Ca$hvertising

If you really don’t want to persuade anyone, then why aren’t you running ads that simply state what you sell, the price, and your address, Website, and phone number, like this: (Location 232)

You wouldn’t do it on your life! Why not? I’ll tell you. (Location 235)

You’d much rather make their minds up for them! (That’s persuasion.) You’d rather tell them how to feel about your pizza. (That’s influence.) (Location 236)

Instead, Starch’s research showed that people care mostly about is (get ready for this earth-shaking revelation)...themselves! They care about what products will do for them, how they’ll make their lives better, happier, more fulfilled. (Location 262)

Most (yes, most) of today’s advertisers still haven’t learned the basic lesson: people don’t care about you, they care first about themselves. (Location 271)

The Life-Force 8   Human beings are biologically programmed with the following eight desires: (Location 286)

Listen: When you create an advertising appeal based on any of the LF8, you tap into the power of Mother Nature herself. You tap into the very essence of what makes humans tick. (Location 299)

According to Haldeman-Julius, the two strongest appeals were sex and self-improvement. (Location 316)

These are called secondary, or learned wants, and nine have been identified: (Location 326)

So here’s the simple formula for desire, and the result it sets in motion: Tension → Desire → Action to Satisfy the Desire (Location 350)

Not only is it pleasant for us to satisfy our eight primary desires, but it’s also pleasant for us to read about how others have satisfied them. (Location 355)

For example, by reading how consumer George Vincent was able to pay off all his debts using a radical new approach to real estate investing, (Location 357)

the first use of any product is inside the consumers’ minds. (Stop. Read that last sentence again.) Imagining the use of something that appeals to you increases your desire for it. (Location 365)

home with another example. Let’s look at transforming a bland sentence with no imagery power into a Hollywood blockbuster. The bland sentence is: “Go somewhere and do something.” Yawn. (Location 375)

But for now, to sum up this chapter, just be aware of these five things: (Location 399)

Fear sells. It motivates. It urges. It moves people to action. It drives them to spend money. (Location 439)

The Four-Step Recipe for Inducing Fear (Location 460)

Your offer must be credible, or you should expect the same crummy results as our frustrated advertiser friend here. Transfer is a strategy that involves using symbols, images, or ideas—cues, if you will—commonly associated with people, groups, or institutions of authority or respect, in order to persuade your prospect that your product or service is in some way acceptably endorsed. (Location 594)

To simplify, here’s what happens. Your prospects: 1) See a symbol of credibility (logo, endorsement, and the like), and then (2) question less of your sales argument. (Location 629)

As simple as it is, my friend, you’ve just learned the #1 key to all effective written communication: Write so people can understand. (Location 1421)

And short of doing your own testing—asking friends, neighbors, and family members to read your sales copy—it’s (Location 1432)

If you use Microsoft Word, accessing your Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) is just a button-click away. Based on a scale of 1 to 100, the higher your score, the easier the reading. (Location 1437)

Step #1—Count the words: (Location 1439)

Flesch gives an excellent example of how complexity affects score. The sentence, “John loves Mary” scores 92—very easy. Now let’s crank up the difficulty. “John has a profound affection for Mary.” Not quite as simply said or as specific, is it? Score: 67. (Location 1452)

How do the scores translate into school grades? According to Flesch, here are the rankings: (Location 1459)

If your score’s too low, Flesch suggests to “shorten the words and sentences until you get the score you want.” (Location 1461)

Here are two test paragraphs that talk about the same offer. (Location 1474)

DON’T SAY: “Become financially successful.” DO SAY: (Location 1500)

Forget those annoying $10 words and phrases you were taught in school and business. (Location 1523)

Rule of thumb: Express only one thought in a sentence, no more. (Location 1529)

Here’s a great trick used by today’s top copywriters to keep people reading and moving ahead at a quick pace. (Location 1536)

copy.) In virtually every one of his full-page catalog ads, he starts the first paragraph with sentences consisting of only two to four words. Of the eight products I just now reviewed on his Website, six of them use this technique: (Location 1547)

Finally, I want you to load your copy with pronouns, such as you, me, I, he, she, him, they, and them. Be especially generous with the words you and I. Pronouns give your copy a warm, human flavor that people notice instantly. (Location 1561)

headline! Ask questions and make statements using pronouns: (Location 1566)

Okay, let’s review what you learned so far. (Location 1570)

Other effective paragraph leaders are, “We Guarantee...,” “We Promise...,” “You’ll Receive...,” and similar. (Location 1580)

Let’s now talk about the million-dollar secret for getting inside your readers’ heads: benefits. Play close attention. If you don’t incorporate this idea in all of your advertising, you may as well pack up now and try a different business that sells to beings other than humans. (Location 1585)

let’s examine what a benefit is, in advertising terms. Benefits are those things that offer your prospects value. (Location 1592)

The features are the attributes. The benefits are what you get from those attributes. The benefits are what entice people to buy. Remember, the entire time people are reading your ads, they’re consciously thinking, “WIIFM?”: “What’s In It For Me?” (Location 1603)

Consumers buy based on what the product will do for them, not on what ingredients it has. (Location 1609)

Then I instruct the prospect to respond with a loud and annoyed “BIG DEAL! What’s in it for me?” And (Location 1613)

Sorry, but people are not interested in your new equipment (only if it benefits them), or that you’re celebrating your 10th anniversary (unless you’re slashing your prices). (Location 1630)

Benefits tap into Consumer Psychology Principle #5: (Location 1634)

put your biggest benefit in your headline. (Location 1644)

Did you know that 60 percent of all people who read ads typically read headlines and no more? (Location 1648)

See the simplicity? Your headline should immediately select the audience you want to hook. (Location 1672)

Word-wise, most people can grasp the meaning of five to six words in a single glance. (Location 1685)

That’s why short headlines get higher readership. (Location 1694)

1. Always put your biggest benefit in your headline. 2. If you can write two equally effective headlines, the shorter one will likely be read by more people, all other variables being the same.   For the purposes of practicality, never ignore rule #1, and keep rule #2 in mind to maximize readership when creating your next ad. (Location 1710)

As advertisers, we need to motivate people to take action right now. We don’t want them to wait, or think about it, or put off the decision until the “later” that never comes.You want them to whip out their credit cards and order now. (Location 1722)

Tell people they can’t have something and they want it more than ever. (Location 1726)

Advertising is persuasion. And the most critical time to persuade is when you’re asking for action. Always feature deadlines to discourage response-killing human inertia. (Location 1736)

Simply include standard phrases such as the following: (Location 1738)

Good Only for the First 50 Callers (Location 1747)

That’s why it’s critical that your headline do two things: (1) grab their attention, and (2) motivate them to keep reading. If it doesn’t do both, you could be giving away free gold bars, and most people wouldn’t notice. (Location 1756)

There are four important qualities that a good headline may possess. They are:1. Self-interest. 2. News. 3. Curiosity. 4. Quick, easy way. (Location 1761)

To appeal to a consumer’s self-interest, simply write a headline that promises a personal benefit: whiter teeth, higher income, healthier body, better relationships, and any others, especially those that tap into the Life-Force 8 desires discussed in Chapter 1. (Location 1763)

The following 22 tested headline starters can be used for most any product or service. Simply replace the example wording with words relevant to your business. (Location 1774)

But how do you start writing the body copy in a way that flows naturally from your headline and doesn’t jar them out of this coveted—and potentially profitable—state of mind? Here are 12 easy ways to do it, based on successful results from hundreds of business-winning print ads. (Location 1809)

call it extreme specificity, and your competitors will curse you for it. It’s simple, and here’s what you do: (Location 1910)

He developed a simple layout formula that, if followed, results in eye-catching ads that win researcher Daniel Starch’s “most-noted award.” (Location 1976)

Studies show that up to twice as many people read captions as body copy. (Location 1989)

Ascender Corporation’s study “Fonts on the Front Page” revealed the 10 most popular typefaces used by the top 100 U.S newspapers (by circulation), in order: (Location 2051)

Headlines Longer Than Just a Couple of Words, Such As “FREE COOKIES!” Should Be Set in Initial Caps, a Combination of Upper-and Lower-Case Letters, As in This Sentence. All upper-case letters slowed readership by 11.8 percent (Location 2064)

So, I beg you, don’t design your own sales materials. (Location 2111)

What kind of questions? Any kind! Just look at the writing in this book. You’ll see many examples of this ploy. What does it do? (The last sentence is a perfect example.) It causes your prospects to desire the answer. So what happens? They continue reading to find out the answer. I love this technique. (Location 2122)

Want an example? (Note the open loop I just created.) Do you want to know one simple technique that will triple your coupon response with no additional cost or effort? (Location 2127)

Now, let’s make an analogy. Sales letters are like Larry’s words. They’re personal, one-on-one, and try to “meet you in your world.” Brochures, by contrast, are like Larry’s briefcase: impersonal, and filled with samples, photos, and complete details. Each component works in a different way for the same end result: the sale. (Location 2149)

Instead, say: Hey Justin... If you’re sick and tired of staying home every weekend doing nothing but surfing the Web when all your friends are out partying up a storm... (Location 2156)

Instead, a good salesperson talks like a human being: (Location 2161)

The best way to write any advertising is to start by making a list of all the benefits your product or service offers. (Location 2165)

Write only the benefits, not the features. (Refer to Ad Agency Secret #2: Bombard Your Readers with Benefits for a quick refresher.) After you’ve completed your list, rank them in order of importance—to your customer, not to you. That is, list the benefit you feel is the strongest selling point as #1, and so on, down the list. When you’re done, you’ll have a list of the key selling points of your product. Now take the #1 benefit and work that benefit into the opening of your letter. (Location 2166)

For example: (Location 2172)

Start your letter with a question. It’s an extremely effective device for getting people to read deeper. (Location 2181)

Asking a question in your first sentence—especially one that starts, “Do you want...?”—and (Location 2185)

I know that if I want to make money selling a weight-gain product to body builders, I’d look for a mailing list of bodybuilders who have purchased online or via mail order, and have bought recently, and frequently, and spent a lot of money. (Location 2262)

How do you get them? Ask! Simply write a letter (or e-mail) to your customers and say, “We want to make you famous!” Then tell them you want their honest opinions about your product or service. (Location 2298)

grabber. It’s based on the notion that a head or face is the best attention-getter. Simply put a photo of someone’s head in your ad. The face/head should be looking directly at the reader. (Location 2315)

For example, next to my photo in my ad, the headline reads (quote marks included), “Give Me 90 Minutes & I’ll Show You How to Double...Triple...Quadruple Your Ad Response!” (Location 2324)

I call powerful visual adjectives. These PVAs produce clear, bright, high-impact visual images. (Location 2334)

First, realize that all experience is made up of only these five factors—V-A-K-O-G: (Location 2417)

To boost the effect of your words—no matter what kind of advertising you’re writing, be it ads, brochures, sales letters, flyers, e-mails, Websites, billboards, or radio or TV commercials—what you need to do is increase the strength of the representations in your prospects’ brains. (Location 2427)

Let’s fact it: Your prospects are busy living their lives. They don’t care about you or your product, but only how your product or service can make their lives better. (Location 2430)

“People don’t buy your product for its features; they buy it for its benefits.” (Location 2434)

Own a karate school? Don’t just tell parents that you’ll teach their kids to be more confident and get better grades. Every school says that! Also say that their kids will never become a punching bag for the schoolyard bully, with his dirty face, foul mouth, and clenched fists. (Feel the difference?) (Location 2436)

Stop being afraid to use your own brain. Forge your own path and leave your own mark. You don’t need permission from anybody to do things your way. You be the leader. You be the one people copy because what you’re doing is so unique. (Location 2443)

So what do I need to say to motivate you to buy this product? (Location 2461)

My goal is to make my words so clear that you actually demonstrate the product in your mind before you buy it. (Location 2463)

An ad that only informs and doesn’t move people to buy is like a salesperson who can’t close. Fire the salesperson. Trash the ad. They’re wasting both your money and time. (Location 2501)

Getting action requires two steps: (1) Make it easy to act, and then (2) ask for action. (Location 2506)

When people can’t distinguish you from your competition, they have no reason to prefer you. And your goal in business is to have people prefer your product, to choose you over everyone else offering the same or a similar thing. (Location 2538)

Be sure your product or service is one of excellent quality, or you may educate your potential buyer away from you! (Location 2558)

If you don’t have a “RapidSell System,” then get creative and put together a program that you can call the RapidSell System. (Location 2569)

And to back up her claim, she submits articles to her local newspaper and business publications telling readers how to get the most for their printing dollar. She offers free reports such as, “How to Use 10 Little-Known Printing Secrets to Make Your Business Look More Professional,” “How to Use the Power of Color to Make Your Business Materials Stand Out!” and others. (Location 2582)

For example, which of these two headlines attracts your attention most? (Location 2592)

19-Year Old College Kid Discovers Clever Way to Persuade People to Send You Money Via PayPal. (Location 2594)

If you want your ad to stand out from the crowd, say something different. (Location 2600)

Other examples: Chinese Billionaire Reveals 14 Secrets That Helped Make Him So Rich. With Just Four Months Left to Live, Millionaire Agrees to Reveal His Secrets of Wealth & Success. Millionaire’s Private Diary Found in Palm Springs—Reveals Little-Known Secrets of Success. (Location 2605)

Ask yourself, “What’s unique about my offer? Am I the only one offering this plan, product, or service? What’s unique about me that I can exploit?” (Location 2610)

Read the book Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind. It takes you step-by-step through the process of creating your image based on where you are now in the market, and where you want to be. (Location 2619)

market yourself as an authority in your field—and wear this same coat of influence. (Location 2642)

Create several three- to 10-page reports on your subject in both hardcopy and PDF formats. For example, let’s say you’re a printer. How about creating some simple reports entitled: (Location 2650)

The reports would feature your headshot right on the cover, with your name in a caption under the photo, and your business name on the cover. For example, I’d do it this way: (Location 2657)

What you do is mail a survey to your customers asking them five or six questions about whatever it is you’d like information about: (Location 2682)

Here are the results of that study. (Location 2724)

Gallup found that readers preferred the following pictures, listed in order of preference: (Location 2741)

If I sent you a letter with a $1 bill stapled to the top, wouldn’t you be interested? It’s just a dollar, but that letter would probably interest you more than anything else that arrived in the mail that day. (Location 2781)

Direct response advertisers know that short copy doesn’t sell. In split run tests, long copy invariably outsells short copy. (Location 2825)

MarketingExperiments.com conducted several tests to see what impact copy length has on a Website’s conversion rate. (Location 2879)

Just because people don’t respond to your ad, that does not mean they don’t want what you’re selling. Your ad may not have communicated effectively, or simply wasn’t sufficiently appealing. (Location 2892)

What you’re trying to do is find out what appeals to the marketplace. You can’t tell the marketplace what to buy from you. They will tell you what they want. If your ad doesn’t work, they are telling you. (Location 2915)

Instead of spending thousands of dollars running ads trying to guess what your customers or prospects want, why not simply ask them, and then create advertising around their responses! (Location 2930)

So do a survey! Ask people what they think about your product or service. For example, if you run a pizzeria, ask people what things are most important to them when going out for pizza. What do they like? What do they hate? What’s the most they’d pay for an 18-inch pie with the works? Would they come in more often if you offered two free drinks with every large pizza? What’s their biggest complaint? How often do they go out for—or pick up—pizza? To whom do you send this survey? How about everybody within a 5-mile radius of your pizzeria? Or maybe just your own customers. Offer a free slice as a thank-you for providing their feedback. Yep...bribe them to take your survey. (Location 2932)

Familiar sender (use your name if they’ll recognize it). 2. Personal subject line (always include your recipient’s name). 3. Offer of interest (precision-target your market). (Location 3057)

Do you believe in your product or service? How strongly? I offer a full one-year money-back guarantee on many of my products. (Location 3104)

time. CA$HVERTISING Tip: Offer the longest, strongest guarantee in your industry. (Your competition will hate you for this.) Such a guarantee conveys your confidence in what you sell, which in turn gives prospects the confidence to give you their money. As a bonus, it causes potential buyers to question your competitors’ weak—or absent!—guarantee. It also lets you ask—in big bold type—“Why Do Our Competitors Guarantee their [PRODUCT TYPE] for Only 90 Days?” Followed up with the insidious, “Do they know something about their [PRODUCT] that they’re not telling you?” (Location 3132)

The number-one preference for most people tested is blue, with red a close second, then green, violet, orange, and yellow, ranked exactly in that order. (Location 3210)

Odd-even pricing theory says that prices ending in odd amounts such as 77, 95, and 99 suggest greater value than prices rounded up to the next whole dollar. (Location 3257)

All three catalogs were identical, except for the prices, which ended in 00, 88, and 99. The winner? The 99 catalog produced 8 percent greater sales and more buyers than the 00 version. The 88 catalog pulled in as many sales and buyers as the 00 version. (Location 3271)

It’s quick, easy, takes no time or skill, and research shows it works. It’s the power of white-wrap isolation. It’s another one of those little-known and little-used agency secrets revealed by decades-old testing that can give your ad response a lift. (Location 3314)

22 Response Superchargers (Location 3379)

46-Point “Killer Ad” Checklist (Location 3452)

Recommended Reading (Location 3558)