The emotional motivation weighs as heavily in buying decisions of digital advertising as it does in any other kind of purchase decision. 

It’s easy to think that since digital advertising brings with it such deep analytics and tracking that the data will speak for itself and be enough to secure an ad sale (or re-sale). To be sure,  this data is valuable and unique to our medium; where else can you measure exactly how many times your ad was seen and interacted and, if you have access to deeper tracking methods, direct phone calls, emails, and site interactions?

Nevertheless, the decision maker is swayed as much or more by his or her mood, the attitude of the salesperson, or simply the sizzle of the sales package presented than any data provided. 

Some advertisers see the value in the wealth of data that digital ad programmes can provide and the demographic info that can be provided about their target audience. To these advertisers, I tip my hat. Here’s to hoping there are more of you out there. Here’s to hoping there will be a growing trend of business owners and ad agency folks who take the time to hear the information presented, analyse the data, and make the most informed decision possible.

I realize that is likely a lot to ask. Human nature dictates that we are all more reactive than proactive and, in our busy lives, habit supersedes ambition. And, although we’d all like to have the will power to work out every day, eat right, and resist that last piece of cake, I know these things are hard to count on. 

No, more often the key to making a digital sale is the same as any other: appealing to the emotions of the buyer.

This article on Inc.com is as good as any I’ve read in summarising the basics of emotional buying. There are no real secrets to selling digital advertising, just hard work and accountability coupled with good packaging, ad creative execution, and quality targeting within a reputable content environment.

OK, that sounds like a lot, but it’s not. It’s what all newsmedia Web sites have over the masses of non-news sites: the trustworthy ad environment. But, if you can read (and research) your potential advertiser’s emotions and emotional buying cues, you’ll be ahead of the game. If you can offer exclusive, creative, and dynamic ad opportunities to appeal to those who want to be a head above their competition, those are the easiest sales.

Conversely, if you can also provide the level playing fields for smaller businesses to join in and feel competitive with their larger counterparts, you’ll appease that ego trip, as well. 

And, hopefully, somewhere within all the bravado and head games, your hard work and diligence toward appropriate ad packaging and targeting will also provide your client something of real value: a solid ROI and qualified analytics to prove they got what they paid for and them some.

Whether they will read it and appreciate it, at that point, is up to them.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .