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The 5 Most Persuasive Words in the English Language

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When it comes to assembling persuasive copy, like any other construction job, you need to rely on your skills, experience, and toolbox.

The toolbox of the writer is filled with words.

In defining what I believe is a critical element of crafting effective copy, I’ll make my case by amending the famous quote from Animal Farm: “All words are equal, but some words are more equal than others.”

And there are certain power words that hold more sway over our decision making process than others. You might be surprised to find that these “power words” don’t seem … well, all that powerful.

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Why Emotion-Based Writing is Crucial to Your Business Goals

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Allow me to tell you two stories.

One is about a person who — through tragic accident — had part of his brain destroyed, leading to revelatory advances in psychology and brain research.

The other, about a stout, whiskered man who thinks sound decisions can come only from a cool head.

Do emotions affect our decisions? Do cool heads truly prevail when faced with choices?

And who cares? What does all this have to do the art and craft of copywriting and content creation?

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Hey …

Email Marketing 101

How’s that for a headline?

If you saw the news out of the Obama camp yesterday, “Hey” was the most successful email subject line of a very data-driven and oddly personal email campaign for fundraising. By all accounts (especially election results), Obama’s digital strategy was a wild success.

So, I decided to try that headline with this post. I’ll be able to easily see how it does based on email open rates and traffic levels, plus other metrics like social sharing and commenting.

And, despite violating every bit of headline and subject line advice we’ve ever given you, it just might work. The reason why may surprise you, though.

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7 Social Psychology Studies to Help You Convert Prospects into Paying Customers

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When it comes to converting more prospects into paying customers, it all boils down to how well you understand your buyer’s mind and what they want from your business.

The thing is, your time can’t scale in every circumstance, and there may come a point where you aren’t able to know each and every one of your customers personally. When that’s the case, what’s to be done?

The answer is to turn to rigorously tested research in social psychology.

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49 Ways to Gain the Trust
and Loyalty of Your Audience

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Let me guess, you’re an honest person.

You know what you’re talking about. And your clients, your friends, and your colleagues trust your advice.

But online things seem different.

How can you demonstrate that you’re competent, credible, and trustworthy? Gaining trust online may seem difficult. But it doesn’t need to be.

Online, you can’t assume trust is automatically established. Instead, you need to actively build your trustworthiness.

How?

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Magic Mike’s Guide to Seducing Your Audience (and Leave Them Panting for More)

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What can a movie about a male stripper teach you about engaging your audience and giving them what they really want?

With a fistful of dollars and a few free evenings you could probably work it out on your own, but to save you an embarrassing conversation with your spouse or accountant, I’m going to give you a shortcut.

All the lessons you need to know are available in the new movie Magic Mike, the tale of a male stripper at a popular club in Tampa who trains his fellow dancers in the art of seducing from the stage.

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