Goldmine Marketing

Tag: emotions

  • Revenge of the Serif

    I’ve been writing about this for a decade. Now AI stole this, too.

    11:19am
    2 blocks east of the Mississippi

    Heya ––– I ran across an interesting article today on Wired.com that I wanted to share.

    But first some context.

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  • The Dirty Secret of Small-Town Soap

    How this business owner’s limiting beliefs capped his growth and income

    8:13am
    East of the Mississippi


    Years ago I found a bar of soap I really liked.

    Exciting, I know.

    This was when Dr. Squatch men’s soap was running constant ads on social media…

    And I wanted a piece of the action!

    Here’s the story, bubbles:

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  • Sell ‘Em What They Want Already

    2:22pm
    East of the Mississippi


    We’re getting a break from the cold here in Saint Paul.

    It’s 36° outside!

    I was working on a landing page and my client kept asking me to clarify that only part of the offer was an easy-to-use “framework” –– a desirable aspect of this offer –– and that other parts of the offer weren’t a “framework” at all, but instead dealt with data and functional changes.

    Which, sure.

    But copywriting isn’t content writing!

    The goal of sales copy is to build up excitement, or anger, or fear, or some emotion about the current situation…

    And then to tie that into a changed emotion or other benefit that will only happen as a result of the purchase.

    If we spend all our time explaining the nuts and bolts of what the person will actually be doing –– in the name of transparency –– it begins to sound like a lot of work…

    And who wants to choose more work?

    Now, deep down, you and I and everyone knows that change and improvement does take work (or at least cash).

    But we can’t build up hope with technical details.

    There’s a difference between “See it sparkle!” and “It sparkles. Sometimes. When the light is right.“

    We can’t hope to make a sale when we say, “imagine how your friends will feel when they see you“…

    …and end that sentence with “putting in extra hours to make this work out.“

    Gotta sell the hope that tomorrow’s gonna sparkle.

    Sell your buyer what he wants.

    Deliver that.

    But also deliver what he really needs.

    Love you,

    Jeffrey

    PS. Might you know Judd Apatow’s email? The one I tried bounced.

  • If it ain’t about the munney, hunny…

    9:32am
    Saint Paul

    Last week we discussed a few ways money isn’t real.

    It was prompted by a quote I heard at a marketing conference:

    “People don’t respond to discounts any more.

    “Especially if Corporate is paying the bill.

    “And remember: money isn’t real anyway.”

    Today we’re going to look at the first part of the quote.

    And a few ways YOU can overcome price resistance.

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  • Make a Claim, and Frame It

    1:24pm
    Saint Paul

    Yesterday, as I was prepping dinner and the kids were at music and sports, I listened to Episode 277 of “Brain Software with Mike Mandel.”

    It’s a podcast that fellow copywriter John Bejakovic tuned me into.

    Mike and his co-host Chris Thompson talk about hypnosis from their headquarters in the hypnotic world epicenter: Toronto, Canada.

    Two things I took away from the episode that I wanted to share with you today.

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  • Growing Up Halbert (Persuasion Play Podcast #14)

    Tuesday, Dec 31
    Someplace East of the Mississippi

    Gary Halbert was a well-known direct response copywriter, considered by many to be the best in the business. Ever.

    In this wide-ranging interview with Gary’s son Kevin Halbert, you’ll hear insightful moments from Kevin’s life, including stories about Gary’s temper… the effort Gary put into his promotions… Kevin’s addition to the famous AIDA formula… and more:

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  • My Mega-Church Sunday Visit

    9:02am
    Saint Paul

    “Can you drive?”

    It’s a Sunday morning and I’m just arriving at my cousin’s house.

    “Yeah,” I say. “Hop in!”

    See, my cousin had come over the previous Friday to watch the Olympics opening ceremony.

    And she invited me to join her at a church service where she and her daughters had been attending.

    All I could think is: Religions know how to persuade. Market Research!

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  • Tips to Persuade People (who don’t want to listen)

    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…

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  • Different Realities — Which Do You Live In?

    11:05 pm

    Saint Paul, Minnesota

    Years ago, when I first started reading and writing about persuasion, I found myself moving further to the political right. Or, perhaps, further from the current political left.

    Learning about the tools and techniques of persuasion, I could see the manipulation of the population and how easily our energy is directed.

    Persuasion, at its core, is getting someone to see the benefits of an action or a believe, and to change their behavior ‘for the better’ because of it.

    Manipulation, on the other hand, benefits the manipulator but not the manipulated. Rioting, anyone?

    When you’re the first to mention an idea, you “win” that mind space. This is the purpose of a Blue Ocean strategy, that you define a new market and you’re the only one serving it.

    But when someone already has an idea and you’re hoping to persuade them to see the benefit of its opposite? Much harder.

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  • Denny Hatch’s 7 Emotional Buttons to Get People to Take Action!

    Denny Hatch is an “old-school” marketer and copywriter that cut his teeth with direct mail, long before the internet was a thing.

    The emotions Hatch identifies in his out-of-print book The Secrets of Emotional, Hot-Button COPYWRITING get people’s juices flowing.

    Emotions, it should be said, are the basis for most decisions that people make (but I suspect you already knew that, you wise cookie you… and if you didn’t know it — good on you for wanting to learn!)

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