A metaphor which may help copywriters.

Harlan,

Just curious... what part of "using NLP technique" specifically means the embedded command?

Maybe Gordon's connection of the use of NLP with manipulation got you started in that direction. I don't know.

Anyway, thinking about that for a second, isn't it an interesting example of a click-whirr in action? Person seemingly "attacks" belief. Another stands up to defend it.

Ahhhh... the wonderful world of changing minds. And as copywriters, isn't that what the job is all about? Presenting a sequence of words and ideas that lead to some altered perspective, some desired action.

On the subject of NLP techniques, I think promoters of NLP as a magic bullet have to wear much for the schtick about cheap tricks aka the embedded command. Anyone that dares to go deeper into the subject, will begin to see the real power and impact you can have with NLP. What's more, the more you use it, the more you'll enjoy the rewards of effective copy, and the more you begin to enjoy life.

Sure, some very good copywriters don't know a presupposition from a frame, but nevertheless they use them. NLP is merely a modeling technology. It began as a therapeutic tool - getting people to change behavior. In the context of persuasion/influence, not all of it translates well to the written word.

On the subject of manipulation, some see it as a dirty word, while others see it as opportunity. A copywriter's job if you really think about it is actually to MANIPULATE...In fact,

great copywriters are master manipulators...

They are highly skilled at manipulating WORDS that channel desire, establish belief, and ultimately lead to action.

Nothing new there.

Actually, that's a good example of the emotional anchor attached to the word manipulate. With tools and resources and even parts of people (back, neck), fine. With people, bad (go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200 - thanks Bernie M).

Ultimately, copywriters, writers and all effective communicators have to recognise, understand, and leverage these patterns and anchors to achieve their goals. Simple as that.

At the end of the day, I know some people have a strong dislike for NLP and anything related and that's fine. For me, I just like to find and leverage stuff that works... NLP, AIDA, metaphor, pink elephants... whatever, bring it.

CM

How many didn't notice that?

The first time through I thought Harlan made a spelling error followed by an incorrect use of tense, but it was all intentional.

I wonder if people reading that in a sales page would think it was an error, or would miss it completely on a conscious level.

:-Don

Really? MOST people? HMM...I didn't know.


manipulate (məˈnɪpjʊˌleɪt)
— vb
1.

( tr ) to handle or use, esp with some skill, in a process or action: to manipulate a pair of scissors

2.

to negotiate, control, or influence (something or someone) cleverly, skilfully, or deviously

From the dictionary.reference.com site. There are many other definitions, but I think "to negotiate, CONTROL, OR INFLUENCE someone cleverly, SKILLFULLY"... is more what I had in mind...but there are some devious users too.

HMM. Where do you locate where most people think? That is a site I'd like to visit and try to keep myself within the bell curve of the largest percentage.

gjabiz

Thanks - good laugh.

Reminds me of a story a friend shared a while back...

Two young kids go to the same school. One little guy is always experimenting with ways to make life easier, like getting the teacher on side, getting other kids on side, ways of getting good grades. Sometimes it worked out, many times it didn't. Each and every time, the other little guy sees what he's doing and pokes fun at him. Always. It's HIS entertainment. The first kid catches the jibes, shrugs and laughs along.

Fast forward 20 years. After not seeing each other for years, the two kids (now young adults) bump into each other again and realize who the other is. The first kid is still the same, experimenting with ways to make life easier, playing, learning, advancing. The second kid sees that and begins the jibes again. The first kid again catches it and laughs. Nothing new right? Not much except the first kid has already earned his first million and is listed in the top 10 people to watch under 25 in the country while the second kid works at the local coffee shop for minimum wage and lives at home with his parents.

I was a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in the late 1980s and 1990s, and NLP was getting quite popular as a counseling approach for many counselors. The hope was that many psychological problems that usually took multiple sessions with other theoretical approaches would be solved in one session with NLP. Unfortunately it didn't pan out as hoped.

I wonder if using it as a copywriting approach won't have the same end?

(Forgive me for such a broad comment. I am not a copywriter, I just do research for copywriters, so you should probably take that into consideration when you look at my comment.)

You're talking to the already converted Heysal.

I know what it is. At a fairly deep level.

I've been involved in the business for some 30 years.

Genuine question or two for you...

If you understand it as you claim, why are you not a copywriter?

Why do you write PLR only and offer only content?

Best,


Pete Walker

Linguistics is a fantastic scientific field. The study of thoughts and the labels and symbols we use to represent and express those thoughts -- fabulous. (And that's just the tip of the iceberg.)

All writers are linguistic technicians. When you write "Listen, ... " or "Frankly, ..." or any of the common phrases used to give pause or resonance to your words, you're using patterns that rely on a person's understanding of the world around him in the form of words (labels for thoughts and emotions).

(You're swipe file is loaded with linguistic patterns that have worked in the past.)

There's some interesting work in NLP. The patterns NLP practitioners use are real, however, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution precisely because each of us thinks about things differently based on education, emotional experience, environment, etc ...

However, there are commonalities. If I write the phrase, "Debbie entered the barn.", if you've seen a barn at your grandfather's house or during a particularly memorable ride in the countryside, you'll likely think of that barn -- color, smell, etc ..

But if I write,

"Debbie caught the heel of her five inch stiletto on a broken board as she entered the old red barn."

"Debbie ran into the big red barn and her nostrils flared as she sucked in the smell of fresh paint."

"Debbie's giant, pig-like nostrils flared at the mixed smells of fresh green paint and sour manure."

... you'll think and "see" different barns.

I'll admit to being a linguist dilettante. But the field of linguistics and its disciplines are fascinating. NLP is a single facet of a much, much larger field. HeySal explains it a bit more eloquently and eruditely than I.

Even simpler Heysal...

If you hate marketing, you'll never make a copywriter. Copywriting and marketing go hand in hand. You cannot have one without the other.

Which is why I'm surprised you felt the need to question my post above for blatantly by your own admission, you're not a copywriter.

If you were, you'd be into marketing and would really know all about persuasion triggers and the rest of it. Obviously not. Hence my reply.

Capiche?


Mark Andrews

I enjoy writing - period.

Doesn't matter what is. Whether it's sales copy or my latest fiction work. I just love writing. Full stop.