How to use Proof

If you ask people who they think is the biggest tire manufacturer in the world, their guess is probably going to be Bridgestone. Or Michelin, or Goodyear.

All wrong.

And it’s not even some huge obscure Chinese factory pumping out the most tires.

This company makes nearly 70% more tires than the number two manufacturer. And I’m willing to put money on it that you’ve heard of it…

… and if you have kids, you’re guaranteed to hear about it every week or more often.

Enough teasing.

It’s LEGO.

In one year, according to Wikipedia, Lego put out 318 million tires. Bridgestone: 190 million. Michelin: 184 million. Goodyear: 181 million.

Interesting.

Now here’s the hidden lesson here for you as a marketer.

It’s about how you use proof.

Have you ever seen a Lego ad that said “We’re the biggest tire manufacturer in the world”? No, of course not. Because while it is an impressive claim… they’re not a tire manufacturer, and their audience doesn’t care about the fact that they pump out so many tires. It’s an interesting conversation piece, but that’s about it.

The proof you use has to match your audience’s desires, your message and your intent with that message.

Let’s dissect this step by step.

First, match your proof to your audience’s desires. And it’s not always going to be as obvious as the Lego tire thing. For example, if your audience’s main desire is to have more freedom and work less hours, purely monetary proof will work, but if you tie it with hours worked, it will land even better. It’s a small tweak, but it can give you a huge advantage.

Next, match it with your message. Now, let’s continue on the previous example - let’s say you have a product that helps people make money, but most importantly, saves them time. So you match your proof further by focusing on the time-saving aspect - show proof that they’ll save time (and mention money by extension, but don’t focus on it).

Finally, make sure to match it with your intent. Which is a fancy way of saying if you intend to sell ice cream in the desert, don’t use proof that tries to convince a customer that eating ice cream in cold weather is good, too. (Which is, by the way, true - well, at least it won’t do anything bad to you, so there, grandma - but I digress).

Oh, and by the way, there’s one more thing about Lego as a tire manufacturer.

In this email, it wasn’t just meant to draw you in with an interesting tidbit. That was just the surface level.

There was another level.

I mentioned Lego, Goodyear, Michelin, and Bridgestone as an element of proof by association.

I say this just so you are aware that there’s always another level of communication going on even in simple things like emails.

Bottom line is, just like any message, proof always has to be matched with your audience's desires, your message, and your intent of the message.

Now that’s theory.

For most marketers starting out, you don’t have tons of proof available. So what are the practical, specific approaches you can take today to make your message more credible - and more persuasive, by extension?

Here’s the ones I’d start with.

Now, I’ve already shown you proof by association. You can (and should) take this further than just mentioning company names. You could find an authority figure or a celebrity saying something that supports the point of your message.

Remember that there’s layers to this - and once you introduce someone else in your communications, you also have to make sure that their persona and stance lends to your message, the desires of your audience, and the intent of your message.

Next, use specificity. Notice how I mentioned the specific amounts of tires produced by the companies? If I could find that info, I perhaps would’ve even used an exact number - 311,231,125 tires sound more credible than 311 million, which sounds more credible than “over 300 million”.

Add scientific studies. Without digressing into any arguments, science has been around long enough to produce studies on almost any subject that support almost any point of view. Sometimes, of course, you’ll have to do more twisting and provide more context to make them fit, but it’s doable.

Another one I always like to have is showing your unique mechanism - how the way you deliver the result is different from everybody else.

Now, remember this.

Most marketers will not use - let alone understand - ONE of these.

Proof is a complex concept. So start by using and mastering ONE type of proof first. Then the next. And so on. But even if you just use one… you’ll be so far ahead it’s not even funny.

To Your Success!

Steve.

Master Online Entrepreneur