Posted by: Daniel Levis
January 30, 2008
Issue #343

“You Copywriters Are All
Going To Hell!”

- Ex Selling to Human Nature Reader

In this issue:

• The most unusual piece of fan mail I’ve ever received …
• Six forbidden keys to psychological manipulation for the eternally damned …
• How to become a better storyteller – advice from one of the greatest mental manipulators to have ever lived …
• And more!

Dear Web Business Builder,

Earlier this week I had a subscriber write me and tell me that what I was teaching was demonic. I kid you not.

She said I was showing people how to prey on sin and human weakness. That I was encouraging my students to manipulate people to get them to do things they otherwise wouldn’t. And that anybody who followed my advice was going straight to hell.

Talk about fan mail!

Of course there is some truth in what the lady was saying…

My teachings are manipulative. And they do get people to try new things they otherwise wouldn’t. But what’s wrong with that?

Every mother manipulates her baby – if she wants it to live. Every time you go to the bank, you manipulate the teller. When you go to a restaurant – if you’re smart – you manipulate the waiter into giving you better service … and the waiter manipulates you into coughing up a bigger tip. And the teachers in school manipulate the students into learning to read and to write – at least the good ones do. Life is one GREAT BIG MANIPULATION! Marketing is manipulation.

Does that mean we’re all going to hell? I think not. Persuasion is just a tool. And like any other tool, can be used to destroy or create.

Take a hammer for instance. You can use it as a murder weapon, or to build a house. Does that make you a bad person for going into a hardware store to buy one? Of course not! You’re either a psycho killer or a handy person to have around … and the hammer has nothing to do with the distinction.

Judging from this lady’s reference to “hell” and “demonic” and “sin”, I’d wager she’s under the spell of the biggest and perhaps most destructive manipulation of them all.

The truth is: whether you appeal to vice or virtue in your sales copy has nothing to do with whether you go to hell or to heaven. It’s the intention in back of it that counts. If you feel your best chance of getting your prospect to take an action that’s in his best interest means making him feel a little envious, angry, or greedy, then I think it’s your duty to push those buttons.

Persuasion is full of such ethical questions …

If in your sales copy you step deliberately into a persona who mirrors the likes, dislikes, beliefs, feelings and frustrations of your prospect … or one your prospect is likely to admire, identify with, and want to emulate … is that manipulative? It is … but how else will you create rapport and guide him toward a better life?

• People instinctively, automatically, and reflexively follow people they like. Create that relationship in your sales copy and marketing, and you can lead your prospects in just about any direction you like.

When you use metaphor or analogy to re-frame something the prospect finds frightening, as exciting … objectionable, as agreeable … or dull and uninteresting, as fascinating … is that manipulative? It is … but how else will you make the mundane magical to draw your reader in? How else will you make the unfamiliar easily understood so he can embrace it?

• The mind thinks in relative terms. When confronted with a new idea, it instinctively, automatically, and reflexively looks for a handy little existing pigeonhole in which to stick it. A carefully crafted metaphor, simile, or analogy allows you to hijack that natural process. If your intentions are honorable, what’s wrong with that?

When you force your prospect to associate positive emotions with the purchase of your product or service by stimulating his creative imagination … is that manipulative? It is … but how else will you motivate him to move toward his dreams, and away from his fears?

• The sub-conscious mind literally cannot tell the difference between an imagined and a real experience. It is a goal-seeking, teleological device that automatically moves the person in the direction of his creative imagination. Is there something wrong with planting the positive seeds of hope and empowerment in another person’s mind … or even scaring him out of his wits if necessary, and then coming to the rescue? Not if your intentions are good.

When you use specific words and phrases that are anchored to the emotions that will motivate your prospect to action … is that manipulative? It is … Words are symbols – representations of reality. The right ones can trigger a cascade of associated images and emotions in the mind of your reader. Words like love, hate, sex, death, kill, joy and blood are all examples of viscerally charged anchors that create automatic, involuntary associations.

• A single word choice can drastically alter your reader’s internal representations, moving you either closer or farther away from your intention. When you work diligently to select the words that inspire your reader to actually do something as a result of your writing, is that evil? Me thinks not.

When you tell stories that merely suggest what you want your prospect to think, rather than coming right out and telling him directly … is that manipulative?  It is … It’s down right sneaky because when someone thinks they’ve come to a particular conclusion on their own … they bite down hard on that conclusion … they’re like a dog on a bone with that thing. And that gives them the conviction and confidence they need to take action.

• Well-told stories throw the reader a little off balance, confusing him temporarily. He’s like a stranger in a strange land, searching for his bearings in your words. His natural inborn curiosity makes him hyper-aware of them, until the punch line is revealed.  Does captivating a person’s interest in this way make you a sorry sinner? Absurd!

Aspiring copywriters often ask me, “How can I become a better storyteller?” I tell them, “Read the great popular novelists, people like Stephen King, John Grisham and others. You’re not a novelist, but you can learn a lot about wrapping your selling argument in story from these great writers.”

Milton Erickson, one of the greatest therapeutic storytellers to have ever lived had this advice … “Take a new book by an author who you know is good. Read the last chapter first. Speculate about the contents of the preceding chapter. Speculate in all possible directions. You will be wrong in a lot of your speculations. Read that chapter and then speculate on the previous chapter. You read a good book from the last chapter to the first, speculating all the way.”

I have actually done this. It’s a fascinating exercise that really does make you aware of the patterns these great storytellers use to formulate a gripping page-turner … and how they set up multiple open loops and close them sequentially to keep you glued to the page.

The Bottom Line:

Mirroring and matching … stimulating your reader’s emotions (negative and positive) … using metaphor and analogy … leveraging heavily anchored words and phrases … future pacing … storytelling? They’re nothing more than a few tools of the copywriter’s trade, analogous to a magician’s slight of hand …

In the same way a magician manipulates your senses, a competent copywriter manipulates your emotions. In both cases opening your mind to the wondrous possibilities that exist beyond the mundane.

I guess there are a few fruitcakes out there who take exception to this. What can I say?

Until next time, Good Selling!

Daniel Levis
Editor, The Web Marketing Advisor
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10 Comments »

1. Comment by RobToth_dot_com — January 30, 2008 @ 9:59 am

   According to Seth \”all marketers are liars\” … and I didn\’t argue.

   I certainly also don\’t argue that ALL OF US are manipulative persuaders … and your fans religious undertones do, in fact, indicate that she\’s likely been \”persuaded\” to one faith or train of thought.

   There\’s nothing wrong with any of this. But it kind of makes me wonder why entrepreneurs would even raise an objection …

   Do you want to make sales? Give your customer a reason to make a purchase which probably will mean placing the spotlight on YOUR favourable arguement and *manipulating* them into action.

2. Comment by Timur — January 30, 2008 @ 1:00 pm

   Daniel,
   You are a manipulative \”sob\”! Again you manipulated me into feeling inspired about doing what I do for living SELLING
   I have been reading your articles with great interest Thank you!

3. Comment by Gayle Brantuk — January 30, 2008 @ 4:49 pm

   What a fun article to read–I thoroughly enjoy your style. Thank you.

4. Comment by George — January 30, 2008 @ 5:06 pm

   Awesome article. Wish these processes can be made more clear:
   - metaphors and analogs
   - anchored words
   - future pacing
   - multiple open loops that close sequentially
   - wrapping your argument in a story

   Thanks Daniel, for a most enlightening read!

5. Comment by Adam Gordon — January 30, 2008 @ 9:14 pm

   Daniel,

   I guess by using the language she used your subscriber is trying to manipulate you into giving up your style or approach.

   AdamG

6. Comment by jean — January 30, 2008 @ 9:20 pm

   hem hum
   all of you had fully read out??
   I cann\’t

7. Comment by Dave Brown — January 31, 2008 @ 5:14 am

   Daniel, Thanks for the GREAT ARTICLE1 Now what did you want me to BUY? Thanks DAVE
   :) :)

8. Comment by jeffrey a.ansell — January 31, 2008 @ 9:29 am

   i go to sleep reading all this,yaaaaawwwwnnn.you keep sending me all this mail.and all it does is bore me.i had some colledge,but maybe i\’m just not smart enough to understand all this .?.give it to me short and sweet…alpha

9. Comment by Jim Vaughan — January 31, 2008 @ 9:52 am

   Sould I ever write a book on sales, selling and salesmanship, I will define a \”sale\” as simply \”The agreement of an IDEA between two or more people.\” Persuasion is all about \”painting the entire picture\” (providing all of the reasons) to take some form of action. No one has ever done anything unless they thought there was some type of benefit to themselves directly or indirectly. God bless the people who have the communication skills to help others better understand the opportunities being presented to them.

10. Comment by Terry Sanders — February 4, 2008 @ 5:43 am

    I wouldn\’t say they were all fruitcakes. Her way of putting sounds kind of extreme, but it\’s a more common point of view than you apparently want to admit. I know. To some extent I share it.

    Clayton tells us that we can\’t really write good copy for a product unless we believe in it. But someone like your correspondent looks at his work and wonders how he can be that enthusiastic about the 82nd nutritional supplement (for example) as he was for the first. If she read the story he told (I believe it was Clayton–please correct me if I\’m wrong) about the ad he wrote to sell rock lyrics to religious conservatives at a huge markup when he was short of cash, she would have no further doubts about his honesty.

    Please don\’t get me wrong–I don\’t have any opinions about where you\’ll end up in the afterlife. But I do understand what she\’s thinking, all too well.

    (And by the way, AdamG, I don\’t think she was trying to manipulate him. She thought she was warning him of a real danger–or venting her spleen, one or the other. The reason people like that get laughted at so is that they WON\’T try to manipulate–they just tell you so and hang the consequences. Anything more would be dishonest.)

    As I said, I don\’t agree with her–read the New Testament. Jesus was a pretty good salesman, and so was Paul. But the balance between persuasion and honesty is a delicate one. And what I agree with in my head is a harder sell to my heart. It\’s hard to write powerful copy when a voice in the back of your head is screaming \”LIAR!!\” with every sentence…