Continuing from yesterday, here’s another hidden marketing lesson from A Christmas Story:
Two boys, Flick and Schwartz, are having a scientific discussion while walking to school on a winter morning. Says Schwartz to Flick:
“Hey, listen, smart ass. I asked my old man about sticking your tongue to metal light poles in winter. And he says it will freeze right to the pole just like I told you.”
Flick considers this and replies:
“Baloney. What would your old man know about anything?”
And the next thing you know, the kids are out in the school playground. One triple dog dare later, and the unbelieving Flick is sticking his tongue to the frozen flagpole. Sure enough, his tongue is stuck, and the fire department has to come to get him unglued.
So what’s the marketing lesson here?
Well, this morning I was listening to an interview with one of the most successful, most highly paid copywriters in the world, Parris Lampropoulos.
Parris was asked what the biggest problems are that he sees with sales copy.
The first was hackneyed claims (ie. “get rich at the push of a button”).
The second was a lack of proof.
Specifically, Parris said many ads only have one kind of proof, and that’s testimonials.
Now testimonials can be great. If you have good testimonials, they can certainly help you make the sale. But not all testimonials are convincing. After all, what does your old man know about anything?
And even if you can get a testimonial from somebody who’s not a direct member of your family, there are often other, stronger kinds of proof you should include.
Like asking people to stick their tongue to a frozen pole to try it themselves.
Or explaining how the sticking effect has to do with the extreme difference in thermal conductivity between pole and tongue.
Or appealing to authorities like Bill Nye The Science Guy — or even Parris Lampropoulos.
Anyways, this is a big topic and I will cover it in more detail later. For now, just one more thing:
If you are looking to convince potential freelancing clients that you would be a good person to hire, then testimonials can help.
For other forms of proof that can help you win freelancing work, check out my upcoming book on making a career as a sales copywriter on Upwork. More info here: