So I once got this funny email.
It was from this guy who says he studies ALL the persuasion books and products but is still struggling with his emails. He nattered on about all the “ninja” persuasion tricks he’s been using… like how he puts a “nested loop” at the beginning of his emails… or the cool NLP things he does to change the reader’s frame (however he described it)… or how he cleverly induces the law of reciprocity he read about in Cialdini’s book to make people want to buy from him… and so on, and so forth.
Lots of tricks and tactics.
Few sales.
My response?
“You’re kinda like this fat dude I know,” I said.
“What??”
“He studies all the complicated diets and uses all the cool equipment… but still overeats and, thus, can’t keep weight off. If he simply burned more calories than he took in he’d see results whether he used all the diet tricks or not. It’s the same with your emails and ads — learn how to sell, and you won’t need the tricks.”
I don’t know if he got the picture.
But that’s what some of these copywriting fanboys remind me of.
Hey, the tricks of the trade are fun.
And, they can be useful.
But know what’s most important?
Knowing how people WANT to be sold to.
How they LIKE to buy.
And basing your copy on sound, principled thought and human nature — not the latest NLP trick or whatever.
This is what I teach in “Email Players”.
And, works like crazy.
Alright, that’s it for today.
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Ben Settle
