Ca$hvertising

High-Level Thoughts

The first use of any product is inside the consumers' minds. Write to the chimpanzee brain. Simply. Directly.

Summary Notes

The Bottom Line: The Goal of Advertising Is to Get People to Act. (Page 11)

Some time ago, an American reporter traveled to Tibet to interview a wise old Zen master. When the two sat down for tea, instead of letting the Zen master do the talking, the reporter began to brag about all the things he knew about life!
The guy ranted on and on while the master poured the reporter's tea. As he endlessly babbled, the tea quickly rose to the rim of his cup and began spilling all over the floor. The reporter finally stopped yakking and said with surprise, "What are you doing? You can't pour in any more! The cup is overflowing!"
"Yes," responded the wise Zen master. "This teacup, like you mind, is so full of ideas that there is no room for new information. You must first empty your head before any new knowledge can enter." (Page 13)

Advertising is a subset of communication.
Sales is a subset of advertising.
Persuasion is a subset of sales.
And psychology is a subset of persuasion.
Each is a form of the other, and it all leads back to psychology: the study of the human mind. (Page 17)

Here's the simple formula for desire, and the results it sets in motion:
Tension -> Desire -> Action to Satisfy The DesireThe first use of any product is inside the consumers' minds. (Page 25)

People have eight basic wants - (survival; food and drink; freedom from fear, pain, and danger; sexual companionship; comfortable living conditions; to be superior; care and protection of loved ones; and social approval). (Page 26)

The most effective way to create an appeal based on these eight wants is to write ad copy that causes your prospects to visually demonstrate your product or service inside their heads, sufficiently enough to build desire for the satisfaction of the want(s) that your product promises to provide...and then to choose your product to attain it. (Page 27)

17 Foundational Principles of Consumer Psychology

Principle #1: The Fear Factor - Selling the Scare
Fear sells. It motivates. It urges. It moves people to action. (Page 30)

Principle #2: Ego Morphing - Instant Identification
By purchasing the 'right stuff,' we (the consumer) enhance our own egos and rationalize away our inadequacies. (Page 34)

Principle #3: Transfer - Credibility by Osmosis
Transfer is a strategy that involves using symbols, images, or ideas - cues if you will- commonly associated with people, groups, or institutions of authority or respect, in order to persuade your prospect that your product or service is in some way acceptably endorsed. (Page 38)

Principle #4: The Bandwagon Effect - Give Them Something to Jump On
The need for group membership is a strong psychological drive, and in its pursuit, most consumers will forego the need for an active deep analysis of what you're selling. (Page 41)

Principle #5: The Means-End Chain - The Critical Core
The strategy is based on the theory that many customer decisions are are taken not to satisfy an immediate need, but for some future objective. (Page 44)

Principle #6: The Transtheoretical Model - Persuasion Step by Step
The Transtheoretical Model divides consumer knowledge and behavior into five stages, and it provides guidelines for persuading your prospect so they move from complete ignorance of your product ("What the heck is this?"), to making it a regular purchase or an integral part of their lifestyles ("Doesn't everyone buy this?"). (Page 46)

Principle #7: The Inoculation Theory - Make Them Prefer You for Life
Inoculation Theory is used to reinforce a consumers' existing attitudes toward a product or service by presenting a "weak" argument that tricks the consumer into defending his position and therefore strengthening his attitude. (Page 48)

Principle #8: Belief Re-ranking - Change Their Reality
You might feel a certain way about a product, but your beliefs can be changed if you're given new ways to think about it. (Page 51)

Principle #9: The Elaboration Likelihood Model - Adjust Their Attitude
The Elaboration Likelihood Model suggests there are two routes to attitude change: the central route and the peripheral route. Here's the difference:

• The central route: Persuading using logic, reasoning, and deep thinking
• The peripheral route: Persuading using the association of pleasant thoughts and positive images, or "cues". (Page 54)

Principle #10: The 6 Weapons of Influence - Shortcuts to Persuasion

1. Comparison: The power of your peers.
2. Liking: The Balance Theory. "I like you...take my money!"
3. Authority: Cracking the code of credibility.
4. Reciprocation: What goes around comes around...profitably!
5. Commitment/consistency: The "Four Walls" technique.
6. Scarcity: Get 'em while they last! (Page 57)

Principle #11: Message Organization - Attaining Critical Clarity
If you don't understand what I'm saying, I can't persuade you. (Page 64)

Principle #12: Examples vs. Statistics - And the Winner Is...
Sure, the stats are nice to know, but when it comes to making the cash register go ka-ching, you should always place your money on the example.
Why? In a word: emotion, the key to sales. (Page 66)

Principle #13: Message Sidedness - Dual-Role Persuasion
You can present your side and your competitor's side in a head-to-head product comparison. (Page 67)

Principle #14: Repetition and Redundancy - The Familiarity Factor
The aim of all advertising is to create marginal differences in consumer attitudes and perceptions. Through repetition, these small differences can build into larger differences, and can often tip the balance in favor of the advertised brand. (Page 69)

Principle #15: Rhetorical Questions - Interesting, Aren't They?
This simple technique allows advertisers to make factual-sounding, possibly persuasive claims without having to support them with factual evidence or logical arguments. (Page 71)

Principle #16: Evidence - Quick! Sell Me the Facts!
People buy from you when they believe what you are selling is of greater value than the dollars they need to exchange for it. (Page 72)

Principle #17: Heuristics - Serving Billions of Lazy Brains Daily
The Length-Implies-Strength Heuristic is a principle that exerts an influence similar to evidence. It's based on the assumption that a product or service is more likely to be viewed favorably if the ad is long and contains numerous, credible facts and figures. It causes your prospect to say, in effect, "Wow...look how much is here. It must be true." (Page 75)

Write to the chimpanzee brain. Simply. Directly. (Page 81)

Limit your opening paragraph to a maximum of eleven words. (Page 88)Unless your headline sells your product, you have wasted 90 percent of your money. (Page 92)

The purpose of your first sentence is to get people to read your second sentence. (Page 120)

No matter how slick a salesperson, no matter how beautiful an ad, if they don't cause people to take action, they're both a lousy investment. An ad that only informs and doesn't move people to buy is like a salesperson who can't close. Fire the salesperson. Trash the ad. (Page 137)

When people can't distinguish you from your competition, they have no reason to prefer you. (Page 139)

If I sent you a letter with a $1 bill stapled to the top, wouldn't you be interested? (Page 152)

Some people need long copy to be convinced; others can decide with less information. Long copy satisfies both parties. (Page 156)Free is a powerful word. (Page 158)

Offer the longest, strongest guarantee in your industry. (Page 170)

Make a study of advertising. (Page 194)