Forget trying to imitate any writer you admire. (Note:Studying
other writers is a wise way to learn how they wrote. I just don’t
want you to becomeanother writer.) Forget trying to please English
teachers. Erase everything you ever learned about “how to write.”
From now on, you have my permission to write in any way that
feels right to you.
If your style is to use slang, then use slang.
If you are from a different country, let that uniqueness come forth.
If you like to tell funny stories, then tell them.
Your style is your voice, and your voice will create an intimacy
with your reader that is profound.
Now note:I am not advocating being mindless in your commu-
nication. I will teach you my persuasion formula in this book. By
writing in your own style, by following my formula, you will create
Hypnotic Writing. It will just be yourHypnotic Writing. Not mine.
Not anyone else’s. Yours.
I can’t stress this enough. What people want is a new voice. They
want to read words from a trusted new friend. That can be you.
Here’s a million dollar secret: Many great copywriters call a
friend and tell them about the product or service they want to sell.
They record the call. They then play it back, listening for the ways
they described what they were selling.
Why did they do this?
When people think of writing, the inner pressure gets turned
on. All their past education comes rushing in, almost drowning
their creative voice.
But when they speak, they are loose. Mark Twain said, “If we
were all taught to speak the same way we were taught to write, we’d
all stutter.”
Hypnotic Writing comes from being loose. It comes from not
editing yourself as you write. It comes from trusting yourself, being
yourself, and expressing yourself.
It comes from being you.
The Great Intimacy Secret