The concept, borrowed from neurolinguistic programming, is a form of emotional reframing called "meta-states." Developed by L. Michael Hall, it describes a process all too common to human experience.

Have you ever been angry with yourself for being jealous? Or upset with yourself for feeling anxious? When this happens, the emotions become intertwined and difficult to unravel.

So why bother?

Wrap it up

Since emotions become wrapped in other emotions, instead of trying to pull negative emotions apart, you can just wrap them all up in a positive emotion.

It sounds kind of crazy, but try it. Think about being happy about being depressed. Maybe you’re happy because it gives you time to reflect. Or because it gives you a new perspective on life. Or because you know you’ll look back on it from happier times and they’ll feel even better.

Whatever the justification, you can wrap up just about any negative emotion in a positive emotion, which provides a complete emotional reframing.

But negative emotions aren’t all you can wrap up in positive emotions.

Higher and higher

When writing copy, we often try to get prospects excited at our offer. Ideally, so excited that they follow our call to action.

Rarely, however, does copy compel readers to higher and higher states. Usually, it’s enough to suggest one. For example:

Relax knowing that our widget will take care of your problem.

But applying the principle of meta-states, we don’t have to accept just one positive emotion. We can wrap them up to increase interest and excitement:

Feel safer when you relax knowing that widget will take care of your problem.

Best yet, there’s almost no limit to how many positive emotions you can intertwine:

People will wonder why you’re so happy when you feel it’s safe to relax, knowing that widget will take care of your problem.

I’m first to admit these aren’t the best examples, but hopefully they convey the point.

And hopefully they make you at least a little curious about how much fun you can have with emotional matrioshka.

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.

Who among us (unless, of course, you’re female, in which case you can ignore this mainly male fascination and go watch She-Ra on YouTube) hasn’t imagined practicing the Jedi mind trick ever since we saw it in Star Wars. As a kid, you thought about using it on the playground bully. As an adult, about using it to pick up chicks. (Don’t lie; I can sense your deception.)

Of course, the Jedi mind trick would probably lead to pretty dull ads. For one thing, every ad would sound like Sean Connery reading a bedtime story. Short of the Jedi mind trick, however, there are some simple yet powerful linguistic tricks you can use to get more of any action you desire—from getting more clicks to your site to driving more sales when people arrive.

Reprogram your copywriting

The tricks—and I use that word with hesitation, because they’re based on a complex understanding of human psychology—come from the world of neurolinguistic programming. NLP may be familiar to you from such people as Tony Robbins, who uses and adapts it to motivate. This controversial branch of psychology has also been adapted to advertising by such people as Lou Larsen and, perhaps less overtly but more famously, Joe Sugarman.

You don’t need to know about NLP to apply the techniques, but it helps. An overview is beyond the scope of this column—and to be honest, I’m less of an expert than an extremely passionate afficionado. Nevertheless, to help you start increasing sales right now, here are five techniques you can implement after completing this article—with self-serving examples for Commune to show that I eat my own dog food (and more examples in the Commune site’s copy if you’re interested):

1. Inspire guilt: One of the most, well, devious ways to motivate future actions you desire is to create guilt about someone’s current behavior. A simple trick for this is the pattern "Are you still…?" For example: "Are you still working with copywriters that don’t understand how to apply NLP? Stop wasting your time and money and contact Commune today."
2. Illustrate the future: A more positive use of NLP is to paint a picture of your prospect’s future that connects a desired state with your offering. For example: "Imagine how exciting it will be to see your traffic spike when you work with an agency that understands marketing science."
3. Provide a false dichotomy: Particularly in competitive markets, prospects face many choices. You can spur actions you desire by whittling the choices down to two, creating a black-and-white scenario, and making your choice far more desirable. For example: "Now that you understand the power of NLP, you have a choice: Continue doing things the old way, or contact me now to learn how you can use the secrets of psychology to unlock your product’s potential."
4. Exploit group mentality: As social creatures, humans want to be part of the "in" group and never the "out" group. You can exploit this tendency in either direction. For example: "All successful brand managers know that strong copywriting can mean the difference between an award-winning campaign and an embarrassment." Or in the other direction: "Don’t follow the flock; blaze your own trail and choose an agency that recognizes the untapped power of copywriting."
5. Admit a weakness: But do it to enhance a strength. Why? Because people are more likely to take your second statement as truthful when they perceive the first as honest. For example: "Commune may not be biggest agency on the block. But our passionate team and niche focus allow us to provide a level of service that bigger agencies have outgrown."

Of course, don’t take my word for it. Go out and try some of these techniques for yourself, and see if they help you increase your clicks, drive up your sales or, hey, pick up more chicks.

This article was first published in One Degree.