Quote:
Originally Posted by GordonJ
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At the Facebook Group, Cult of Copy, I recently posted this: (In regards to Blair Warren's FORBIDDEN KEYS TO PERSUASION
His one sentence "course": “People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.” Sort of a summary of Forbidden Keys.
And a further reduction down, from me, "people are preoccupied with only two things; themselves, and what others think about them." Mundane preoccupations come and go, but these two follow them to the grave.
Direct Response copywriters try to evoke a positive response, that is, usually, an action of purchase. OR, further action.
The study of cults has been very illuminating as to human behavior and what makes cults tick. Colin Theriot has cashed in on the idea of cults being sort of like clubs (my definition, not his). With over 25 thousand members, his Facebook group is one of the larger copywriting groups...and he has, in my opinion,
CROSSED THE BRIDGE.
You SQ1 types know what that means, much different than jumping the shark, which I may have done.
But on the other side of the bridge is the destination, and one of the Holy Grails for persuaders, and those of influence is to get to the CLICK-WHIRR point. It is a concept put forth by Robert Cialdini and basically says:
it is an automatic, often from conditioning, RESPONSE to a STIMULI.
It isn't scrutinized, it is just acted upon.
For a Copywriter, the contents of the Grail would look something like:
BUY, this, NOW.
For a cult leader, it may be more of DO IT.
Since, I charge high five figures to train cult leaders, I'll focus on the Copywriters...
BUY now.
Ever get a promotion which said, BUY NOW, and not much else? Sure, some of you have if you've been on some of my older lists.
I've done it. Email: NEW REPORT. Contents. My report on ____ is done. Buy now. (link to PayPal).
And there have been people who just click on the buy button.
Anyone who has a list of buyers and has been around awhile has a % of people who AUTOMATICALLY buy from them, and in the case of some of us very small potatoes guys, who offer inexpensive little reports, we get a very high % of buyers. Because they know what to expect and in their minds, hopefully, have been CONDITIONED to think:
Well it is only ____ bux, and Gordon usually has some decent info, so, why not?
As long as I (or the we) don't make it too often a habit, the high % continue.
Which is why a very small list of only 2500 people sent an offer only 4 or 5 times a year, will yield a fairly decent income even if the unit of purchase is only 15 or 20 dollars. Even a 10 dollar product, with high % of buyers, gives one a nice helping of hash brown moolah.
A study of the Blair Warren ONE SENTENCE course": “People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.”
Coupled with an understanding of PREOCCUPATIONS, will put you on a fast track to getting higher results with your copy.
The SQ1 crowd knows what those primary preoccupations are, and my further reduction, which I did at the Cult of Copy page,
1) Themselves
2) What others think of them.
is probably the most succinct copy formula you will find.
Consider the GIANT, and Yuuuuge markets: Diet/Weight loss, exercise/fitness, cosmetics/cosmetic surgery, fashion, self-improvement...and you will find the PREOCCUPATIONS people have.
Why is that important in copy? First thing you need to do is BREAK THEIR current preoccuaption, and enter into
THEIR State of Mind (SOM).
I call this the intersection.
You will find a ton of information about this, and my FORMULA for creating effective Preoccupational Interrupters in our ARCHIVE. One good search term you might use is "copywriting formula".
Another one, "influence and persuasion", some of the same posts will come up, but with over 20 years of material here (including the 3 years before sowpub when I posted at other forums), you may find some gold, if you don't mind digging a little for it.
IF you are selling ANYTHING, I would think you might want to cross the bridge to the place where your buyers require very little stimuli to respond.
I know at the downtown events, the smell of 'elephant ears', almost always has me reaching for my wallet, the only stopping point would be a line, being crowd adverse and all.
But having products which people will buy almost automatically, isn't that a dream come true for most of us marketers?
Gordon