Do you feel addressed, OR not?

Recently I heard a radio advert. “Are you a [target audience] with [problem 1]? Do you find that [problem 1] is holding you back from [dream result]? Or do you suffer from [problem 2]? Or do you notice that [problem 3]? Then buy [solution].”

A commonly used template, and in itself not a bad template. Yet one thing goes structurally wrong. Do you see which one?

It is the little word “or”.

What “or” does to the reader

With problem 1 I felt addressed, because I have that problem. Then came problem 2, and I couldn't relate to that at all. By problem 3 I had switched off.

The reasoning behind the template is logical: the more people you appeal to, the more people buy. In practice, the reverse happens, and that is due to what changes in the reader's head.

With the first problem, the solution felt like it was made specially for me. When more problems were added, it turned out to be a one-size-fits-all solution. The feeling of a specialist was replaced by that of a generalist, and nobody gets excited about that.

So you haven't approached any more people. You've hit the people you already had less hard.

Two ways to do it differently

Create separate statements for each issue. One ad, one problem, one hundred percent relevant to whoever has that problem. This is more work, but it is also precisely what advertising platforms reward: more relevant ads get better placements at lower costs. Test the variants against each other, and you will also know which problem weighs most heavily with your target audience.

Replace “of” with “en”. That way you appeal precisely to the people who recognise all the mentioned problems, and for them you are extra relevant. Do note that you can become so specific that the group becomes too small for a campaign to learn from.

When wide is actually allowed

There is one exception, and that depends on the stage your audience is in. Anyone who does not yet recognise their problem won't be helped by a list of three problems, nor by a solution. They first need recognition: a situation that rings true, without anything being sold.

In the subsequent phase, when someone is actively searching and comparing providers, specificity becomes decisive. That is where the party that describes the problem most sharply wins, not the party that mentions the most problems. More on that in the article about the awareness phase.

The test you can do yourself

Read your own advertisement aloud and stop at every word “or”. Ask yourself with each variant: does the reader who recognises the first problem lose anything here? Often the answer is yes, and deleting the rest is the cheapest improvement you will make that week.