Consistency, consistency, consistency.
Have you heard of the Rule of 151? It relates to how many times people need to hear something before it enters their conscious minds, before they pay attention to it. There are lots of different opinions on the exact numbers, but this is what some of the studies say:
It takes 7 to 9 times for a message to be heard through direct mail.
It takes up to 56 times for a message to be heard through advertising. (“Up to” because advertising varies widely, and because much of it is mistrusted, both online and off.)
And it takes 151 times for a message to be heard through conversation.
- The first 50 times people don’t hear you.
- The second 50 times they don’t understand you.
- The third 50 times they don’t believe you.
- And it isn’t until they’ve heard it for the 151st time that they finally hear, understand, and think, “Well, there must be something to this.”
Ask anyone who speaks or runs for office how many times they say the same things in order to get their points across. And aren’t you glad they do? Otherwise, how would you remember what each of your favorite gurus stands for?
So you need to repeat yourself
Sometimes we get tired of our own business messages and want to change them, thinking our audience must be tired of them, too. They’re not. With any luck, they’re just beginning to hear them.
Sometimes we wonder why our prospects aren’t responding — after all, we told them about our special thing once or twice. Did you read the above? You need to keep telling them, certainly more than once or twice.
It feels boring and bothersome
I know. From where you stand, it can seem repetitive and boring and really bothersome, but for those who need and want your message and your stuff — it’s not.
So tell them.
Then tell them again.
And then tell them again.
If your message is a good one, it will only get stronger with time.
