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The Constrained Shape of Effective Persuasion Is…

The Constrained Shape of Effective Persuasion Is…

February 27, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“Each work has its own space, which should neither be conceived as a sort of cage nor regarded as extending to infinity.” – Marino Marini, Born Feb. 27, 1901. Marino here was a sculptor. And like carving stone, copywriting is an art constrained by certain limitations. For the sculptor, there is an outer limit to…
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Persuasion, Productivity, Quote

How to Mentally Enslave People With One Stupid Trick – It’s Irresistible!  Lol, Sorta.

How to Mentally Enslave People With One Stupid Trick – It’s Irresistible! Lol, Sorta.

February 26, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“Gifts make slaves.” – Levi Strauss, Born Feb. 26, 1829. Cialdini stated this in a less harsh way. He calls it the Law of Reciprocity. When you receive a distinct item of value from someone else, you are compelled to grant them something in return. We feel that we owe them. That we are indebted…
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influence, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote

You Have to Feel Bad Before I Can Help You Feel Good.  You Have to Be Bored Before I Can Catch Your Eye.

You Have to Feel Bad Before I Can Help You Feel Good. You Have to Be Bored Before I Can Catch Your Eye.

February 22, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“The two enemies of human happiness are pain and boredom.” – Arthur Schopenhauer, Born Feb. 22, 1788. It may seem like a shitty thing, to sit around plotting ways to make people unhappy with their current existence. But that is what we do for a living. We don’t describe products and services. That’s bitch work….
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influence, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote, Selling

Only Two Things Have Potentially Infinite Value: Art, and Information… (And Art IS a Kind of Information)

Only Two Things Have Potentially Infinite Value: Art, and Information… (And Art IS a Kind of Information)

February 19, 2021 Colin Theriot 2 Comments

“The price of a work of art has nothing to do with what the work of art is, can do, or is worth on an existential, alchemical level.” – Jerry Saltz, Born Feb. 19, 1951. Information is like art in this way, at least when it’s for sale. For example, imagine a piece of information…
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Persuasion, Positioning, Quote, Selling

Good Advertising Consists of Desirable Lies People Prefer to Hear (Because the Truth Sucks the Glaze Off a Donut Sometimes)

Good Advertising Consists of Desirable Lies People Prefer to Hear (Because the Truth Sucks the Glaze Off a Donut Sometimes)

February 16, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“Sometimes you have to lie. One often has to distort a thing to catch its true spirit.” – Robert J. Flaherty, Born Feb. 16, 1884. Consider a poem, which often describes reality with a refined and elegant metaphor – one that reveals a deep but unobservable truth about a given thing. But despite the bard’s…
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Advertising, Persuasion, Quote, Selling, Writing

Lie Like a Magician, and Make the Audience Work the Magic For You

Lie Like a Magician, and Make the Audience Work the Magic For You

February 14, 2021 Colin Theriot 4 Comments

“When a magician lets you notice something on your own, his lie becomes impenetrable.” – Raymond Teller, Born Feb, 14, 1948. A lot of people think persuasive writing is about what you say to people. Your words push their buttons and they act. But a lot of times, it’s what you DON’T come right out…
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influence, Persuasion, Positioning, Psychology, Quote

What Most Copywriters Don’t Know: When to Shut Up, and What NOT to Say

What Most Copywriters Don’t Know: When to Shut Up, and What NOT to Say

February 12, 2021 Colin Theriot 2 Comments

“To kill an error is as good a service as, and sometimes even better than, the establishing of a new truth or fact.” – Charles Darwin, Born Feb. 12, 1902. That’s true, Charlie. It’s not just as good or better. It’s way easier, too. To know what is wrong in the world of your prospect…
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Advertising, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote

Words that Wound, Words that Heal – We Alternate Them to Persuade People to Buy

Words that Wound, Words that Heal – We Alternate Them to Persuade People to Buy

February 9, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“All books are either dreams or swords, you can cut, or you can drug, with words.” – Amy Lowell, Born Feb. 9, 1874. If you’re just using words to describe shit or explain shit, you’re wasting them. Words can stab. Use yours hit the reader’s tenders organs. Make them bleed. Reopen old wounds. Carve new…
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Advertising, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote, Selling

Guess What People Are Thinking, and They’ll Mistske You For Their Own Mind.

Guess What People Are Thinking, and They’ll Mistske You For Their Own Mind.

February 5, 2021 Colin Theriot No Comments

“Public opinion is a compound of folly, weakness, prejudice, wrong feeling, right feeling, obstinacy, and newspaper paragraphs.” – Robert Peel, Born Feb. 5, 1778. Some other famous advertising writer guy once said that persuading people was about entering into the conversation happening inside their own mind. But you don’t need to be a mind-reader to…
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influence, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote

I’ll Never Ever Tell How This Trick is Done

I’ll Never Ever Tell How This Trick is Done

February 4, 2021 Colin Theriot 2 Comments

“If you have a secret, people will sit a little bit closer.” – Rob Corddry, Born Feb.4, 1971. This is a simple power. But it’s strong. Instant. Easy. Irresistible. However, I won’t explain it to you. So don’t ask. I can’t. I’m not allowed to. Don’t beg. It’s unbecoming. It’s a secret – A powerful…
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influence, Persuasion, Psychology, Quote

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