Gary Bencivenga’s “disinterested” way to create proof and get attention

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I read a confession today by a former employee of a shady solar company.

This guy reports the company used to print out fake ID badges for its salespeople.

The salespeople were then told to focus on houses with “No Soliciting” signs out front. After the door was open, they were supposed to claim they “worked with the power company” in order to get in to start their pitch.

And here’s where it gets dark:

The guy says he and every other salesperson knew full-well the savings from solar depended on government tax credits.

And yet…

They pushed these same savings as given — to senior citizens. Who weren’t paying much in taxes. Who couldn’t benefit from a tax credit. And who wound up getting saddled with a massive loan, which they couldn’t afford.

Now back to the ethical world of direct response marketing:

I used the story above in an email today, to a large list of buyers of money-saving ecommerce products.

At the end of that email, I said how I’m passing this story along as a warning. And that if they want to get the money-saving benefits of solar, they can. But they might have to bypass solar companies and power utilities and government tax credits. Then I linked to an affiliate offer that shows them how to do this.

A-list copywriter Gary Bencivenga said that proof is the most important element of copy when it comes to closing the sale.

He also said that acting as a consumer advocate is one powerful way to create proof.

It makes you seem disinterested… it demonstrates you know what you’re talking about… and if done right, it can even capture attention.

Sounds good.

But it begs the question, where do you get riveting consumer advocacy stories that go beyond what everybody already knows?

Well, I have my own private little methods of digging up such stories. I don’t share them in public… but I have shared one of them today with the subscribers of my email newsletter. In case you want to get on my newsletter, so you get more posts like this, with nothing held back, click here and follow the instructions.

Trolling for productivity

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Last year during the U.S. Open, Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev started getting booed by the crowd.

Earlier in the match, Medvedev had tossed his racquet in frustration. He also threw a towel that one of the ball children had handed him.

The U.S. Open crowd, which loves fair play and sportsmanlike behavior almost as much as it likes bullying a man when he’s down, smelled blood. Medvedev was losing, and in poor style. So the crowd booed and heckled him after every lost point and at each changeover.

And then, like a Russian phoenix feeding off the fire of righteous pride, Medvedev turned things around and won the match. In his post-match interview, as the crowd sat stunned, Medvedev started his trolling:

“Thank you guys, you gave me the win. Without the energy you are giving me, I would lose. [At this point, the crowd booed loudly. Medvedev closed his eyes and made motions that seemed to say, let it rain on me.] Thank you guys. You gave me energy for my next five matches. The more you do this, the more I will win for you.”

A beautiful moment in sports, don’t you think?

Now with that out of the way, let me give you a productivity tip:

Whenever you’re faced with an overwhelming and unpleasant task, rather than biting down on the bit and trying to bully your way through the work… rather than visualizing success and hoping the universe will manifest it for you… rather that sitting paralyzed and hoping things will be better a little later… just ask yourself the following question:

“How can I get this done and also enjoy the process?”

… and then write down the ideas that pop up in your head.

​​I’ve done this a few times since I found out about this technique earlier this year. And each time — for example today, with this very post — I find it works. I get the task done, and I enjoy the process along the way.

Your brain is a powerful tool. And when you ask the above question, your brain can take a seemingly awful situation and reframe it in a positive way. It can spot things you wouldn’t have spotted before, which energize you or even make you enjoy your unpleasant task.

And then, in your post-match interview, when you’re being interviewed about your unlikely success, you can troll all the obstacles that once lay in your way:

“Thank you to the papercuts… the rug burns… and the alarm clocks. You gave me the win. I will go forward and keep winning — just for you guys.”

And now for the climax:

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How dirty is your underwear right now?

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Seriously, how dirty is it? I’m asking because it’s a personal question and borderline insulting. And if my guess is right, it got your attention. Here’s why I need it.

I’ve been thinking about pattern interrupts and how to do them. Here are a few examples, in case you’re not familiar with this term, of what I mean by “pattern interrupt”:

1. Tony Robbins once threw water in a woman’s face. Repeatedly.

​​She was trying to talk through her marriage problems with Tony. But each time she started talking about her husband, she started to get negative. ​​So Tony threw water in her face, shocked her, and got her laughing.

​​”What is wrong with you?” she asked each time he did it. But she stopped being negative when talking about her husband.

2. “Coffee’s for closers only.”

​​You might know this famous scene from Glengarry Glen Ross. Alec Baldwin comes in to give his “Always be closing” speech to a bunch of real estate salesmen… but they aren’t taking him seriously.

​​So when one of them goes to get a cup of coffee, Baldwin stares and says, “Put that coffee down. Coffee’s for closers only. You think I’m fucking with you? I am not fucking with you.” The salesman puts the coffee down and starts to listen.

* Shooting the apple out of the pig’s mouth.

​​In the first Hunger Games movie, Katniss is supposed to show off her archery skills to a bunch of rich sponsors. But she misses the target. The sponsors laugh and start chatting among themselves.

​​Katniss next hits a bullseye… but the sponsors aren’t paying attention any more. ​​So she turns towards the sponsors, takes aim, and shoots an arrow through the apple stuck in a pig’s mouth in the middle of the banquet table. All the sponsors shut up and look at her.

I bet there are a bunch of different ways to create an effective pattern interrupt. The three situations above all do it. And though they might seem very different, I think they share a common element:

They cross private boundaries, whether physical or of personal sovereignty. They are intrusive, threatening, or borderline insulting.

So if you too need to get somebody’s attention, and change their set ways of thinking, try such a “personal sovereignty” pattern interrupt. Just make sure you have a good reason for doing so — otherwise you might get slapped in the face.

Anyways, since I still have your attention:

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Specializing on the cheap for new copywriters

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A few days ago I saw the following question on a copywriting forum:

“Just starting out. How niche is too niche? I know that the more niche you are, the more high-paying clients you’ll get. But if you’re too niche, then wouldn’t it be hard finding target clients?”

When I was starting out, I had the same question. Largely because I had heard the same advice — you gotta niche down if you want to be successful.

Here’s my attitude about this topic, now that I’ve emerged on the other side of the newbie-to-successful-copywriter underwater passage:

If you’re just starting out, then you should be in the exact niche that the job you are applying to is in.

For example, when applying for a job to write case studies for a medical clinic, you say, “I specialize in writing case studies for the healthcare market. Here are two relevant samples.” (If you don’t have the samples, write them then and there.)

The point is you don’t have to mention that you also specialize in finance, tech, and pet food… and that you will also write emails, sales letters, and supplement packaging copy.

The time to genuinely specialize — meaning you would actually turn away work because it’s not something you want to do — comes later, when you have some experience… when you know what the market wants… and when you have an idea of which way you want to develop. Or as Mark Ford wrote in Ready, Fire, Aim:

“It’s almost always better to get into a new industry on the cheap by figuring out how to test the waters without committing yourself to an unproven idea.”

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Tall Chinese boys and the Zappos case study

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I often wonder why teens seem to be getting taller, even in countries that are not famous for tallness — like Italy or China. Today I found a potential answer.

According to a study published this month in The Lancet, it comes down to nutrition. Improving nutrition is why Chinese boys became 4 inches taller in 35 years, and went from 150th tallest on the list to 65th. Meanwhile, boys in the UK got only one inch taller during that time, which dropped them from 28th place to 39th.

Dr Andrea Rodriguez Martinez, the lead author of this study, concluded by saying:

“Our findings should motivate policies that increase the availability and reduce the cost of nutritious foods, as this will help children grow taller without gaining excessive weight for their height.”

It was the bit about “increasing availability” and “reducing cost” that got my attention. It reminded me of a case study reported in Jonah Berger’s book the Catalyst, about the online shoe retailer Zappos.

In their early days, Zappos was limited in how low they could cut their prices — Nike didn’t want their cool new sneakers being sold cheap.

But even if Zappos could offer lower prices than in retail stores, people would still be wary of buying shoes online.

So what Zappos did instead was remove roadblocks to buying. They offered free shipping instead of lowering prices.

It could have been disastrous for the company… but it was not. Zappos went from struggling ecomm startup to a $1.2 billion buyout from Amazon.

So my message to Dr Rodriguez is, instead of pushing for food voucher programs… advocate for more vending machines selling expensive but delicious dehydrated zucchini chips. And watch those kids shoot up in height rather than width.

But it’s unlikely Dr Rodriguez will listen to me. Maybe you will.

So my message for you is that free shipping makes any offer more enticing… and that price is often not the main objection that you need to address. Rather than trying to compete on price, ask yourself why your prospects are not buying already — and then remove that roadblock directly.

Let me give you an example:

I write a daily email newsletter. It’s free, so I can’t cut its price any lower without paying you to sign up. But the fact is, you can subscribe to it and if it’s not right for you… you can unsubscribe any time with just one click. No risk. No hassle. So why not try it out? Click here to sign up now.

Petty but powerful: Wiping the smirk off your frenemy’s face

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Many parts of Europe are entering lockdown these days. Since I do not like being locked down, I am running in hope of avoiding the avalanche.

And so yesterday, I found myself in a local rent-a-car office. The city I was in had entered lockdown, including for travel. But other parts of the country were still open. So I wanted to rent a car.

“To do what?” asked the rent-a-car clerk, barely looking up from his laptop.

“To leave the city,” I answered.

He snorted and went back to looking at his computer screen. “Not possible.” The subtext was that I was stupid even for asking.

And yet, I managed to rent a car today, after asking at two other places. And as I was driving my tiny Citroen and heading towards freedom, I passed by the first rent-a-car office, the one with the “To do what” clerk.

For a moment, I thought about pulling over, popping into the office, and dangling my Citroen keys in his face. “Not possible, huh?” I imagined him looking at me sourly from behind his laptop, with nothing to say.

Petty, I know. But it’s human nature. And that’s what I want to tell you about.

You might have heard already that one dimension you can add to your copy is to is to bring in an audience.

Usually, that means saying something like, “Imagine the excited crowd of pretty girls pushing past each other for the chance to see you drive down the street in your tiny Citroen.”

But an audience can be more specific, and more negative. Because we all have a relative, a frenemy, or just a rent-a-car clerk who scoffed at us once.

If your product can help wipe the condescending smirk off that person’s face — well, then you should say so. For example:

Imagine that first copywriting blowout you got. Maybe it was your first client… or a bit later on… when somebody told you, “This is beneath my standards. I refuse to pay for this.”

Well, imagine that person, and their face, when they see you a successful, in-demand, persuasive copywriting genius.

Tall order, you say? Not if you sign up for my daily email newsletter, which is full of copywriting lessons like the one you just read. So if you want to get back at that person who gave you your first copywriting blowout… click here to subscribe.

The George Costanza method of client seduction

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There’s an episode of Seinfeld where George Costanza, the fat short bald loser who is always making up exciting careers for himself to impress women, realizes that everything he has done in life has lead to failure.

Desperate, George takes another tack.

He goes bizarro. He does the opposite of whatever he would normally do.

George starts by ordering the opposite lunch from what he normally gets. He then notices an attractive woman looking at him from across the restaurant.

Bizarro George decided to get up and go talk to her — because normal George never would.

“Excuse me,” George says to the woman, “I couldn’t help but notice you were looking in my direction.”

“Oh yes I was,” the woman explains. “You just ordered the exact same lunch as me.”

George takes a deep breath.

“My name is George. I’m unemployed and I live with my parents.”

The woman turns to face him fully, her eyes sparkling and a smile spreading across her face. “I’m Victoria. Hiii…”

Chris Haddad said in a recent interview that if you are a freelance copywriter, then you should be constantly going on Facebook, bragging about how great you are, and sharing all of your successes and testimonials.

That’s one approach. It can definitely work.

But there’s another approach. It’s when you seek to not impress. Instead, you give clients reasons why you are not a good match for them. You refuse to talk about your experience and successes, or at least you put it off as long as possible.

This is nothing more than a page out of Jim Camp’s negotiation system. You’re looking for a no. More importantly, you are eliminating any neediness that’s typical when freelancers talk to clients.

Very likely, this approach is not right for you.

But if you find that the typical advice of confidence and bragging has lead you to failure over and over… then this bizarro George approach is worth a shot. Because it can work, and not on just on TV.

Here’s another thing that is very likely not right for you:

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How to “remember” your way out of the hard labor of writing

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Samuel Coleridge awoke from a deep opium slumber, grabbed a pen and paper, and scribbled down three stanzas that he says he composed in his dream.

At that moment, an unidentified person from Porlock interrupted Coleridge.

Once Coleridge made it back to his pen and paper, he found that the visions had vanished and he couldn’t complete the poem he had started.

The poem that Colerdige had written lingered unfinished for years, when at the suggestion of Lord Byron, it was published under the title Kubla Khan. It remains famous to this day, some two hundred years later.

Meanwhile, “the person from Porlock” has entered the lexicon as an unwanted intruder who disrupts inspiration or a moment of creativity.

If you ever struggle to write something, there’s a lesson hidden there in the story of Coleridge’s Kubla Khan. At least I think so.

I personally often write by “remembering” the finished product — before it is written.

Of course, this is a complete trick and a lie. But it works for me. It might work for you too. Here’s what to do:

Basically, instead of outlining or writing what you have to write, you pretend you’ve already written it. It’s there vaguely in your memory, as though you dreamt it.

So you grab a pen and paper, or more likely your laptop, and start furiously writing down whatever you can remember.

If you’ve already forgotten some part, just leave some XXXs to be filled in later.

The key is to get as much of your structure and individual words down as you can before your poem — or your sales copy or whatever — disappears into the darkness of the night.

And of course, beware of the person from Porlock. Any kind of distraction — whether checking your mail, doing a bit of research, or picking up your phone — can kill your visions. And then you are left with the hard labor of writing, instead of the easy act of remembering what was already written.

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The biggest and baddest dog in the direct response junkyard

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Two days ago, I set up an A/B email test and the results came back conclusive:

Version A made three times as many sales as version B — and this wasn’t a statistical fluke.

So here’s the background of the test:

The subject lines of the two emails were the same. The body copy was the same. So was the copy on the landing page.

There was a difference between the the two funnels…

But it’s so obvious that you will probably roll your eyes when you hear it.

The difference came all the way on the order page — funnel B had a $59.99 price point, while funnel A was only $39.99. That’s why the number of sales (3x) and revenue (2x) in funnel A were so much higher.

You might think this is one of those “dog bites man” pieces of news.

And it is.

Except in the world of sexy direct response copywriting techniques, people often forget about the tendency of dogs to bite.

Fact is, your offer is the biggest and baddest dog in the direct response junkyard.

And from what I see, few businesses give enough thought to this big bad mutt — the fundamental promise of it… the price… the name… the format… the bonuses.

That’s not just an opportunity for business owners. Copywriters too can profit by pushing back on a mild and toothless offer — thanks to the win-win-win nature of the direct response game.

But let’s get to business:

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How to sell a broccoli-of-the-month subscription program

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One of my copywriting clients has a marketing conundrum:

He sells an app that helps real estate investors track down info on vacant houses. He charges $49 a month for the app. It’s a good product and customers love it. But it’s too practical and too unsexy to sell to people who just click over from YouTube or Facebook.

So what to do?

I had an idea. I told him to create a course on getting hot seller leads… price it at 10x the cost of the app… and put it up for sale on his site.

It doesn’t matter if anybody buys the course. What matters is that he can now legitimately say, “Here’s how to get my premium $497 course on getting hot leads for FREE.” The answer, of course, is that the prospect has to sign up for a trial of the app.

This is not my idea, by the way. It’s been in use in one form or another since prehistoric times, when some Neanderthal started selling a newsletter on mammoth-hunting strategies. But I thought of it because I once saw a Frank Kern VSL that did this exact same thing.

Frank was selling a $397 membership program for consultants and clients. That’s a tough sell to cold traffic.

What wasn’t a tough sell was getting somebody to accept a FREE gift of Frank’s $4k course on getting clients. Of course, the way to get this FREE gift was with a risk-free trial of the $397 membership course.

My point is this:

If you’re in the business of selling a broccoli-of-the-month subscription program, give away a FREE 10-layer chocolate cake to get people to sign up.

You can even offer crazy bribes if you’re giving your broccoli away.

For example, I write a daily email newsletter. It’s totally free to sign up for it. But if you sign up for it here, and you reply to the welcome email and refer to this blog post, I’ll give you a FREE half-hour consult on any topic you may want — such as writing horror-story advertorials… daily emails that bring in the bacon for ecommerce businesses… or getting started as a copywriter and marketer.