[Story Sells] Boring Story? Play This Silly Kid’s Game
Now Christmas is a distant memory, how sad does winter look without the pretty lights and decoration? At the height of the holidays, you barely notice the inclement weather. Now, without the [...]
[Story Sells] Beef Up Before and After Testimonials with this Story Technique
In Blake Snyder’s useful screenwriting how-to book, Save The Cat, he talks about two scenes you must have in your movie. An opening image. And a closing image. And one more thing: They should be [...]
[Story Sells] How Factoid Copy Can Be Fun, A-TEAM Style
You know the game is on when B.A. grabs the welding torch. I’m talking about the scene late in an A-TEAM episode when the gang needs to build something superfast to save the day. Usually involves [...]
3 Ways To Ethically Steal Profitable Ideas From Memes
In 2017, it’s dang-near impossible to scroll down any social feed without smacking into a meme. The rise of 10+ million follower comedy brands like @thefatjewish and @fuckjerry (who pump out [...]
How to use the “Doctors Dumbfounded” effect to Build Credibility & Desire: From Shyamalan to Schwartz
There’s a simple story technique you can use to quickly build credibility and desire for your product. The best novelists and filmmakers use it, as so do the best ad-slingers. In fact, Eugene [...]
The 5 C’s of Indoctrination: Essential Website Elements To Welcome Cold Prospects And Convert The Curious
If you only sell to people who know the value of your product or service you’ll quickly run out of new customers, doomed to forever be a small fish flopping around in a shallow pool of revenue. [...]
[Story Sells] Prevent prospects from abandoning your ad by fixing the “Broken Film” mistake
I used to work at a movie theater in high school. One of my best jobs ever. I could watch any movie for free, and eat all the popcorn and drink all the soda I wanted. But some days were bad. When [...]
[Story Sells] How to win the war against wandering attention with the “John Ford Maneuver”
You know when you’re sitting in a movie theater and hear all the noise before the film begins? The flash of phone screens, the chatter, the rustling in seats, the unwrapping of a big box of Red [...]
David Bowie: The Ultimate Artist-As-Entrepreneur?
June 2017 marks 50 years since David Bowie released his first album. The title of this landmark record? Somewhat unimaginatively, it was called: David Bowie. Ironic, because nothing else in [...]
[Story Sells] The Harry Potter trick to easier storytelling
Got a “productivity hack” for you today. Especially for all you procrastinators out there, as you sit down in consternation at your vintage Corona-Smith typewriter. (If you’re a hipster or an [...]
How Eugene Schwartz’s Branding Secret Ignites Direct Response Sales
Before I became a copywriter, I spent 29 years working with brands. The power of those brands allowed me to create multi-million dollar businesses around the globe. That’s a nice piece of change. [...]
[Story Sells] Establish Authority by Copying This Novelist Trick
Can you establish credibility while lying your ass off? Yep. Novelists and other storytellers do it all the time. And when you tell true stories as a marketer, you can copy their technique [...]
Boost Your Conversions by Thinking Like a Lawyer
Add strong proof elements to your marketing materials and watch your sales soar. The young lawyer wrapped up his closing argument. He felt confident in his performance over the course of the [...]
[Story Sells] How Bush beats Obama in your sales stories
I loved watching SNL as a kid. My favorite player? Dana Carvey. You might remember some of his best characters … The very special Church Lady. The dependable Garth. And, of course, the [...]
The Conscious Consumer: Who they are and why you need to know about them
I’ve been watching this for a while and wondering if others have noticed it too. The modern-day consumer is more aware and conscious than ever before. For us as marketers, copywriters and [...]
[Story Sells] Plunder this storytelling jewel from the British Royal Family
I’m watching The Crown on Netflix. The show follows the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II’s reign in the 1950s. If you’re into period dramas and stuffy British manners, it might be your kind of [...]
The Voice Mistakes That Are Costing You Money (And How To Fix Them)
How do you measure whether your voice is a success? Here’s a quick test. Try reading this out loud: It’s impossible not to read it in Liam Neeson’s voice. If you’ve nailed voice, that’s exactly [...]
Stephen King’s IT And The Secret To Creating Emotion-Driven Copy That Converts
It’s one of the most notorious openings to any novel… Shocking, gruesome… …and so very, very vivid. From Stephen King’s epic 1986 tale, IT: “A small boy in a yellow slicker and red galoshes [...]
4 Things You Should Be Testing But Probably Aren’t
I remember when I first deadlifted a barbell. Before that moment, I hesitated to pick up the 12.5lb dumbbells at bootcamp classes. So when I heard the barbell is 20kg (44.4 pounds) without plates [...]
How to 2X the value of your case studies (follow these 4 steps)
You already know case studies inspire hope, prove you’re credible, and give your reader that “If they can do it, so can I!” feeling that makes them take action. But done right, they can do [...]
How to Cure Your Shiny Tactic Syndrome And Start Creating Offers That Convert
The following is a series of emails sent about a serious epidemic in online marketing circles. Email 1 Subject: Do you suffer from “shiny tactic syndrome”? (a quick test) Here’s a quick test to [...]
5 Steps to Transform Your Personal Stories Into Sales Machines
“Story sells…” “Your customers connect with stories, not features and benefits…” “Thou shalt not bore thy customers…” If you study sales copy, you’ve no doubt heard [...]
Why it pays to be a video POSER (and not a “babbler”) Pt 1
No doubt about it… … short social videos are good for your business. They grow your authority, your reach and help you sell more of what you’re offering. IF you do it right. [...]