Category: Opinion

  • Better Decisions with Annie Duke (Persuasion Play Podcast 010)

    Could you make better decisions?

    I think we all could.

    Do you have a hard time deciding what to order at a restaurant?

    Do you ever make the “wrong” decision and, looking back, feel that you “knew” it would turn out bad?

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  • That Time When Tom Hit Jerry With A Baseball Bat

    2021-03-31
    Saint Paul

    The Influence of Cartoons on Kids

    Over the last decade or two, cartoon violence has shifted dramatically, along with cartoons in general.

    No longer are cartoons the mindless zaniness that you and I grew up with.

    The shows my own kids watch now have complex characters and plots.

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  • Give Me One Reason!

    9:46am Tuesday

    This morning I read a Sweepstakes Letter from the Publishers Clearing House.

    With a no-obligation entry I have a chance at winning $7,000 per week for life.

    That’s a lot of money!

    The letter spent no time trying to be clever or discussing something that couldn’t tie into the benefits of their promotion.

    To Persuade, You Have To Enter Their World

    Do you remember most brands behind your favorite commercials?

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  • The Best Way to ‘Pace and Lead’ (that I’ve found)

    11:35am
    Saint Paul

    I wrote about this on Twitter this morning but I thought you might like a bit more.

    From the outside, “persuasion” is often seen as trying to get someone to do something against his own interests.

    That’s not persuasion. That’s manipulation.

    In reality, persuasion is highlighting why an idea (or product or service) is in someone’s interests.

    And because most people are resistant to new ideas, they’re unlikely to be persuaded by your arguments or data.

    Instead, he has his own set of arguments and data.

    And he’d much prefer if you joined his “side” — because then his worldview isn’t challenged.

    So how can you get people to hear your ideas?

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  • 5 Tech Tips for Email Rock Solid Delivery

    8:50am
    Saint Paul

    Today I wanted to share some tech tips for better email delivery on MailChimp (what I use) or any other way you send an email from your own domain.

    If you’re in business and you’re not following these rules, your email delivery will suffer.

    As a result, you’ll lose customer communication, and with it… sales.

    What score do your marketing emails receive?

    These are the rules that govern the internet, young one, so pay attention.

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  • Don’t Ever Change: “Reality in Advertising” by Rosser Reeves

    9:12
    Saint Paul

    I post on WordPress for my sites (RockPaperShootLLC.com and here on PersuasionReadingList.com) and use I MailChimp to email to my list.

    And on the creator side, both of these services have completely changed their interface.

    There’s no better way to frustrate your customers than to change something that works just fine.

    Especially if that change causes more work for those customers, like creating new MailChimp templates.

    That’s true in marketing, too.

    Rosser Reeves wrote about the importance of a consistent and repeated message in his book Reality in Advertising.

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  • Tylenol makes you CRAZY

    10:54
    Saint Paul

    Did you see the recent study that shows acetaminophen (sold under the brand names Tylenol, Mapap, and Ofirmev) reduces people’s perception of risk?

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  • Successful people share THIS trait

    1:37pm Monday
    Saint Paul

    Last week I wrote about my daughter’s violin lessons and how she doesn’t like having to put forth effort in order to progress.

    She’s happy to practice the few things she knows, but the moment there’s a whiff of effort required…

    I don’t think she’s alone. My wife’s a teacher and she sees in her students the same avoidance of effort.

    “That’s extra!” they’ll complain. About anything.
    “Doin’ too much!” is another common refrain.

    Today she said, “We don’t ask kids to do hard things any more.”

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  • The “Karate Kid” Method to Music Mastery

    My daughter has started violin lessons following the Suzuki Method.

    After one week of classes… after every practice session… she decided she’s ready to give up.

    As a parent, this is incredibly frustrating: of course I want my child to develop grit!

    The Suzuki method was developed by Shin’ichi Suzuki in the 1940s and later, and documented in his book, Nurtured by Love.

    The Suzuki Method focuses on baby steps, frequent positive feedback, and fun.

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  • Freelance Marketing with Dennis Demori (Persuasion Play Podcast 009)

    If you’re into the freelance copywriting and direct response marketing world on Twitter, one name comes up again and again:

    Dennis Demori

    Freelance marketer Dennis Demori

    Dennis is a freelance marketer who focuses his business on email marketing, while dominating the social media scene with his advice for marketers and beginning freelancers.

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