>> Which works better; hope or fear?
You can seize attention in two ways.
Promise something wonderful – or threaten something ghastly.
When you want to threaten Chicken Little – or Chicken Licken, if you prefer – is hard to beat.
You know the story. He persuaded the other animals the sky was falling in. They believed him – and were all gobbled up by a fox.
If you keep an eye on the kind of copy that people run, which you should, you’ll see that in financial services the Chicken Little approach reigns supreme.
Go through your emails and see how many speak of some looming catastrophe.
Here are typical examples I’ve seen in the last 24 hours
- URGENT: More than $40 trillion dollars of retirements at risk
- Biden Set To Trigger Major Devaluation of the U.S. Dollar
- Millionaire Investor Issues New Warning: Get Out of Cash NOW
The world’s most successful – and certainly wealthiest – copywriter and his associates constantly warn people of the hell that’s around the corner…
They are always right too.
Around about the turn of the century he began warning that if you want to be safe you should buy gold – because the world was coming to an end.
It didn’t happen the first year he did this… nor the second, or the fifth or the tenth. But eventually COVID struck and he was proven right.
You’ll always be right if you predict disaster, and undoubtedly when it comes to money people fear to lose more than they hope to gain.
There are many other ways to get people to respond, and I have spent most of my life finding out what they are and why they work.
That’s why most of the stuff that we put out does very well.
An idle boast? Here’s some unsolicited testimonials. I get them constantly…
“Great lesson Drayton. Thanks.” – Ken Wood
“Thank you for these emails. Reading them each day, is to the mind, like drawing the side of a samurai sword across a polishing-stone. Thanks for bending an ear.” – Keita Hopkinson
“Hi Drayton, The words of wisdom you sent out are very inspiring.” – Anthony Gordon
“This was a particularly inspirational email, Drayton. I copywrite for a US company that’s forever asking me to produce similar nonsense and it’s a full time job just fighting for common sense.
Thanks for sending the emails. Great reads and almost like mini courses. Good to be reminded of the basics and what truly matters as the glut of digital marketers reinventing the wheel sickens me a little!” – Chris Roper
“Drayton, Why do you think I always go for your Bird Droppings? Because no one else drops them like you do.” – Syed Hayat
All these people can’t be wrong – so if you’re struggling with your copy, just get in touch.
Best,
Drayton
