Content

Tips to Persuade People (who don’t want to listen)

8:34am Wednesday
Saint Paul

Someone asked:

> What are some strategies for persuading someone
> with differing opinions who is not open to listening
> to our perspective?

Before you can persuade someone, which should be to their benefit (otherwise it’s manipulation), he or she must have an open mind. If you can’t get there, nothing will work.

*|FNAME|*, persuading people is not easy. You have to set up a situation where they’re willing to question their own entrenched ideas, which means they may come to the conclusion that they’ve been wrong about this idea for however long.

And—as no one wants to be wrong, possibly shifting their entire world view—they’d rather fight than see the light.

So you can’t persuade them as much as you can give them the opportunity and ideas to persuade themselves.

Now, to open someone’s mind to a new way to see the world, you have a few options…

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Seneca’s Letter 26 (Annual birthday post)

1:38pm Tuesday
Saint Paul

Hey, thanks for joining me on my birthday!

Every year… for a few years at least… I reread Seneca’s Letter to a Stoic, number 26, and reflect on the fact that we’re all getting older.

Turns out, this year is no different—I got older again.

In letter 26, Seneca is estimated to be about age 65.

Today, I turn 45.

So he has a few more years on me.

And when he writes,

“I feel that age has done no damage to my mind,”

I can very much agree.

In fact, as I age, I can see things more clearly than ever.

Or, at least, it feels that way. (Could be confirmation bias.)

What’s more striking, however, is his line

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What’s the highest ROI activity in business?

12:09pm Monday
Saint Paul

I’m not going to make you wait for the answer.

Marketing is the highest ROI activity you can do in business.

A business’ customers only have so much money.

They only have so many hours in a day.

And their market only has so many buyers.

So if that business relies on space advertising, aka brand advertising, to put their name in front of prospects…

And fail to give them a reason to buy from that business…

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Copywriting tips from Matt Rizvi (“old” podcast #4, now on YouTube)

Wednesday, 3:30pm
Saint Paul

Hey *|FNAME|* I’ve unearthed Matt Rizvi’s podcast—and now it’s on YouTube!

Maybe you were here when this was first recorded… or maybe you’re newer to the list (welcome!).

Either way…

I recorded Episode 4 of my Persuasion Play Podcast with direct response copywriter Matt Rizvi waaay back in 2019.

Then, like all my podcast episodes, it got bumped when the next was recorded…

Lost to history… forever.

But not really.

Now I’m putting old episodes up on YouTube so anyone can watch ’em—free.

Here it is, the Persuasion Play Podcast episode 004:

Persuasive Copywriting with Matt Rizvi.

Copywriter, read more of THIS.

10:20am Wednesday
Saint Paul

Experts are everywhere.

A former boss once told me, “once you know more than the other guy, you’re the expert.”

Which is why you see gurus all over the place, having moved from Level 0 to Level 1, touting their expertise.

Nothing wrong with self-promotion, of course.

But there is always more to learn.

A few years ago I took a course named How to Turn White Space Into Advertising That Sells by Clyde Bedell.

Continue reading “Copywriter, read more of THIS.”

What Robert Collier said about the Eclipse

12:20pm Monday
Saint Paul

I am not in the path of today’s eclipse.

But it reaches totality at 1:40pm Central time here in the US.

And I plan to watch NASA’s live footage of the moon perfectly blocking earth’s sun on YouTube.

Now, an eclipse is not a common event.

And it has everyone talking.

Which means marketers are tapping the eclipse as a reason to start a conversation with their audience.

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