Parris Lampropoulos

Ginsu knives in corporate boardrooms

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“In Japan, the hand can be used as a knife. But this method doesn’t work with a tomato…”

— Original Ginsu knife commercial, cca. 1980

In copywriting, there’s something called the “false close.”

A perfect example of this is from the famous Ginsu knife TV commercial.

After showing you how the Ginsu cuts paper-thin slices of bread, how it’s sharp enough to saw through a tin can, and how it can even be used to chop wood, the narrator asks:

“How much would you pay for a knife like this?”

That’s the setup for the false close. You might expect that the pitch is coming soon. Instead, the narrator continues:

“Before you answer, listen…”

And then he tells you about all the incedible bonuses you get if you order your Ginsu knife right now.

A matching carving fork. A versatile 6-in-1 kitchen tool. A set of 6 precision steak knives. And a spiral potato slicer.

It’s only then, once you’ve been wowed with the craziness of the entire offer, do you get to hear the price. In other words, that’s when you finally get to the real close.

So should you use a false close in your selling?

It certainly seems so.

Not only does it work for TV commercials, but you can find examples of false closes in copy from some of the world’s best copywriters, including Mark Ford and Parris Lampropoulos.

And yet, other persuasion experts strongly warn against the false close.

For example, Jim Camp.

Camp was a master negotiator, who coached corporate executives in billion-dollar deals.

According to Camp, if you ever try a false close, you’ll get kicked out of the boardroom. At best, you’ll blow the deal and you won’t be invited back.

So how to square this with the Ginsu knife commercial?

It’s simply a matter of knowing your audience and your medium.

Yes, there are fundamentals of persuasion that work in just about any situation.

But convincing people to buy a $9.99 set of precision steak knives is going to take a different approach to closing a complex, year-long, corporate sale.

This might seem obvious.

But this basic principle — know what works for your audience — is violated a lot. Particularly when people try to Frankenstein copy from one market to another.

Anyways, this is one reason why it makes sense to specialize.

And that’s why, while I do write for different markets, I’m specializing more and more in writing health copy.

And if you want some of the best insights I’ve gained about writing for the health market (including writing winning sales emails for an 8-figure supplement business), you might like my upcoming book. For more info or to sign up for a free copy:

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

Parris’s big thing

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Yesterday, I mentioned a big and important principle that A-list copywriter Parris Lampropoulos uses to guide him in his work. In Parris’s own words, that principle is:

“What do I need to do to weight the odds so heavily in my favor that I know before I’ve even run the ad that it won?”

“Thanks, Parris,” you might say. “If I knew how to weight the odds in my favor and write a killer ad, I would simply do it! I wouldn’t need this stupid principle.”

Easy, friend.

This principle is very valuable.

And its value will become clear once you see it in action.

You see, in the same interview where he revealed this principle, Parris also told a story illustrating how he uses it in practice. Namely:

One time, he was trying to beat a control for a book on tax loopholes. The control made a giant promise as the headline: “Pay no taxes in 1997.” It was written by some unspecified brilliant copywriter, and it was running successfully for many years. Trying to beat it seemed like a suicide mission.

So what to do? Parris started digging through the research.

It turned out that, on average, readers of this book saved $10,731 on their taxes. So he came up with a new headline,

“How to Save $10,731 on Your Taxes Next Year”

This new headline was more specific than the original. People like specifics, sometimes even more than big promises. So does this mean this angle would perform better than the control?

Possibly.

Possibly not.

In other words, it wasn’t a sure shot. Which means that Parris’s big and important principle still wasn’t satisfied.

So Parris kept digging and digging into the research, until he found a second interesting tip: The IRS allows amended tax returns. In a nutshell, you could go back and change your previous year’s tax return with updated data.

Interesting.

Especially when combined with the first, specific numbers. Because now he had the new headline/subhead:

“Bombshell from top tax attorney: The IRS owes you $10,731. Here’s how to get it in as little as 60 days”

That’s a pretty intriguing statement, and those are some heavily weighted odds. And sure enough, Parris used this one-two punch to beat the long-running control.

Fortunately, most of us don’t have to go up against the world’s best copywriters and their long-running controls.

For example, I work with a lot of clients on Upwork. Most of them simply need well-written copy, delivered on time.

The thing is, many copywriters on Upwork can’t even do this. Which means that there’s a good opportunity for anyone who wants to jump in and start offering sales copy as a service on Upwork.

If you want a guide for how to do this, you’re in luck. I’m putting one together right now, and I will publish it on Amazon soon. It will even be on free promo for a few days after it goes live. To get notified when this happens, you can sign up below:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork-book-notification-list/

The brain chemical to replace sleep

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About 10 years ago, a sensational story appeared on various media outlets:

Scientists funded by DARPA (the military’s research and development arm) were working on a chemical to replace sleep.

As a test, they made a nasal spray out of this chemical, and gave it to sleep-deprived monkeys to inhale.

They found that the tired and worn-out monkeys suddenly acted and performed just like normal, well-rested monkeys.

Soon, the story promised, even great apes like you and me will be able to snort our way to wakefulness and focus.

I found out about this intriguing story yesterday, while doing research for an email to my aromatherapy list. I wanted to write about orexin (the brain chemical from the monkey study above) and its connection to all-body inflammation.

The thing is, even though orexin is an interesting and important topic, it’s not a sure shot as a lead for a sales email.

That’s why I was so happy to find the sensationalist DARPA story from above, and to use it as an email lead (it got me some sales, too).

So what’s the point of this?

Well, a few days ago I listened to a fascinating interview with one of the world’s most successful copywriters.

His name is Parris Lampropoulos.

He’s the guy that’s brought in to defeat controls that have been running for years — and that seem unbeatable.

Apparently, Parris has a success rate of 80% in outperforming these world-class pieces of copy.

In the interview I mentioned, Parris revealed the underlying secret principle that allows him to be so successful. He even gave a demonstration of this secret principle as he uses it in practice. And this lesson from Parris is what guided me while I wrote the sleep-deprived-monkeys lead I mentioned above.

Honestly, I think this is one of the most valuable ideas I’ve ever heard about copywriting.

I’ll talk about the specifics of Parris’s big copywriting secret in my post tomorrow.

And I will also discuss it in more detail in my upcoming book on email copywriting for the health space.

Speaking of which, you can get a free copy of that book when it comes out.

All you have to do is sign up, before the book is released. Here’s where you can do that:

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

The natural and complete cure for hair loss

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Let’s talk about a guy named Rob.

Around the age of 16, Rob started losing his hair.

He went to the doctor, and the diagnosis was uninspiring:

Male pattern baldness. Prognosis: slick and shiny.

Rob started on the available treatments right away, including laser therapy and Rogaine. This slowed the hair loss, but it didn’t stop it, and it certainly didn’t reverse it.

Fast forward about ten years.

What would you expect has happened to Rob in the meantime?

Surprisingly, Rob has regained all his lost hair, completely naturally, without drugs, transplants, wigs, toupees, or that blackening hair spray that used to be sold through infomercials.

Nothing beats a demonstration

So how did Rob do it? In a nutshell:

Detumescence therapy.

Basically, Rob performed a special massage on his scalp, twice a day, every day, for about a year. After month five or so, hair slowly started growing back. By the end of the year, he regrew most of the hair he had lost over the previous decade.

So what’s going on?

Well, there are a few legitimate ways that detumescence therapy might actually work.

One is that the massage releases excess sebum that’s been stored in the scalp, which is slowly choking off hair follicles. Another is that it possibly breaks up and even reverses calcification of the scalp, which has been implicated in hair loss. A third way is that it increases blood flow to the scalp, which is basically the same mechanism that drugs such as Rogaine depend on.

But don’t take my word for it.

Detumescence therapy was first described in a scientific paper back in 2012, by a team out of the University of Hong Kong. It was based on a clinical study in which 100% of the subjects regrew 90% of their hair.

And it has been supported by additional studies out of Japan, which looked at the effects of massage and acute inflammation on hair regrowth.

Anyhow, I’m not here to pitch detumescence therapy to you. (If you want to find out more about it, I recommend Rob’s site Perfect Hair Health.)

All I wanted to do was to illustrate a technique I just learned from an interview with one of the most successful copywriters of all times, Parris Lampropoulos.

Parris writes a lot in the health space.

And in this interview, he shared a three-step process for presenting outrageous (but true) health claims, and convincing prospects that they are real. You can see an example of it in this post. It basically goes story-explanation-studies.

And if you want more such examples, or a breakdown of other ways to present health claims, sign up for my upcoming book.

It deals with email marketing for the health space.

It’s not out yet. But you can get a free copy when I finish it up if you sign up now:

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

How to get copywriting clients quicker than a jackrabbit on a date

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After three days, I’ve finally finished watching A Christmas Story.

So let me share one final lesson with you from this great movie.

In one scene, while setting up the lights on the Christmas tree, the fuse blows out. No problem. As the narrator says:

“The old man could replace fuses quicker than a jackrabbit on a date.”

Which suggestive image I guess is one for the parents watching.

It’s also a great phrase, and it’s going in my great phrases list, which also includes gems such as:

lost like an idiot on a moor
a lame invalid of a sofa
oppression olympics
horse it in
a curable romantic

… and many, many more.

Why use these weird phrases?

Well, as Parris Lampropoulos says in the new episode of David Garfinkel’s Copywriters Podcast, when you tell people something new, it creates a dopamine dump in their brain. They literally become addicted to reading your copy.

Now Parris was talking about new facts and new ideas. But methinks new and surprising phrases have the same effect. And that’s why I’ve been putting together this list, and reaching into it regularly.

Anyways, if you want to rustle up copywriting clients quicker than a jackrabbit on a date, I have something that can light your fuse.

It’s my upcoming book on the business of freelance copywriting on Upwork. More info here:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork-book-notification-list/

Sticking your tongue to a frozen pole and other marketing tricks

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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:

https://bejakovic.com/upwork-book-notification-list/

4 lessons from the ongoing Parris bonanza

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Earlier today, I contributed $297 to help a guy named Taki beat cancer.

I’ve never met Taki. I have no special connection to him. I’m also not naturally the type to contribute to charitable causes. So what gives?

Well, as the GoFundMe page says,

“If you donate $297 or more, Parris Lampropoulos will send you a thank-you gift. Just email him your donation receipt.”

Let me explain what this is all about.

1. Name recognition

I’d first heard of Parris Lampropoulos through an interview on Clayton Makepeace’s site.

Clayton is (or was?) a super successful copywriter.

And he regularly interviewed other super successful copywriters, including Parris.

After reading the interview, I was curious to see whether Parris had a blog, or a newsletter, or a book, or a copywriting course…

And he didn’t. He seemed to be a secretive, off-line kind of guy. A shame, I thought, and I filed the name Parris Lampropoulus away for later.

That’s an important point — I knew the name. Because then…

2. Touch-point barrage

About a week ago, it started to trickle in.

First, I read an email from Ben Settle.

Parris Lampropoulus is finally making available his copywriting wisdom! And for ridiculously cheap! And all in an effort to help his cousin Taki beat cancer!

Ben was the first, but certainly not the last, to make this announcement.

Over the next few days, I saw David Garfinkel, Brian Kurtz, Abbey Woodcock, David Deutsch, and probably somebody else I’m forgetting also promoting Parris’s offer. Here’s why this barrage mattered:

3. Sell to buyers

After I first heard of the Parris offer, I got excited. I then told myself to cool off.

“You’ve got enough copywriting books and courses to last you the next five years,” I said to myself. “Why buy more?”

But the thing is, over the past year or two, I’ve started freely spending money on good information. And I’ve found I never regret it.

In other words, I always get more out of the info I bought than what I paid for it. Maybe through winning new client work, or through being able to charge more, or through some mysterious opportunities opening up.

So in many ways, I was an ideal prospect for this offer. And when I got a second reminder about Parris’s offer — and a third, and a fourth, all from independent quarters — my initial resistance wore down quickly.

And there was one last thing that helped.

4. The charitable opportunity

Some people probably took up Parris on his offer specifically because they wanted to help Taki. But like I said, I’m not the type to contribute to charitable causes (yet — maybe this first experience will be a crack in the floodgates).

Still, the charitable offer did help to convince me to pony up $297. I realized this when I considered the alternative.

If this had simply been a new course launch, I probably would have held off.

A part of why is urgency — Parris will take this offer down once the funding goal is reached, and that probably wouldn’t have been true with a regular course.

But another part of it is the fire sale element of all this.

People rush to a fire sale because they feel they must be getting a steal. Because they think they are taking advantage of somebody else’s time of need.

I’m not proud of it, but I realize that, somewhere not very deep down, there was an element of this in my motivation to seize this opportunity.

So there you have it.

My analysis of an easy, enjoyable $297 sale, or rather purchase.

I think Gary Halbert once wrote that, if you want to do direct mail, you should buy stuff through mail, and allow yourself to enjoy the process. That way, you can understand what the process is like for one of your customers — to have doubts, to make the decision, to be excited about the purchase.

That’s what I did today. Besides, of course, helping a guy named Taki and getting a valuable and rare item for my copywriting library.

Anyways, if you’re selling something online, I believe you should be able to use any of the four points above to sell a little more of whatever it is you’re selling.

And if you’re interested in taking Parris up on his offer, before the fundraising target is met, here’s the link to the page that describes everything you get:

http://o.copychief.com/parris-lampropoulos