Commune Media | Measurably Effective Digital Marketing™

Magic words that make you money

Posted on Wednesday, December 12th, 2007 at 3:29 PM by Simon Smith  |  Comments (0)

A few months ago I picked up a little book called Win the Crowd by magician Steve Cohen. My initial interest was to learn more about influence and charisma (the book is, after all, subtitled "Unlock the Secrets of Influence, Charisma, and Showmanship").

While slender, the book didn’t disappoint. Cohen provides some brilliant little tips that magicians use to dazzle audiences. For more persuasive copy, one section in particular stands out, describing 10 linguistic tricks magicians use to manipulate. Tada, like magic, here they are:

1. Layer commands to increase compliance: Why do magicians say, "Take this card and and hold it for everyone to see" instead of just, "Hold this card up for everyone to see?" Because when you give multiple commands, people are more likely to follow, since their brain gets befuddled about which command they might be able to negate. So don’t just tell people, "Click this link." Tell them, "Click this link and read more about influencing behavior." The pattern:
   1. [Command] and [command].
2. Use a trailing "or…" to make people fill in the blanks: Magicians often force people to fill in blanks with their imagination. This includes through the use of a trailing "or…" For example: "Now that you know about  magic words, are you going to ignore what you’ve learned, or…" When people use their own imagination to picture doing something, they’re more likely to consider it their own idea, and to subsequently make that idea reality. The pattern:
   1. Now that you understand [benefit], are you going to [undesired action] or…?
3. Use "because" to justify action: Bizarrely, simply giving the semblance of justification causes people to take more action. For example, studies show that when people ask others to use a photocopier, they’re more likely to get ahead in line if they say, "Can I use the photocopier because I need to make some copies" than if they simply say, "Can I use the photocopier." Of course, they’ve provided no further justification, just the appearance of one, which appears to be often enough. So provide justification in your copy because you should really make use of this tendency. The pattern:
   1. [Command] because [justification].
4. Give the appearance of inside information: Everyone loves gossip and secrets, possibly because they can yield advantages, hence we’re socially or biologically compelled to consume such information. Exploit it. Because, if I can share a secret, we use it regularly for our clients and–while I really shouldn’t be sharing this–it gets tremendous results. Some examples:
   1. Let me tell you a secret…
   2. I shouldn’t really tell you this, but…
   3. Promise that you won’t tell anyone about this, okay?
5. Use a moving-away motivational strategy: People hate to lose stuff more than they want to gain stuff. So, while it’s useful to describe potential benefits customers can derive from products, it’s often more powerful to describe benefits they’ll miss out on.  For example, "If you don’t start using magic words in your copy, you won’t see the dramatic increases in conversions for which they can be responsible." Some patterns:
   1. If you don’t [command] then you won’t [benefit].
   2. If you’re not serious about [benefit], then [offering] might not be for you.
   3. This may not be the right [type of offering] for you. It just might provide too much [benefit].
6. Use people’s names: It sounds obvious, but too few marketers make use of the principal. People’s names are like a drug; inject them into your copy and watch readers’ eyes light up and their brain tune in. Want proof? Next time you want someone’s attention, put their name in the email subject line and watch how fast they respond. The somewhat obvious pattern:
   1. [Name], [message].
7. Use "don’t" to get "do": I’ve read, mainly in neurolinguistic programming texts, that the brain can’t process a negative. And I’m inclined to believe it. Want proof? Don’t picture me writing this article while sitting at the computer in my briefs. Inevitably, you did. (And hopefully it was a good experience.) Try it in your copy. For example, "Don’t click this link unless you want to learn more neurolinguistic tricks to power your sales." The pattern:
   1. Don’t [command] unless you want [benefit].
8. Assume the obvious: As you already know, getting people to believe what you tell them is essential to advertising. You realize, of course, that one method of accomplishing this feat is assuming they already know what you want them to think. This either bypasses their conscious mind, causing them to absorb the information without question, or makes them feel left out, causing them to make a conscious decision to accept your words (if you’ve built enough authority) as truth.  Some patterns:
   1. As I’m sure you know…
   2. You realize, of course…
   3. After all…
   4. You probably know that…
   5. I’m sure you realize…
   6. You must have heard that…
   7. By now you already know…
9. Use qualifiers to avoid rejection: How great would it be if you applied magic words to your copy? Possibly not great at all (although I challenge you to produce poorer results while applying these tips), but using a qualifier rather than asking a binary question prevents you from considering that option. How awesome will it be when you use qualifiers in your own copy? The pattern:
   1. How [benefit] will you be when you [command]?

And there you have it, reader. Nine tricks you can use right now to create a little marketing magic, accelerate conversions and rocket your sales.

Tags: copywriting, influence, neurolinguistic programming, persuasion