Aristotle’s Advantage 

I call it Aristotle’s Advantage. When you make it your advantage, it will be as if you had one of the world’s greatest master persuaders guiding your copy.

So who, exactly, was Aristotle? 

Let me take a few moments to introduce you to him, and then I’ll  show you how you can quickly use his advantage to exponentially  improve the persuasiveness of your copy writing.

Born in 384 B.C., Aristotle is considered one of the greatest of the Greek philosophers.  In fact, he and his teacher, the great Greek philosopher Plato, are considered the fathers of modern persuasive thought known as rhetoric.  

Simply put, Aristotle defined rhetoric as “seeing the available means of persuasion in any given situation.” 

This, frankly, is what we aim to do every time we attempt to sell someone something via the written word: identify the most powerful means of persuasion available to us and then apply it.  

When you think about it, this is no different than a general who evaluates his enemies, identifies their weaknesses, and then develops a battle plan based on those weaknesses. 

Surprisingly, this is the opposite of how most copywriters approach their assignments.  They first reach into their bag of weapons (headlines, copy formulas, etc.) and start shooting from the hip instead of sizing up their prospects and selecting the approach that will be most persuasive.

For these reasons, no matter what type of assignment you are working on, you should first ask yourself, “What do these people really want?” and never, “What’s the best way to sell to them?”

You see, by failing to first identify what your prospects want, you are putting yourself and your copy at a huge disadvantage. 

However, by first identifying what your prospects want–and then promoting your product in a manner that satisfies  those desires–you will leverage your results exponentially.

No other outcome is possible.

Let me tell you about one of my biggest successes using Aristotle’s Advantage.

In 2000, I was asked to write a subscription promotion for a general-interest financial newsletter.  

The editor was quite well-known and had an exceptional track record.  The problem was that most people didn’t want a general-interest newsletter; they wanted to get rich in technology stocks. 

It was with that thought in mind that I convinced the publisher to allow me to create a faux issue that satisfied that specific want–to get rich in technology stocks. 

As a result, my newsletter promotion for Personal Finance, called “Boom or Bust Ahead for Technology Stocks?” became one of the most successful stock letter promotions for 2000-2001.

By simply adding a technology flavor to Personal Finance, I was able to attract throngs of investors hungry to get rich that way. 

Eventually, as technology stocks crashed, my package petered out, ultimately losing quite handily to a new promotion package written by a writer who had focused his efforts on investing in oil  stocks.

The reason my promotion stopped selling?  Because what I was offering my prospects (getting rich in technology stocks) they no longer wanted.

You see, by that time, technology stocks had collapsed and investors wouldn’t touch them with a ten-foot pole.  As a result, my technology-focused promotion fell on deaf ears. 

On the other hand, oil stocks were making great gains.  As investors saw the shift, they wanted to get rich in oil stocks and my promotion didn’t quench that desire. 

That’s why it’s so important that you always ask yourself, “What do these people really want?” before you write one word of copy.  Then, and only then, can you make your product the thirst quencher they’re craving. 

Do this and I guarantee you’ll see an exponential growth in your results.

ONE FINAL NOTE

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