Ron DeSantis

Conservative Professor X’s secret to getting money from strangers

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I read an article recently about controversial Hillsdale College.

I no longer live in the U.S., and I avoid places online that talk about culture wars, so I’d never heard of Hillsdale before.

It appears to be a kind of Charles Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, except “gifted” in this case means conservative-leaning, Christian, and proudly American.

Even though Hillsdale was founded in 1844, its influence has expanded dramatically over the past 20 years. Just one example:

Ron DeSantis, Florida governor and the non-Trump face of the Republican Party, said he would not hire somebody from his own alma mater, Yale, but would hire somebody from Hillsdale.

Hillsdale is not the only conservative-leaning college in the U.S. There are dozens or maybe hundreds of others.

So why did Hillsdale become it, rather than any of the other places?

The article I read says it was all down to the guidance of Professor X himself — real name, Larry Arnn, the President of Hillsdale College. It’s Arnn’s vision and his tactics and his strategies that have made Hillsdale the new conservative cultural beacon.

It took different measures to get there. But money of course was important.

During Arnn’s tenure, annual contributions to Hillsdale have increased sevenfold, including from many people who never went to Hillsdale. ​​And it’s on this topic that Professor X revealed his secret for getting money from strangers:

“You don’t get money by asking for it. You get money by showing them what you do.”

Perhaps you say that’s obvious. And I’m sure the deans of all those other conservative-leaning colleges, which were left behind in the dust by Hillsdale, think it’s obvious also.

Anyways, the topic of my email today ties in intimately to the topic of my Most Valuable Email course.

If you have gone through MVE, the connection will be obvious. It might be obvious even if you have not gone through MVE.

But if want to make sure, or simply would like to hear me explain in more detail how I write Most Valuable Emails and show you how you too can write this type of email yourself, then you can find my “pull back the curtain” offer below:

https://bejakovic.com/mve/

Misdirection is not illegal

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Last autumn, a conservative writer named Alexander Macris wrote about Florida governor Ron DeSantis. DeSantis was planning a new state militia and he was facing a lot of blowback.

To which, Macris had this bit to say:

“If state defense forces are both constitutional and common, why the outrage? Part of the outrage is simply partisan, of course. If Ron DeSantis walked on water like Jesus to save a drowning child, the Daily Beast would report it as ‘DeSantis refuses to get wet to save drowning child.'”

I found that made-up Daily Beast headline funny and clever. It got me wondering why. So I put my finger on the page and traced out exactly what’s going on.

Here’s what I figured:
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Macris brings your attention to an unimportant detail (what De Santis wouldn’t or didn’t do)… to keep your attention from the actual, important, big thing (that he “walked on water like Jesus to save a drowning child”).

There’s a name for this type of thing. It’s called misdirection.

“Magic is misdirection. And misdirection is getting people to look at the wrong place at the right time.”

That’s a line from the 1978 movie Magic. I don’t know much about magic, though I love it. But I have heard pro magicians say that yes, magic is at core misdirection.

And it’s not just magic where misdirection has value. Writing too, like that fake Ron DeSantis headline above.

​​And if you’ve gone through my Copy Riddles program, then you’ve also seen A-list copywriters use misdirection to create intrigue and make sales. Like Gary Bencivenga did with this intriguing warning:

“If you’re a man, do you know why you should never wear a gold bracelet to a job interview?”

Well, do you? If not, I’ll tell you in a second how you can find out.

For now, my point is that misdirection is not just tricky, but it can be valuable, too. So keep an eye on it.

Or keep an eye on me. I’ve started collecting examples of misdirection. And maybe one day I will put them together into a little presentation, and show you how you can misdirect people’s attention, in your writing, with the snap of your fingers, for your benefit and maybe theirs.

You can help me get this done sooner. If you have any good examples of misdirection, anything that comes to mind, whether from magic, design, political PR, tabloid journalism, thriller novels, con artistry, standup comedy, or persuasive and influential writing, then send them my way.

In exchange, I’ll tell you the secret to Gary’s bullet above, in case you don’t know it already.

Oh, and sign up for my email newsletter. Bet you didn’t see that coming.