Have you ever stopped to think about the little things we all believe and just accept because we have been told they are true, but when we stop and examine them, they turn out to be untrue?
I am not talking about the big world changing themes such as a political theory or a religion, but the small things that dwell in the back of our consciousness and when we find out, they are not true we just think, “Well I never knew that.”
So, what are these trivial untruths and how do they answer the question, does leaflet distribution leaflet distribution work?
There are far too many to list here but I have included the ones I think many people will recognise and be slightly surprised they are not true.
What Julius Caesar did and didn’t do.
Many people believe that Julius Caesar invaded Britain in 55BC and famously said ‘Veri, vidi, vici’ ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’. Unfortunately, this was only partially right.
Julius did say these words, but not when he invaded Britain, He used this phrase when he bragged about a victory over King Pharnaces ll in 47BC.
When he attempted an invasion of Britain in 55BC he came, he saw, but he never conquered. What he did see was a bunch of wild ancient Britons on a beach in Kent. After a few skirmishes, he decided to cut his losses and go home.
In 54BC, he sailed up the Thames with a sizable army. He came, he saw, but he didn’t think it was worth the bother of conquering. He thought the locals were a bunch of barbarians who dabbled in unsavoury practices involving wife swapping and the tormenting of chickens and they had nothing of value worth having; so once again he went home empty handed.
Emperor Claudius, almost a century later, spotted a missed opportunity and sent an army to do the job properly: this army came, saw, and did conquer.
Slavery has been illegal in England since 1833.
Unfortunately, this is not true.
Although slavery was abolished throughout most of the British Empire in 1833, it was not made illegal until the passing of Section 71 of the coroners and justice Act in April 2010.
This act made it punishable to hold a person in ‘slavery or servitude’ with a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison. Apparently abolishing something is not the same as criminalising it. So slavery was not criminalised in England 183 years ago as many people believe, but a mere 6 years ago.
OK, one more, and I will get to the point.
Britain does not have a written constitution.
You have guessed it, not true.
Unlike more modern governments whose constitution was written at the creation of their parliaments, the British constitution has been written on the hoof.
It started in 1215 with the Magna Carter and bits and pieces have been added over the years. The problem is all these additions are not in the same place. It would appear the consecutive governments have, on the whole, been good at passing laws, but not too good on filing.
So, the truth is, Britain does have a written constitution. You just cannot read it all in one place.
Where is all this leading? I hear you ask.
Well to biggest misconception everyone in our business has been hearing for years.
Leaflet Distribution does not work.
Yes, that old chestnut. So if you’re wondering, does leaflet distribution work? Then hopefully this will answer your question.
There are still people out in the wide world of marketing who still perpetuate that myth, and there are still people who are willing to believe them. I believe these people are split into two groups.
The first group are those who have never tried a door drop because they believe the myth and the second group are those who have tried it and failed.
The people in this second group have fallen into the same traps the people in our three examples of untrue myths fell into.
Julius Caesar tried to conquer Britain twice and gave up trying because he did not think it was worth it, only to let someone else seize this missed opportunity much later.
The slavery abolitionist had a good idea but wasted precious time in putting it into practice.
The compilers of the British Constitution just could not get their act together so even to this day people are unaware Britain does have a written constitution.
The way to successful leaflet marketing is never to give up, don’t procrastinate and make sure all your information is in order and accessible – use an expert organisation to design the leaflet and distribute the items safely through the letterboxes.
Everyone who has run a successful leaflet campaign knows that leaflet distribution does work and this is not a myth.
