The essence of selling, persuasion, and influence IS:

[GordonJ]

I want to elaborate.

First, this 7 year old video with Pete Zeisinger at Green Tree Press.

https://youtu.be/asAob5vlVkA

Although we were discussing editorial guidelines here, we were talking about the INTERSECTION and how BOYFRIEND was used instead of HUSBAND.

OK, diet. It's big right now, this is lose weight season. From the millions paid to Oprah and the running of her ads to the IM guru cashing in on the latest diet craze.

Three of the Fatal Four are obvious, Self Preservation; the guy newly diagnosed with Diabetes and told to lose 30 pounds. The heart attack waiting to happen.

Romance, Sex Appeal. Could be to feel more attractive, to regain love/lust, to appeal to other people

Recognition, say a women going to her 10 year class reunion. She wants to look good, has kept her looks.

Money? Maybe, certainly used in the Weight Watchers OPRAH ads. I think anytime Oprah wants to make a few mil, she eats like a pig to get an endorsement deal for the latest weight loss program she can tout.

Anyhow, from a copy writing view, go to Clickbank or Google and search for weight loss, and what you see are mostly generic LOSE WEIGHT...

Almost all of them are QUICK, EASY.

But, the INTERSECTION IS GENERIC. In the SASSY magazine ad, the headline appealed to the age of the reader. See? The intersection plays an important part of the promotion.

With such TARGETED marketing available, like with Facebook Ads, you can get pretty far down into the drilling down to find your avatar.

You could find the 20 somethings looking for a BOYFRIEND.
Or the people going to the class reunion.
Diabetics, heart attack victims.

And the great thing, is, they tell you. In the avatar you have

“Mary is a 33 year old divorced mother of two in a secretarial job she hates. She lives in a middle class neighborhood and drives a Buick.”

Is a description, think Feature/Benefit. You have a description, a feature.

Now consider this: "Mary is a 33 year old divorced mother of two girls, 8 and 10, and her job as a secretary barely covers her monthly expenses. She lives in Stow, OH, a suburb of Akron, her 5 year old Buick will soon need replaced. Mary will be a bridesmaid at her best friends wedding next June, and she is trying to lose 15 pounds."

NOW, apply the Fatal Four. Why did I include the ages of the kids and the name of the city?

You could target Mary on Facebook by her Motherhood, her locale, even her car, such is the data available.

Sites like Hungry Girl or Diet-to-Go, and other million member sites, probably have many such Marys. A test ad, Why Ohio women have trouble losing weight. You could test various headlines, and using the FATAL FOUR (although I encourage you Gregg to contact me, I can share even better ideas since Garn's book was published in the early 60's).

Your avatar should be the BENEFITS part, or the reward, it is the AFTER.

Before they INTERSECT with your promotion, they feel one way, AFTER they buy your product they will feel a different, better way. Your copy using emotional appeals to agitate their current feelings (pain/problem) and to give them a solution to help them cross the bridge to the other side, to feeling better in some way, which is why it is EMOTIONAL appeals.

Anyhow, good job Gregg, you get the SowPub Gold Star of the day. Thanks

Gordon Jay Alexander