManager is also very 37signalish.
Keith
on 09 Jun 08I heard an interesting tip from a marketing training seminar I attended last week. The common thought is that headlines should be between 4 – 6 words, but what marketing researchers have found is that headlines are only effective if you make your case.
I thought that was an interesting take. It argues both for throwing away the rules and for using better word choices while writing headlines.
Great examples. Always love to see how other folks are doing this kind of thing for my clipfile!
David 0.
on 09 Jun 08I think credibility is built with experience and outsider validation, not with accentuating the negative. I read the article and the writer mentioned how “we’ve become conditioned to see high prices as both an implied downside and a reliable index of high quality.” There is a difference between implied negative and accentuating the negative. Implied negative is effective because it’s subtly draws on the viewers positive experience when accepting negativity. As quoted, we usually equate high prices with quality products, but this is just a quick judgment we make. Accentuating negativity can be too abrasive for many and cause others to dwell on the negativity.
Imagine if the Marines and Army accentuate the negative. Imagine if the first thing a Marine recruiter says to recruits is “there is a good chance you’ll be sent to the violent conflict in Iraq”. Then he mentions there is a strong possibility you will suffer some kind of post traumatic stress disorder and if not, you’ll die or lose a limb or two. The Marines and Army still get recruits because they subtly play with implied negatives, i.e., commercials showing soldiers successfully overcoming challenges.
Even the Marines slogan uses implied negativity. “The few, The Proud, the Marines” “The few” is an implied negativity. People tend to equate small quantity as being weak or ostracized. On the other hand “the few” can also mean exclusivity. That is the upside, the Marines are “Few” because they are elite, hence “The Proud, the Marines”.
Mentioning outsider validation is more important. If a company or service provider gets good reviews there is a good chance people are going to buy the products, use the services. If a company or service provider gets an award there is a good chance people are going to buy the products use the services.
Tim Walker
on 09 Jun 08I especially like the piece on marketing claims. Many, many companies have used this to sell their high-end products and services. E.g., in so many words, “Of course you have to wait in line to buy a Harley, and yes it costs more. But that’s because we’re making them like we always have—by hand, the old-fashioned way, up here in Wisconsin.” You admit the pain, even share in it (“We could sell more motorcycles…”), while showing the customer that it’s not worth it from the customers’s perspective (”...if we were willing to cut corners”).
GeeIWonder
on 09 Jun 08@David O.
I don’t think of “The few” as a negative, implied or otherwise. Quite the contrary.
“Pain is weakness leaving the body” on the other hand…
Dave 0.
on 09 Jun 08I think the term “It’s sold out” is an effective implied negative. Many people assume that products and items sell out for good reasons. Very few people would reason that a product sold out because the producing company is discontinuing an unreliable or old product. Not many will think a product sold out because the producers did not think there would be a high demand for a low quality product. And who knows whether it’s just a marketing ploy? Marketing people creating the illusion the product is valuable by limiting the availability, i.e. “only 100 where made, 99 already sold”
Dave 0.
on 09 Jun 08@GeelWonder I understand your point and it’s valid, but think about how the word “few” is used in the everyday English language.
I only have a few….
I only have a few dollars.
I only have few clothes.
I only have few things.
Many people will consider only have a few of the above as a negative.
Marina Martin
on 09 Jun 08Nice to see Slicehost mentioned. Their documentation is FANTASTIC—I have a huge cyber-crush on “PickledOnion” who authored accurate, easy-to-follow, and even amusing documentation on getting a strong server setup on Day 1. Even though it had been a long time since I was in a root environment, I was able to pick back up fairly easily. And $20/mo for a 256MB slice is hardly exorbitant. They’re a company to aspire to be like (as is 37 Signals!).
Paul
on 10 Jun 08I like Slicehost’s headline “Built for developers” a lot, it tell the story of the company in one simple sentence. For any biz, if they are not able to say it in a few words. I really doubt the biz is focused at all.
Having a good headline is a bonus. Being good in your biz is a must. See all the good WOM for Slicehost. It sure beat any marketing stints and discount coupons by the hosting giants.
Jason Glaspey
on 11 Jun 08@Dave O.
Your use of the word “Only” is much stronger than the word “few.” “Only is the word that implies the negative, that you would prefer more. Not that there are only a few. Think of it the other way around. “Only a few paintings like this still exist…”
This discussion is closed.