“…if your child or family member was abducted today, if a mad man came in, a terrorist came in, abducted your family member or your child and if I said to you I can bring your child home…does it matter how I bring them home?”
– Sam Childers
Saw a very cool movie recently.
It’s called:
“Machine Gun Preacher”
It’s about the real life story of Sam Childers — a violent drug-dealing biker and ex-con who converts to Christianity, goes to east Africa to help rebuild homes destroyed by civil war and becomes a crusader for the Sudanese children who are being tortured, raped, sold into slavery and forced to become soldiers. (Amnesty International estimates over 400,000 murders and 40,000 abductions per year). The “machine gun” part comes in when he starts leading armed missions into the enemy territory to save these kidnapped children.
The movie is brilliantly written.
Brilliantly acted.
And… brilliantly persuasive.
Here’s what I mean:
The first time I saw it I wanted to donate to Sam’s “Angels Of East Africa” organization (which operates ONLY on donations — no government or political assistance). The sheer horrors of what these kids experience is chilling. And, as violent as the movie is, it still falls WAY short of showing the hell that’s really happening to these kids.
And yet, I saw no call to action.
No URL plugged.
(Unless I missed it.)
The STORY alone got me looking it up online so I could donate to Sam’s organization that very night.
Thus, the power of stories.
People are “hardwired” to be persuaded by stories.
Learn how to tell stories in your emails and you can make sales even if you suck at “copywriting.”
Case in point:
Next month’s “Email Players” issue.
It’s about a wine maker who nabs $30 million per year JUST telling stories in emails.
Lots and lots of stories.
Sometimes 2-3 per day!
There’s lots of cool psychology in what he does.
And, it’ll be in the June issue.
(Which goes to print the first week of June.)
Go here to subscribe:
Ben Settle
