Hypnotism And The Art Of Writing Good Sales Copy

It's not what you think. The art of writing good sales copy is not about brainwashing people. That's to misunderstand hypnotism. As a hypnotist once told me: you can't make people do what they don't want to do, you can only put them in a relaxed state where they're more suggestible. And that is similar to what you do when writing good sales copy.

And writing good sales copy is tough.

There is so much poor sales copy on the internet it makes you want to cry. It's as if the writers believe that if you hit somebody over the head with a hammer often enough they will eventually capitulate. They could learn a thing or two from hypnotists.

When meeting somebody, a hypnotist mirrors a subject's actions. He might even make a conscious effort to use the same vocabulary. This is a short cut to gaining your trust. It's a subconscious reaction and stronger because of it. A good hypnotist will speak at the same rate as the subject at first. Then, gradually, slow down, taking you into a more relaxed state.

Hypnotists are very careful to control the tone of their voice. They need to be soft enough to seem friendly and warm, like a mug of hot chocolate, but precise enough to be clear.

Once you are relaxed the hypnotist will blink his eyes ever more slowly. By that stage, you are so relaxed and suggestible that you follow. Until you find that it's too much effort to open them again.

Then he will concoct a story, taking you on a beautiful journey, using only words and the tone of his voice, to a beautiful place. And who doesn't want to go to a beautiful place? When you're relaxed and comfortable in that beautiful place he will make suggestions that he hopes you will take into your waking state.

And that, in a nutshell, is the art of writing good sales copy.

Cliches - How To Love Them

I had a great creative writing tutor when I was at college, which is a while ago now. He told us: 'Cliches are cliches because they work'. By that he meant that if a phrase only becomes a cliche because people decide that it works. Then he went on to tell us to avoid them at all costs.

So, in a way, that's contradictory advice.

Cliches can be good. With a cliche you know what you're getting. You have this phrase that, for years, people have used. Which is good. It means that they identify with it. It's familiar to them, like a pair of old slippers. They know exactly what it means, which removes any chance of misunderstanding. And misunderstanding is the enemy of good communications.

So what's the problem?

Cliches make the mind fog over. If used one after another, the reader or listener shuts off. We tell ourselves that this person has nothing new to say. The human mind is a wonderful device. Its curiosity has propelled us forward with great scientific advances. It likes nothing better than to make discoveries. If curiosity killed the cat it also drew the human race out of its caves and into the light.

From the point of view of the writer, cliches can be a product of the lazy side of the mind. When reaching for a phrase, often the first thing we think of is a cliche. And that's okay. We might beat ourselves up about it but it's natural. The mind wants to get a lot done as fast as possible. It's only when we settle for that initial phrase, rather than exploring other possibilities, that we should hit ourselves over the head with a blunt instrument.

But where does that leave us? Cliches are good and bad. Which is it? Do we use them or not?

Yes, we use them. Frankly, it would be hard not to. And sometimes they are a useful shortcut. But they should be used judiciously and sparingly. At the end of the day, when all's said and done, in a nutshell, come rain or shine, for better or worse, there's so many of them it would be hard to avoid them.

So you might as well love them.

Copywriting - Greeting Cards

Not many copywriting jobs are more fun than devising greeting cards. So I thought I'd post a few I'd worked on for an online greetings card company. The brief was to take existing, stock photographs and add captions. Some of the cards can be personalised. Apologies for the watermarks but they have to be there.