The Undefeated BAR Test
Imagine you walk into a bar.
Sit down on a stool, order a drink and start chatting with the person next to you.
You’re shooting the breeze, it’s casual.
It’s an easy conversation.
This in its essence is the bar test.
Let me explain.
Imagine speaking your writing to someone at a bar.
Better yet actually read it out aloud as if you’re chatting to Joe Shmo at the bar.
Not a high-end lounge in Dubai an average run-of-the-mill bar.
You’re not pitching Goldman Sachs on Wall Street.
It’s just you and Joe, on the stools, in a bar, Tuesday after work.
Relaxed and easy.
Now read your text out to Joe.
How does it sound?
Does it sound like a natural conversation or a robot phone voice?
“Press..1..for..accounts..?”
How does it flow?
Is it stilted, tongue twisty, juddery?
Or does it roll off the tongue?
What does Joe think?
Has he walked off because he thinks you’re an alien from Alpha Centauri?
If Joe’s still there, listening. Bingo!
You’ve passed the bar test!
Simple, effective.
Works every time.
Undefeated.
If Joe’s looking at you weird.
Then revise your writing and try again.
Remember natural language.
Conversational.
The Power of Conversational Copy
We all respond better to content that feels and flows like a conversation.
When your writing is formal or complicated, you create a disconnect between you and the reader.
When we apply the bar test, we eliminate that disconnect and the reader connects with our message.
So the more conversational your writing, the easier it’s for your readers to connect with you—and the more likely they’re to take action.
Which should be our goal.
The Misconception
The majority of business writing falls flat because it’s too formal.
Writers often feel they need to sound “professional” by using big words and complicated sentences.
What we’ve been told about marketing is that we should be using the most grandiose language possible.
Like a ringmaster in a circus.
“And now for the first time in history, the one, the only, the amazing super awesome fantastic pair of scissors!”
Hyperbole on steroids!
You’ve seen the ads.
We’ve grown up on them.
The over-the-top language.
Ultra-salesey and it puts everyone off.
But what you haven’t seen is their conversion rates (how much money they make).
They cost a fortune, bring in very little and they bleed the company dry!
That’s the reality.
We’re breaking another myth here.
We don’t have millions of dollars to burn on advertising.
(Or a government to subsidise our losses).
We have to get it right immediately and get real results aka make money.
And the bar test is one of the ways we do it.
Why Does the BAR Test Work?
Think about it: when you're talking to someone in person, you don’t use long-winded sentences or formal jargon.
You keep it simple and get straight to the point.
Writing needs to be the same.
We’re not going for Shakespeare of Tolstoy here.
We’re in sales.
Here’s an example, picked from a random newspaper:
The very first ad I saw.
Take a look at this ad copy.
Let’s read the first line and first paragraph.
(The most critical parts after the headline).
"The federal government provides a solar discount to homeowners and businesses in Australia that install a small-scale renewable energy system (solar, wind or hydro) under the Small Scale Renewable Energy Scheme (SRES) to help with the purchase cost, blah, blah”.
It rambles on for a while.
Let's apply the bar test…
We walk into a bar, sit down and start saying it to Joe.
What does Joe think?
Joe?.. Joe?
Joe’s asleep. Zzzzzz. Out like a light.
That copy failed the bar test.
Sorry for that Joe.
Now let’s revise it and run the bar test again.
“Hey Joe,
Do you know you can get a massive discount on a new solar system?”
Joe: “Really? Tell me more”.
Ok, Joe’s awake and he wants to know more - we passed the bar test.
It’s shorter, cleaner, and more conversational.
It works and Joe loves it.
It’s so easy you could call it a hack!
If only the guys putting together that ad ran the bar test.
I feel sorry for the clients who trusted “the professionals” to make them more money.
They’re wasting money and they have no clue whatsoever.
So now you know.
You know to waltz into the bar, perch yourself next to Joe and casually chat with Joe, running your writing past him first, right?
Speaking it out aloud, listening to how it sounds in the real world.
Now you have the mystical power that will take your ad copy from cringe to cash.
Make the BAR Test a Habit
Start using the BAR Test and see how quickly it transforms your content.
Use this power well my padawan.
PS. Click here for a bar test checklist to give your ad copy a turbo charge.
PSS If you want a bit more assistance, click here to get in contact with me and I’ll help get things humming along nicely.
תגובות