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Psychology/sales books on words?

by dmaster555
5 replies
Hey Copywriters,

What book would you recommend that covers more specifically the psychological effect of certain words and goes in depth?

For example, words like : "secret, weird, special", etc.

And more sales psychology in general.

If not too much to ask, is there a book that breaks it down very well and gives many good examples and maybe some references.
#books #psychology or sales #words
  • Profile picture of the author TjarkHartmann
    If you're looking for getting the most impact out of your writing, The Elements of Style by William Strunk and On Writing Well by William Zinsser are great reads.

    As for persuasion, I recommend Hypnotic Writing by Joe Vitale, Words That Work by Frank Luntz, Hello My Name Is Awesome by Alexandra Watkins.
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    Tjark: Pronounced like "Jacques" in Jacques Cousteau.

    www.TjarkHartmann.com

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  • Profile picture of the author The Copywriting Engineer
    Of course everyone knows


    Influence The Psychology Of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
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    Bring In More Cash For Your Business With High Caliber Copy
    www.highcalibercopy.com

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    • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
      The absolute best person who analyzes the nuances of words used in sales copy is Herschell Gordon Lewis. He goes into the psychological implications of using words like "now" or "and" - not to mention words that play a much more obvious role in sales.

      Highly recommended - any of his books. They are kind of repetitive of one another, yet all excellent.

      Marcia Yudkin
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      Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
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      • Profile picture of the author gjabiz
        Originally Posted by marciayudkin View Post

        The absolute best person who analyzes the nuances of words used in sales copy is Herschell Gordon Lewis. He goes into the psychological implications of using words like "now" or "and" - not to mention words that play a much more obvious role in sales.

        Highly recommended - any of his books. They are kind of repetitive of one another, yet all excellent.

        Marcia Yudkin
        Agreed.

        HGL wrote he thought today's "slasher/gore" movies were a big pile of EXCREMENT.

        REMINDED me of a college lover who called me a poopy bird, which I thought was cute...until she said once, "Put a pile of dog Sh*t in one hand a pile of dog poop in the other, which smells worst?"

        Nuanced words and the psychology behind them, is a worthy study.

        Thanks Marcia for the HGL reminder.

        gjabiz
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      • Profile picture of the author Raydal
        Originally Posted by marciayudkin View Post

        The absolute best person who analyzes the nuances of words used in sales copy is Herschell Gordon Lewis. He goes into the psychological implications of using words like "now" or "and" - not to mention words that play a much more obvious role in sales.

        Highly recommended - any of his books. They are kind of repetitive of one another, yet all excellent.

        Marcia Yudkin
        A second vote for Herschell Gordon Lewis. His book Power Copywriting lets
        you know that "happen" is stronger than "occur" and stuff like that.

        -Ray Edwards
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        The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
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