8:59am Wednesday
Saint Paul
Time is scarce.
Everyone is busy and thinking and planning and worried about both their past and their future.
Which is why your copy needs to be clear, concise, and compelling.
David Ogilvy said, “A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
Someone else said…
(more…)8:34am Wednesday
Saint Paul
Someone asked:
> What are some strategies for persuading someone
> with differing opinions who is not open to listening
> to our perspective?
Before you can persuade someone, which should be to their benefit (otherwise it’s manipulation), he or she must have an open mind. If you can’t get there, nothing will work.
*|FNAME|*, persuading people is not easy. You have to set up a situation where they’re willing to question their own entrenched ideas, which means they may come to the conclusion that they’ve been wrong about this idea for however long.
And—as no one wants to be wrong, possibly shifting their entire world view—they’d rather fight than see the light.
So you can’t persuade them as much as you can give them the opportunity and ideas to persuade themselves.
Now, to open someone’s mind to a new way to see the world, you have a few options…
(more…)8:38am Monday
Saint Paul
“Looks like it may be fractured,” said the physician’s assistant.
My daughter had been complaining of a sore foot since her gymnastics lessons… six months ago.
It was an occasional complaint, and it didn’t stop her from, well, anything.
(more…)Thursday, 5:13pm
Saint Paul
“He fell for it! Ha ha ha hahahahahaaa hahaaaa ha…”
My daughter is prank calling people in my phonebook.
(Of course, I had to teach her the *67 trick to hide my number…)
To be clear, this is the first time I’ve been involved with a prank call as an adult.
And it’s kinda fascinating, to be honest…
(more…)1:38pm Tuesday
Saint Paul
Hey, thanks for joining me on my birthday!
Every year… for a few years at least… I reread Seneca’s Letter to a Stoic, number 26, and reflect on the fact that we’re all getting older.
Turns out, this year is no different—I got older again.
In letter 26, Seneca is estimated to be about age 65.
Today, I turn 45.
So he has a few more years on me.
And when he writes,
“I feel that age has done no damage to my mind,”
I can very much agree.
In fact, as I age, I can see things more clearly than ever.
Or, at least, it feels that way. (Could be confirmation bias.)
What’s more striking, however, is his line
(more…)12:09pm Monday
Saint Paul
I’m not going to make you wait for the answer.
Marketing is the highest ROI activity you can do in business.
A business’ customers only have so much money.
They only have so many hours in a day.
And their market only has so many buyers.
So if that business relies on space advertising, aka brand advertising, to put their name in front of prospects…
And fail to give them a reason to buy from that business…
(more…)12:37pm Friday
Saint Paul
Do you write fast?
I remember a story about Stan Lee the comic book writer. I think Ben Settle told this story.
And Stan said, “if I want to buy something, I can always just write more.”
As a freelance writer, that can be a challenge.
(more…)Wednesday, 3:30pm
Saint Paul
Hey *|FNAME|* I’ve unearthed Matt Rizvi’s podcast—and now it’s on YouTube!
Maybe you were here when this was first recorded… or maybe you’re newer to the list (welcome!).
Either way…
I recorded Episode 4 of my Persuasion Play Podcast with direct response copywriter Matt Rizvi waaay back in 2019.
Then, like all my podcast episodes, it got bumped when the next was recorded…
Lost to history… forever.
But not really.
Now I’m putting old episodes up on YouTube so anyone can watch ’em—free.
Here it is, the Persuasion Play Podcast episode 004:
Persuasive Copywriting with Matt Rizvi.
10:20am Wednesday
Saint Paul
Experts are everywhere.
A former boss once told me, “once you know more than the other guy, you’re the expert.”
Which is why you see gurus all over the place, having moved from Level 0 to Level 1, touting their expertise.
Nothing wrong with self-promotion, of course.
But there is always more to learn!…
(more…)10:54am Friday
Saint Paul
Two months ago I got an urge to write advice for my two young children.
Something they might not understand today, but that would be available to them when they are ready.
So I fired up a Google Doc and started writing.