Transfer of credibility: i.e. testimonial by a celebrity.
Need to belong: find target consumer’s aspirational group and use that to advertise.
Secondary benefits: i.e. expensive Lexus car for a realtor will bring the realtor more business.
Persuasion step by step: funnel.
Vaccination: weakly attack your position to reinforce your thoughts. Like a vaccine. Pre-emptive strike.
Example: Politicians: my opponent will tell you there’s no way to bring down skyrocketing oil prices etc. But I tell you that’s not the case, and here’s why etc.
Example: auto shop asking consumers to be wary when getting quotes from competitors (our competitors are unethical / greedy – give some example).
Example: pizza shop: our competitor tell you they use fresh mozzarella, but they don’t tell you it’s pre-shredded in big plastic bags.
Change people’s beliefs : 三人成虎. Different people tell you similar stories that contradicts your belief consistently.
Left vs. Right bring advertising depending on the product (i.e. 5 dollar cereal vs. one million dollar real-estate).
Robert Cialdini’s six weapons of influence: 1. Comparison (social proof, i.e. my peers all drive in Tesla, so I should buy Tesla as well); 2. Liking (salesperson has likeable personality, increase total dollar spent); 3. Authority (medical product endorsed by “man in white coat”; 4. Reciprocation (i.e. send donor flowers to increase money donated); 5. Commitment/Consistency (on a beach, when someone asked you “would you look after my bag”, you agree, then a robber comes and picks up the bag, you’re more likely to help defend the bag); 6. Scarcity (limited time offer / 清仓大甩卖);
Interestingly, it’s more useful to have ads of good-looking men using the product (instead of good-looking women) when target audience is men, this is because of identification.
Message clarity: simplicity.
Example / story > stats (appeal to emotion).
Two sided message: defend your position and attack your opponents. 对对手的产品明褒暗贬;
Repeat more message: audience more familiar with product (similar to Funnel). Too much repetition could be a turn-off.
Rhetorical Questions – a statement disguised as a question. (How do you spell relief?)
#1 – simplicity: “Flesch reading ease formula” (a) use short/simple words/sentences/paragraphs. (b) use “You” instead of other pronouns (or “we”).
#2 – Benefit not feature: benefit is what consumers get from features (WIIFM).
#3 – Biggest benefit in headline. Secondarily, shorter headline is better.
#8 – don’t reverse color (not black background with white typing) – word less legible.
#9 – extreme specificity (i.e. a restaurant gives very detailed example of its food, almost like writing a novel).
#10 – Ogilvy layout – top 2/3 big picture, bottom 1/3 headline + copy. (Even better if Starting with Drop Cap).
#11 – typeface – make it easy to read.
On Print: Serif / Sans Serif – serif easier to read.
Ten most used typefaces on newspapers: Poynter Series/Franklin Gothic/Helvetica/Utopia/Times/Nimrod/Century Old Style/Interstate/Bureau Grotesque/Miller.
Online: seems different typefaces easier to read depending on size.
Initial Cap headlines.
#13 – Power of Questions. In NLP (Neuro-linguistic programming), question creates “open loop”. After creating an open loop, brain will continue to search for info to try closing the loop. Keep reader reading / grab attention.
#14 – direct mail open-rate tricks, “URGENT” stamp in red inks. Don’t indicate it’s a sales pitch on the envelope, instead use “personal attention of:” etc.
Again first sentence important, i.e. “Can you protect yourself from a 220-pound rapist?”, to grab attention.
Granny rule – to grab people’s attention with direct mail, make your mailing like something your dear granny would send you. Look personal.
#16 – Guillotine Principle – head/face is the best attention grabber.
#19 – Battling Human Inertia – people don’t want things to be troublesome. Example: Direct mail response order form that’s pre-filled with name etc.
#23 – A sales letter in Survey’s clothing.
#24 – Picture. Pictures that received greatest attention (according to some magazines): babies, mothers & babies, animals, personalities, food.
#25 – Samples: letter with $1 on top. Or RE agent selling real estate in Laguna Beach, attach a sample of sand.
#26 – Long vs. Short Copy: Direct Response Advertiser likes long copies.
Long copy has more “sink cost”, more points delivered (left + right brain) in long-copy.
#27 – Magic Word “Free” in offer – “buy one get one FREE” is more powerful than “50% off”.
#29 – Editorial Ads (ads that looks like editorial contents, i.e. on newspaper looks like other news instead of ads). In Editorial Ads, don’t be too enthusiastic about what you’re selling.
#30 – Coupons: coupon acts as anchor for buyer. Coupon means saving, means smart shopper.
#33 – Guarantees: 保证生男，生女退款.
#37 – Color Pref (1) Blue (2) Red (3) Green (4) Violet (5) Orange (6) Yellow
This result is dependent on age group: the older the bluer.
#38 – Pricing, actually ending in “79, 88, 98, 99” most likely to suggest this product is on sale. But other numbers like 49/50/90/95 doesn’t.
#39 – color psychology.
Weight: the darker, the “heavier” psychologically.
Taste: color of the bottle changes people’s perceived taste of the drink.