The 3 lessons from Don Draper you should apply to your business
An advertising genius and what you can learn from him
I'll admit: I love geeking out over advertising and copywriting secrets. So Mad Men was like the holy grail for me. I absolutely loved that show.
But it also made a profound impact and truly changed my way of thinking.
In this article, I will explore 3 lessons from the legendary Don Draper you should apply to your business.
Before I start with the first lesson, I need to explain why finding the right words matters. You might recognize this:
Deep down you got this feeling, this is what you really want in life (your purpose) and this is what your business should be about.
If you are like me, you start googling. When I started out, I typed in "businesses that help businesswomen make more impact". Then I made a mindmap of everything I found. (Needless to say, is that I moved forward since then.)
Now the challenge starts. You know what you want to say (sort of). But everything you found is lacking the wow-factor. For the life of you, it seems impossible to find the right words that do you justice. (Because let's face it, you are interesting!)
Maybe you have a breakthrough. You found a description that sounds "nice". And that is when the imposter syndrome kicks in. "What do I know, really.... can I say I am an expert?" "There are so many people better at this than me." So you tone it down. Make it safe.
I have some news for you: safe in today's crowded marketplace is bad. Safe is like Vanilla. It is ok, but it is not really memorable. So in my book? Safe is actually a bad thing. And this is where Don Draper comes in.
LESSON 1: 𝗦𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘂𝘁, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻"
Everybody likes this quote but very few actually apply it.
Because as soon as you start producing controversial content, people will respond. And your ego will try and protect you from this. Enter, vanilla statements that say nothing at all.
I used to be very afraid of what people might say about my socials. And then I learned to deal and get over it.
Because I am not writing this just for the fun of it. I have a 5-year old and a husband who I love very much. There are much better ways to spend my time than here on LI. I am writing this because I want to build a business.
So why not be clear about what it is you do? About your offer? What you really think? To attract the people who think like you? The ones who would like to work with you. And repel the ones who don't?
Online CTRs and CPAs were not yet a thing in the Mad Men days. But also from the advertising perspective, this truly works. Not being clear means fewer clicks and a higher CPA (cost per acquisition). Plainly stated: clarity is simply the cheapest alternative.
LESSON 2: Keep Don's words about technology in mind
𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗲𝗰𝗵𝗻𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗰𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗵 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁.
Technology is awesome: LinkedIn, Facebook, Snapchat, Insta, Clubhouse, it can take up a lot of your time. Hell, what am I saying? You can spend entire days just creating posts.
The real question: are you making a connection with your message? Are you creating a sentimental bond?
Honestly, it doesn't matter if you are promoting a messaging platform around your product, or as a politician or changemaker. Technology is the means to an end. It is the words you use, the images people see that create the true connection.
So you better make sure to focus on that. And that brings me to the 3rd lesson.
LESSON 3: Be crystal clear
𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙧𝙚, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙬𝙚 𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙬𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙢 𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚.
This might be the thing about social media that annoys me the most. Because I am a firm believer in clarity.
I see this all the time.
Another politician posing with other random people, which basically screams "look how social I am". Or business coaches who give away offers to find your why (I would advise buying Simon Sinek's book instead). Or the new president of some networking club who stands there looking proud of himself. It is so generic that it doesn't say anything!
What would happen if:
The politician posed in front of a sign that said "Support Camp Moria"?
The business coach said: "hey, I am not Simon Sinek but I do know how to find your why in less than 60 minutes?"
The new president of the networking club stands there in front of the sign "from imposter to conqueror", telling the world all about how he conquered his fear of failing?
Now we are talking. Those are the posts I like because they tell me a story. About what these people stand for and who they are. It makes me like them. It makes me curious about them.
So please just have something to say when you post.
What's the worst thing that could happen? They might not like you.
Which takes me back to CTRs and CTAs. Not liking you is not a bad thing. It means the people who do will be cheaper to acquire because not everybody is clicking.
Conclusion: Words matter, choose them wisely.
If you look back at the beginning of this article is finished with the phase where you had a breakthrough but your words were Vanilla.
After reading this, I hope you understand this advice: "don't be Vanilla, be freaking Straciatella." Your advertising budget will be grateful.
I would like to end with wise words from Don Draper (how can I not).
"𝘐𝘵'𝘴 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘢 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦."
p.s. Cannot find the right words yourself? Try out my no-brainer service (Dutch) where I do an audit on your offer and help you find the right words. Or just send me a DM. You know how that works. You send me a message, I try and persuade you to work with me. See? Clarity first.