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- "Yes, mmhm, yup, so true"
Welcome to the 15th issue of Write On!
The newsletter that CAN believe it’s not butter.
Estimated read time: 2 minutes, 9 seconds
But first, a quick shout-out to our recommended read of the week…
The Bootstrapped Founder
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Top Finds This Week:
📖 Storytelling: Everyone has a story. Here are 10 unique questions to help you nail yours (link)
🧠 Psychology: Emotions in Copywriting Cheatsheet: 40 Key Emotional Drivers (link)
🖼 Framework: 9 simple formulas to help you write like a world-class copywriter (with color-coded examples) (link)
📜 Principles: The slippery slope of marketing copy: follow these steps and crush conversions (link)
⚙️ Resource: Find the perfect words for your copy every time (link)
🤖 AI: Learn how to leverage AI prompts and tools to become a marketing and productivity machine at work (link)
"Yes, mmhm, yup, so true"
There’s an old sales tactic called the “foot-in-the-door technique,” where a salesperson secures a few small yeses before they make their final pitch.
These small yeses prime the prospect to say “yes” to that final pitch (it’s been scientifically proven to work).
Even if you’ve never heard of that sales technique, you’ve probably played this prank on a friend that uses a similar concept…
The prank: You ask your friend a series of rapid-fire questions and then trick them on the last question before they even have a chance to think:
“Is your name, Joe?”
“Yes”
“Do you live in NY?”
“Yes”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“Yes”
“Do you enjoy playing golf?”
“Yes”
“Do you know your ABCs?”
“Yes”
“Do you have $20 I could borrow?”
“Yes… oh wait… ughh…”
The “foot-in-the-door” tactic also works in your copywriting.
And it doesn’t need to be as obvious as asking “yes or no” questions.
You just need to get your reader nodding along as they read your copy.
Here’s an example:
Let’s say I wanted to sell you a new pair of sneakers. If I was using “the-foot-in-the-door” tactic, my copy might include sentences like this:
“There’s nothing worse than getting sore feet from a pair of rundown, old shoes.”
The reader thinks: “Yes, that is the worst.”
“It’s sad to see one of your favorite pairs of sneakers reach the end of their life.”
The reader thinks: “Yes, that is sad.”
“Everybody loves that feeling of walking around in a pair of fresh, new sneakers with no scuff marks, stains, or dirt on them.”
The reader thinks: “Yes, that is a good feeling.”
These thoughts go in and out of your reader’s head in a fraction of a second, but they add up and build a positive association with your product.
That’s one reason why landing pages and email marketing can effectively convert prospects into customers — they allow you to rack up yeses before asking for the sale.
💡 Bottom line: The next time you’re writing copy, picture your reader nodding along as they read. If you get more yeses before your big ask, you’ll have a better shot of getting the conversion.
That’s all for this week. Thanks for reading.
See you next Wednesday!
P.S. Whenever you’re ready, here are 2 ways I can help you:
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P.P.S. If you've got a moment, I'd love to get your feedback:
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