6 sneaky ways to use reciprocity in marketing, part 1

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A few weeks back, I wrote about the essence of the con game:

“It’s called a confidence game not because the con man gains your confidence in order to cheat you. Instead, it’s because he gives you his confidence.”

Today, I want to share some stories of big-name marketers who have used this simple idea in sneaky and subtle ways:

#1 Ask ’em for advice

Claude Hopkins came to a bakery and asked to talk to the owner. Hopkins was selling Cotosuet, a kind of early margarine. The price of Cotosuet was higher than the competition. The baker knew this, and he was raring for a fight.

But Hopkins didn’t say anything about Cotosuet. Instead he took out a drawing of a pie, which his company was planning on using in advertising. He asked the baker for his opinion of the pie drawing.

As the baker started giving feedback, Hopkins kept putting his own drawing down. The baker went on to praise the drawing, and eventually got convinced this is the perfect drawing of a pie. He said how his business would prosper if only he had these pie cards as his advertisement. Hopkins offered to give him a bunch of cards with the pie drawing if he would only make an order of Cotosuet. Which the baker did.

#2 Ask ’em for a favor

Robert Collier was selling coats by mail. After a time, the usual appeals became exhausted. So Collier sent out out a new letter, along the following lines, which again pulled in heavy sales:

“Will you do me a favor? We have these new coat designs. We want to gauge demand for them. As one of our best customers, would you try it out and let me know what you think? I’ll send it to you right now for free if you just send me your size. And if you decide you want to keep the coat, you can have it at a special low price.”

#3 Make damaging admissions

Gary Halbert ran ads selling his book How to Make Maximum Money in Minimum Time. But he didn’t kick off the ad by talking about his sparkling Rolls Royce or his cliff-side Malibu mansion. Instead, he wrote:

“My name is Gary Halbert and, some time ago, I was dead broke. My business was almost bankrupt and I couldn’t even pay the rent. Actually, I wasn’t just broke, I was desperate. [He then had a money making idea, and…] I was living in Ohio at the time and my friends laughed at the idea. They thought it was a big joke. They said I was a dreamer and that I had no ‘common sense.’ In fact, one guy said I was just a nerd and that my idea was so silly, he felt sorry for me.”

This ad apparently did very well for Gary, and it launched an entire industry of “amazing secret” headlines.

I’ve got three more of these reciprocity examples, but this message is already as long as a bushy tail on an old fox.

So I’ll continue tomorrow, along with some conclusions and warnings if you do decide to use any of these ideas.

How to stop worrying and start making better decisions

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In the summer of 2004, I was snorkeling at the Dry Tortugas off the Florida Keys.

The sand at the Dry Tortugas is white.

The water is warm, blue, and perfectly clear. It’s also shallow, so there are many coral reefs, full of colorful tropical fish.

So there I was, mask clamped to my face, salty snorkel in my mouth, swimming along in the sun and having a nice time.

Every so often, I’d see a school of hand-sized green fish. Cute.

Then I saw a single striped blue fish, the size of a football, with yellow markings near its fins. Interesting.

And then for a while, I saw nothing of note.

So I swam further away from the shore and into the ocean. All around was the blue-green water. Below me, there was  white sand which stretched out as far as I could see.

And then a cold wave of fear washed over me.

My heart jumped into my throat. My body froze.

Because right in front, maybe about 10 feet away, was a giant, silver, slithering sea monster.

Its head looked like a boxing glove.

The scales on its back glittered in the sun.

And it wasn’t alone. Behind it, there was another monster. And another. And another. Dozens of them.

I had unwittingly snorkeled my way into a large school of tarpon, one of the biggest game fish you can catch in Florida. They grow up to 8 feet long — about 2 meters. I’m not sure how large the tarpon that I saw were, but out there in the water, each of them looked the size of a Volkswagen Beetle.

Fortunately, the school of tarpon didn’t care about me. They just leisurely continued on their route, off into the ocean, past where I could see them.

Once they were gone, I slowly recovered control over my arms and legs, turned around, and swam back to shore.

Now, there’s a little lesson in this story about how to stop worrying and start making better decisions. Here’s what I mean:

Most humans, me included, react much more strongly to negative events than to positive ones.

The thing is, we often willingly expose ourselves to feedback, which can be positive as well as negative.

Imagine checking how your Bitcoin investment is doing in the last hour… or how many visitors your website had yesterday.

If the outcome is positive — Bitcoin is up 2%, or you had the usual number of website visitors — it’s like snorkeling and seeing those little green and blue fish. Cute. Interesting.

But if the outcome is negative, the feeling can be much stronger. It’s like being punched in the gut by a giant, boxing-glove-headed tarpon.

But hold on, you might say. Shouldn’t you always know how things stand — and if you’re swimming into dangerous waters — so you can take corrective action if needed?

Maybe. But maybe checking too often will just cause you stress. And if you get a few negative results in a row, it might also cause you to make a bad decision — to turn around, swim to shore, and get out of the water. And this might be a tragedy.

Here’s a formal way to illustrate why, which I got from Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow:

Let’s say I offer you a bet. 50% chance you win $200. 50% chance you lose $100.

Many people won’t take this bet. The possible loss of $100 (with a 50% chance) seems too big compared to the possible winnings of $200. The fear of the tarpon is too strong.

But what if the same bet happens 100 times in a row?

In that case, it would almost certainly make sense to take this “aggregate” bet. Your expected winnings would be $5,000 — and your chance of losing any money would be just 1 in 2,300.

And yet, if you don’t look at the aggregate view — but you only consider each 50%-50% bet in isolation — chances are you will never get this large, almost guaranteed outcome. ​​

In other words, it can pay to take the long view. And to have a system. And to stop worrying about short-term results.

Granted, of course, that you’re not exposing yourself to catastrophe in the form of a hammerhead shark or a loss of money that will land you in jail or at the bottom of the sea.

Anyways, that’s my motivational sermon for today.

One last thing: If you need a system and a long-term view to help with marketing your business, then daily emails might be the answer. And if you want some proven advice on how to write such emails, you might like the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Sticky gotcha for socialist students

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A guy named Cabot Phillips recently went onto the campus of Florida International University and asked students:

“What is your opinion of socialism?”

Many students, at least in the edited video I saw, were all for it:

“I support it.”

“Socialism is more geared toward helping the governed.”

“I have family in Europe, they go to college for free. Their health care is paid for, they don’t have to worry about it at all.”

Next, Cabot Phillips asked those same students:

“So if there’s a GPA disparity on campus, would you support a policy where people at the top spread the wealth and give some of their GPA to people at the bottom?”

Uh.

Hem.

Haw.

The same people now said:

“Give? Like help them? I’m all for helping. I’m not about giving.”

“No one’s gonna work for it.”

“I sacrificed a lot to get my GPA, and I wouldn’t want to help people who didn’t make those same sacrifices.”

Now, I’m not here to poke at pro-socialist college students.

And I’m not even sure this anti-socialist “gotcha” really changed anybody’s mind.

But I thought it was a great illustration of a sticky message, as defined in Chip and Dan Heath’s Made to Stick.

By my count, this “socialist GPA” idea satisfies all but 1 of the 6 SUCCES principles that the Heaths say lie behind most sticky messages.

I won’t spell those SUCCES principles out here. I recommend Made to Stick for that.

However, if you want some concrete examples of how to write sticky, SUCCES-ful sales emails, check out the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Selling empty cans to pale, dirty Internet addicts

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Imagine a dark, airless room.

A pale, young man who hasn’t showered in five days is sitting there, lit up by the light of a computer monitor.

He has headphones on his head and he is completely absorbed as one hand bashes on the keyboard and the other twitches at the mouse.

And on the desk, next to his computer, is a steaming can — a new warning symbol for our age.

At least, that’s the argument I just read in an article by one David Courtwright, a professor of history at the prestigious University of North Florida.

Courtwright’s article starts off by talking about the spread of computer gaming addictions: Young guys who spend their entire days and nights sitting at the computer, playing World of Warcraft.

And it’s really entire days and nights.

Some of these guys keep cans by the computer so they don’t have to take time out to go to the bathroom.

Courtwright argues this is a symptom of “limbic capitalism” — selling goods and services that are actually addictive.

Limbic capitalism is not a new phenomenon, Courtwright says, but it’s definitely been helped by the spread of the Internet and the growth of entrepreneurial culture (and opportunities).

But if guys want to pee while sitting at their computer, then why not sell them the can, right?

This might have been the right attitude some time ago.

Once upon a time, you needed large numbers to make a business (and marketing for that business) profitable. And if that meant selling to addicts, so be it.

Even if that was true once (and I’m not sure it was), it’s not true any more.

In the online marketing sphere, guys like Sean D’Souza and Ben Settle make a good living by selling to a small number of curated customers who are willing to spend a lot of money — and get a lot of value — from their offers, year after year.
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The same systems that have allowed for the rise of limbic capitalism have allowed for the rise of this other kind of capitalism (maybe call it forebrain capitalism, since it’s designed to appeal to deliberate decision making).

So what does this have to do with you?

Maybe nothing.

It’s just something I think about when choosing which projects I will spend my time and effort and lifeblood on.

But maybe this resonates with you in some way, and maybe it helps you when you have to make your own decisions about how to run or grow your own business.

Anyways, enough philosophizing.

If you do have a forebrain business that sells something worthwhile to people who aren’t addicts, and you want sales copy (even limbic sales copy) to help your sales, then you might like the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

How big is your…?

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I saw the following size-measuring question today:

“How big is your confidence in copywriting? I know this is the softest metric of one’s success, but I wonder greatly. How confident are you in your job and what’s your confidence based on?”

This is honestly not a question I’ve thought about ever.

I don’t worry about confidence. Instead, I think about having a system for moving forward, and about following that system. As long as I do that, I feel I’m safe.

(Or maybe I’ve been influenced too much by dating coach Tom Torero, who said something like, “Confidence is just when you’ve seen the same situation many times over.”)

But if you’re looking to start out as a copywriter, maybe this doesn’t help you.

So let me give you another quote, this one by Claude Hopkins, the great-grandfather of modern direct response marketing.

(About a century ago, Claude wrote a book called Scientific Advertising, which the famous David Ogilvy, the “King of Madison Avenue,” said is so important that “nobody, at any level, should be allowed to have anything to do with advertising until he has read this book seven times.”)

Anyways, back when Claude was just a wet-behind-the-ears lad working for peanuts at the “Felt Boot Company,” he got to talking to a successful businessman in his town.

The businessman was impressed when he heard that Claude would work from 8 in the morning until after midnight, and be back the next morning for more of the same.

So the big businessman offered Claude a new, higher paying job. And here’s what Claude concluded from this:

“In the early stages of our careers none can judge us by results. The shallow men judge us by likings, but they are not men to tie to. The real men judge us by our love of work, the basis of their success. They employ us for work, and our capacity for work counts above all else.”

Maybe this will help you if you are agonizing about where you are on the copywriting totem pole.

And in case you want to grab a free copy of that “must-read” Claude Hopkins advertising Bible, so you can add a bit of length or girth to your copywriting confidence, then here’s where to go:

https://www.scientificadvertising.com/ScientificAdvertising.pdf

For those who are less successful than they will be

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Several years ago, I was at a bar with a friend and we started talking to two Welsh sisters.

After a few minutes, one of the sisters stopped and turned to me. “Wait a minute,” she asked, “how old are you?

I had just turned 36 and I told her so.

“No way! I would have said you are 26, not 36!”

I shrugged it off. But it was cowin’ lush of her to say. However, if she had  instead told me,

“Pack it in! You are so much older than you look!”

… even though the content is basically the same, I probably wouldn’t have been as pleased. And I guess it’s not just me. Case in point:

In Victor Schwab’s How to Write a Good Advertisement, Vic goes over 100 successful headlines. One of these is,

“For The Woman Who Is Older Than She Looks”

This, says Vic, stopped thousands of women and got them to read the ad.

On the other hand, the more straightforward (though equivalent) “For The Woman Who Looks Younger Than She Is” didn’t perform nearly as well.

And there’s a fundamental rule of copywriting embedded in that short example. In case you don’t see it yet, let me give you a few more examples:

“71-Year-Old Man Has Sexual Congress Five Times a Day!”
“The Unique World of Gay Rodeo”
“Get Rich Slowly”

Of course, each of these headlines has multiple things going on. But I think you’ll agree they also have something in common.

I’ll spell this out another day in another post. (If you have a guess and you want to see if it’s what I have in mind, write me and I can confirm it for you.)

For now, if you have a business, and you want to be more successful with it by ramping up your sales copy, then you might get some value from the following:

https://bejakovic.com/profitable-health-emails/

Copywriting and creativity lessons from a B.S. photographer

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I took a 6-hour bus ride today, and sitting in front of me was a very alert Argentinian male.

He had a little digital camera with him — my guess is it was 15 years old — and he took dozens or possibly hundreds of pictures during our trip together.

Most of these photos were of the side of the highway — a blur of bushes and trees.

Occasionally, he would hold the camera above his head and take a picture of the inside of the bus.

And at one point, a rival bus pulled up to us, and he took multiple shots of the sleeping Chinese tourists inside it.

The entire ride was hot and long and I was irritated.

So each time the Argentinian man took another B.S. photo, I wondered what he will do with all these uninteresting, blurry, low-resolution photos.

But what do I know?

Perhaps he is a designer or a movie editor or a cartoonist.

And maybe when he needs graphical inspiration, he opens up a random blurry photo he took while traveling through eastern Europe, and this stimulates a creative new idea for him.

After all, I do something very similar, only with words and ideas. I keep lots of lists:

Of marketing lessons (“Put your strongest proof first”)…

Of entertaining stories (“Man-tax cafe set to close”)…

Of unique phrases (“Hit the sawdust trail”)…

Of memorable characters from books, movies, and TV shows (“Majikthise and Vroomfondel”)…

And of interesting facts (“Color blindness was only noticed in 1794”).

Then, when I sit down to write one of these emails — or any other piece of copy — I have a ton of material to jog my lazy creative mechanism.

This process also naturally makes my own voice and opinions come through — because these are my own bizarre stories and observations, or facts that caught my own jaded attention.

It might work for you as well if you start collecting your own lists today. And if you’re looking for more ways to come up with good sales copy — specifically emails — check out the following:

Last chance to send $1

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Legend says that, once upon a time, in various Midwestern states, an enterprising carny pitchman took out ads in local newspapers that read:

LAST CHANCE TO SEND $1
to PO Box 210, 60611 Chicago, IL

There was no reason given why the reader should send in $1 or whether he would get anything for it.

And yet, the ad supposedly drew in many dollar bills before the postal service guys caught on and put a stop to it.

The great 20th-century copywriter Vic Schwab called this ad an example of how effrontery can be successful in advertising. Other people claim it simply shows how gullible and sheep-like the masses are.

I personally like this little ad because it’s got so much going on in it. In just a few words, it conveys:

1. Urgency
2. Specificity
3. A clear call to action

And these three ingredients were enough to draw money in. A success that many other ads don’t achieve.

Which makes me think that, often, all the stuff copywriters agonize over is only giving people reasons not to buy.

And it reminds me of an important truth I read today, from another great 20th-century copywriter, Robert Collier:

“It is not the copy that counts so much as the scheme back of it.”

Speaking of the scheme back of this post:

I am officially done with my 3-week trip around the US and I’m back to work.

Only, what with continuing projects, with work that built up while I was traveling, and with a few new clients coming in, I’m almost booked up for the month of June.

Which means that, if you want me to write sales copy for you in June, now is your last chance to get in touch and see if I would indeed be good to write for you (I most likely won’t be).

To find out, simply send me a postcard to PO Box 210, 60611 Chicago, IL. Or alternately, write me an email at john@bejakovic.com.

Memorial Day master lessons with Tony Robbins

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“Instead of your spirit animal, what is your spirit plant?”
“Rhododendron. Requires very specific conditions, but even when those conditions are met, it is unlikely to thrive.”
– Reddit user fhost344

As I was riding through the streets of New York today, I noticed how calm the city looked.

It’s Memorial Day, and most people have the day off and are taking it easy.

And since it’s such a calm and reflective day, I wanted to share some deep and reflective stuff with you.

It’s a fraction of a 13-year-old Ted talk given by Tony Robbins.

Says Tony, there are two master lessons in life.

One is the science of achievement.

That’s what most of us focus on all the time: “How do you make your dreams happen? Your business, your contribution to society, money — whatever, your body, your family.”

The second is the art of fulfillment.

That, according to Tony, is about appreciation and contribution.

And like the rhododendron fail-to-thriver above, many of us don’t do too much about this second master lesson, even if we have all the resources we might want or need.

The point being, its never too early to start thinking about how to appreciate, enjoy yourself, and give back. These aren’t things you should wait to do until you achieve some massive level of success.

Of course, if you are like me, then mastering the art of fulfillment won’t come too easy…

And it might take time.

That’s why you might as well get started on it now.

So no pitch from me for today.

But in case you want a whirlwind overview of the magical world of success and fulfillment, courtesy of Tony Robbins, here’s the link to that Ted talk:

The Red Shoe Diaries advertorial structure

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A man, his heart broken after a tragic love affair, is searching for answers.

So he puts out an ad in the newspaper:

“Looking for women who keep a secret diary. I want to know your stories of love, passion, and betrayal. Write me at PO Box 903, New York, NY, 10276.”

For some reason, week after week, a new letter arrives in response to this ad.

The man goes to the postal box, picks up the letter, and then, walking along desolate train tracks with his dog, he starts to read a new story of love, passion, and betrayal.

So opens each episode of the 90s erotic TV show Red Shoe Diaries. (The forlorn man was played by a young David Duchovny, before he starred in the X-Files and Californication.)

I bring this up not because I am reminiscing about my adolescent days and the significance that an occasional TV nipple had in my life.

Instead, I want to tell you about a successful advertorial I wrote recently.

This advertorial is for a pet safety product (I won’t say exactly what as a courtesy to my clients, because the campaign is still running profitably).

While I was doing research for this advertorial, I came across lots of horror stories that all tied into the product.

Any one of these stories would have made a good lead for the advertorial.

And I was sorry to let any of the stories go.

So what I did was a kind of Red Shoe Diaries structure.

I opened with one horror story, told in the first person by the purported author of the advertorial.

But then, rather than moving into other sales arguments, I told other horror stories, one after the other.

And to do this, I brought in a kind of David Duchovny narrator (in this case, a police officer who showed up to the scene of the original horror story).

This narrator reeled off 2 or 3 more horror stories.

Now, I can’t say for certain, but I believe this multi-story structure is one of the main reasons this advertorial has been so successful to cold Facebook traffic.

In case you are selling something that lends itself to lots of good — i.e. chilling — stories, maybe you’ll find this approach valuable.

And if you want to get me to research and write up such an advertorial for your product, then hit reply, write me a sultry yet short email, and we can take it from there.