How do you balance what's right and what
Most of us run into this debacle at some point. That line between what’s ethical and what’s effective can get real fuzzy in the marketing world.
So what’s the right move? If you know a certain message will work, is it worth exaggerating, telling a white lie, or bending the rules to use it?
The actual truth: It depends on who you ask.
My truth: Nah. Absolutely not.
Because your audience is smart. They see shifty sales tactics all day in their inboxes, social feeds, and commercial breaks — and they can spot your BS from a mile away.
The minute they realize you’re trying to play them, you lose ALL the credibility and trust you’ve worked hard to build.
These are just a few examples of copywriting/marketing tactics that can push them away:
Fabricated urgency — Saying there are “only X left” when you know dang well that you won’t be running out of product, seats, time slots, etc. any time soon.
(Example: webinar guy.)
Blaming the reader — Making your audience feel like they’re doing something wrong, they’re failures, and the only way for them to succeed is to give you money… but in reality, they could totally figure it out on their own.
(Example: a Meta ad that targeted me saying “you suck at copywriting.”)
Fake time limits — Telling a lead their offer will expire in “X days/hours” when it’s actually an ongoing deal they can claim at any time.
(Example: that same Meta ad gives me a 2-minute countdown every time I click it)
(I know because I clicked it ONE TIME and now it never goes away. And every time, I have 2 minutes.)
