and you’ll give people authentic reasons to do business with
you. Call it Love-Based Marketing. You won’t sell everyone with
it. You’ll sell only those who are a match for your offer. That, in
the end, is all you want. Then you’re happy and so are your cus-
tomers.
Just like Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, you’ll find a
match to write home about.
And you might make a little money along the way, to boot.I have to confess that since writing this article, my thoughts have
changed a little. For example, I think that gently reminding people
of the pain they are in may be a wise and even loving thing to do.
After all, if they are suffering and are in denial about it, a little Zen
whack may be in order.
I also know that sometimes you want to mention the pain up-
front because that is where the person’s mind is. In other words,
keeping Collier’s advice in mind, if someone has sore feet, the best
headline of all for them may very well be Sore Feet?.
I would still want to test that headline against one based on pleas-
ure, such as Want Foot Relief?or At Last—No More Foot Aches!
The point is, I want to focus on the positive for idealist reasons,
but I’m enough of a realist to know sometimes people need to be
reminded of their pain in order to nudge them in the direction of
their pleasure.
Eugene Schwartz, one of the greatest copywriters of all time,
wrote in his famous book,Breakthrough Advertising:
“A copy writer’s first qualifications are imagination and enthusi-
asm. You are literally the script writer for your prospect’s dreams. You
are the chronicler of his future. Your job is to show him in minute de-
tail all the tomorrows that your product makes possible for him.”
Ah, yes!
Show your reader his or her dreams.
“You are literally the script writer for your prospect’s dreams.”
That’sfocusing on the positive.
Two Ways to Cause Action