Compelling

Copywriting
Urgency : Headlines : Subheads : Profile
© 2007 by Sean D’Souza. All rights reserved. Published by Psychotactics Ltd. No part of this publication may be
reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in ad database or retrieval system without the prior
written permission of Psychotactics Ltd.

The Author and publisher have used their best efforts in preparing this book and the document contained herein.
However, the author and publisher make no warranties of any kind, express or implied, wit regard to the informational
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specifically disclaim, without limitation, any implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose,
with respect to program listings in the book, the techniques described in the book, and/or the use of files. In no event
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Further, the author and publisher have used their best efforts to proof and confirm the content of the files, but you should
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The Brain Audit Kit is available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in
corporate training programs. This is part of the entire Brain Audit series which includes audio programs, on-line training,
etc.

For more information, please write to:

PsychoTactics Ltd., PO Box 36461,
Northcote, Auckland, New Zealand
Phone: 64 9 449 0009
Email: sean@psychotactics.com
Contents
Mayday! Mayday 2
The Vital Importance of Urgency
Customer Stampede! 4
Why Urgency Is Vital!
Deliberate Chaos 9
Target Audience Exercise
Do Headlines Convert Customers? 31
A precise look at headline-psychology
The Want Factor 34
What do customers really want?
The Want Factor Explained 35
As best as possible...
How To Construct Headlines 38
The Steps to Writing Headlines
The Importance of Sub-Headlines 42
Don’t leave home without it!

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  psychotactics.com   |  
Mayday, Mayday!
Think of a an airport with planes circling around waiting to land. Which plane will be given
access to land first? Why, of course, the plane that got to the airport first, and is waiting for
clearance to land. The other planes simply wait till they get clearance, and then one by one they
land in the sequence they’ve been advised by the control tower.

But imagine a plane on fire

One engine is burning. And the plane needs to land right away. Now what does the control tower
do? Do they say: “Hang on, you just got here and there are five planes in the queue before you?”
A plane on fire is given instant access to landing facilities.

But there’s more...

They’re not just given landing facilities, but additional resources are poured in as well. Fire
trucks, ambulances, and the expert advice of people in the control tower. Suddenly, all the
resources are being put into getting this plane to land in one piece.

What causes such a change in behaviour?

It’s called urgency. The urgency created by the burning engine, first of all, attracts the control
tower’s attention. The control tower is not only alert, but is now bypassing the logical landing
procedure. The control tower is also drawing on several resources all at once, to make sure the
plane lands in one piece.

Let’s mosey on to the customer, shall we?

When you create urgency in the customer’s mind, you create the following:
1) You get the customer’s attention.
2) You bypass the normal pattern (they choose your service/product over something else)
3) The customer digs into their resources to make sure they get what you’re offering.

If you do not create urgency, the customer’s control tower goes back to normal. They buy your
product/service, when they feel like it. You don’t get their instant attention, and heck they’re not
going to dig into their resources to buy what you’re offering.

So it would make sesnse to create urgency, huh?

Except there’s a problem. Urgency is only urgent, because it’s urgent. If everything is urgent,
every single day, then the urgency factor becomes a normality factor. The key to getting and
keeping the customer’s attention, is by making sure that your urgency factor is spaced out.

How much should you space it out?

Who knows? When we’re selling the Brain Audit, we’ll run an urgency every 2 or 3 months or
so. It’s spaced out far enough, so that even if you’re aware of the coming ‘sale’, you still have to
wait 2-3 months. And that’s a pretty long wait.

But the Brain Audit is a regular offering

What if you were offering something that was a one-off. What then? There are several ways to
create an urgency factor. Let’s explore some of the ways, shall we?

1) Buy now or you lose out on the bonuses/discounts.

2) Buy now or you lose out on profits.
3) Buy now till stocks last.
Urgency Factor No.1 : Buy now or you lose on the bonuses:
Notice I said bonuses. I avoided discounts. Discounts are real money. So when you give a
discount, you’re cutting off your profit margin. When you give a bonus, you’re giving a perceived
value. So if you give an additional class, an additional audio, an additional product etc., your

  |  Compelling copy
investment is minimal. Eg: If you give away $50 when you sell a bed, you lose $50. When you give
a bonus worth $50, the bonus may only cost you $10 wholesale, and retail at $50. The customer
still gets $50 worth of product, but your cost is just $10.

When creating an urgency factor, be very specific in your details. Here’s an example of how
specific you need to be.

FREE: The Brain Audit Rip worth $127 when you get the Brain Audit. Only valid till Oct 27,
2005. Judge for yourself at http://www.psychotactics.com/27oct.htm

There is a specific deadline. A specific bonus. And a specific action to be taken. When a customer
sees this offer, they’re very likely to take the specific action you’ve asked them to take. The urgency
factor kicks in, and instead of the ‘planes circling the airport’, they end up buying the product or
service you’re offering.

The key to success isn’t actually the urgency

Urgency gets the customer’s attention. Sure it does. But what if the customer doesn’t take action
now? If you were a pilot and your plane was on fire, would you wait for the control tower to react?
Or would you re-state your message repeatedly? The same applies with your customer. You have to
send out several reminders, including one or two just before the offer ends.

When the offer ends, your page should look like this
As soon as the offer is completed, pull the page down. Don’t be greedy. Your greed will come to bite you
in you-know-where. Your credibility is at stake, so pull down the page right away.

Urgency Factor No2: The Buy Now or you lose on profits

Not all urgency is created by bonuses or discounts. A tremendous amount of urgency can be
created by stressing on the problem. So if your sales letter touches on a factor that is pre-existing,
the customer will be moved to action. For example: If a customer is seeing decreased sales, then
you can create urgency with the statement: Can you really wait another month and watch your
sales slide even lower? How would you like to increase sales right away?

Statemets and questions, like the one above, create drama and urgency because they tap into the
pre-existing situation of the customer. You don’t need to make any offer. Don’t need to have an
urgency date, and can use a statement or question like the one above, repeatedly in your sales
letter.

Remember you’re speaking to a moving audience

A customer reading your note, may not be moved to action today. But while reading the same note
tomorrow, may be the first one off the block to buy your product. So make sure your sales letter is
loaded with problems that the customer needs solving. Problems create urgency.

Urgency Factor No.3: Buy now while stocks last

If you have limited capacity, you can create urgency. Eg: Only 55 packages remaining; only 12
participants allowed; products will not be produced this year. These are all factors of urgency.
When a customer realises there is limited stock, they’re very likely to act right away. You can
create an artificial urgency, as presenters do at events. Eg: The first 30 people to sign up get a
$1000 workshop absolutely free. (Yes, it’s part bonus, and part ‘stocks won’t last’)

What’s clear however, is that urgency is like a plane with an engine on fire. You can and must
create urgency on a regular basis. Use the first type of urgency sparingly. The second type of
urgency can be used all the time. The third type can be used when you’re having an event, or want
to get products moving quicker than normal.

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Customer Stampede: Why Urgency Is Vital
Does your marketing campaign tend to go suddenly quiet? The phone should be ringing off the
hook, your web server should be crashing with the number of orders, yet all you hear is the sound
of silence. One psychological factor could throw your entire marketing campaign out of whack.
What is that factor? And how can it make your campaign come alive again? Read this article to
solve the puzzle.

Grandmas never moved so quickly!

Let’s go back to the 70’s. Imagine we’re in a department store. You, me and a whole lot of other
people. No one seems to be in any sort of hurry. You’re looking at beachwear, I’m looking at
some shirts and we’re not even remotely thinking about jeans. We’re not even thinking of buying
anything.

Then suddenly there’s an announcement.

“Attention, K-Mart shoppers. We have a Blue Light Special in the Men’s department: Levi’s jeans
for only $19.95. Hurry, this sale ends when the blue light stops spinning.”

You hear it before you see it. It’s a low rumble. Then seconds later like an army of wildebeest on
the move, a multitude of shoppers seem to roar ahead. And God help you if you’re in their way!

Mild mannered grandmas turn into menacing Indy 500 racecar drivers. Housewives push, shove
and jostle to avail of the bargain as soon as they can. Teenagers bent on stretching their allowances
join the fray.

Shopping carts tumble, angry words fly. And while the blue light flashes, it sounds like a zoo with
a hundred angry wildebeest.

Which psychological factor creates such a level of pandemonium?

Could it possibly be the bargain factor?

You’d be quick to jump to that conclusion wouldn’t you? I mean a bargain is a bargain is a
bargain. What else is there to consider? What you may have missed in the thunderous stampede is
the fact that the blue light has stopped after a duration of about 15 minutes.

Suddenly there’s a kind of hush.

Notice how the buying euphoria has died down. The shoppers go back to their fitting rooms. They
window shop, perhaps buy a few things. Perhaps not.

You still think it’s the bargain price, don’t you?

So go figure this one out.

It’s Friday, December 22, 2000. Parents across the United States were going bananas in their
attempt to get the mother of all Christmas gifts: The Playstation 2. For some parents, the Bambi
look of their five year old, coupled with the emotional guilt is just too much to handle.

  |  Compelling copy
Here’s what happened next.
• In Georgia, parents rented Playstations at video stores and never returned them.
• In Berryville, Ark., teenagers mugged a father and his son as they walked out of a Wal-Mart, and
stole their PlayStation 2.
• Some parents paid up to $2,500 for the $299 Playstation on Internet auction sites.
• And The Wall Street Journal reported that a 20-year-old Canadian man, who was later arrested
by local police, took $400,000 from desperate customers wanting to get their PlayStations before
Christmas.

As you can see, there were no bargains to be had. In fact, it was quite the opposite. People would
have gladly paid a premium to get what they wanted. So the psychological factor certainly didn’t
hinge on price.

But the words *blue light* and *Christmas* should give you a clue.
Yes indeedy, you’ve guessed it. It’s a sense of urgency. That flashing blue light signalled the
start of the madness. When it was switched off, everything went back to normal. So also with
Christmas. Fancy telling your child that Santa isn’t going to deliver till March. Ooh, there would
be tantrums!

It’s urgency that drives people bonkers.

People? Did I say people? Well your customers are people aren’t they? So if it works for K-Mart
(God bless their soul) and Sony (and theirs too!) why wouldn’t it work for you? And why aren’t you
implementing it in your business?

Because you don’t have products, right?

Yeah any old dodo can put a sense of urgency on their products. Drop the price, do some
promotion, hold back the goods and you create scarcity out of nothing at all. But how do you do
this with services? Admittedly this is much harder.

If you’re dealing with small business...phew!

By default most small businesses are expected to be jugglers. Their 48 hour days and eight arms are
still not quite adequate to handle the twenty squillion issues that pop onto their work desk each
day. They are always on the lookout for a supplier that can offer them a little additional incentive.

So go ahead, offer them the goodies.

Turn on the pressure by offering a whole series of services that would no longer be available after
a certain date. Throw in the email support, drop in the add-on training and lay before them a
smorgasbord of yummy stuff for their business. Hey, they need your service anyway. They don’t
really want to think about it, they just want to put it off till the last possible second.

If you fail to put an urgency factor on the product or service you’re offering to a small business,
something else will take precedence and your offer will be buried under the paperwork, possibly
never to see the light again.

Workshops and training use this urgency tactic extremely well. By restricting the seats and dates,
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they pummel our little brains with the need to improve and grow our businesses. Research has
shown that the maximum numbers of signups are in the second last or last week of a workshop.
The scarcity factor kicks in and the seats get filled.

How to deal with the dinosaurs called Big Business...

Big business looks at you in scorn. Humph! Don’t even try that trick with us, they snort haughtily.
And it’s true. Putting pressure on them is like trying to scare a dinosaur. One swing of the tail and
you’re history. However you’ve got to remember a big business is only a small business with lots of
people.

People with their own agendas, their own little private victories to be won. Aha! There’s le
loophole. Focus your efforts on an individual’s issues, instead of trying to take on the entire
company’s problems.

The key is to tie your service offering to some external compelling event. Something that is
compelling to the buyer. Their fiscal year- ‘Do it now so you can charge it to this year’s budget’ or
results before the next board meeting-’Be a hero at the meeting!’
or demonstrate a solution before the annual stockholder’s meeting -’Solve this problem so that the
CEO can calm the shareholders’.

Big business is like a small business with deeper pockets. If you recognise this fact, you can create
a sense of urgency.

Now don’t forget to look before you cross the road...

And don’t ever back up on your offer. Once it reaches its expiry date, pull the plug on the day
you’ve promised. Your public is watching you all the time. If you get just that bit greedy, they’ll
remember that you’re pliable. One flinch and you’re dead in the water!

Where’s the urgency in your communication?

Urgency is a very powerful psychological factor. It transmogrifies the most unmotivated customer
into fiercely determined buyers. Put the urgency factor into your communication and watch your
customers go bananas, as they scramble to buy your products and services.

And eliminate that sound of silence for good!

  |  Compelling copy
Your Assignment
1) Create an urgency factor for your products and services. Create urgency factors for all three
types of urgency.

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  |  Compelling copy
Deliberate chaos
“You with the green shirt, help me!”

Do you want to volunteer? Probably not, because you aren’t

wearing a green shirt. And if you want to find out the core of
why communication fails, it’s because you, I, and the rest of those
folks out there, make one big boo boo.

We assume our product or service is good for everyone. And so we try

to give it to everyone. Which of course ends up in disaster city.

How do we know it’s disaster city? Well it’s simple, really. Turn the page
over and you’ll how darned important the core of the Brain Audit is.
These exercises should take you no more than ten minutes, but you’ll
realise how easy it is to create effective communication, if and only if
you use the ‘red bags’ as they should be used.

But I’m rambling. So turn the page. And let’s get onto the exercise.

Note: You’re about to read notes that have been excerpted from the ‘Brain Audit Live’ Series.
You’ll actually notice the slight difference in headline fonts and a tweak here or there in terms
of graphic design. This series is only for a select audience. If you would like more information,
email me.

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

As you can tell, the ball above is a beach ball. And your job is to sell the
beach ball. What you need to do is pull out a couple of sheets of paper.
And have a pen handy (always good to have a pen handy). And do the
exercise below.

1) Sell it without problem, solution, or target audience.

2) Sell it without a target audience (include problem and solution)
3) Sell it without a problem (include target audience and solution)
3) Sell it without a solution (include problem and target audience)
4) Sell it with one specific audience in mind and include problem,
solution.
5) Sell it with one specific audience with mind and remove the problem.
6) Sell it with one specific audience in mind, and remove solution.

And what you’ll find, is that it’s tricky, tricky with all of these
combinations. That no doubt, you can sell the product without any of the
above components, but when you add the components...whammo...your
commmunication suddenly becomes so much more effective.

Do you want la-dee-dah communication? Or really effective stuff? Well,

we both know the answer, right? So yes, do the exercise, because I know
you just kept reading, and forgot to do the exercise. It’s quite an eye-
opener, that’s for sure! (Um, if you printed out this document, each page
has a space to answer the questions).

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

1) Sell the ball without a problem, solution or target audience.

(Write down your thoughts below)

2) Sell the ball without a target audience

3) Sell the ball without a problem

4) Sell the ball without a solution

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

5) Sell the ball with one specific audience in mind (and include, problem
and solution)

6) Sell the ball with one specific audience in mind (and remove the
problem)

7) Sell the ball with one specific audience in mind (and remove the
solution)

That’s it. The learning was in the exercise. :)

12  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Target Audience?
Look at a bulls-eye (yes, a bulls-eye on a dart board), and say the
word, ‘target audience’, and instantly, you start feeling like an idiot.
Because right in front of you on that dart board, you see a target, and
it’s a black spot.

And when you aim, you’re really not aiming for ‘audience’, you’re
aiming for the ‘black spot’, or the ‘bulls-eye.’ Of course, you know
what I’m talking about, don’t you? You’re smart enough to understand
that ‘target audiences’ are kinda fictional. That in reality, you’re not
aiming for an ‘audience’, but a ‘bulls-eye’ instead.

Which is why we’re going on this wild and crazy journey, because really
we want to get all the bags off the conveyor belt nice and easy.

And where better to start, than at the core of the Brain Audit, and
communication itself: The target audience. Ooh, audience, did we
say? Let’s just say profile for now, shall we? Because in a few seconds
from now you’ll see just what profile means, and how it makes a huge
different to the ay you think and act.

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Archie or Jughead?
Conventional marketing will lump all your customers in a ball of clay and call
them, um, target audience. So what is this so-called target audience. Surely, we
know that we can’t choose everyone over twelve, for instance, to be our target
audience. Surely one demographic, like say, teenagers, would do the trick. I mean,
we’ve sacrificed the twenty somethings, the thirty somethings, the tweens, and all
the rest.

Is that enough of a sacrifice?

Logically, you’d say yes. Oui, that’s a big sacrifice. Till you take a good, long look
at the Archie vs. Juggie syndrome. Let’s describe Jughead for instance. The kid is
a teenager, but he hates girls. And he loves food. Send him to a party, and he ain’t
interested in the blondes and the redheads. Nope, he heads straight for the food.
Archie on the other hand, does nothing of the sort. The bumbling ‘carrot top’ can’t
get enough of the chicks.

But wait a second, they’re both teenagers, right?

Right. And yes, you knew what was coming in this sentence. You knew that you
were going to be asked to make an even bigger sacrifice. That you were being told
to choose Archie OR Jughead.

And you sigh a deep sigh

But look at the logic. What’s
good for Archie is pretty
darned useless for Jughead.
So why on earth would you
position your products or
services based on an audi-
ence, when you can base it on
a profile? Because even if you
do base the products/services
on an audience, all you’re
going to do is get a profile. So
why not be sensible, and save
time and money, and a lot of
heartache, in the first place?

Teenager? That does

describe Jughead. But
everyone who’s ever picked
up a Archie or Jughead
comic, knows exactly what
Archie or Jughead would be
interested in buying.

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

So what’s a profile?
That’s easy. If you were to describe a person you knew, you’d be able
to work out a profile, wouldn’t you? You’d be able to describe their
quirks, their strong points, their weaknesses. As you described that
person, another person would be able to tell you exactly whom you were
describing.

So if I were to say mild-mannered reporter, shy, comes from a planet

called Krypton–you’d say Superman, right? Well, how did you figure that
one out? Because you knew the profile of the person.

Successful movies, books, comic strips all have one thing in common.
A great story. And you’ve got a great story to tell with your business
products and services. So why not create a great character that you can
sell the story too? Why not create an army of Archies and Jugheads.
Why not create an army of Don Corleones? Or an army of Calvins and
Hobbes? Because once you work out a profile, you’ll suddenly notice that
most of your customers seem to have a very, very similar profile.

In fact, so similar, that if you put them in a room they’d all get along.
They’d be keen to go for lunch. Have dinner together. And there’s a
reason for this behaviour. They see themselves in the other person. The
same ethics, similar likes and dislikes, and share a lot in common.

Are you targeting the Archies of the world? Or the Jugheads? Because they have
different wants, needs and would react differently to an offering, based on their
personality. An army of Archies would head right to the beach, while the army of
Jugheads would head to the beach too–if food was available.

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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

So how do you create a profile?

You start off with your client in mind. Or a client in mind. What do
they look like? What do they like? Where do they live? The reason target
audiences are so hard to get your head around, is because it’s hard to work
out the specs of a target audience. But one person? That’s easy to work
with.

The big mistake we make, is when we sit down to write copy, or create a
speech, or create our business card, we fail to cater to a person and go for
an audience instead.

Magazines draw up a profile. Newspapers draw up a profile. Look at the

magazines below and you’ll see a distinct profile emerging. And while
you’re at it, take a guess at who’s the profile aimed at? For example, with
Men’s Health, do you think it’s aimed at the muscle guys? Or the guys
who get lucky with every girl they meet? Or is it aimed at the average
bloke, who’s looking to do all of the above? It’s an interesting exercise,

Notice the profile? Yes, you can see the muscle bound hunks. So are the muscle guys buying
the magazine? Hah, think again. Notice the profile: Build Muscle ‘Fast’; Food and Health;
and yes, Sex. And can you guess the profile of the reader for PCWorld below?

16  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

At Psychotactics, we create a profile by basing what wer’e going to sell

or teach on a customer we know well. So for instance, I’d choose Tricia.
And I know Tricia’s background. I know she lives in a far off town in
Canada. I know that she has two kids. I know that she’s hard-working,
but struggles to get new customers. And with this basis of understanding,
I am able to draw a profile, pretty much like detectives do.

Of course, I have an advantage. I can speak to the client. I can exchange

emails. I can get to know who they are; what they do; their fears and joys.
And then I create a workshop, product, or series with that profile in mind.

Which of course, brings up the question...

What if I don’t have a client base? What if I’m just starting up. Well, there
are two answers to that question, but let’s just take on one. Let’s assume
you wanted a reasonably good client. What would that client be like? Can
you describe the client? Would they be nasty and spiteful? Would they be
kind and helpful? Can you think of someone in your family whom you
don’t like? Would this client be exactly like that person? Or could you,
perhaps create a client that’s completely opposite of the person whom you
don’t like? Or could you mix and match, taking a few good qualities and
reversing the bad ones.

Why bother going through this exercise?

Because it helps you get in the client’s shoes. For the first time, instead
of an audience, you’re actually aiming at a person. A ‘living, breathing’
profile. And the more you think about it, the more you’re going to be able
to create a product or service around that person.

So when I created the Treadmill (which has since been discontinued), I

was clear in my mind that it was for Tricia. When I created the Protege
Program, I was clear it was NOT for Tricia. Even as I write this, the Inner
Circle Program is being put together. I know right now, who will go in
that Inner Circle and who will not. The profile is clear in my mind. And
so instead of struggling with the copy; the words; the thoughts, I now
have little or no struggle at all. Because when I create the product/service,
as well as the sales letter or pitch, I know who will respond, and who will
back away.

This clarity doesn’t come overnight. But there’s got to be a starting point.
And the starting point, is to create the profile and refine it as you go
along. As you go along these notes, you will find that you not only have
to create, but tweak the profile as well. But hey, we’re jumping steps. Let’s
slow down, shall we?

So stop and draw up a profile. And then work out the three main things
that specific person would be interested in. Just like Men’s Health profile
on the previous page, what are the main ‘wants and needs’ of the person
you are profiling?
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 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

And when you’ve done that, don’t rest easy quite yet. Your life’s work isn’t
finished. Because when you drew up that profile, you also had an idea of
what the product or service was going to be like. And while the profile
may fit one product or service nicely, it ain’t going to wash with all your
products and services.

The profile for the customer who comes to Psychotactics, is totally

different from the profile of the customer who joins 5000bc. Yes,
they’re both seeking answers, but that’s about the only thing in
common. The Psychotactics profile is more likely to be a beginner. The
5000bc profile is someone who’s read the Brain Audit, has seen some

This is the Red Bull site. Do you think they are after a
certain kind of profile? Have you seen their advertising?
Does it seem to speak to an esoteric audience?

18  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

The Mirror Effect

You think the world is looking at your product. And nothing could be
further than the truth, from that concept. The world ain’t looking at you,
baybeh. They’ve got a mirror they’re looking at. It’s kinda like looking
through a one-way mirror. You think your clients are looking at you or
your product, but they’re looking at themselves.

Hmmm...scary thought, eh?

But the facts bear themselves out. Look at the colour of the shirts you
buy. Look at the sizes you choose. Look at the price you think is most
suited for you. You’re buying for you.

Of course, this means that your profile needs to work out a host of
parameters that the customer could consider, before buying into
your product or service.

The list goes something like this:

1) Colour
2) Shape
3) Font
4) Timing
5) Medium of launch
6) Size
7) Pricing
8) Portability

And that’s just scratching the surface. Sure you’ve built up a profile of a
client. Now it’s time to work out what they see in themselves. Because
anyway, they’re only going to choose what they like anyway. So you
trying to drive them crazy with something they don’t like, is kinda
counter-productive.

Can you see the Red Bull can above?

Notice the colour? It’s zany. Guess who the audience is? See the font
used? It’s bold and aggressive. Red Bull was launched through (surprise,
surprise) a zany, bold, aggressive audience of party-goers. It was launched
in universities among ‘the influencers’. And if you go further into detail,
you’ll see that the size of the can is slightly taller, slightly more unique
than any other can out there. Of course, all the factors above don’t
apply. But it’s good to have a good range of factors to consider, because
everything in your brand has emotion and drama to it.

  psychotactics.com   | 19 
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

So yeah, this works for Red Bull, but you’re no Red Bull. You’re a web
designer, or a copywriter, or run a consulting business, or sell product off
the Internet. How’s this one-way mirror going to help you?

At Psychotactics, we have many products and services. And each service

and product can literally be identified by profile, colour, font, pricing, tone
etc.

Example 1: Brain Audit

(http://www.brainaudit.com/hiddenlink.php)
Colour: Red
Font: Georgia/ Adobe Garamond (Modern, Stylish)
Medium of Delivery: E-book
Size: Quick, insightful read
Tone: Light-hearted, yet logical.
Pricing: Higher end of e-books

Now what does this tell you about the customer?

Notice the ‘serious-business’
Example 2: Website Strategy Workshop overtones of the Website
(http://www.psychotactics.com/websitehomestudy.htm) Masterclass Homestudy?
Colour: Black
Font: Bold, Heavy
Medium of Delivery: Live 3 Day Intensive Session
Pricing: High end
Tone: Serious Strategy

20  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Who’s the audience?

Do the colours, shape, tone, font tell a story? Sure they do! And you
didn’t stop long enough to think about it before, did you? Well, now
you know better. The funny thing is that the client sees the tone, shape,
font, colour in themselves.

And it’s time you sat down and worked out the look and feel your
customer could possibly want. Don’t worry, you’ll find the customer
is more like you than you believe. But do the exercise for now. Just sit
down and work out the profile and then one-way mirror concept.
  psychotactics.com   | 21 
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

The Watering Hole

Michael and I were having a discussion. Michael is a lawyer who was keen on
creating a profile, create the mirror effect, and then find the watering hole.

As the discussion progressed, Michael suddenly realised that his top clients had a
similar profile. In fact, Michael got to this realisation, by elimination. He realised
the clients that were wasting their time vs. those who were great clients. And he
found the great clients had a similar profile.

These clients weren’t business people. They weren’t small business people. This
audience of his was kinda Red Bull-like. They were entrepreneurs. Strong, decisive,
keen to see results, and get from A to B quickly. Strong colours, fonts etc., were
something they could relate to quite easily.

But that didn’t solve Michael’s problem

Sure he had the profile, but the profile wasn’t going to get him more customers.
But something else would. A concept called Watering Hole. If you’re out in the
jungle, and it’s raining buckets, the entire jungle is a watering hole for the animals.
But in the summer, when the sun burns on the parched landscape, the animals
have to come to the watering hole.

Your clients don’t need to network or meet if the sky opens on them with torrents
of customers. But they do need to meet to brainstorm, get new clients etc. And
therefore they congregate around a watering hole.

So what was Michael’s watering hole?

Entrepreneurs, right? Well, put a Y before the E. And an O after the E. Ok, ok,
it’s spelt as YEO (Young Entrepreneurs Organisation). And while you can stumble
on this watering hole quite by mistake, it’s easier to know what to reject when you
have a profile. So a profile would teach you that though home-businesses may seem
to be good idea at first, they end up being pretty lousy (at least for Michael). It also
tells Mike how he should dress. How his product should be presented. What the
colours and fonts should be.

Watering holes aren’t hard to find once you have a profile. Guess where most iPods
are being refilled these
days? You guessed it. And
for a change, Apple.com
actually takes computers
off their home page. As
Alice would have said,
“This gets curiouser and
curiouser.”

22  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

At Psychotactics, we know our watering holes well. Our watering hole for
Psychotactics is paid-forums. For the Brain Audit, it’s the Psychotactics
Newsletter. For 5000bc members, it’s Brain Audit buyers. For the year-
long Protege Program, it is members of 5000bc.

But this brings us to a point where we get lazy

We think we know it all. And we fail to challenge our assumptions.
Instead of creating a factor of certainty; instead of tweaking and
tweening, we kinda take it easy. And that’s a grande mistake. Because
you’re missing out on the opportunity to create a sharper, more focused
message.

So how do you create certainty?

You survey. Yes, you can survey non-buyers. But the best survey is always
done with buyers. They’ve swiped their credit cards. They feel pain. They
see results. They’re going to tell you, if you’re willing to listen. Always ask
for the brutal truth, and put your feelings in the bottom drawer. If you
resist hearing the ‘bad stuff’, then customers won’t tell you. They’ll avoid
hurting your feelings, and feedback will not be as accurate. Stress on the
need to give ‘good, bad as well as ugly feedback’.

So what’s this feedback going to cover?

1) Why did you buy/sign up?
2) Why now? What stopped you till this very moment?
3) What did you find as a result of buying/signing up?
(See the results of this ‘so-called simple survey’ on the next page)

And before you think one survey’s enough...it’s not

You need to survey your audience at least 3-4 times a year. The reason?
Because the audience grows. The questions may remain the same, but the
answers change as your audience grows.

A person who buys an iPod today, may just be happy to get the darn
thing working. But tomorrow, that very same person is looking for
features and add ons. The day after, they’re looking for even more
functionality. And how are you going to know what they want, unless
you keep asking?

You’ve just inherited the curse of the Shifting Profile. Ok, so it’s not a
curse, but it’s still shifting all the time. And to keep up, you’ve got to keep
surveying. Once customers sign up/join/buy, your questions will change.

1) What do you like? What can we give you more of?

2) What bugs you? What can we fix?
3) Any suggestions, no matter how big or small

  psychotactics.com   | 23 
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Notice how the headline and the entire tone of 5000bc changed when we
suddenly...um...realised that the profile of 5000bc members was more a
factor of getting quick and reliable answers in marketing. And a place where
they can find a warm community that will help them to move ahead.
24  |  Compelling copy
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

The scariest part

Steve Jobs didn’t create the iPod for you. He created it for himself.
Jack Johnson didn’t write his music for you. He wrote it for himself.
I don’t write my articles for you. I write it for myself.

Yeah, I know, scary stuff.

But it’s true. We start out in business with skills. And then we try to pass
on those skills to others who follow. So in effect, the client you seek, is
simply an early version of yourself.

Which of course, solves the problem: What if I have a new business? How
do I profile my client? Well, you simply profile yourself. What is your
idea of an ideal website? What would you want to see in a brochure if you
bought a product? How much detail would you like to have if you read
an article? The answers will provide an illuminating insight into what the
customer wants.

But hey, waitaminit Sean...didn’t you say that you are not your own
customer. Ooh, come to think of it, I did. And you’re not. Your customer
is at one level. Has certain needs and wants. And you’re at a different
level. So it is true. You are in effect, not your customer. You can fly
through Microsoft Word, or Photoshop. You take stuff for granted that
your customer can’t even start to fathom. Your tastes have changed from
$5 wine to $20 wine. You are indeed sounding like your future customer,
but may not be your current customer. You are both at different points i
the road, and unless you have a bird’s eye view, you may not tell how big
the gap really is.

To close the gap, do the survey.

And one final piece of advice. Be authentic. Create for your customers
what you would expect for yourself. And you can’t ever go wrong.

  psychotactics.com   | 25 
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Your Action Plan

1) Create a profile: Give the person a name and character.
2) What does this character look like? Describe the person, and you’ll get the
mirror effect of fonts, colours, likes, dislikes etc.
3) Establish watering holes.

Things to do later:
1) Put together a survey that you send the client after the sale.
2) Put together and send a survey 3-4 times a year.

Your Checklist
Creating a Profile
Name
Title
Characteristics
Patterns

The Mirror Effect

Profile
Colour
Shape
Font
Timing
Medium
Size
Pricing

Where To Find Customers

Watering Holes
Certainty
Shifting Profile (reassessment)

26  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Examples & Additions

Contributed by: Wolf Gabor (www.marketingcommando.hu)

Demographics
- how old are they?
- what is their job title?
- how much money do they make a month, a year?

Lifestyle
- what is a day like in their lives?
- where do they live?
- what do they drive?
- what things do they like buying?
- what are their hobbies?

Information:
- where do they search for information on (subject related to my biz)
- how informed are they about my business?
- how informed to they consider themselves? (big difference!)

Media usage
- what media do they read, listen to, watch, click, consume etc?
- are they members in any professional association of interest?
- is there a good list they’re on?

Similar purchases
- have they bought from a competitor before?
- what similar products have they bought before?
- how were they marketed to, sold to before?

Problem
- do they know they have a problem?
- how does this problem manifest in their lives?
- what makes them toss and turn at night?

Objections
- what are their main objections, and
- criticisms about my business/ my offer / similar offers
- what do they hate about my industry?
- what preconceptions do they have?

Can you add to this list? It sure would be nice if you could help build this
list more comprehensive. Email me at sean@psychotactics.com

  psychotactics.com   | 27 
 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Example No. 2
Contributed by: Damian Driessen (www.itmetrix.com)

Can you add your mind map to this document? Email me your mind map at
sean@psychotactics.com

28  |  Compelling copy

 Excerpt from the Brain Audit Live Series

Example No. 3
Contributed by: Andy and Debbie Perkins (www.pazon.com)

His name is Dale and he lives in Kansas, U.S.A.

We would describe him as a gentleman farmer; he owns a pig farm of 2000 sows and
3000 acres of land. He has a large collection of classic & vintage bikes (around 30).

He is a mature (late 60’s) professional, in a high income bracket and highly

knowledgeable in his own field. He is passionate about his bikes. He is proud and
competitive, loves to show them and have them featured in magazines.

Although being a lover of classic bikes, we would say that he is open to new technology
and is something of a perfectionist. He is sociable and has a great sense of humour.

3 Main Characteristics
Sociable and friendly
Nostalgic
Driven and ambitious

What He’s Looking For

He wants someone to listen to his needs and help solve the running problems with
his classic bikes. He wants a product that offers the best performance and reliability
available, but also wants a good deal.
He expects good after-sales service.

Watering Holes
Vintage motorcycle shows.
Vincent motorcycle owners club & forum.
Vintage motorcycle club meetings & events.
Classic bike magazines and newsletters.

Can you add to this your example to this list? It sure would be nice if you
could help build this information more comprehensive and if we had
examples from different industries.

Email me at sean@psychotactics.com

  psychotactics.com   | 29 
30  |  Compelling copy
Aha, finally...Headlines
Which bringeth us all the way to headlines.

So why the big pre-amble?

Why did we have to learn about urgency? And go into so much depth into target
audience that we literally had to do a profile? And why did we then why did we
have to learn about ‘watering holes?’ And goodness gracious, do we have to roll all
of this out at once?

Nope, you don’t.

But you have to understand the background of what makes headlines and
copywriting so powerful. That if you simply fluff and sit down and write a
headline, all you’re doing is writing a line. That’s it.

Now, it’s not as if to say that the line won’t work.

It’s just that you’re digging deeper.
You’re getting closer to how your client thinks. How they act. And what they do.
And in some ways you’re actually becoming your customer.

All of which is a great starting point for understanding how to create outstanding headlines. So
are you ready to enter the world of headlines? You bet you are...so let’s go!

  psychotactics.com   | 31 
Do Headlines Convert Customers?
Actually they don’t

Headlines are like a lighthouse in the dark. Their job is to get your attention. And it’s precise
attention. While the lighthouse is nothing more than an annoyance to land-based folk, it’s a
beacon in the night to sailors. A sailor is a precise target audience. Likewise, headlines need to be
extremely precise with the target audience factor. You must flag down the audience you’re looking
for, by using words, terminology or information that’s directly recognisable by the audience.

And of course, there’s the problem

The lighthouse literally warns of rocks that have the ability to destroy a ship. That’s why a
lighthouse gets attention. Look at your headlines as lighthouses. As a system—yes system—to
get your customer’s attention. A headline without the strongest, most powerful beam, is like a
lighthouse that is running on candles. It’s doesn’t get the attention of the target audience at all.
And therefore, your ad, your sales page, your article and even your presentation will struggle, if
you don’t get instant attention.

So how do you get attention?

In one short word: Curiosity. Curiosity may have killed Garfield (the cat), but it sure as hell drives
human beings to distraction. Did I say distraction? I meant attraction. Do you notice how the TV
shows show you exactly what to expect in the next episode? Do you realise why you keep listening
to the radio show about the big secret, that the radio announcer is going to tell you about after
the break? Magazine covers, newspaper headlines, radio announcers­—they all use the power of
curiosity.

So stop for a second and look at your headline

Does it sound curious? And how do you make it curious?
How To is a great start.
Why is also a big pull.

So if you take a headline and break it into its component parts, you’ll find that many headlines
have a component of ‘how-to’, of ‘Why’ and of ‘Problem/Solution.’

So let’s look at improving some really good headlines

1) Protect your tyres against road-hazards.
2) How to protect your tyres against road-hazards.
3) How city-drivers can protect their tyres against road-hazards.
4) How city-drivers can protect their tyres against road-hazards
(And save over $75 in tyre costs annually, by making tiny changes)

You can quite easily see the progression of how the headline got better and better, didn’t you? You
also managed to prove to yourself that a headline doesn’t need to be short. In fact, some of the
best headlines are longer, not for the sake of being long, but because they’re more complete in their
details, thus attracting precisely the audience they’re seeking.

So the first headline: Protect your tyres against road-hazards.

This is a great headline. In fact, this was one of a series of headlines that did exceedingly well.
And while it scores high on problems and solutions, it kind of skirts the precise target audience. By
missing out on the ‘how’ and ‘why’, it also deprives the headline of an increased level of curiosity.

Once the headline puts in a how-to, it quickly moves from just being a statement, to an editorial
of sorts. And the more editorial looking your headlines sounds, the more it has a chance of being
noticed.

Of course, once you put in a very specific target audience, you’re really rolling. Yes, it’s likely that
32  |  Compelling copy
many country dwellers aren’t going to see the ad at all, but hey, what do you really want? A whole
bunch of unqualified buyers, or buyers who’ve pre-qualified themselves? When you specify the
target audience, you also start thinking very clearly about the audience you are writing for. When
you write with no one in mind, or for a general audience, you don’t really get into the shoes of
that audience. However, when you narrowly focus on the audience you’re looking at, you start to
notice, and thereby convey things that appeal to a specific audience and no one else. As you know
instinctively, city drivers have different issues from country-drivers. And women drivers have
different issues from men drivers.

Finally the last headline combines

1) Problem
2) Solution
3) Target Audience
4) Does it’s bit for curiosity with a How To
5) Has a sub-head that brings in the factor of money (results)

The factor of money is what drives people. We may cringe at the thought of pandering to the
‘money-God’, but the reality of life, is that we’re all looking towards a result. Money, in most
cases, is the common denomination.

But what if you are a physiotherapist? Where’s the money?

True. There ain’t much money in sight, is there? So what you need to do is provide results in the
sub head. For example: Does knee pain keep you from jogging? (Presenting a natural way to reduce
inflammation and run without pain).

Notice how specific the audience is? Every headline can be tweaked and shuffled like songs on an
Ipod, to make the headline more effective with each shuffle. But how do we bring money in the
picture, into something like jogging? Let’s look at the headlines and notice how the subheadlines
change.

Before: Does knee pain keep you from jogging? (Presenting a natural way to run without pain).
After: Does knee pain keep you from jogging? (Presenting a natural way to run without pain and save
hundreds of dollars in medical bills)

See? We managed to get money in the picture!

And so can you. When you’re sitting down to write a headline the next time around, first start
with your target audience. Be as specific as you can possibly be. Then move to that audience’s
specific problem. And the solution you’re offering. Make sure you have a dose of curiosity in
your headline. And top it off with a sub-head that contains money or results. Yes, you can have a
problem/solution all over again in the sub head, ad you can see from the headlines above.

The headline is indeed the first attention getter. And hey, you can improve your headline writing
skills by looking at headlines from the days gone by. You can find a booklet that has 100 ads (and
consequently 100 headlines). The booklet is about 35mb, and well worth the wait. To get it, go to
http://www.5000bc.com/copywriting/pdfs/oldads.pdf
The Role of the Want Factor
I’ll tell you what customers don’t want.
They don’t want marketing. They don’t want sales courses. They don’t want your product. They
don’t want your service. They don’t want what you’re selling at all. All they really want, is the
result. So remember that you can certainly try to sell your product or service, and make sales,
but understand it’s not what customers are buying.

And here’s a really tough concept coming up...

Your customer doesn’t know what they want. They say they want something, but they want
something else. Yes, I know. It’s weird. But we all have hidden agendas. And what’s worse, is
that we don’t even know what those agendas are, in many a case.

So how do you find out the want factor?

As I said, there’s no easy answer for this:
1) Ask your customer what they want?
2) Sit back and think of what really frustrates them about getting to that want.

Q: What do you want to do by going to Weight Watchers?

Ans: I want to lose weight.

Q: What frustrates them about losing weight?

A: They keep eating food. They can’t control their eating. They love food.

Ergo: The hidden want= Love food.

Example 2:
Q: Why are you doing this leadership course?
A: To get more control of my leadership and control my staff better

Q: What frustrates them about their staff?

A: They don’t have the confidence to be called a leader

Ergo: The hidden want is confidence

Example 3:
Q: Why are you going to a website workshop?
A: To get more customers and make my website more profitable.

Q: What frustrates you about the customers and profit?

A: I’ve got such a small customer list that I can never make a profit from it.

Example 4:
Q: Why are you buying a Rolex?
A: Because I want a nice watch

Q: What frustrates you about other watches?

A: They’re not as rugged as a Rolex.

Not true. He’s buying the Rolex because of style. Because everything about the Rolex screams
money and expensive. That’s why people buy houses in fancy areas of town. That’s why teenagers
buy iPods instead of just another mp3 player.

I said it wasn’t easy. But at least this way you know there’s a hidden agenda. Keep searching. You
don’t always find it, the first time around.

34  |  Compelling copy

The Want Factor Explained
Let’s assume you desperately want to knock off some weight. And you’re serious enough to get
onto a structured eating system.

Let’s also assume, you were presented with two diets

Diet 1 consists of:

Chocolate.
Cake. Maybe even chocolate cake.
Pasta with Cheese. Some butter chicken.
Vegetables.
Fruit.

Diet 2 consists of:

Vegetables.
More vegetables.
Fruit.
More fruit.
The occasional cake or chocolate

Don’t tell me which one you’ve chosen

I already know.

But hang on a second. You said you needed to lose weight, right? So you know darned well, that
Diet No.2 is the one to choose.

So why on earth are you eyeing Diet No.1?

Because you know what you need. But it’s not what you want. You want to eat. You want to drink.
You want to enjoy yourself, not watch in envy as others around have a rollicking time, while you’re
on another silly boiled veggie diet.

And that’s where Weight Watchers comes in

To quote their website: Eat all the foods you love on the Flex Plan… -Enjoy the full range of food
options, while making better choices with the POINTS system. -Choose any food, as long as you
control how much you eat. -Easily handle any food challenge, even when choices are limited.

Notice what they just sold you?

Not what you need. But what you want. The people that go to Weight Watchers aren’t veggie
eaters.

Not by a long shot.

The customers at Weight Watchers lurrrve their food. They adore their wine. They want their ice-
creams and their chocolate. And Weight Watchers gives them what they want--namely the ability
to eat what they want--as long as they stick to the eating plan.

It’s the same reason why teenagers buy pimple cream

It isn’t because of the rich, wonderful perfume. Teens give a damn about the perfume. What they
want is to have flawless skin--so they can get a date.

So look at the pimple cream ad on TV

What’s it talking about? It’s talking about the darned texture of the cream. It’s talking about the
  psychotactics.com   | 35 
fragrance. It’s talking about the new packaging. Oh c’mon give me--and all those teenagers out
there a break.

They don’t care about the whiz bang features of your cream.
They don’t care about your background or your company heritage. They don’t care about your la-
dee-dah packaging.
They just want the date, get it? The date. Nothing but the date. And only the date. So sell them
the date, will ya?

Businesses make this mistake every thirty five seconds :)

They try and sell software.

They try and sell marketing strategies.
They try and sell copywriting services.
They try and sell better websites.

But does the customer really want any of the above?

Like hell they do. If someone on the next block--or even the next planet, was able to promise your
customer money, freedom and respect, your customers would all be exiting through la salida,
mucho rapidemente! Yes, without so much as sniffing your strategies, software, websites or
whatever it is you’re selling.

I want you to listen carefully to what I have to say...

Because it will get you more customers--and hence more

profits than ever before.

Ask your customer what they want. Then give them what they want. Word for word.

Don’t get all misty-eyed with the product or the service you’re selling. It ain’t going to help you sell
better. Or more. Or more often.

And here’s what you need to do.

Do some research

No, not some $85,000 research. Just speak to your customers. Ask them what they want most for
their business.

Possibly even make a list of possible things your customers

could want, and then get them to rate what’s most important
on the list. Then collate the list. And put the things that your customers reeeeeeally want, at the
top of the list.

Weight Watchers is teaching you a lesson...

But are you listening? Weight Watchers knows fully well what
the customer needs. But they sell what the customer wants.
Because eventually by tapping into the wants, Weight Watchers
is able to give the customers what they really need--namely
weight reduction and overall fitness. Not to speak of improved
eating habits.

But Weight Watchers knows that the motivation can only come
from eating the yummy stuff--and almost never from munching boring broccoli.
36  |  Compelling copy
The secret is always in the want.

As in: I want my MTV. I want my IPod. And all I want for

Christmas is my two front teeth! :)

  psychotactics.com   | 37 
How to Construct Headlines
The most important thing before you write anything down is:
1) To do your research
2) To get inside your customer’s brain by writing a short synopsis

1) Do your research. Find out what customers want. What frustrates them. What would a perfect
world look like to them? And what bugs the heck out of them? Ask these questions in person. Ask
them at forums. Ask, ask and ask.

The questions you can ask are:

1) What are your frustrations about..............?
2) What frustrates you about................?
3) What would a perfect world look like? Explain in detail.
4) What would help you reach these goals? What’s stopping you?

This assumes that your customer already knows about the product or service. If they don’t, then
you need to educate them. If they don’t know about noise cancelling headphones, for instance,
then they need to be educated about the concept first. Then only can you ask the questions above.
Remember, the questions above are just guidelines. You’ll still have to listen carefully to what the
customers really want.

If you’re dealing with your own product: Don’t assume you know what customers are buying.
Remember they have a hidden agenda. So keep asking.
If you’re dealing with an external product/service: Don’t assume you know about the product or
service. When you dig you find amazing stuff. I found out, for instance, that a coffee chain only
used $6000 coffee machines. Why? Because the coffee was extra fresh, ground and served seconds
before being served. The devil is always in the details. If you don’t do your homework, you’ll fail.
Yeah, just like school.

Write a small synopsis:

Who is your customer?
What do they want?
What do they say they want?
Why do they want it?
What frustrates them?
How would their perfect world look like?

If you do just the two steps of 1) research and 2) a small synopsis, you’ll be better off than 90% of
all marketers, who never do their homework at all.

Which brings us to an important point.

What are the components of headlines?

Are you avoiding learning about headlines because you’re not a copywriter? Better not, because no
matter whether you make a PowerPoint Presentation, sales call, or write an email, you’re going to
need this information. The last thing you need is a headline that will go glug glug and take your
marketing strategy down with it.

Ok, now that I’ve got your attention, belt up as we roller coaster our way into the science of how
to recognise the power behind the headline. Find out for yourself the precise psychological reasons
why headlines entice us so.

How We’re Going to Play the Headline Game

Let me play tour guide. First, I’ll give you three sets of headlines that really work. I’ll identify the
trigger in the headline. Then I’ll tell you the psychological reasons WHY they work. Right after
that you take over and implement these headlines in your marketing strategy. Comprende? Si?
38  |  Compelling copy
Psychological Trigger No. 1
Question-Based vs. Statement-Based Headlines
Do you make these mistakes in English?
Do you know where you fail in your marketing strategy?
Is Internet marketing driving you crazy?

Ladies and Gentlemen…Presenting the question-based headline! A headline that beats the living
daylights out of a straightforward statement-based headline. When tested, a question like Do you
know where you fail in your marketing strategy? gets far more attention than This is where you’re
failing in your marketing strategy. Which one would get your attention more: Don’t struggle to
pay your bills or Are you struggling to pay your bills?

So why does the brain go wakawaka when faced with a question - based headline? The reason is
simple. Questions irritate the brain causing your grey cells to do a neurological dance. The very
sight of a question mark forces your brain to want to know more.

Do you have a statement in your headline? You do, huh. Well swap it around for a question and
then move to psychological trigger No. 2.

Psychological Trigger No. 2

Problem-Based vs. Solution-Based Headlines
Struggling to get ahead in your small business?
Is your computer’s lack of speed driving you crazy?
Is your marketing strategy missing a vital link?

Now that you know the power of questions, these are double whammy headlines! They not only
get your brain whizzing like a wind-up toy, but they also bring to the fore a pain in your brain. If
your brain is doing mental aerobics right now, it’s because these headlines are causing you some
real grief and you are the precise target audience.

You identify with these problems and are keen to solve them. The brain is fixated with solving
problems. It’s a basic survival instinct kicking in. For thousands of years, the brain has been
moonlighting.

While its primary function is to make sure the rest of your body parts do what they’re supposed
to, its side job is to keep you alive. Therefore it actively goes in search of potential problems you
may have, and when it sees one in the headline, it says, “That’s for me!” and goes straight for the
problem-based headline.

Yet look at most of the advertising around you. It’s all solution based. You see it, then you don’t.
Recycle your solution-based headline into a nice problem-based power pack.

Done it? Ok, let’s go screaming in to psychological trigger No. 3.

Psychological Trigger No. 3

Curious vs. Non-Curious Headlines
Notice the headline for this article? It has the word these in it. These implies there are certain
psychological triggers. Now how the heck will you know which ones they are if you don’t start
reading this article? Sure you might be the living guru of marketing headlines, but even you can’t
be one hundred percent sure.

You’ll take a peek, you think. A small peek. And you do, except it’s a very slippery slide once you
get on, my friend.

A skillful communicator knows that he or she must get the curiosity factor to move bag and
baggage into your headline. It’s the key to literally sucking in an audience. Then it’s really up to
  psychotactics.com   | 39 
the quality of the content, flow and your ability to keep your audience mesmerised.

Headlines with curiosity work because the brain is intensely curious. Tell a person not to look
behind the door, and they want to look. Tell them they cannot have something and they want to
know why. Analysis is all part of Mr. Brain’s job.

Every question needs to be answered, otherwise it pounds in your head like a jackhammer with
questions that incessantly go Why? Why? Why? (Read the Power of Why) When you create a
curiosity factor, you are literally switching on every single light in your customer’s brain.

Headlines with a HOW TO in them are typical curiosity-based headlines. They imply a problem
that you might have and need to solve. And to prove my point, look at the next line and see how
your eye goes wham, right into it!

How to Construct Headlines Without Making a Complete Mess of Things

Let me show you how I’d go about it. For instance, I wrote a lot of potential headlines for this
article. These were the final four:

1) Psychological Reasons Why These Headlines Work Like Magic

2) Which Precise Psychological Reasons Cause These Headlines To Work Like Magic?
3) Is Your Marketing Strategy Missing These Precise Psychological Triggers?
4) Are Your Headlines Missing These Precise Psychological Triggers?

Let’s Get These Guys on a Couch, Shall We?

1) Psychological Reasons Why These Headlines Work Like Magic
This headline had only one of the features above. It had a curiosity factor. However, it lacked
a question and it certainly scored a big zero on the problem factor. Needless to say, it soon
backspaced itself into oblivion.

2) Which Precise Psychological Reasons Cause These Headlines To Work Like Magic?
Ooh, this one was pretty powerful. It had the question. It was packed with curiosity, but it kind of
fell flat faced on the problem audit. Goodbye, Monsieur Headline.

3) Is Your Marketing Strategy Missing These Precise Psychological Factors?

This one scored on all points. Curiosity, problems and question sat merrily together, expecting me
to be as pleased as punch. I was, till I noticed one little discrepancy. It was appealing to the wrong
target audience.

This headline would attract people who were interested in marketing strategy not headlines. They
would come in, find themselves in the wrong room, drink a glass of wine and sneak out. I needed
people to stay for the party. I needed people who were interested in headlines. People like you.
Inevitably, I had to refine it just a little bit. And here’s what I came up with.

4) Are Your Headlines Missing These Precise Psychological Triggers?

I personally believe this one was the most powerful of the lot. If it were a guy, I’d let him marry
my daughter (if I had one) and give him my blessings. This headline not only encapsulated all
the triggers above, but it was precisely positioned. It went for a niche audience and got their full
attention.

What’s Abraham Lincoln Got To Do With Headlines?

Abe apparently said, “If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I’d spend the first four sharpening
the axe.” Your headline is what you need to spend most of your time sharpening.

You see, people are always in their own world, thinking about their own problems. If you don’t
snap them out of their reverie, you don’t have the slightest chance of getting them to buy in to
whatever it is you’re selling.

40  |  Compelling copy

There’s Also Another Dimension to this Sharpening Gig
You can’t be totally satisfied with the headline merely if it fits these three parameters. That is the
science, not the art. The art is getting inside the brain of your customers. You’ll find that a slightly
different headline will bring in as much as twenty to two thousand times better returns without
any change in content.

The only way you can know which one works better is to test headlines. Testing isn’t as hard
as you think. Put it in an email and send it to a dozen friends and colleagues. You’ll soon get a
pattern and probably some valuable feedback. Take it. It will help you carve a headline that will
really get your customer’s attention.

Do You Need All Three Psychological Triggers Working at Once?

No you don’t. A headline can work perfectly well with one or two of the above psychological
triggers.

In life, three may be a crowd, but in headlines, it’s the more the merrier. Use the power of
headlines in your marketing strategy, your PowerPoint presentations, sales calls, emails,
newsletters, and even articles like these.

Better headlines mean better bottom lines. Simple logic, eh?

  psychotactics.com   | 41 
The Importance of Sub-Headlines
Headlines love the limelight.

So?

That doesn’t mean sub-headlines aren’t doing their fair share of work. Remember, we’re still in the
attractor mode. And sub-headlines can do one of two things.

1) They can provide an instant solution.

2) They can aggravate the problem.

Eg: If you don’t have 10,000+ customers on your mailing list, (like all those internet gurus) how
are you supposed to run a profitable website business?

(And how do you create a website that not only attracts more customers, but actually gets customers to
keep coming back and spending larger sums of money each time?)

Notice the sub-head above? It’s aggravating the problem. And doing a fine job too? It keeps up the
pressure.

Eg: Wouldn’t you like to write copy that turns tentative prospects into red-hot clients?

(Learn the step by step system to increase your profit and get your products and services selling faster
than ever before!

This sub-headline actually provides a system. Provides a balm to the problem. So yes, a sub-head
can go both ways. But one thing is certain. Get that sub-head and get it to work for you, instead
of leaving the headline with all the glory. We’re looking to attract in this phase, so bring out all
the attractors, instead of just one attractor.

More examples:
Have you seen a customer back out of a deal at the very last minute?
(Don’t you feel like tearing your hair out when they do that?)

Is your next website or business card going to be a huge waste of money? Do you know precise
psychological branding triggers to ensure that it never happens?

Hmmm....two sub-heads. Did you see that?

42  |  Compelling copy

Your Assignment
1) Write 10 headlines for one specific topic of your choice.
2) Can you get money into the headline or subheadline?
3) Look through the booklet with 100 ads. It’s important to study ads that worked. Print out the
booklet if you can, and keep a copy in your archives. Read your notes, and you’ll find the link ;)

  psychotactics.com   | 43 
 If you find anything that bugs you, please click on
the bug above to send me an email. Nothing is too
small or too big. And if I can, I’ll be sure to fix it.
sean@psychotactics.com

PO Box 36461, Northcote, Auckland, New Zealand

Tel: 64 9 449 0009 Email: sean@psychotactics.com