The Biggest Mistake Many Advertisers Make

by SARubin

So I woke up this morning with another one of my “thoughts for the day”…

A few weeks ago, I shared an actionable tip that worked for one of my clients. If you were able to avail yourself of it, then that’s great… you’re welcome.
If not… well, not every idea works for everyone, no matter how great the idea (maybe the next one will suit you better?)

But this time around I’m dropping more of a philosophical postulation (whoa, there’s a couple of big words. I’m pretty sure I used them correctly?)

Anyway, this time I’m going to rant for a moment about something that’s near and dear to my heart, but gets disregarded too easily by many other marketers.

I’ll try to keep it short and sweet, because I understand that reading the ramblings of a madman is not for everyone.

And after you read my thoughts, feel free to agree with me (because I’m brilliant)… or add your own thoughts to the conversation (because you’re brilliant)… or lay down an alternate truth of your own (because you think I’m full of crap).

Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it’ll be the right decision for you.

So that’s enough of an introduction. Here’s what I was thinking when I woke up this morning.

After 20 years in advertising…

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10 Persuasion Secrets Of a Con-Artist That You Can Use In Your Copywriting

by SARubin

When I was growing up, back in the 1980’s, I had a friend named Mark (For privacy reasons I won’t use his last name here). Mark was an interesting guy, and a lot of fun to hang out with. And he was also one of the smoothest con artists I had ever known.

All these years later I can still remember the day we went to a local shopping mall, just to hang out (shopping malls were still a big thing back then).

We walked into that mall with less than $20 between the two of us. And a couple hours later we walked out with full bellies from one of the restaurants, and Mark had shopping bags with over $200 worth of brand new clothes. (not stolen… these clothes were “given” to him by the shop clerks)

Like I said, he was an interesting guy.

Over the years, we lost touch and I don’t know what happened to my friend. I figure he’s either a multi-millionaire by now… or in prison. (It could’ve gone either way) But watching him in action always fascinated me so much, that it eventually helped lead me down a road of studying social psychology, social engineering and persuasion. (I never wanted to be a con artist, but I did become obsessed with understanding how that shit worked)

Which brings us to today.

Today I’m going to share a few tricks of the con-artist trade that also resemble “honest” tricks of the copywriting trade.

So if you’re ready, let’s dive right in…

WARNING! The following list of techniques should ONLY be used for good (not evil). If you’re clever enough to merge them into your copy, you will see higher conversion rates. But if you choose to use them to deceive people it will probably come back to bite you in the ass. And any legal troubles you get into are your own fault. So don’t blame me… and consider yourself warned.

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A Cool Technique That Increased The Average Sale Per Customer For One Of my Clients

by SARubin

OK, this next technique worked so well that it practically blew my mind when the numbers came in.

For those who are interested in conversion rate optimizing, I’m sure you’ll be able to appreciate the beauty of testing such a simple idea.

It may not work for everybody, because it’s somewhat product dependent. But if you can implement it (or anything like it) with your business, then I highly recommend you at least give it a try…

So I’ve been working with this guy for the past few months, trying to maximize profits from his website.

My new friend sells info products (books, audio programs, courses, personal coaching and the like) and we’ve been working on increasing the average sale per customer.

Of course we mixed and matched some various up-sell and cross-sell mechanisms, with a modicum of results.

But then one night I woke up around 2AM with an idea blazing through my mind (This kind of thing still happens to me more often then I’d like. Don’t get me wrong… I appreciate my subconscious helping out, but I’m getting older and I really need my beauty sleep)

Anyway, the next morning I presented the idea to my client. And now I’m sharing it here for your consideration, education, amusement, or just so you can slam me for sharing an idea that you already knew about (it’s your call what you decide to make of it).

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Powerful Written Persuasion Techniques – Part 5 (micro-commitments)

by SARubin

In this episode of Powerful Written Persuasion Techniques we’re going to touch on the concept of using micro-commitments. Why they work, and how we can use them to make our sales copy more impactful.

Let’s start with why they work…

When people make a commitment to an idea, or a belief, it becomes very difficult to change their minds without creating internal conflict or anxiety.

The name for this feeling of discomfort is called “Cognitive Dissonance”, and it can be an extremely powerful force in our lives.

Part of the reason it’s so powerful is because most of us like to think of ourselves as intelligent, rational beings. And few people want to admit when they’re wrong (even to themselves) about a committed belief.

In fact, when given the choice between defending a faulty belief, or admitting ignorance and changing our paradigm… Most people immediately get busy putting up their defense.

So how can we use this natural human condition to our advantage, when writing persuasive copy?
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Powerful Written Persuasion Techniques – Part 4 (pre-suppositions and pre-framing)

by SARubin

Welcome back… In this next chapter of Powerful Written Persuasion Techniques we’re going to cover the concept of using pre-suppositions and pre-framing in our copy.

Over the years I’ve read dozens of books and articles about pre-suppositions, and the definition(s) of what they are. But the definition I’m using today is a little different from most that I’ve seen.
(Of course I’m leaving myself wide open to be criticized by English teachers and grammarians. But we’re talking about sales copy here. And academic rules don’t always apply in this theater)

So for the sake of this post, we’re going to combine pre-suppositions and pre-framing together. And defined it as “casually implying a statement as a given fact, so we can bypass our readers critical skepticism and have our message more readily accepted.”

OK, I admit that definition is a mouthful. But rather than trying to break it down, I’d rather just show you what I’m talking about…

So if that works for you, let’s just dive right in. Shall we…

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