You don't need 7 hours of content

“Can we make this a series, or post these more frequently?”

Was the recent request from one of my retainer clients after I’d published a new article for them. “I want to get more content out there to help with that 7-hour rule”.

He was referring to the popularised idea from David Priestly that prospects need about 7 hours of meaningful interaction with your content before they’re ready to commit to buying from you.

I’ve personally never bought into that exact theory, but I have noticed a key theme with the number 7 popping up time and time again.

Why is it always 7?

From what I can see, the Rule of 7 dates back over 100 years. In the 1930s, film studios noticed audiences usually needed to see a poster or trailer about seven times before they showed up at the cinema.

It’s now commonly repeated in more modern advice. Indeed says 7 impressions build trust and recall. FactorialHR calls 7 a “golden rule” for memorability. University of Maryland describes 7 as a baseline for familiarity.

But in reality, different research is always highlighting different numbers, With an ever-growing list of things competing to capture our attendance, more recent research is even suggesting it can take up to 26 touch-points before someone takes action.

7 is a nice and easy number that people can target, but it’s missing the point behind why and how repeated messages work.

Priestly did also reframe the conversation for the content age. Instead of “how many times”, asking “how long?”.

They covered how on average, B2B sales cycles last for around 84 days. Across that window, a prospect will spend roughly seven hours engaging with you before saying yes, through content like calls, case studies, your website. It gave people more context behind the elusive number we aim for, but I still don’t believe we are asking the right question.

You supposedly need 84 days or 7 hours of engagement time to convert leads into clients.

What should you be asking?

It’s not about the number of times you say something or the time period you say it over. It’s about what you say.

You could consumer 20 different pieces of content from me, but if I’m talking about something completely different each time, it’s not going to make you feel invested to buy from me or into my ideas.

In contrast, you could consume just 3 pieces of content from me. And if they’re all aligned on one key topic, with a clear perspective and justification coming through, that might be all the encouragement you need to be converted into a customer.

If you want people to buy from you, you have to have a consistent, repeated message to prove your worth their time and money.

If you are showing mixed messages, no amount of hours will convert viewers to clients.

Why consistency?

It’s no surprise that consistent branding increases revenue by 10-20%.

Human brains are hardwired to look for patterns. Repetition helps to create familiarity, which builds trust in you for the topic you’re consistently speaking about.

But beyond repeating that message, you have to be consistently showing up to post or talk about it.

We remember things better when exposures are spread out over time rather than crammed together (the spacing effect). And the Ranschburg effect actually warns that too much immediate repetition reduces recall.

It’s not just a case of blasting your audience with the same lines every day for a week because that won’t work. Consistency is about continuing to show up with repeated ideas in fresh forms. With each encounter, your customers recognition will become faster and faster and their trust in you for that topic will continue to grow.

Some customers might need to see it 7 times still, others more or less than that, but they’ll all need to see it consistently.

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What’s your ONE thing?

I challenge the founders I work with to ask what’s the one thing they want to be known for. It’s a process to get it down to one, but you need to find the thread that will tie all your services and values together. That one thing can then be used to structure your website, map out your offers, be the focus point of your content.

For example, say you have 3 completely different offers: 1:1 personal brand mentoring, business strategy workshops, career writing for publications. If you try to speak about mentoring, business strategy, and copywriting in silo, you’ll have no clear message and people will get confused on what you stand for and what your unique point is. Even If they see those messages a combined 7 times or for a combined 7 hours, they’re going to remain confused and likely not convert. However, if you drill down to have your core message about career development and talk about how you offer 3 services: career development mentoring, team development workshops, career development focused publications, then it’s clear what your message stands for. You’ll then attract the attention of people looking for career development support. You’ll consistently show up as the expert that can help them with that. And then you’ll convert them into customers.

64% of buyers take 4 or more brand interactions before purchasing. But if you’re social channels, website, branding are all aligned and clear, 36% of buyers can instantly make a quick decision to convert.

The rule of 7 has survived for a century because it of course has truth to it: people rarely buy from the first time they see you.

But it’s not just repeating that message which locks in the conversion, it’s repeating a consistent message.

So if you haven’t yet worked out your one thing, book in for a Business Blueprint sprint and I will be happy to help.

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