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The Magic Word to Get What You Want

Quick test: you are about to ask someone for a favor or to give you something. What’s the magic word? Without hesitation any child can tell you that it’s please. But in fact there is another magic...

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The Contrast Principle and how much you’ll pay for anything

We as humans tend to key on contrast and judge value by the relationship of one thing to another. If we can find a comparable, we always do. The way Starbucks got us to buy $4 cups of coffee (er, you,...

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How Not to Get Shot (Mind Control Secret Revealed)

I’m listening to a writer for Law and Order, who used to be a crime reporter. He was saying that if you ask any homicide detective, they’ll all tell you that often the killer says “Well he told me to...

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The High Cost of Free

The most foolish things I’ve done in my life have been for neither love nor money, but simply for free ice cream. One spring, when I was about ten years old, in return for an ice cream cone, I swam out...

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The Problem with Rewards in Return for Testimonials

I love Smartwool. I’m actually wearing a Smartwool shirt and Smartwool socks right now. If Smartwool wanted me to write a testimonial, all they would have to do is ask, to say “Hey, we want some killer...

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Reciprocation (Weapons of Influence, part 1 of 3)

The cover of Robert Cialdini’s book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion is adorned with a quote that says "For marketers, this book is among the most important books written in the last ten years."...

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Commitment and Consistency (Weapons of Influence, part 2 of 3)

This is the second part of the series on Weapons of Influence, based on Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, Part 1 discussed the principle of reciprocation. Commitment and Consistency We like to be...

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Social Proof (Weapons of Influence, part 3 of 3)

This is the third part of the series on Weapons of Influence, based on Robert Cialdini’s book Influence, Part 1 discussed the principle of reciprocation; Part 2 covered the principle of commitment and...

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Twitter Theory: The Four Modes of Twitter

So I started out by asking myself why I follow some people and not others and why in the world do I have any followers at all? I’m new to Twitter and obviously not some expert that anyone should heed,...

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How Not to Launch a Social Network: Aardvark

A friend recently asked me to test Aardvark (vark.com) advice network (not to be confused with the amazing Firefox Aardvark extension, the developer’s best friend). Essentially, you upload all sorts of...

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Twitter for Writers

My friend Greg Crouch is writing a book which I think has bestseller potential. He’s an engaging writer and he has a great story about the pilots that flew the Himalaya in World War II. But like me,...

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Why You Should Start an Interview Podcast Now

Seth Godin says that everyone should keep a blog and write a post a day for two years. Most blogs won’t become hugely successful, but the simple act of thinking up an article every day for two years...

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Six Essential Skills Scholars Can Learn from Copywriters

I just spent the morning going through applications for my 2010 French paleography course. As I was reading the applications, it struck me how ignoring basic copywriting practice hampers so many...

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Farmers and Miners

You’ve all seen the bumper sticker: “If it ain’t grown, it’s mined.” I realized some years ago that this is a powerful metaphor for many things in life and I started to divide people into farmers and...

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Keyword Fail Part II

This one is not as much fun as my Testimonial Fail post that earned a mention by Brad Geddes. This one comes from someone advertising on Weather.com. Obviously this is a cheap spammy ad no matter where...

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RBT Threadwatch 3 (Nov – Dec)

Most of this is old, but I got sidetracked and never posted. Still some good reads here. Google Fear: how much do people fear google? More than they fear the NSA! (on CNet) Links: 21 Link Building...

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The Most Important Email Address on Your Website

What happens when I send a note of praise to your company? Does it get handled efficiently and effectively? Does it build my loyalty or destroy it? I usually refrain from nasty notes. In most cases, I...

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Are you my friend? Social norms versus market norms

Social norms and market norms are separate and you must not mix them. Social norms prevail in social situations. For example, if two friends go out skiing and one friend gives the others some pointers...

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You Can Always Yell Later

When I was about ten years old, my mom and I ran into a problem at the ski area where were skiing. This problem was 100% the fault of the ski area and was the result of what might be called...

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Testimonial Fail

I just loved the service on keyword airlines! Source: Skymall catalog on a recent Delta flight. I’m sure this testimonial is 100% legitimate. I mean, your typical loving family peppers their speech...

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