This book is good for getting better at writing copy. I went from a knowledge level of about 0 to a knowledge level around 2 or 3. It really helped me start looking at the marketing I produce from the consumer’s side.
Basically, a “sticky” idea checks off multiple boxes of SUCCESs.
Simple
Unexpected
Concrete
Credible
Emotional
Story
The ideas that stuck out most to me were these:
- Don’t make multiple points. Make one point, and make it well. Otherwise people will forget everything instead of remembering one thing.
- Tell stories. A single story will be much more impactful than a whole army of charts when it comes to getting people to think your way.
- The ultimate credibility test is making it easy for people to see for themselves that your product/service is better than the competition’s. This is the essence of content marketing I suppose.
- People don’t think well in terms of statistics. Give them specific, sympathetic individuals who represent the point you are trying to make. I think Stalin (of all people) put it pretty well, “The death of one human is a tragedy. The death of a million is a statistic.” Show people that one.
- When people engage the analytical, numbers-oriented part of their brain they are less subject to emotional appeals or manipulation. Accordingly, avoid using numbers when attempting to manipulate people. Or use numbers to negate the manipulation of others.
- Commander’s Intent. Give people in your organization a single objective to optimize for. “Capture that hill.” “Be THE low-cost airline.” The mission starts vaguely, but gains tactical details as it moves through the organization to the people carrying it out. Let people on the ground decide how to handle things within a given mission because they are the best situated to execute.
- Corporate-speak is meaningless to everyone but the person spouting it. Use real words, be specific. Don’t use abstract concepts. Give tangible examples, that go beyond a corporate mission statement. Unless it gives specific information on how to act or think, it’s just noise. “we at Nordstrom value customer-service.” No effing way, a customer-facing retailer that claims to value service? “We at Nordstrom will gift wrap stuff bought at Macy’s. We’ll iron your shirt when you have a job interview coming up. We’ll warm up your frigging car on a cold day.” That’s refreshing, and it really makes the point.