Books on pursuasion - Suggestions please.

[GordonJ]

My opinion, now, is, reread or get into Gene Schwartz' BREAKTHROUGH ADVERTISING and review those STAGES OF AWARENESS.

In your business, you probably encounter those who have no idea what a backlink is, or how Google and Bing use them as part of their algorithm.

So, you would craft a promotion, depending on where you intersect with them and try to cover all the bases. OR, target those who are unaware, and maybe via a HOTSHEET you can educate them about backlinks, maybe give it away as a lead generator.

Or a simple quiz or just a question: Do you know how Google and Bing use backlinks in their algorithms? If you want higher rankings, here is what you need to know:

Or if they are aware, they might be price shopping or somewhere in between you can address their awareness and offer good solutions.

Yes, bottom line for all business is MORE BUSINESS OR better business...more per sale, more sales, more customers.

So that part of your copy will address that...but right up front, you need someone to raise their hands and tell you, I know NOTHING about backlinks or I know what they are, how much are you charging.

One problem, with a serious student...you may want or attempt to incorporate all kinds of ideas into your copy. Which is why I suggest Schwartz, a simple 5 stages of awareness. And that is the wireframe, or framework to wrap your persuasion around.

That doesn't mean you can't use all the USEFUL methods and strategies, but what happens is CONFUSION and especially with conflicting advice. And there is a lot of that in copywriting, selling and all things persuasion.
Using Schwartz as a foundation, and the stages of awareness can give you a way to further segment or identify your ideal prospect and also to customize a promotion which is most likely to match, right?

If you have a website then you can post a little white paper/report on BACKLINKS and SEO strategies, and collect email addys for further contact.

IF they know about backlinks then they might be price shopping and this is where you have VALUE ADDED PROPOSITION to compete.

Where you place your ads or promotions, the INTERSECTION will help you determine the sort of copy (educational, value added, secrets) you will use.

I strongly encourage you to STOP for a two week period, of reading and learning...come back to it later...and instead write out five different promotions for each of the stages of awareness.

This will help you focus on what THEY want, and help you to tune into any buzz or useful persuasion methods.

Once you have 5 different promotions outlined or sketched out, then you can go through and look at them through the different eyes of Elmer, Halbert, Schwab, Collier, et al.

Is this helpful?

Gordon

Originally Posted by Manoj

Thanks Gordon,

There is nothing offensive in your reply. Rather, I am glad that I have been able to get answers of questions from someone who have studied persuasion for more years than my age (42 by the way). Thank you very much.

I shall save my money by not purchasing ' The Remote Influence'. Thanks for the advice.

I shall also google to know more about Maslow Pyramid and POP. Thanks for that also.

Perhaps, it is a mistake on my part to ask questions without specifying my intent for the same. I can understand that any suggestion can only be given in the background of a context — which was missing in my questions.

I am a full time day job guy from India who is slowly making progress in my online side gig. I am offering my services (backlink building) in the SEO industry to some clients and have made good inroads in this business. My success and income is increasing, and I am getting some glimpse of the future where I will be able to leave my day job and work full time on it.

However, the problem is that I only have 1 regular big client (and few small one) who is giving me most of my work. No matter how good they are and how much work these clients are giving me, this situation is just like putting all my eggs in one basket. Unless, I get leads on regular basis from numerous new clients, I will not be in a position to scale up the things.

So, here I am. Trying to get new clients in an ultra-competitive (but highly profitable) SEO industry as a lone ranger. I know that in this industry where a potential client is bombarded by almost similar offers on daily basis, it is extremely difficult to break their preoccupation and want then to listen to me and read my offer.

Hence, this quest on my part to know as much as I can about human behaviour, copywriting, salesmanship & persuasion to make sure that my copy (in whichever form it is- paid fb ads, articles, blog posts, guest post or salesletter) has the maximum chance to get a response from my intended audience.

Apart from finding clients, I have also found that persuasion tactics are immensely useful while searching backlink opportunities for my clients. For example, the negotiation tactics in the book 'Never Split the Difference- by Chriss Voss' have been very helpful in finalizing the deal on so many occasions. This book written by a former FBI hostage negotiator talks about tactical empathy where we slowly lead the negotiation in such a way that the person agree to our demand but think that it is we who have agreed to his demand. Something akin to the strategy given in 'Forbidden Secret..' that says that 'People sometimes believe what they are told, but they always believe what they conclude'.

So, you can see that I am an avid learner of persuasion strategies and applying them also in my business whenever I get chance. However, I feel that I am still an elementary student and I need to know more. My biggest challenge is to create a system where I can get regular new clients in my SEO business.

I would be much obliged if you can advise me on this aspect.

Regards,
Manoj