dangerous-

Ever watch a movie that made you cry?

…or maybe even a commercial?

Ever notice that listening to certain songs can make you feel a certain way?

You see, the creators of the movie/ commercial/ music intentionally designed their content to engineer a specific emotional response in you.

Hold that thought-

In ancient Greece, Aristotle did a lot of thinking about the science of persuasion.

How do you effectively convince someone of something?

He recognized that this was a key component of success in politics and education…

…but it’s also critical for success in marketing, even interpersonal relationships.

The power to persuade others might be the most dangerous ability accessible to mere mortals.

Aristotle knew this.

He wrote about the science of persuasion in a work called Rhetoric, and identified three key elements of persuasion:

-The facts and logic of the situation (Logos)

-The emotional response triggered in the listener (Pathos)

-The credibility and reputation of the speaker (Ethos)

Translated to marketing speak:

-Justification.

-Desire.

-Trust.

The three key elements of making a sale.

Now you can brute force a single element and make it work, but these three elements work much better when combined together.

And there are specific ways to combine them, in a specific order, for max effect.

(Want to know what doesn’t work? Droning on about hyper-generic product features. Brute force generic Logos is your uncle who quotes CNN or Fox to argue politics on Facebook.)

Justification

Desire

Trust

Key ingredients we cook with when whipping up some Forepay.

Because just like screenwriters and songwriters can implant a specific emotion in people, email marketers who understand Forepay can implant a specific action in people.

Maybe I’ve said too much.

Nothing will destroy a magician’s career faster than revealing how he does his tricks.

Unless…

Unless he offers to take on a small group of apprentices who all must sign an NDA.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

I just explained to you the key ingredients needed to sprout some seeds that grow into sales.

But now the question is, how do you get people to eat the fruit?

To take your medicine?

Why, with a spoonful of sugar, of course.

More tomorrow,

Greg

P.S. If you read this one carefully, your brain might be spinning. The realization that persuasion is a science and can be engineered is an exciting but terrifying light bulb for most people.

Especially when they realize that control over this power is within their grasp.

The possibilities are endless…

So a quick check-in. Are you digging this? Want to learn more? Should I keep going?