67% of "parents" have no children

I just read an email by Bob Hoffman, copywriter/marketing industry cynic, about a study on advertising targeting.

Media tech company Adlook decided to do something wild - they actually asked people if the targeting data about them was accurate. And the results?

Let's just say the profiles of the advertising world are about as honest as... well, dating app profiles.

Here's what they found:

• 47% of the people who the data said were women, were men 🤯
• 50% of the people who the data said were men, were women 🤡
• 67% of the people that the data said were parents said they had no children
• 52% of the people who were supposed to be 18-34 said they were over 35
• 60% of the people who were supposed to be over 45 said they were under 45
• 76% of the people who were supposed to be married said they weren't

Okaaaay.

So all that money you're spending on "precision targeting"? It might as well be thrown into a wishing well. At least then you'd get the satisfaction of making a splash.

As Bob Hoffman bluntly put it: "The concept of “precision targeted advertising” is a contrivance dreamed up by the online advertising industry to make cheap, tiny-reach, no-impact advertising sound providential."

Does this mean we should stop trying to find the right audience? Of course not.

But it does mean we should be smarter about how we're spending those ad dollars. Instead of relying on mysterious "data points" collected who-knows-how, maybe we should focus on places where we KNOW our audience hangs out.

If you're selling products to mothers, partner with influencers or blogs that very clearly have an audience of mothers. Look for spaces where people have self-selected and openly identify with the group you're targeting.

But there's an even better approach.

Speak directly to your audience through the most personal channel available: email.

Email isn't about guessing who's reading. Your subscribers have actively chosen to hear from you. They've raised their hands and said, "Yes, I want what you're offering."

That's why I created the Email Infusion package. It helps you build a connection with people who actually want to hear from you - not some algorithm's best guess at who might be interested.

Not just that - I start by speaking to actual customers to find out why they actually like you and what actually interests them. No guessing.

So then we can create lead magnet and opt-in pages that we know will attract the right audience.

With Email Infusion, you'll get:

• Engaging email sequences that build relationships, not just transactions
• Copy that resonates with the real humans who've chosen to connect with you
• Guidance on growing a list of people who genuinely want to hear from you

In a world where targeting data is as reliable as a weather forecast for next month, wouldn't it be nice to know exactly who you're talking to?

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Ready to connect with your actual audience? Let's talk.

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My targeting is better than my baby's high-chair-tray-to-mouth ratio,

Chavy

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