CA$HVERTISING How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make BIG MONEY Selling Anything to Anyone DREW ERIC WHITMAN Franklin Lakes, NJ a01 cash front.pmd 1 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM Copyright © 2009 by Drew Eric Whitman All rights reserved under the Pan-American and International Copy- right Conventions. This book may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system now known or hereafter invented, without written permission from the publisher, The Career Press. CASHVERTISING EDITED AND TYPESET BY KARA REYNOLDS Cover design by The DesignWorks Group Printed in the U.S.A. by Book-mart Press To order this title, please call toll-free 1-800-CAREER-1 (NJ and Canada: 201-848-0310) to order using VISA or MasterCard, or for further in- formation on books from Career Press. The Career Press, Inc., 3 Tice Road, PO Box 687, Franklin Lakes, NJ 07417 www.careerpress.com Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Whitman, Drew Eric. Cashvertising : how to use more than 100 secrets of ad-agency psychology to make big money selling anything to anyone / by Drew Eric Whitman. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-60163-032-2 1. Advertising—Psychological aspects. 2. Marketing—Psycho- logical aspects. I. Title. HF5822.W47 2009 659.101’9--dc22 2008030819 a01 cash front.pmd 2 10/13/2008, 11:42 AM Want Better Results From Your Advertising? Ad expert Drew Eric Whitman says: “I’ll teach you more about how to create powerfully effective moneymaking advertising than your competitors will know in their entire careers—guaranteed!” Dear Friend: Did you ever see a magician saw a lady in half? A sword swallower gobble down a 28-inch blade? A swami walk barefoot over a bed of fiery coals? These tricks are amazing. Mind-boggling. And seemingly impossible. But the truth is, if you knew the secrets behind them, you could do them too. Creating Effective Advertising Is No Different! Because, just as do those uncanny magicians, today’s advertising ex- perts have special tricks of their own. They use consumer psychology, pow- erful methods that influence people to read their ads, and buy like crazy. In fact, New York’s biggest ad agencies use these tactics every day. And it doesn’t matter what their clients sell; these tricks work for every busi- ness. Plus, they’re 100 percent legal, ethical, and powerful. Best of all... (Go to next page)... a02 cash promos.pmd 3 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM If You’re Ready to Learn the Secrets... I’m Ready to Teach You! Invest a few tax-deductible* dollars in this fun, fast, and easy-to-read book. In these fast-reading pages, I arm you with techniques that can help make your competition virtually disappear. I teach you how to turn weak, ineffective ads, brochures, sales letters, flyers, e-mails, and Websites into psychologically potent money-makers that help boost your business fast. No special skills are required. And most tricks cost noth- ing to use. Once you know the secrets, it’s easy! Meet you inside! Drew Eric Whitman P.S. I knew you’d read this P.S. How? Because the P.S. is one of the most important parts of any sales letter, and it’s often read first, before the body copy. Always use the P.S. to restate your offer here. Repeat your contact information, and push your prospect to take action! Now, turn the page and start reading! * Consult your tax advisor. a02 cash promos.pmd 4 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM To my loving parents, Bob and Eileen, for fostering my childhood passion for advertising and business...even when I should have been doing my homework. To my wonderful wife, Lindsay, for supporting my creative ideas, wacky plans, and off-beat business ventures that often keep me awake until dawn. To Gary Halbert, the “Prince of Print,” for helping me de- velop my voice when I was a mere copy cub. To John Caples, who taught me the definition of great advertising. To Walter Weir, whose dedication and personal instruction helped me land my first agency copywriting job in 1984. And to all who find value in what I do. Thank you. Drew Eric Whitman, July 2008 a02 cash promos.pmd 5 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM a02 cash promos.pmd 6 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM Contents P 11 REFACE I 15 NTRODUCTION C 1: W P R W 19 HAPTER HAT EOPLE EALLY ANT ✸ The Life-Force 8 ✸ The Nine Learned (Secondary) Human Wants C 2: H G I T H : HAPTER OW TO ET NSIDE HEIR EADS T 17 F P C HE OUNDATIONAL RINCIPLES OF ONSUMER P 29 SYCHOLOGY 1. The Fear Factor—Selling the Scare 2. Ego Morphing—Instant Identification 3. Transfer—Credibility by Osmosis 4. The Bandwagon Effect—Give Them Something to Jump On 5. The Means-End Chain—The Critical Core 6. The Transtheoretical Model—Persuasion Step by Step 7. The Inoculation Theory—Make Them Prefer You for Life a03 cash TOC.pmd 7 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM 8. Belief Re-ranking—Change Their Reality 9. The Elaboration Likelihood Model—Adjust Their Attitude 10. The 6 Weapons of Influence—Shortcuts to Persuasion 11. Message Organization—Attaining Critical Clarity 12. Examples vs. Statistics—And the Winner Is... 13. Message Sideness—Dual-Role Persuasion 14. Repetition and Redundancy—The Familiarity Factor 15. Rhetorical Questions—Interesting, Aren’t They? 16. Evidence—Quick! Sell Me the Facts! 17. Heuristics—Serving Billions of Lazy Brains Daily C 3: A -A S : 41 P HAPTER D GENCY ECRETS ROVEN T S A A 79 ECHNIQUES FOR ELLING NYTHING TO NYONE 1. The Psychology of Simplicity 2. Bombard Your Readers With Benefits 3. Put Your Biggest Benefit in Your Headline 4. Crank up the Scarcity 5. 22 Psychologically Potent Headline Starters 6. 12 Ways to Lure Readers Into Your Copy 7. 360 Degrees of Attention-Getting Power 8. The Reverse-Type Pitfall 9. Crush Your Competition With Extreme Specificity 10. The Famous Ogilvy Principle 11. The Psychology of Typefaces 12. Insist on the Pro-Design Difference 13. The Power of Questions 14. The “Granny Rule” of Direct Mail 15. The Psychology of “Social Proof” 16. The Guillotine Principle 17. PVAs–The Easy Way to Boost the Power of Your Copy 18. Directing Mental Movies 19. Battling Human Inertia a03 cash TOC.pmd 8 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM 20. Establish Your Unique Selling Proposition 21. Buy Your Own Island 22. Authority Positioning 23. A Sales Letter in Survey’s Clothing 24. Power Your Ads With Pictures 25. Grab ’Em With Grabbers 26. Long Copy vs. Short 27. Offer Testing 28. Survey Power 29. Editorial Energizers 30. The Coupon Persuader 31. 7 Online Response Boosters 32. Multi-page Your Way to Success 33. Guarantees that Guarantee Higher Response 34. The Psychology of Size 35. The Psychology of Page and Section Positioning 36. The Fantastic Four 37. Consumer Color Preferences and How Color Affects Readership 38. The Psychology of Pricing 39. The Psychology of Color 40. Wrap Your Ads in White 41. Give Yourself a “Cleverectomy” C 4: H L : 101 E W HAPTER OT ISTS ASY AYS B Y A R 187 TO OOST OUR D ESPONSE ✸ 22 Response Superchargers ✸ 9 Ways to Convey Value ✸ 13 Ways to Make Buying Easy ✸ 11 Ways to Boost Coupon Returns ✸ 46-Point “Killer Ad” Checklist a03 cash TOC.pmd 9 10/8/2008, 4:10 PM