“The Pimp, the Grocer and the Hit Man: Magnetise Your Headings Using the Power of the Unexpected” plus 1 more

The Pimp, the Grocer and the Hit Man: Magnetise Your Headings Using the Power of the Unexpected

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 01:02 PM PDT

This guest post is by Aman Basanti of Ageofmarketing.com.

In addition to death and taxes, there is another bitter pill you have to swallow as a blogger. It is that pimps, grocers and hit men all have an unfair advantage when it comes to commanding attention in the marketplace.

Be it an advert, a news story or a how to article, those who sell sex, food or danger attract more attention than the rest of us. Our subconscious minds are programmed to take note of these three things, and disproportionately assign attention to them.

Beyond sex, food and danger

So does that mean the rest of us are ruined? Does that mean that we are forever subject to the tyranny of the sex-selling pimps, food-flaunting grocers, and gun-toting hit men?

No. Because we have our own weapon for attracting attention and it is equally as powerful as sex, food, and danger.

What is this weapon of mass attraction?

The power of the unexpected.

You know what happens if we catch you smoking here at Southwest, don't you?

"If I could have your attention for a few moments," said the voice overhead. The passengers looked up to hear what exciting message the flight attendant had for them that day, only to realize that it was just another in-flight safety demonstration.

You know: “fasten your seat belts, place your tray tables in an upright position, don't smoke on the plane and, in case of an emergency, follow the lights along the side of the aisle.”

One by one, the passengers started tuning out as quickly as they had tuned in, going back to reading their magazines, peering out the window or whatever else they had been doing previously.

Then it happened.

"If you haven't been in an automobile since 1965, the proper way to fasten your seat belt is to slide the flat end into the buckle," unexpectedly announced the attendant. Suddenly the tired old message to fasten your seat belts sprung to life.

So did the one to follow the lights along the side of the aisle.

"And as the song goes, there might be fifty ways to leave your lover, but there are only six ways to leave this aircraft: two forward exit doors, two over-wing removable window exits, and two aft exit doors. The location of each exit is clearly marked with signs overhead, as well as red and white disco lights along the floor of the isle. Made ya look!"

As for the “don't smoke on the plane” part, the attendant had a way of spicing that one up as well.

"Speaking of smoking, there's never any smoking aboard our flights. You know what happens if we catch you smoking here at Southwest, don't you? You'll be asked to step out onto our wing and enjoy our feature movie presentation, Gone With The Wind."

And just like that the flight attendant had attracted the attention of everyone on board. Even the most indifferent passengers were listening intently and smiling. Most importantly, for our purposes here, she did it without implying sex, showing food or threatening danger.

What was her secret?

The flight attendant's secret

At the heart of her feat was the use of the unexpected. We all know what an in-flight safety demo is meant to look like. We have an existing pattern and picture of that situation. What the attendant did was to break that pattern. She used humor, which in itself works because it makes unexpected connections, to challenge and change, and thus draw attention to, the tired old demonstration.

As remarkable as the flight attendant example is, however, it is not instructive of how most bloggers can use it on their blogs. To understand that we have to look at the Freakonomics Formula.

The Freakonomics formula for writing killer headlines

Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner's books, Freakonomics and Superfreakonomics, have sold over 5 million copies worldwide. Apart from being controversial and insightful, what make the books attention worthy are their catchy chapter titles. By pairing two unrelated entities and connecting them in some way relevant to the message of the chapter, the authors create magnetic titles.

Here are some of the chapter titles from their books:

What Do School Teachers and Sumo Wrestlers Have in Common?
How is the Ku Klux Klan Like a Group of Real-Estate Agents?
How is a street prostitute like a department-store Santa?
What do Al Gore and Mount Pinatubo have in common?

The titles work because you do not normally associate teachers with sumo wrestlers, nor prostitutes with department store Santas. They break existing patterns of association, evoke curiosity and result in, as the flight attendant put it, the “Made ya look!” phenomenon.

So if you want your blog posts to stand out give them catchy blog post titles using the Freakonomics formula. Find two entities and create an unexpected connection between them.

Here are some more examples to get your mental juices flowing:

5 Things a Bad Dog Can Teach You About Writing Good Copy
How Are Entrepreneurs Like Young Children?
What do Charles the Great and Genghis Khan Have in Common?
Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance
5 Diseases I would Pay Money to Get
3 Ways to Impress Your Partner by Being Less Romantic
5 Ways Porn Created the Modern World

Have you used magnetic headlines on your blog? How did they do at pulling crowds to your content?

Aman Basanti writes about the psychology of buying and teaches you how you can use the principles of consumer psychology to boost your sales. Visit www.Ageofmarketing.com/free-ebook to get his new ebook—Marketing to the Pre-Historic Mind: How the Hot New Science of Behavioural Economics Can Help You Boost Your Sales—for FREE.

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

The Pimp, the Grocer and the Hit Man: Magnetise Your Headings Using the Power of the Unexpected

The Secret Fairytale Magic to Irresistible Blog Posts

Posted: 29 Jun 2011 07:09 AM PDT

This guest post is by Amy of Harrisonamy.com

From Jack and the Beanstalk, to Little Red Riding Hood, to Cinderella, fairytales have been enchanting audiences for thousands of years. They are constantly being retold, modified and even made into blockbuster movies. Despite their apparent simplicity, they enrapture and engage audiences time and time again.

By using the following five key elements of a fairytale, you can harness the secret storytelling magic to write irresistible blog posts and keep your readers coming back for more.

1. Create desire

Every fairy story starts with some desire. Whether it's Cinderella wanting to go to the ball, a poor man wanting to be king, or a girl taking some food to Grandma's house, the story starts with a desire for something.

No enchanting tale starts without some kind of hope, dream, want, or wish. Even if it's the wish for things to stay the same, the characters have to want something.

So how does this relate to your blog? Well your customers are reading your articles because they also want and are hoping for something, whether it's entertainment, advice, or tips on a particular subject.

One of the best ways to stimulate that desire is by using your headline to show them that you have something they will want. For example:

7 Ways To Go To The Ball If You Are A Beautiful But Poor Step-Sister
The Best Way To Get To Grandma's House While Avoiding Wolves
How To Get Your Magic Beans To Grow In Just 2 Days

2. Overcome challenges

In every good story, there’s some kind of challenge or obstacle and your blog readers are experiencing the same thing.

The challenge is usually stopping them achieve what they truly desire. Red Riding Hood had to face the wolf, Cinderella had to get past her wicked step-sisters and Jack had to try and get round the giant to get his treasure.

So what is it that your blog readers desire and what is their ugly step-sister, wolf, or ogre that stops them? Perhaps your blog readers desire more traffic but are confused by the different methods to attract more readers. Or perhaps they want to write a novel but are getting stuck with writer's block.

When writing a blog post, ask yourself what challenges come between your audience and what they desire, and how you can help overcome them.

3. Give them a hero to help

You might not be a woodcutter, a fairy godmother, or a king, but on your blog, you are your reader's hero! Heroes have experience, knowledge, and special skills, and your blog is the perfect place to show your readers that you are the right person to help them on their adventure by:

explaining how you've done something that they want to do
pointing out mistakes you've made on the way so others can avoid them
giving them shortcuts and tips to get results quicker than learning first hand.

If your audience grows to see you as their own fairy godmother of marketing, crafts, or blogging, they'll want to keep coming back for more.

4. A transformation

Fairy tales always include some kind of transformation. It might be a pumpkin into a chariot, or a wolf into an old lady, but the most popular transformations are the ones that satisfy our desire for the fairytale ending.

So we love Cinderella becoming a princess, or Aladdin becoming a prince, and your readers are also looking for a positive transformation when they visit your site.

For example, after reading your blog post:

Can they do something they didn't do before?
Do they feel better and inspired, or not so alone?
Do they have access to resources that will give them results?

Try and give some form of transformation, and your reader is more likely to not just enjoy your post but bookmark it and come back to it again and again.

5. A happy ending

Most fairy tales have happy endings. Now that doesn't mean every blog post you have has to end on a high note, what it means is that your reader should be satisfied that they got what they were looking for.

So if they were coming to your blog for satirical remarks on celebrity relationships, then a photo casebook of embarrassing shots of the latest A-list couple is going to be their happy ending. If others are looking for mediation advice, finding out how to turn their office into a centre of calm is going to be their happy ending.

Consistency in delivering to your audiences expectations is important when writing a blog. You are essentially writing stories every time that you publish and just as we want a happy ending when we decide to read a fairy tale, your customer wants that same consistent experience when reading your blog.

Now it's over to you. Are you already using these five fairytale elements, or do you have a different approach in writing irresistible content? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

Amy is a copywriter for entrepreneurs and in addition to writing for clients, she coaches others to smash through their copy obstacles and get their message out to their audience. She provides free copywriting and content marketing advice on her website Harrisonamy.com

Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger

The Secret Fairytale Magic to Irresistible Blog Posts