Some of us scoff at subliminal advertising techniques. We like to think our minds are entirely logical and immune to the influence of others. This just isn't true, as any good salesman knows. After studying the subject for some time, I have come to accept that I will not just buy things, but I will be "sold" things, even by way of subliminal techniques.

What I CAN do is learn the techniques that are used on me. Then, if I want to, I can use them too, when I believe it is ethical to do so. More importantly, I can protect myself from these techniques, or at least be sold the RIGHT things. Want to do the same? Would you like to learn a few subliminal advertising techniques? Start with the following sales pitch:

"Does public speaking make you nervous? What if it was easy? Imagine standing at the podium, knowing exactly what to say to make them love you. Wouldn't that feel great? Just apply our simple methods, and you'll have that power. Use the form below to <i>order right now</i>."

Okay, let's dissect the sales pitch, sentence-by-sentence.

Sentence #1 : Does public speaking make you nervous? This gets the reader to say yes, which is habit forming. Getting a prospect to say yes is a classic old technique that still works. It also introduces the problem, for which the solution is coming.

Sentence #2 : What if it was easy? This suggests the possibility of a solution, creating hope and anticipation in the reader.

Sentence #3 : "Imagine standing at the podium, knowing exactly what to say to make them love you." The word "imagine," gets the reader to do just that. Helping a prospect to create a scene in their mind creates desire for that scene to be reality, and creates good feelings too.

Sentence #4 : Wouldn't that feel great? This suggests a positive emotion and gets another yes. Questions involve a prospect more, and it is better to suggest an emotional state (by asking) than to tell a person how to feel.

Sentence #5 : Just apply our simple methods, and you'll have that power. The "and" is used to infer cause and effect (you'll have the power because you used our product). This is subtle way of getting the reader to accept the benefits of a product uncritically.

Sentence #6 : Use the form below to order right now. The last line directs the reader with "Use the form below." The "order right now" is called an "embedded command," because putting it in italics subtly draws attention to it, and influences a prospect without him noticing consciously.

This simple paragraph uses many so-called "hypnotic sales techniques." The idea is that by using the right words and techniques, you can put a person into a kind of "buying trance," in which they are much more receptive to your offer. Do these techniques work?

When I first learned about them, I used them to rewrite the subscription page for the Brain Power Newsletter. A free newsletter may be an easy sell anyhow, but I immediately started to get four times as many subscribers from the same traffic.

This is powerful stuff. Four times the response? I was either the worst copy writer prior to my changes, or these techniques really work. And I was only using a few of the dozens of subliminal advertising techniques available.