Have you ever noticed how you can be minding your business, just trying to get through the day, when suddenly somebody interrupts you by shouting an attention-grabbing headline at you?
It’s like: “Hey! What are you doing?” I’m busy!” “I just want to know who will win the Stanley Cup this year!” Then they tell you something that makes sense for a second before it becomes clear that what they really meant was:
“Let me interrupt your day so I can talk about hockey.” Now here’s the thing – sometimes, those headlines work! They get your attention because they’re clever or personal or compelling – and then they tell you something useful.
But other times (and this happens way more often than we’d like) we feel annoyed or irritated by their interruption. In fact, some people might even go as far as saying it’s rude or uncalled for on someone else’s part. So what gives?
| Key Takeaways |
|---|
| Interruption marketing creatively disrupts audiences’ routines. |
| Unique approaches, like unexpected visuals or messages, capture attention. |
| Disruptive strategies include in-store displays, viral campaigns, and interactive experiences. |
| Balancing interruption with relevance and value is crucial for positive outcomes. |
| Successful interruption marketing can drive engagement and brand recall. |
Tip #1 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Headline That Includes A Number
You can use numbers to grab people’s attention and make them pay attention to the rest of your copy. This is a tried-and-true marketing strategy that works for many different types of businesses.
For example, look at this headline: “The 10 Best Ways To Use Interruption Marketing.” This headline would be much more interesting than: “Our Favorite Strategies For Using Interruption Marketing.”
The former grabs someone’s attention by mentioning numbers; whereas, the latter doesn’t mention anything remotely interesting or enticing. In fact, it sounds boring!
This tip will help you stand out from crowd and attract more clients or customers.
Implementing interruption marketing effectively can drastically boost your business visibility. Explore our detailed guide on how to do it right and seize the attention of your audience.
Tip #2 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Headline That Includes A Question
Questions are powerful. Whether you’re a blogger, marketer or public speaker, asking questions is one of the best ways to get people thinking about what you’re saying. It’s also a great way to start a conversation with your audience and build engagement.
The key here is asking the right question at the right time to generate interest in your content or product. Here are some examples of how it can work:
Tip #3 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Headline That Will Make Them Laugh
Humor is a great way to capture the attention of your audience. It’s also a great way to make them happy, relaxed and comfortable. Humor has been shown to increase productivity and creativity and improve relationships in the workplace.
There are many ways you can use humor in your marketing campaigns:
Use words that will make people laugh like “big data” or “selfie.”
Use images that are humorous like kittens in business suits holding up pens with their paws or a photo of someone smiling wide with their hands on their hips looking into the camera with sunglasses on while lying down on grass (this one’s called “laziness”).
Tell jokes or stories about yourself as an entrepreneur (I call myself an entrepreneur).
Seeking innovative ways to catch your audience’s eye? Discover proven interruption marketing strategies in our article on creating interruption marketing that can fuel your business growth.
Tip #4 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Headline That Includes The Word “Secret”
The word “secret” is all you need to use in order to get readers’ attention. Again, we’ll use this phrase for our example: “Wanna Get Someone’s Attention? – Try Interruption Marketing.”
As soon as you see it, you’re intrigued because of how simple and effective it sounds (not to mention catchy). You feel like something must be going on behind the scenes and there is!
You can also use this same method if you want your audience to click on something else later on down in your article or blog post; just make sure they know what they’re getting into before they do!
To do so, try adding these words at various places throughout your content: “Here’s my secret.”
Tip #5 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Headline That Includes The Word “Free”
The word “free” is a powerful one. It’s a word that people love, and it has been known to drive sales and bring in new leads for businesses all over the world.
When you use the word “free” in your headline, there are a few things you need to keep in mind:
First, you want to make sure that whatever is being offered is free. If it’s not free, then don’t put it on your site! You’ll just look like an amateur who doesn’t know how to do her job properly.
Second, try using different kinds of “frees”. For example, if you’re selling something that costs $10,000 but it comes with training and support included (and thus makes your customers’ lives easier).
Then offering this as “$10k + $X = Total Value of $15k” may be more compelling than simply saying “Free!” because now there’s more value being given away than just getting rid of some money from someone else’s pocket into yours.
This means that person might even be willing to pay more than what they’re asking for something like this service or product (as long as it does indeed add value).
Tip #6 – Interrupt Your Audience With A Compelling Story, Real Or Imagined
Your audience is busy and distracted, so you need to make them pay attention as soon as possible. This can be accomplished by interrupting what they’re doing, or it can simply be done by telling them a short story.
Either way, the goal is to capture their interest and keep them listening until you’ve made your point or explained whatever it is that you want them to know about.
Using stories for educational purposes has been around since the beginning of time itself; it’s an effective method because people learn best through examples rather than through direct instruction (which can feel cold).
You probably already use stories in this way for example when explaining something new to someone else in non-technical terms: “So basically what happened…”
Overcoming audience resistance to interruption marketing requires finesse. Learn how to yield results from this approach in our post on getting results from interruption marketing and turn skepticism into engagement.
Tip #7 – Interrupt Your Audience With Something Helpful
Helps your audience: Interruption marketing is all about interrupting your audience, but it’s also about helping them. You can make yourself stand out by being helpful in some way.
This is especially powerful if you have a unique angle on the information you’re sharing with the world, like an interesting perspective or an unusual take on a universal problem (e.g., how to get more followers on Instagram).
The more useful your content appears to be, the more likely it will be shared, read and remembered by your audience and ultimately acted upon by them!
Tip #8 – Interrupt Your Audience With Something Private And Personal To You
This technique is a bit controversial, but it can be done tastefully. The idea is to tell a story that’s connected to the business, but not directly related to the product or service being advertised.
For example: when I was 17 years old, my parents took me out for dinner at our favorite restaurant…and they said they were going bankrupt (true story).
It was an awkward moment no one wanted to talk about but it stuck with me through my entire life because we couldn’t afford this place anymore! Today I’m sharing four ways for you to get your message across in a way that’s both creative and personal (just like my story).
Interruption that resonates can be your best marketing strategy. Uncover the secret to effective prospect interruption in our guide on the best way to interrupt your prospects and make your message impossible to ignore.
Tip #9 – Interrupt Your Audience With Something Unexpected And Surprising
Now that you’ve learned the eight ways to interrupt your audience, let’s look at a ninth way: with something unexpected and surprising.
- Make a bold statement.
- Use a shocking headline.
- Use an unexpected font.
- Use an unexpected color.
Use an unexpected image, even if the image is relevant to what you’re talking about, it still needs to be unexpected! Think about using images from different eras or from different places around the world so people will pay attention because they don’t expect it!
Or use images of celebrities who aren’t known for being associated with your industry or brand but are somehow related (maybe through their hobbies or interests).
If all else fails, just use some really funny cat pictures from Reddit…the internet loves cats! (And who doesn’t love cats?)
Tip #10 – Interrupt Your Audience With Some Dirty Laundry
This is a tip that’s more about being honest and real with your customers, but it still can be applied in a marketing sense. If you’re not afraid to make mistakes, then you shouldn’t be afraid to admit them.
And if you aren’t afraid of admitting mistakes, then why wouldn’t you ask for forgiveness? If someone has already forgiven one mistake from you, then why not ask for another chance? And if someone has been given two chances in a row, why would they give up on the third?
The truth is that this approach works because people are looking for real relationships. They want to see that businesses have flaws and weaknesses just like they do as human beings (because we all do).
It also shows genuine care when someone asks for forgiveness or help and doesn’t need it on an ongoing basis they know what they did wrong once and would rather learn from their mistake than repeat it over again!
This makes all those potential customers feel more comfortable doing business with us because they know our values align well with their own beliefs about how humanity should treat each other when things go wrong in life…
Which happens often enough where everyone needs someone else’s kindness sooner or later!
Tip #11 – Interrupt Your Audience By Doing Something Weird Or Eccentric (That Might Annoy Some People)
If you’re not afraid to be different, the chances are that your audience will love you. Be brave and do something crazy the more bizarre your approach, the better.
It can be hard for some people to think outside of their comfort zone, but thinking differently is an important skill for marketers and advertisers who want their campaigns to stand out from the crowd.
It’s also a great way of getting noticed by people who may not have considered buying from you before!
Tip #12 – Interrupt Your Audience By Saying Everything You Want To Say Within The Space Of Two Minutes Flat (Or Less)
Interruption marketing is a great way to get your audience’s attention. One of the best ways to do this is to use a countdown timer.
If you are interrupting someone, you want them to hear what you have to say and then act on it so make sure that when they look back at their phone, there’s nothing left for them to read or watch!
The best way to interrupt marketing campaigns works? They’re short! You want people on their phones as much as possible so that they don’t get bored looking around for something interesting.
You can also use high-energy voices, facial expressions, and even body language to grab someone’s attention from across the room (or even across town).
Looking for fresh ideas to expand your business reach? Explore our collection of innovative interruption marketing ideas in the article about growing your business with interruption marketing and revitalize your marketing efforts.
Conclusion
If you want your audience to pay attention to what you have to say, try interruption marketing.
Interrupt your audience with something that will make them laugh, or interrupt them with a headline that includes the word “secret”, or interrupt them with a headline that includes the word “free”.
The possibilities are endless, but one thing’s for sure. If you use interruption marketing, there is no way for anyone in the room not to notice!
Further Reading
Interruption Marketing: The Art of Disruption: Explore insights into the concept of interruption marketing from a creative perspective in this engaging article.
Interruption Marketing in Brick-and-Mortar Stores: Discover how interruption marketing strategies can impact physical retail spaces, enhancing customer engagement and driving sales.
Mastering Interruption Marketing: Strategies and Insights: Dive into strategies and insights to master the art of interruption marketing, effectively capturing audience attention in the digital age.
FAQs
What is interruption marketing, and how does it work?
Interruption marketing involves presenting marketing messages to audiences in an unexpected or disruptive manner. Instead of waiting for consumers to seek out information, interruption marketing seeks to capture their attention with unexpected approaches.
How can interruption marketing benefit brick-and-mortar stores?
Interruption marketing can benefit physical retail stores by engaging shoppers with creative tactics like in-store displays, interactive experiences, and timely promotions, enhancing the overall shopping experience.
What are some successful examples of interruption marketing?
Successful interruption marketing examples include viral social media campaigns, interactive installations at events, and unexpected product placements that capture audience attention in unique ways.
Is interruption marketing effective in the digital landscape?
Yes, interruption marketing can be effective in the digital landscape when executed thoughtfully. Techniques like well-targeted display ads, creative pop-ups, and engaging video content can interrupt users’ online experiences positively.
How can businesses balance interruption marketing with audience preferences?
To balance interruption marketing with audience preferences, businesses should focus on relevance, timing, and value. Delivering content that aligns with consumers’ interests and needs can mitigate the potential negative impact of interruption.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.