JOURNALISM

Have Something Interesting To Say and Say It Well

Have Something Interesting To Say and Say It Well

This statement “Have something interesting to say and say it well” by Harold Evans has started new debates among journalists and writers. Whilst many critics of journalism today tout the lack of honest, unbiased and accurate reporting, it is completely unfair to lay the blame squarely at the feet of journalists or media outlets. There are those that would argue that some these ethical and legal responsibilities violate the basic tenant of the media and that is free speech. (Evans 1992, 23-35) At the basis of all democratic societies, is the principle of free speech. The censorship debate has raged for many years and is often one of the reasons why journalists do not always follow the ethical standards set out for them. This paradox is best observed in the United States, where the right to free speech is actually one of the amendments to their Constitution. If you don't get this right, you can just forget about everything else: your advertising will fail miserably if you don't have something good to say. In terms of advertising, here's what that means: having something good to say means that you've innovated your business sufficiently so that you've got something of value to the marketplace that's worth advertising in the first place. Saying it well has to do with taking what you do well and saying it in your advertising in such a way that it gets people to notice and take action. We're going to show you how to use the power of writing and articulating to get more results for the same money spent say it well.

And as for saying it often, that refers to executing your advertising and follow-up marketing in a systematic format that allows you to build brand equity and cost-effectively turn prospects into customers. So, before we get into the how to say it well (Pogrund, Evans 2000, 12-22), let's spend just a few minutes talking about the first step to successful communications: “Have something good to say.” Some people don't expect that they have to actually innovate their business to be successful. But so far, in my years of experience, it's been the best strategy that I've seen. You've probably heard the old saying that if you build a better mousetrap the world won't necessarily beat a path to your door.

That may be true; but here's a strategy that I've seen fail a thousand times: trying to use catchy advertising, tricky words or fast talking to try to sell the same-old, boring mousetrap that everyone else is offering. I think whoever said that line about the better mousetrap and the world not beating a path to your door just didn't understand the principles that govern successful marketing and advertising.

See, once you have created something that people want or as the common expression goes, sell itself—then advertising becomes infinitely easier. There's a man named Rosser Reeves who was one of the ...