It's a wonderful headline if your goal is to attract the attention of people who are seeking to learn more about annuities. Why? We're all inherently skeptical and looking for reasons that affirm our fears. After all, that financial advisor who just recommended an annuity can't possibly be acting in his client's best interest, can he?
When savvy marketers use a fear-based headline, they are knowingly subjecting their readers to mind games. The process goes like this:
- Research what people fear (annuities and their salespeople).
- Write a headline to stoke their fears (see, you were right to be afraid).
- Either confirm or deny the fear (example: "17 reasons annuities are bad" or "17 reasons annuities are not bad").
- Bring fearful readers to desired conclusion (either buy an annuity from me or do not buy an annuity from anyone).
The same approach can be used for annuities (variable, fixed index and fixed), mutual funds, bonds, CDs, life insurance — you name it. A quick trip around Google and you'll find all of these examples in great supply.
But financial products are amoral — neither bad nor good. How effective they are depends on how you put them to use for your clients. There are great resources and also terrible headlines (like the headline for this article) all over the Internet. And your clients and prospects are exposed to them.
