Posts Filed Under Blog Psychology

Back in 1985, Tipper Gore founded the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC), which eventually led to those “Parental Advisory: Explicit Lyrics” labels we all know and love.

What set her off?

She heard the song Darling Nikki by Prince.

Now, while that tune is certainly provocative, who knows how poor Tipper would have reacted if she had first heard Let’s Pretend We’re Married from Prince’s earlier album 1999, or pretty much any song from 1980’s Dirty Mind. And what must she think of some of today’s music, which makes Prince look tame in comparison?

Meanwhile, today Prince is still blowing the roof off of packed stadiums, based largely on the one constant in his career—musical genius.

These days, his show is purely PG-13, with no warning stickers required. He doesn’t play Darling Nikki anymore, nor does he even curse.

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I spent some time recently talking about manipulation and lies.

I told you those two stories so you could see where I think the line gets crossed by marketers, but also so I could tell you this story.

In 1999 Douglas Rushkoff published a book called Coercion, which essentially tracks the evolution of marketing into a branch of psychology. He illustrates exactly how marketers try to influence and persuade you in various media, and outlines the history of marketing as a measured science.

It all started with a copywriter named Claude Hopkins who first applied empirical testing to advertising elements back in the 1920s, and of course things have only become more sophisticated. Massive database profiles, television “programming,” contextual web ads, sophisticated algorithms that make recommendations based on past behaviors—these are some of the ways marketers are trying to deliver the right message to the right person at the right time.

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Want to become a more effective, engaging blogger?

Sure, we all do.

But we also want to come across in an authentic, conversational way, and many may be scratching their heads wondering how a copywriting skill can possibly have anything to do with that. Is copywriting really applicable to blogging at all?

We’ve seen that copywriting skills are essential to creating compelling headlines, so there’s certainly an application when it comes to post titles.

And we know that good copywriting is crucial when we take people “off-blog” to a report, whitepaper, email mini-course, or other tutorial that sells through educational persuasion rather than hype.

But what about just day-to-day blogging?

Let me tell you a quick story that just might demonstrate that the most powerful copywriting technique is also the most engaging blogging technique.

How Shane Discovered the Truth About Great Marketing

Shane is like a lot of people these days — sick of the corporate world, and looking to start up a micro-business that is not only financially rewarding, but also allows him to actually watch his kids grow up. He’s got a great idea for a software service, and is trying to figure out a smart online marketing plan to reach his target audience.

He’s been paying a lot of attention to the latest trends, and he definitely knows he needs to start blogging. Shane has also been hearing a lot about a new strategy that people like Seth Godin are trying to teach to big companies, many of which are floundering in a new environment where traditional mass media is being turned upside down.

Shane is intrigued. While he’s no big-time company, this particular method seems like something he could use as well. But he wants to be sure, so he digs a bit deeper.

Surprisingly, Shane discovers that this marketing method may not be so new after all. By reading up a bit on copywriting, he learns that guys like David Garfinkel, Joe Vitale, John Carlton, and Gary Halbert have used this technique successfully for years. They even credit an earlier copywriter named Eugene Schwartz with teaching them the strategy at a deep level.

Going even further back, Shane discovers John Caples, a copywriter who used the technique to write one of the most famous advertisements in history back in the 1920s. Shane figures that Caples likely inspired Martin Conroy to make billions for the Wall Street Journal using the very same technique.

Picking up on clues left by the copywriters, Shane then ventures into the world of Joseph Campbell, explores the writings of psychoanalyst Carl Jung, and finally ends up waist deep in the complete works of Aristotle. Who knew these people had anything to do with marketing?

Shane now definitely knows that there is nothing new about the latest marketing craze, but it does seem to be the most compelling way to get a message across to the people who want and need to hear it. Could he really have found the answer he so desperately needs to bring success to his new business?

That evening, Shane walks into his young daughter’s room to tuck her in. He notices that she’s pouting a bit, and she finally shares that she is upset because Daddy has been reading so much lately and hasn’t spent enough time with her.

Shane feels terrible.

“What if Daddy tells you the best bedtime story ever to make up for it,” Shane offers, and holds his breath hoping she’ll give him a shot.

Seeing the way her eyes light up, he knows he has his answer — in more ways than one.

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Just when you thought it was safe to get really excited about the fantastic possibilities of the Internet again, a dark cloud looms. The Internet as you have always known it is facing a serious threat that requires your attention.

The issue is Net Neutrality. If you’re not sure what that means, I’ll try to succinctly sum up its importance to you.

All of your current Internet marketing plans depend on Net Neutrality. And likely, a lot of what you do online outside of the scope of business depends on it too. Net Neutrality allows everyone to compete on a level playing field and is the reason that the Internet is a force for economic innovation, civic participation and free speech.

So who are the Four Horsemen looking to destroy the Internet as we know it?

The reformed AT&T wants the power to allow big corporations that pay Internet providers for dominant placing on the Web to muscle out startups and entrepreneurs. The little guy will be left in the “slow lane” with inferior Internet service, unable to compete.

Comcast would just love it if they could favor their own services, so you won’t be able to choose more affordable providers for online video, teleconferencing, Internet phone calls, and software that connects your home computer to your office.

Could Big Media partner with companies like Verizon to put bloggers out of business and silence the threat to their content monopolies? It would be simple under such an arrangement to skyrocket the costs to post and share video and audio clips—silencing citizen journalists and putting more power in the hands of a few corporate-owned media outlets.

Likewise, when Time Warner Cable has the ability to steer the choices of your customers (and you) to their preferred services for online banking, health care information, sending photos, planning vacations, etc, your business and your freedom are history.

This is not a conspiracy theory.

The US Congress is pushing a law that would abandon Network Neutrality, the Internet’s First Amendment. Network neutrality currently prevents companies like AT&T, Verizon, Comcast and Time Warner from deciding which Web sites work best for you — based on which site paid them the most. Without Network Neutrality, the scenarios outlined above are just the beginning. And it will affect people all over the world, not just in the States.

To learn more, and get involved, you can do several things:

1. Educate yourself about the issues. Read Doc Searls article from last year on the topic (this is what first alerted me to the issue, and allowed me to spread the word a bit, most notably to Liz Strauss, who took the ball and ran with it).
2. Visit the Save the Internet website and blog to learn more, and to send a quick and easy letter to Congress voicing your opposition.
3. Spread the word. There’s a huge viral marketing campaign going on right now to spread awareness and galvanize support. Help spread the word with your blog, by email, or come up with a viral video concept. I’m not exaggerating when I tell you that if the big telcos and cable companies get their way, grass roots viral marketing will be a thing of the past.

They WILL win if we are apathetic. Do something, or find a way to earn a living that doesn’t involve the Internet.

UPDATE: In a surprise victory, the House Judiciary Committee approved a bill that would require broadband providers to abide by strict Net neutrality principles, meaning that their networks must be operated in a “nondiscriminatory” manner.

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Imagine… by the end of this post, you will be a more effective blogger, all because you learned two very important words, and the specific reasons why those words are so crucial.

Actually, both words can be found in the preceding sentence, along with hints related to their importance.

Did you catch them?

If not, keep reading, because all will be revealed.

The Most Important Word is “You”

Did you find the opening sentence compelling? If so, why?

Or the better question is, who was the first sentence focused on?

Well, let’s consider this. Have the words “me” or “I” appeared in this post before now?

It’s certainly ironic that a medium often used as a self-absorbed journaling platform would now need to be overwhelmingly focused on the reader in order to be effective. But if you’re blogging for marketing or public relations purposes, your every post should be purposefully aimed at the needs and wants of others.

You only benefit when readers benefit first.

When it comes to writing engaging content, “you” is the most powerful word in the English language, because people are ultimately interested in fulfilling their own needs. It may sound harsh, but the fact is your readers won’t start to actually care about you at all until you’ve repeatedly offered them exceptional value with your blog.

But once they do start to care about you, look out… because wonderful things can start happening. Things like viral buzz and customer evangelism.

The same substantive content will be more effective with the focus shifted toward the reader. One of the easiest ways to do that is to maximize the use of “you”, while minimizing or eliminating “I” and “me”.

Every time you finish writing a blog post, check the focus. How many times does you and its derivations appear? What about I and me?

Got the count? Good. Now, adjust accordingly.

Try it, and you’ll be amazed at the results.

The Other Word is “Because”

One of the most important characteristics of compelling, persuasive content is specificity. The more specific you are, the more credible your points, arguments or sales pitch.

There are many ways to be specific in your writing. One of the best is simply giving a reason why. And the most effective transition word when giving a “reason why” is because.

The power of because has actually been documented by social psychologist Ellen Langer, as told by our old friend Robert Cialdini from the Blog Triggers series. Langer performed an experiment where she asked to cut in line to use a copy machine.

She tested three different ways of asking, and recorded the results:

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine?

60% said OK.

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I’m in a rush?

94% said OK.

It appears that giving the “reason why” of because I’m in a rush boosted the effectiveness of the request immensely.

But here’s the kicker:

Excuse me, I have five pages. May I use the Xerox machine because I have to make some copies?

93% said OK.

The trigger word “because” is so powerful that it didn’t really seem to matter that the “reason why” provided was something you might expect to hear from a four year old child.

Be specific in your assertions, and always give a reason why, especially when you want people to take some form of action.

Not because I said so, but rather because it will work wonders for you. :)

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If you have kids (or have been a kid), and celebrate Christmas, you’ve likely witnessed an interesting phenomenon. Every year, there’s that one “it” toy. Starting way back in the mid-80s with the Cabbage Patch Kids, and followed by Beanie Babies, Furby and Tickle Me Elmo, there’s at least one crucial toy that every kid simply must unwrap on Christmas morning.

And every December, there’s never enough of “it” to go around. Why can’t the toy manufacturers properly anticipate demand after spending millions on advertising to create that mega-buzz?

Because they don’t want to.

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