Okeugo kenneth O.
5 min readJul 12, 2020

Why It Will Require A Guerilla Strategy- A CXL REVIEW

I championed a research poject during my undergraduate days. It was a research to ascertain the relevance of guerilla marketing in our business approach.

The results were amazing because many scholars had done some research relating to the field also. I was blessed with knowledge from influx of professionals in the Marketing field due to the importance of guerilla marketing.

This post would mainly deal with guerilla marketing and using copy as a tool for persuation and customer engagement.

We understand the essence of Copywriting and it's power to be a vital engagement tool for businesses. Using it in a guerilla marketing framework will make the persuation job far easier and more understanding.

It is clear that the topic of guerrilla marketing in copy is very open, and covers a wide range of activities. This style of marketing is extremely effective for small businesses to advertise their product or service, especially if they are competing against bigger companies as it is inexpensive and focuses more on reach rather than frequency.

For it to be successful companies don’t need to spend large amounts, they just need to have Imagination, energy, creativity and time . Guerrilla marketing is also an effective way companies who do not provide a tangible service (like banks) can advertise their products through the non-traditional channels as long as they have an effective strategy.

Copywriting is cheap, and can work effectively with email marketing to create an engaging relationship with your target audience.

Every customer has a way of communicating with an individual, group or related ideas. I believe without copy, marketing is useless. Because what are we really going to do with do without texts? Writing effective and engaging copy is really a skill worth devoting and resources to learn.

I guess I'm not the only one who doesn't wish for more emails. Almost everyone does! The erroneous believe that email marketing is dead is championed by people who don't know the power of compelling copies.

This fast paced generation prides itself as a digitally aware sect, where information abounds from various fonts. We're constantly sailing through many similar information that our brain creates an automatic filter to fizzle out informations that seem like an advertisement and are similar.

Although some brain filtering is due to the bad reputation that salesmen and marketers have amassed over the years.

The uncertainty created by the transformations brought about by globalization makes it necessary for the service industry to produce more value and to rapidly adapt to those changes.

For products/services,it becomes imperative to cut through the noise and send things people would resonate well with. Through bringing effective sales copy, we can make people and our brands be on the same page.

In business,I believe there is too much noise. Noise could also be distortions of a normal communication flow. In recent times noise could be anything that makes a message unappealing and boring.

The noise emanating from complimentary, or opposing brands in the form of advertising. A large number of adverts are marshalled our on a daily basis through various conduits and people are getting really confused with seeing all.

The brain in it's ability to maintain a person's sanctity, uses some biase to make the person uninterested and evasive.

I noticed some financial institutions just started realizing the need to bridge the corporate-customer communication gap by bringing in skilled copywriters. In the product sector and any type of service firm, by executing an unconventional copy campaign which deviates from people’s expectations, a surprise effect is created.

This effect is the core principle of guerrilla marketing, which is used to get people’s attention. If the campaign succeeds in surprising its audience, they would be stimulated to spread the advertising message through word of mouth ( word of mouth is far relevant than many paid media conduits).

Surprise effective can be gotten when our copy employs catchy headlines and body to communicate our value to people.

The complex nature of understanding what consumers elicit from each promotional campaign, coupled with the cost implication on firms in pushing compelling messages to their target audience has raised the issue of guerrilla marketing.

Organizations have come to realize that though they may adopt the best media strategy, but without an unconventional means of marshalling out these strategies, the organization is bound to get diffused with other competing brand messages or ultimately usurped by prevailing market forces. With guerilla Marketing comes originality of brand message.

Apart from financial institutions, it becomes imperative for service and product brands to emulate a sweet email marketing strategy to engage better with it's audience.

Simple copy and advertorial hacks to create engagement with your market

A significant aspect of guerrilla marketing is that it delivers its message in the most effective manner possible. The internet, which already has more than 4 billion users, is a key area of implementation. Internet blogs, online magazines, and newspapers, along with chat and forum pages, are also crucial arenas for getting the message across.

But it should also be done from a guerilla marketing framework by employing its cardinal points; surprise effect, Diffusion effect, and low cost effect.

Below are the hacks to fuse with guerilla marketing to arrive at a better copy.

1. Timing:

This deals with asking the "when" questions.

Without doing things at the right time, people would not take your message seriously. I have learned to apply timing to virtually all I do because it creates a sense of seriousness and a better engagement potency.

When then is the best time?

When is their motivation high?

When is their ability high?

When would they want to read and react to this message? (Although research has it that Saturdays and Sundays work best for new products).

This questions can be better answered by conducting a research or relying on prevailing Secondary data.

Messaging should not be sent at any time of the day,week or month.

2. Segmentation:

The breaking of your entire email list into specific target groups based on set parameters. It could be based on gender, psychographics,age, buying decisions and habits, preference, frequency, etc.

Email marketing and copies in general should be personalized based on already researched persona.

3. Personalization:

We're more inclined to follow things that have our names on them. It would look like a voice calling your name. Personalization can take different forms and style.

From name, to nickname, to your interest,to religion, political party of interest,etc. When we personalize things to people, they'll feel as sense of belonging and inclination towards your brand.

4. Catchy Copy:

There should be a striking reason the reader should pick Interest in your copy. In email marketing for example, from the subject line to the body, there should be a catchy phrase to make a person click the message.

The words doesn't necessarily need to be reasonable or business like. A new hashtag or buzzword can be used as long as it resonates well.

This is my 12th submission for the cxl mini degree in digital psychology and persuation. I have enjoyed every bit of the lesssons. It's a worthy path.

Stay safe!