Month: October 2020

HOW TO LOSE WEIGHT (QUICKLY)

Posted on by Alastair Walton

There was a time when I was massively overweight.

Obviously I wanted to do something about this.

(After all, no one wants to be FAT).

But, like most people, I found it extremely difficult to lose weight.

Despite starting a serious exercise program I struggled to make progress.

Then I read one of those stupid, “5 tips to burn fat” articles that are plastered all over the web.

One of those tips was keeping a food journal.

In case you don’t know, this is basically a diary where you write down what you eat.

I did this for a month then looked back over the entries.

After reading these I was both stunned and appalled.

The amount of food I ate was incredible.

Not only that, almost everything I ate was junk food.

I basically lived on garbage like chips, pizza, hot dogs and fast food.

At this point I immediately changed my eating habits.

And from there on out started steadily losing weight.

What’s the point of telling you all this?

Simply that if you want to change something start tracking it.

Whether this is spending less money, losing weight or learning a new skill.

By tracking your habits you will immediately take control of them…

…and start to gradually improve things.

After all, to quote management guru Peter Drucker…

“What gets measured gets managed.”

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

REAL LIFE DON DRAPER SHARES HEADLINE WRITING WISDOM

Posted on by Alastair Walton

The headline is probably the most important part of your sales letter.

To quote advertising legend David Ogilvy:

“On average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”

This makes sense if you think about it. 

But what it also means is that nothing is more important than writing a great headline.

If you’re struggling with this here are 6 tips that will help:

1. Keep it short.

Most people try to do too much in their headline. They write headlines that are far too long. The only purpose is to get attention. This means your headline should be short, sweet and to the point.

2. Make it punchy.

Use power words and phrases. Remember, some words are more powerful than others. Think about how the words you use make the reader feel. For example, instead of kill say slaughter.

3. Be credible.

Your headline needs to be credible and believable. You must give readers a reason to believe your claims.  Also try to quickly establish the credibility of the person who is talking to them.

4. Include benefits.

The headline should contain at least 1-2 product benefits. This gives people a reason to read the copy.

5. Use curiosity.

Curiosity is the most powerful human motivator. Use it as often as you can in your headlines.

6. Ask a question.

This is by far the easiest way to write a headline. The question should be something your market desperately wants to know the answer to.

Until next time.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

P.S. One final tip I can give you is to write LOTS of headlines. You should honestly write at least a 100. Use every possible angle and keep going until something leaps out at you.

HOW SOCIOPATHS MANIPULATE PEOPLE

Posted on by Alastair Walton

Many years ago I knew this guy who was (I’m 100% convinced) a real life sociopath.

This person was unbelievably shady and manipulative.

I could tell you hundreds of stories about the sketchy things he got up to.

The funny thing about this guy is he always, always had a sob story.

These stories were endless.

And after dealing with other possible sociopaths I realized something.

Elicitation of empathy is basically the primary form of manipulation used by these people.

From the get go they will attempt to tug on your heart strings.

There’s always a story they use to make you feel sorry for them.

And once you give in that’s when they pounce.

Another good example of this is homeless people.

Now, I’m not hating on the homeless.

Many of them have genuine problems and cannot fend for themselves.

But what I’m trying to say is that you shouldn’t be naïve.

A lot of these people are absolute predators.

The guy who tells you about his pregnant wife who has to turn tricks so that they can survive…and…who incidentally also has brain cancer…well…there’s a good chance he’s lying.

The bottom line is that you should be careful around people with sob stories.

Always keep your guard up.

Yes they may genuinely need help.

But a lot of the time you’re dealing with a wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Cheers,

Alastair Walton

P.S. The elicitation of empathy is the primary technique used by sociopaths to manipulate people. If you’re dealing with someone who always has a sob story…well…there’s a good chance they may be bona fide sociopath.