“For to tempt and to be tempted are things very nearly allied – whenever feeling has anything to do in the matter, no sooner is it excited than we have already gone vastly farther than we are aware of.” – Yekaterina Alexeyevna, Born Apr. 21, 1729. If persuasion is a fishing pole, emotion is the […]
The Art of Sinking Your Persuasive Fishhook Right in Your Prospect’s Face Read More »
“We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.” – Anne Sullivan, Born Apr. 14, 1866. This one is going to be really uncomfortable. Ready? See in that quote where she says “imagine”? That imagination is why we can sell people stuff all day long
The Ugly Difference Between a Buying Brain and a Selling One… Read More »
“For each letter received from a creditor, write fifty lines on an extraterrestrial subject and you will be saved.” – Charles Baudelaire, Born Apr. 9, 1821. Practical advice there – shockingly from a POET, no less. Poetry being the most useless kind of writing. But even in Baudelaire’s time, he knew that if you’re going
If You Want to Get Paid to Write, Write Where the Money Is Read More »
“The first thing we become convinced of is that man is organized so as to be far more sensible of pain than of pleasure.” – Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, Born Apr. 1, 1755. The persuader would do well to learn that when it comes to making someone take a desired action, there are two general forces
Honey May Catch More Flies Than Vinegar, But Vinegar Makes More Sales… Read More »
“Reinforcement is being right.” – B. F. Skinner, Born Mar. 20, 1904. Read this. It’ll change your life. Your business and money-making life, anyway. And that usually changes your home life. Having money and fame will do that. So first, gather an audience. Build it up around what you sell, or find existing ones and
Repetition Creates Belief. Repetition Creates Belief. And Reinforcement Cements It In. Read More »
“It is still not enough for language to have clarity and content… it must also have a goal and an imperative. Otherwise from language we descend to chatter, from chatter to babble and from babble to confusion.” – Rene Daumal, Born Mar. 16, 1908. This is especially true for us. Persuaders, I mean. If there
What is “Copy” and How to Write It Gooder. Goodest. Most Gooder. Read More »
“The fact of storytelling hints at a fundamental human unease, hints at human imperfection. Where there is perfection there is no story to tell.” – Ben Okri, Born Mar. 15, 1959. Clients fuck this up when they write about themselves. And sometimes they get mad when they work with a writer who knows better. I’ve
Stories Sell, But Only if They Start Out With Sucking Read More »
“THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN CONTROL PEOPLE IS TO LIE TO THEM. You can write that down in your book in great big letters. The only way you can control anybody is to lie to them.” – Lafayette Ronald Hubbard, Born Mar. 13, 1911. Get out the Preparation H because every time his topic comes
Don’t Lie to Yourself – Deception is What Fuels All Persuasion Read More »
“For imagination sets the goal picture which our automatic mechanism works on. We act, or fail to act, not because of will, as is so commonly believed, but because of imagination.” – Maxwell Maltz, Born Mar. 10, 1899. The vast majority of people possess withered and disused imaginations. Having to deal with the real world
Paint a Pretty Picture and Prospects Become Purchasers Read More »
“Nobody reads a mystery to get to the middle. They read it to get to the end. If it’s a letdown, they won’t buy anymore. The first page sells that book. The last page sells your next book.” – Mickey Spillane, Born Mar. 9, 1918. Spillane never wrote “literature” like the kind professors value. Unless
The Profitable Cliffhanger – How to Serialize Your Selling Read More »
