“The second principle of magic: things which have once been in contact with each other continue to act on each other at a distance after the physical contact has been severed.” – James G. Frazer, Born Jan. 1, 1854. It goes this way with the sharing of ideas, too. Contact with the mental machinery of… Read More →
Shortcut to Creating a Perception of Value in Absolutely Any Piece of Information
“Men value things in three ways: as useful, as pleasant or sources of pleasure, and as excellent, or as intrinsically admirable or honorable.” – Mortimer Adler, Born Dec. 28, 1902. Let’s make today about practicality. We write to sell things. That’s our goal. Our duty. And to do that, we have to make people see… Read More →
The Secret to Tricking People Into Believing Lies? Lie, Obviously.
“When it comes to snowing people, one effective technique is to get a whole bunch of verifiable facts right and then add one or two that are untrue.” – Daniel Levitin, Born Dec. 27, 1957. This is essentially what all sales pitches are. A mix of fact and lies. If it bothers you to call… Read More →
We Can’t Lead With Pleasure – We Must Begin Our Work at the Point of Pain
“Like the sand and the oyster, it’s a creative irritant. In each poem, I’m trying to reveal a truth, so it can’t have a fictional beginning.“ – Carol Ann Duffy, Born Dec. 23, 1955. I’m no poet, that’s for sure. But what is quoted here is certainly true about persuasive writing. Perhaps even more true… Read More →
A Funny Sign You Saw Is Not Good Copy
“We have too many high-sounding words, and too few actions that correspond with them.” – Abigail Adams, Born Dec. 22, 1744. In our line of work, it can be easy to be attracted to other ads that are clever, or funny. We envy the creativity of their writers and conceivers. We mentally (or even physically)… Read More →
Even Dumb Uggos Are Susceptible to This Magic Influencer
“I have come to have the firm conviction that vanity is the basis of everything, and finally that what one calls conscience is only inner vanity.” – Gustave Flaubert, Born Dec. 12, 1821. This is one that will be useful to people who have trouble with making your marketing jive sound authentic. It’s all about… Read More →
Facts Can’t Sell Anything Without Feelings (Doot Doo Doot)
“Attitudes are more important than facts.” – George MacDonald, Born Dec. 10, 1824 I can’t persuade anyone with JUST the facts. Facts are boring. Static. Motionless. Some dummies keep saying we live in a post-fact age. I think that’s dangerously untrue. But I digress. If facts alone could close the sale, I’d still be a… Read More →
Make Your Reader Chase the Sale by Using the Right Bait
“All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.” – James Thurber, Born Dec. 8, 1894. This applies to man and woman and child and any sorts of animals or androids or aliens – provided they have money to spend. They should strive to learn what… Read More →
Harness the Buyer’s Will to the Drives Already Inside Them
“The will is never free – it is always attached to an object, a purpose. It is simply the engine in the car – it can’t steer.” – Joyce Cary, Born Dec. 7, 1888. What we want to do is entice people to move in the direction we want them to. Right? It can be… Read More →
The Written Word Makes Audible Music in the Mind of the Reader
“He who wants to persuade should put his trust not in the right argument, but in the right word. The power of sound has always been greater than the power of sense.” – Joseph Conrad, Born Dec. 3, 1857. This is why your work needs to read the way people speak. Because the mind’s ear… Read More →
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