Better Job Ad Writing and Selling Snowblowers

The other day the SAI site featured this piece - This Epic, 900-Word Classified Ad For A Used Snowblower Has Canada Agog, a review of a story out of Northwest Canada and one guy's efforts to sell his used snowblower on an online classifieds site called Kijii.  The Machine of Snow Doom

The SAI piece links out to the full classified listing for the machine on the Kijii site, and I highly recommend you take a few minutes to read the entire ad, (even if you are not in the market for a used snowblower, and besides the machine did already sell for asking price). Then spend some time thinking about how this truly epic snowblower ad kind of debunks many of the typically held assumptions about writing ad copy, be it for machinery or even job postings on the corporate career site or job board.

Some highlights from the epic snowblower ad:

1. Opening Line:

"Do you like shoveling snow? Then stop reading this and go back to your pushups and granola because you are not someone that I want to talk to."

Boom - sets the context of the opportunity, challenges the reader, (or for you the job seeker), to immediately consider whether or not they should keep reading.

2. Connecting to the Need

"Here’s the deal. I have a snow blower and I want you to own it. I can tell you’re serious about this. It’s like I can almost see you: sitting there, your legs are probably crossed and your left hand is on your chin. Am I right? How’d I do that? The same way that I know that YOU ARE GOING TO BUY THIS SNOWBLOWER."

You need to read the entire ad to really see how Cho makes an effective and interesting case about how the snowblower will be the answer to the buyer's problems, but suffice to say that 95% of job ad copy does nothing to acknowledge the value proposition back to the job seeker. Mostly, throwaway lines like 'Join our firm and take your skills to the next level' pass for addressing the needs and dreams of the job seeker.

3. Call to Action

"Here’s what you do. You go to the bank. You collect $900. You get your buddy with a truck and you drive over here. You give me some cold hard cash and I give you a machine that will mess up a snowbank sumthin’ fierce. I’ve even got the manual for it, on account of I bought it brand new and I don’t throw that kind of thing away. Don't want to pay me $900? Convince me. Send me an offer and I'll either laugh at you and you'll never hear back from me or I'll counter."

Nice one. Here Cho lays out what you are going to de next, after making the case for why you would do it in the first place. He even allows for some real-life negotiation for people genuinely engaged in the process. The connection to the job ad? Mainly the impersonal, one size fits all, same generic and cold process steps for every person, every job that is posted, and no real connection to the organization and the opportunity as something the job seeker can see themselves a part of. Mostly job seekers just feel like they are entering the abyss when they hit 'apply'.

The end result was that Cho did sell the snowblower as I mentioned, but not before attracting over 500,000 views of the online ad, and receiving over 1,400 responses, including (according to Cho), job offers, requests for dates, and advice on writing ad copy. Wonder what other benefits better job ad writing might accrue to the smart organization?

The big point in all this? That a random guy, (not a trained writer or marketer), can use real, simple, and creative communication to attract attention, engage an audience, and make a boring 4-year old snowblower seem like a dream-fulfilling wonder machine.  

What do you think? Could any of these approaches or ideas help your organization advertise its opportunities?