Using reputable facts and statistics effectively in your marketing materials

One of the things to check off on your checklist after you finish a writing project is have you effectively used reputable facts and statistics to either prove a point, grab attention or both?

As you know there are several ways to grab a reader’s attention – the first and foremost being the headline. You can grab attention in a headline by asking a question, stating a startling fact or statistic (you then quickly back up that statement in your first paragraph), or by creating intrigue or mystery. Again, the reader has to read on to find out more.

One example is the headline:

17 million adults say they have downloaded a podcast - how does this affect YOUR business.

In the first sentence of your marketing materials, you would want to make sure that you give the source of your statistic (a reputable one), and then you need to back up what you said in your headline.

Why is this important? How DOES it affect your reader’s business? Maybe your copy would explain why and how they should go about creating a website in order to tap into their market.

Including industry facts and statistics will make your marketing materials stronger, especially when writing press releases or other media related materials.

So how do you find reputable facts and statistics to use? Here are a few ideas:

• Check out some industry specific journals, both print and online.
  
• Look for associations in the industry; many have tons of information available for free. Check out their websites.
  
• Look for annual member studies, a section for the press or media, or topical articles
  written by members.
  
• Check out Wikipedia – they link to reputable sources when using statistics
  
• Review research magazine/journals specific to your industry.

• Do not use a statistics you randomly find on a blog or website that has not reputable source.
• Do not use a statistic without citing your source.
• Do not using a statistic without explaining why you used it. In other words, do not randomly put in statistics or facts without explaining in your copy why it’s important your reader knows that.