“We are all, in a sense, experts on secrecy. From earliest childhood we feel its mystery and attraction. We know both the power it confers and the burden it imposes. We learn how it can delight, give breathing space and protect.” – Sissela Bok, Born Dec. 2, 1934. Information is practically worthless nowadays. What you… Read More →
Make More Today By Putting Tomorrow For Sale
“I’m not good at selling laptops. I’m good at selling ideas.” – Nicholas Negroponte, Born Dec. 1, 1943. If you want to sell a product, an object, a service, whatever – you may get caught up in trying to describe the features and benefits and advantages of that particular doodad. And that’s understandable. If you… Read More →
How Painting Your Bottom Red Can Make You Stand Apart
“My shoes are special shoes for discerning feet.” – Manolo Blahnik, Born Nov. 27, 1942. You want your customers to have a special relationship to your products, your offers, and you personally. That’s called branding – that relationship that exists beyond and outside the immediate benefits of the product. And the secret of doing this… Read More →
Getting Good at Lying Makes You Better at Making Truth Believable.
“Good lies need a leavening of truth to make them palatable.” – William McIlvanney. Born Nov. 25, 1936. People get upset when I compare marketers to liars. Or I talk about manipulation. And coercion. Your hands are already dirty! Just own it! It’s better! But I digress. Here is what you need to realize. Even… Read More →
Application of Agitation Creates a Persuasion Situation
“When a man is discontented with himself, it has one advantage – that it puts him into an excellent frame of mind for making a bargain.” – Laurence Sterne. Born Nov. 24, 1713. This is one of the big secrets right here. If you want your prospect to feel super good about buying, try making… Read More →
Most Writing Is Lame Because The Writer Forgot To Make It Cool
“All literature consists of whatever the writer thinks is cool. The reader will like the book to the degree that he agrees with the writer about what’s cool.” – Steven Brust, Born Nov. 23, 1955. This quote is either more authentic or more stupid, depending on whether you think that stupid hat Steven Brust wears… Read More →
Make People Feel Like They Are In Charge, And They Will Obey…
“Let every man feel that he is the architect and builder of his own life, and that he proposes to make a success of it by working.” – Heber J. Grant, Born Nov. 22, 1856. Really, though. The key part here is “let every man feel” – whether they really are or not. Let people… Read More →
Good Copy Always Feels Like It’s Happening Right Now
“There is a saying that every nice piece of work needs the right person in the right place at the right time.” – Benoit Mandelbrot, Born Nov. 20, 1924. That’s what I like to make: a nice piece of work. The right person is you, the reader, the viewer, the receiver of my offer. As… Read More →
No One Wants To Buy Your Product – This Is What They’ll Pay For…
“The only way to advertise is by not focusing on the product.” – Calvin Klein, Born Nov. 19, 1942. The art and skill and magic and OOMPH of writing promotions comes from the stuff you do that has NOTHING to do with the product itself. The product is just a token of value. It carries… Read More →
Explain To Others How They Feel When Their Own Words Cannot Express It
“Human vocabulary is still not capable, and probably never will be, of knowing, recognizing, and communicating everything that can be humanly experienced and felt.” – Jose Saramago, Born Nov. 16, 1922. Jose is talking about how even the best writers can find themselves incapable of expressing the full range of human emotion. And that’s arguably… Read More →
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