Notes on Embellishment in Info Marketing

Hey all,

I have a question for you, and it's all about something you know about, related to writing...

Who doesn’t like hearing to a good story?

Not too many. I am a sucker for a story from just about anybody. Thanks to a rural upbringing, I can recall stories from some of the old guys in my area about working all winter in a logging camp on a small Great Lakes Island, seeing some very bloody action during the Korean War, and, according them at least, finding water in a dry field using a magnet on the end of a string. How true any of these fables are is really not that important. They are just tales, and meant for your listening enjoyment. Nothing more.

Especially with that last story, you can imagine what kind of tales can get tossed around when you get a bunch of guys hanging out in the tavern during Happy Hour. Naturally, and depending on the number of drinks being consumed, the stories tend to get pretty wild. Encounters with Elvis and aliens and conspiracy theories…everyone has something to top the previously told stories. This is alright for a night out. It’s part of the fun. But it is something you really have to watch as an information marketer.

This is embellishment. It’s when you pretty up or even sensationalize the facts. Again, it’s alright if you are out having fun, but it can become a problem if you don’t watch it in your information marketing business. The temptation to make your written info products seem a little too good to be true can cause serious future repercussions.

Here’s an example of what can happen: you are creating information content about cars. You know all the specs of particular engines – timing sequences, fuel intake and exhaust cycles, everything. You offer a trick about an adjustment that can be made to make your engine run more efficiently. But, without thought, you start using words like: “…by doing this, you will always see a two hundred percent fuel efficiency increase in your automobile’s engine.”

That’s embellishment. Actually, it’s over-embellishment. A cynic might even go so far as to say it’s a lie. Either way, you are in trouble. You’ve stretched the truth too much and deceived your readers into believing something that isn’t true.

Some people might ask what the harm is in this. After all, you want your content to sell and it’s got to be created in order to have appeal to the masses. And it’s fun.

This is true but there is a line that is not to be crossed. That line is the fiction and fact division, and it’s hard to come back if you’ve already crossed it. To repeatedly dish out white lies, you risk legal ramifications and the ruining of your reputation. If my superior Michael Lombardi was to start writing exaggerations about financial investment to his subscribers and these tips did not pan out, he would be out of business pretty quick. If you were to give insurance advice to your clients about your buddy’s insurance firm and how good it was and how the Queen gets her insurance from him when in fact she does not and he’s only been at it a year or two, well, things could get grim.

It sounds very hard to believe, but people can become susceptible to making things up when they are feeling good or on a professional roll. It’s a human thing to embellish, but in the end you have to have discretion.

The trick to this lies, as always, in the writing of your content. Yes, you want your content to be appealing, and you can do this very simply by writing clearly and from the perspective of an interested client. You just have to steer clear of the desire of making things sound better than they are. If you are straight up about the facts and possibilities of your information, your clients will not only return again and again, they will appreciate your honesty. Plus you will never get sued or taken to task, which is always good.

Stay grounded as an information marketer. Embellishments are fun, but always observe what you are doing and how truthful your material is. In the end, it’s an ounce of prevention well worth taking.

Take care and have a good weekend. Come visit us here at the E-Wealth Daily.

J.