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Heads up: if you are near New Jersey, I am helping to organizing a free event on Saturday June 11 called the Madison Storytellers Festival. It features 20+ speakers and workshops, 10 musicians, and 3 open-mics. More info here.

For everyone else, my post below reflects on the vision behind the event: how each of us are storytellers, if we only choose to take the risk to do so.

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What does it mean to be a storyteller?

To be someone who has a story to tell.

And finds a way to share it.

Someone who keenly observes the world around them.

And turns what they see into entertainment or insight that can spread.

To craft a narrative – with a beginning, a middle, and an end; that counterbalances our experience of life that just keeps going from scene to scene.

To take the risk — the social risk — to share this story with as much authenticity as possible.

To do so when no one expects this of you, when it is above and beyond all else that is required of you in life.

This is what I have been thinking about for the last several months. What it means to be a storyteller.

When we put together the agenda for the Madison Storytellers Festival, we considered the idea of “storyteller” as broadly as possible. Of the 20+ sessions we are featuring:

Authors
Poets
Dancers
Spoken word call & response
Oral history
Musicians
Potters
Presses
Actors
Storytelling through yoga
… and so much else.

I want those who attend the festival to walk away thinking one thing:

“I AM A STORYTELLER.”

I want them to think this regardless of age: 5 year olds, 40 year olds; 80 year olds.

Because the truth is that we each have stories, but not all of us choose to tell them.

I want that to change. I want people to realize that storytelling can take many forms.

You can dance your story.
You can draw your story.
You can sculpt your story.

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For organizing the event itself, I have written previously about the ins and outs of the process.

After months of planning, it happens in a week. And one thing that I am realizing is that the event itself, is a story.

The feeling I am filled with during planning is one of gratefulness. For our town for supporting this effort. For the Downtown Development Commission of Madison New Jersey for not only funding it, but being hands on with their advice, their resources, and in doing heavy lifting.

Gratefulness for all of the speakers, partners, vendors, supporters and volunteers. To the other members of the steering committee, who have met again and again throughout the winter and spring to make this event happen:

Dan Cafaro, Deborah Farrar Starker, Barb Short, John Pietrowski, and me.

Me, kids!, Melanie Tomaszewski, Deb, Dan C., and Barb Short.

Dan C., our town’s Mayor Bob Conley, Barb, and me.

Bonnie J. Monte, Walter Rodriguez, Deb, Barb, and me.

Barb, Deb, Mel, and me.

Deanna Quinnones, Barb, Dan C. and me.

On June 11, the Madison Storytellers Festival itself will create new stories.

Whether you can go to this event or not, I ask one thing of you this week:

What story will you tell?

Thanks.
-Dan

Social media is different things to different people. In the line of work I do, very often writers or creative professionals come to me hoping for social media to be a promotional channel. For instance, they want to use it to sell more books.

I understand why they want that; they believe in their book, and they are seeking ways to connect it with readers. But what I try to do is remind them that social media is a channel to engage with other people in meaningful ways, not just game it for sales.

That, for all of us, social media is an opportunity to share a common interest, enthusiasm, challenge, or hope with others — even those you have never met, and may live thousands of miles away.

Sure, this can align to your book. But it can also connect us in deeper ways.

Over the last few months, there are some posts that friends have shared on Facebook that I couldn’t get out of my head. I kept coming back to them again and again.

Why? Because they were sharing personal moments that were filled with wisdom. Let me share a few of them with you…

Here is my high school friend Darby saying goodbye to his dog:

His statement of “wish we had more time” has honestly made me appreciate my time with my son and wife even more on a day to day basis. It has made me think about the nature of time, and the choices I make every single day.

Here is a photo that my childhood soccer teammate shared remembering his father:

If memory serves, Michael’s father passed away really young. It was a shock when I found out about it back then, and Michael’s post indicates how, all through the years, his father’s memory was always there with him. It reminds me of how those we lose are always with us. That there likely isn’t a day that has gone by where Michael’s thoughts or actions weren’t effected by his father’s memory in some small way.

Here is a photo that my good friend Dave shared honoring his mother who had passed away:

He includes lyrics from Pink Floyd’s song “Wish you were here.” In choosing those lines, it cuts right to the heart of who we are as adults… that we experience the “same old fears,” and that sometimes, only connecting with loved ones can bring us solace.

Years ago, Greg was my boss. He shared this photo recently with his brother, who he lost to an overdose:

It reminds me of the opportunity we have today, right now, to communicate with others. Loved ones, yes, but also with anyone out there in the world.

This is a power you have in this very moment.

Even though Greg is using social media to say something meaningful to his brother who is gone, each of us can use it to reach someone who is very much a part of our daily life right now.

That is a choice.

Which brings me to a story that I’m barely able to process, let alone write about. Growing up, I had a friend who lived next door to me named Tony. For years we would do all the things kids would do — we spent countless hours playing, running around, and pretending.

We grew apart over the years, and then casually connected on Facebook a few years back. It was neat to see updates from him — and experience his life as he shared it.

Last year his posts got more serious. And then earlier this week, he posted this:

He has been dealing with blood cancer for awhile now. He setup a GoFundMe page that was meant to help pay for upcoming medical expenses.

Yesterday, he switched the purpose of the fund:

My goal here is not to make you sad. Tony has been dealing with his situation with grace and elegance, and it is clear that friends and family have been rallying around him to support as best they can.

No, social media doesn’t not always need to be as heavy as the examples I shared above. It can indeed be a thankful moment celebrating a good cup of coffee. I’m not one who bemoans food photos — I always see them as someone who is appreciative and enthusiastic.

My point is this: You have an opportunity every day in what you create, in what you share. How you share your stories, your ideas, your life, with the world.

It can be real. Or it can be fake. Or it can be something in between. All I ask is that you make that choice consciously.

There is no “right” way to use social media. Do what makes sense to you. But don’t just blindly copy what you think are “best practices.”

Use the medium to tell a better story. A more authentic story.
To make a connection that the world wouldn’t have without you.

There have been a lot of articles about how too many people use social media to portray these “perfect” lives. This one talks about how Snapchat has become popular because it encourages you to be who you really are, instead of a curated Instagram feed that needs to be “on brand.”

Jason Kottke shared his own reflections based on this post:

“I wonder if Snapchat’s intimacy is entirely due to the ephemerality and lack of a “fave-based economy”. Blogs, Flickr, Twitter, Vine, and Instagram all started off as places to be yourself, but as they became more mainstream and their communities developed behavioral norms, the output became more crafted and refined. Users flooded in and optimized for what worked best on each platform. Blogs became more newsy and less personal, Flickr shifted toward professional-style photography, Vine got funnier, and Twitter’s users turned toward carefully crafted cultural commentary and link sharing.”

Louis C.K. reminds us that our art and what we share with the world should be a reflection of who we are, not what others expect:

“I think that you make an honest account of who you are and you live with the results. The results will be appropriate to who you are… If you just say the things you believe, and the things you like to say, and that mean something to you — if you stay close to the gut — then everything will work itself out.”

When I look at the photos above of Tony. Of Greg with his brother. Of Michael and his family. Of Dave with his mom. Of Darby saying farewell to his dog. To me, the connecting thread is not “death.” It is a celebration of the most meaningful moments that we can possibly fill our lives with.

What will you celebrate today?
-Dan

Today I want to cover three common marketing fallacies that I see all the time. These are things I see that bump writers off track, and tend to leave them overwhelmed. Also, I’ll give my advice for what you should do instead. Okay, let’s dig in….

Fallacy #1: Following Trends That Offer You a “Simple” Key to Success

I see this constantly. A viable piece of advice to help writers reach readers is amped up to such a degree that it begins to eclipse all other proven strategies. Let me put this into context with two trends I have seen, encouraging writers to start email newsletters, and encouraging them to create courses around the topics in their books.

Email lists

The good. Yes, email newsletters and email marketing work! They are wildly effective ways to develop a meaningful connection to your core audience. Way more effective than so many other marketing strategies. I have sent a newsletter every single week since 2005, and am a huge advocate of establishing your own. Pretty much every single client I work with ends up starting an email newsletter. Love ’em.

The bad. I have loads of writers emailing me that their greatest challenge is “to grow their email list.” Let’s let that sink in… their single greatest challenge is stated as growing an email list.

It’s as though they have lost all perspective on their bigger goals. Such as, you know, writing a great book. Getting more readers. Feeling a deep sense of fulfillment in their lives. Nope, all of that is secondary to what they have become convinced of, which is, “All happiness is predicated on whether or not you have a big email list.”

Bleh.

Their thinking is so blinded by this idea of “If I have a big email list, my writing career will take off.”

This is something authors are sold on again and again. Not just “email is a core way to grow and engage your audience,” but rather “If you have a big email list, you WILL become a bestseller.”

This hard sell creates a sense of inadequacy in writers; that if they don’t have a big list, they are doomed to fail. And that simply isn’t the case.

Also, there is a big secret that no one tells you — you can have a small to medium-sized email list and still be wildly successful. You don’t need 10,000 subscribers. Or 50,000. With a list of a few hundred people, you can do a lot.

Can an email list be a part of how you grow an audience and engage them? Yes! I’m a huge fan. But it’s not your biggest challenge. It is one part of a larger strategy, one focused on writing, on readers, on engagement.

Online Courses

Wow, is there a lot of promotion around encouraging authors to create online courses right now. I began teaching online courses back in 2010, and the online course space was kinda quiet back then.

Today, I see these pitches constantly promoting online courses as “way easier than you think,” and then hint at revenue numbers anyone would love to have. “A six-figure launch” or statements such as “I earned $15,000 in just one day last month by launching a course.”

I’ll be clear here: online courses are AWESOME, fun, helpful, and yes, potentially nice revenue streams for you. I mean, look at this amazing one from Jennie Nash, and these from Jane Friedman. Go, take those courses! Become a better writer! You will love it.

But don’t be fooled into thinking that creating your own courses will be easier than you think to create, easier than you think to promote, easier than you think to sell, easier than you think to run, and easier than you think to create passive income.

It won’t.

It is all possible, yes. But it will be MORE DIFFICULT than you think. I’m simply encouraging you to be prepared for these realities.

I don’t just say this from my own personal experience, but from talking to dozens of others who run online courses. Now, I LOVED running online courses. Sure, it was a lot of hard work, but I enjoyed it. And here is something to consider: if you don’t love it, you will dread the process.

There are a huge number of ‘courses on how to create courses’ right now. Can you turn your book into a course? SURE, it’s possible. But no, it’s not for everyone. Do you want to spend all of your time running a course? Or writing?

But maybe you are thinking, “Dan, I totally want to create an online course — how do I do it?” Boy, do you have some options from:

David Siteman Garland
Joseph Michael
Derek Halpern
Lewis Howes
Amy Porterfield
The Book to Course Summit

Let me clarify — David, Joseph, Derek, Lewis, Amy, and all of the speakers at the Summit are lovely people. Smart. Passionate. Helpful. They offer wonderful resources. They are good eggs.

And if online courses are for you, go ahead and JUMP on these resources. But… don’t assume that since you are being sold courses on courses, that courses on courses is what you need.

Fallacy #2: If You Get “10,000 Followers” We Will Publish You

What agents & publishers mean when they say “We won’t consider publishing you unless you have 10,000 Twitter followers” is this: Can you give me some kind of indication or proof that you can meaningfully work to put this book into the hands of readers? Because that is difficult. We are going to try really hard. But you know what helps? If you — the expert on the topic, the person 100% embedded in your niche, genre, or industry — have spent a few years developing the relationships needed to help us out.”

Does anyone really know what to do with 10,000 Twitter followers? Will they really publish you just with that metric?

No.

Instead, it is an indicator that you are a partner that can not only write a great book, but help it connect with the people who will appreciate it most.

Do you know what else they would care about just as much, or perhaps MORE than 10,000 Twitter followers? For starters:

1. If you speak at 30 events per year.
2. If you run a business that has successfully served your market for years.
3. If you are actively a part of groups and organizations that your potential readers love.
4. If you show them ANY metric that indicates that you have a big audience – it could be blog, forum, a social network, in-person, or so much else.
5. If you show them a marketing plan more thoughtful and strategic than “I’ll Tweet about my book. Then Tweet again.”

Fallacy #3: Mimicking Your Literary Hero Will Make You Successful

The good. As anyone who has worked with me will tell you, I’m a huge fan of researching others in your field, and doing audience research. There is so much you can learn from other authors who have found success.

The bad. Too often, I see people try to mimic the actions of successful authors, while ignoring some serious things.

For instance, an author can learn that one of their literary heroes tried a marketing tactic that worked well for them, so they seek to mimic it. The key thing they forget: this marketing tactic worked well four years ago, and that author was one of the first to use it. But today, it is common practice that is no longer as effective.

Here is an example in terms of productivity: I have seen Stephen King cited many times in terms of how he writes — what time of day he begins, how many days per week, how long per day, how his office is set up. By studying this, we hope for a “life hack” — a shortcut to Stephen’s early success.

But what do we ignore? Or simply overlook?

YES, Stephen King’s habits can serve as inspiration. If you are inspired to write on the same typewriter as Stephen King — go for it. But don’t convince yourself that it gives you an objective advantage.

What do we ignore in Stephen King’s story? The years of drug and alcohol abuse that nearly killed him. (See this interview as well.) I see plenty of quotes about Stephen King’s productivity habits from his early years, and few reminders of his drug & alcohol regimen.

You can’t reverse engineer someone else’s success, pick out the bad parts, and think that this creates magical system for you to follow.

Stephen’s success is inspiring. But studying his “secrets to success” can’t overlook some very serious realities.

The Solution to These 3 Fallacies

Someone emailed me recently asking how I optimize my site for search engines. I told them honestly:

“I don’t. Caring is what I am optimizing for.”

I am optimizing for the deeply human connections that allow me to better understand creative people and how to serve them.

Not jugging SEO, metadata, and such because I have convinced myself there is a technology secret. Instead, I focus on the human secret of what it means to care, to engage, to listen, to help.

SURE, tech can give you an advantage. There are all kinds of stories of those who got on YouTube early, or Twitter, or LinkedIn, or gamed SEO years ago, and how it gave them an upper hand.

Which reminds me of my favorite quote:

“Caring is a powerful business advantage.”
– Scott Johnson

Most writers and creative professionals that I speak to are overwhelmed with all they are told they have to do. My point in this post is this: Focus on what matters most to you. Focus on people, not things. Pursue opportunities that make sense, but be wary of trends that derail your focus and take you off track.

Thanks.
-Dan

These are words that a someone said to me recently:

“I feel like a fraud most of the time.”

They were spoken by a very successful woman, with credentials from decades of experience in her field. I shared this with a mastermind group I run, and people expressed how pervasive this sentiment is. One put it this way… how easily these thoughts creep into our heads:

“I got this job by accident.”
“They didn’t mean to give me tenure.”
“They published my article unintentionally.”
“They meant to give this grant to someone else.”

I’ve heard it called “Imposter Syndrome” by many, and “Fraud Police” by Amanda Palmer. This notion that, the moment you experience success, you fear it being taken away because you don’t actually deserve it.

Very often, we consider our hopes and dreams, and we think that the biggest barriers to achieving them are outside of ourselves. That Brené Brown will never reply to your email; that the agents won’t accept your query; etc.

Too often, the biggest barrier standing in your way is yourself. The biggest barrier standing in my way, is myself.

The good news is that this barrier can be removed by embracing a simple belief:

“Yes, I deserve this.”

For many — perhaps most — people, this is huge.

I look for this all the time — those who keep trying, and in doing so, find success that can be so rare. Let me give you an example. A client of mine, Sam Polk, had a breakout moment when he had an article published in The New York Times. It led to massive media exposure, and is the foundation for so many of the things he is working on now. This is how it happened:

“I submitted my essay ‘For the Love of Money‘ to the New York Times blind — I didn’t know anyone there, and sent it to their general email address. I didn’t hear back from them for a month, and so resubmitted it. That day I resubmitted it, I got an email back from the head OpEd page editor who said she was interested.”

The part of this story that resonates with me is that after a month of silence, he resubmitted the essay. Can you imagine that? Like, you email Oprah, don’t hear back, and then reach out to Oprah again.

Remember that moment in Shawshank Redemption when Andy begins sending a letter every week to the state, asking for funds to expand the library? Then, six years later, they give him a small grant in order to shut him up. His response? Begin sending two letters every week.

For Sam, it’s not just the power of persistance, but the value of believing in himself. Another thing he shared that shows the value of believing in your own work:

“I got my agent on my 82nd agent query.”

Eighty-two queries. Can you imagine that? The result? Sam’s book, For the Love of Money, is being published by Scribner in July.

Here is a similar note from author Tammy Greenwood, which she posted to Facebook:

So again, this is after she writes the book, after she gets an agent, they query the first publisher. Nothing. Then another. Nothing. Another. Nothing… on and on until they get to the 18th publisher. At so many points in this process it is easy to take your foot off the gas pedal in a moment of feeling like, “Well, maybe I just don’t deserve this. Everyone is rejecting me.”

Again, it is not just about persistence, but feeling as though you are worth it. That the book you crafted is worth it.

Another author I have worked with, Allison Leotta, is in the middle of launching her latest novel, The Last Good Girl. A couple weeks back, she shared this on Facebook:

Just consider the work involved in writing the book, in publishing the book, and in setting up the book tour and other promotional plans. Here she is tapping into her local community to help support her family as makes all of this happen.

It is a subtle — but critical — way of saying “Yes, I deserve this.”

You may be thinking, “Come on Dan, this is all obvious… of course Sam, Tammy, and Allison deserve this.” I agree with you. Yet, it may not be that easy on the inside. Let me give you an example…

One of the big draws of any conference for writers is the “pitch slam.” Authors are able to meet with literary agents one-on-one, and pitch their book within something like a two-minute time frame.

I can’t even tell you how many authors I have spoken to who have have told me that, after months of preparation, they pitched the agents loved the book idea! For instance, three out of five of the agents would have said, “Here is my card, send me your manuscript. I definitely want to read this.”

Awesome, right?

Yet what I have found to be a common reaction among so many authors is that they do nothing. They never follow up with the agent.

I hear that story again and again. There is always a specific reason about being busy, or the draft not being ready, or some other conflict, such as waiting to hear back from an agent they had already queried, or worrying that since the pitch slam was three weeks ago, they missed their window.

To put this as a sport metaphor: They had their shot, they took it, it went in the hoop, and… they walked off the court mid-game.

I work with a lot of authors, and I try to give advice to as many others as possible. To all of them, including those who are wildly successful, the first piece of advice I would give is this:

“Yes, you deserve this.”

Thank you,
-Dan

Most of us are passionate about creating our work, but we find marketing it to be a challenge. The skills that allow us to create a great story are different from those we need to to position it in the marketplace, promote it, and actually get someone to buy it.

When I work with clients, I often focus a lot on honing their messaging, and more deeply understanding the psychological triggers that will get their audience to take action.

Today I want to share a little case study in what effective sales copy looks like. I want to take you, line by line, through an email that Michael Hyatt sent out to promote an online membership site that he runs.

If you have ever tried to get someone to buy your book, or sent out a newsletter hoping to encourage readers to leave a review, or posted to Facebook to get attention, then you should keep reading.

Before we begin, I want to mention two books. Much of what Michael is doing in his sales copy below is an illustration of marketing techniques outlined in these books:

1. Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, by Robert B. Cialdini
2. Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action, by Simon Sinek

If you haven’t read these books, and have any interest in marketing, go buy them now.

In Influence, Robert Cialdini outlines six psychological triggers that marketers use to get people to buy:

1. Reciprocation
2. Commitment & Consistency
3. Social Proof
4. Liking
5. Authority
6. Scarcity

In Start With Why, Simon Sinek makes the point that too many people try to sell their ideas and their work in a completely backwards fashion. Usually they start by telling you what you will receive, when instead you should follow this order:

1. Why (you do this work; the deeper reason)
2. How (you accomplish this)
3. What (you offer)

Okay, let’s dig in to the case study with Michael Hyatt. Background: he runs an online program called Platform University. I’m on his email list, and twice per year, I receive a bunch of emails when he is promoting it. Below is one of those emails. Note: I’m not promoting Platform University, I am not an affiliate, and he just closed the doors to it anyway. I am simply using this sales letter as an example of the psychological triggers embedded in marketing and sales copy.

I use Michael as an example here because he is an incredible marketer. He has a huge following, a wonderful reputation, and offers a wide range of ways for people to learn from his work. Many look to him as a model of success. I use Michael as an example out of RESPECT for what he has achieved; and to identify what we can learn from him.

Below, the text in blue is a line from Michael’s email. The text in red is my commentary and analysis on each line:

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SUBJECT LINE OF HIS EMAIL: Where my blog falls short.
In my inbox, this grabbed my attention. As I mentioned, I really respect Michael, so seeing this subject line feels like he is confiding in me. That even Michael struggles with things. Keep in mind, this is an email promoting an online membership site, yet his subject line was framed as a personal confession.

Dan,
This is a basic part of email marketing software, but this makes the entire piece feel more personal. He is connecting the personal nature of the subject line to me personally.

This might sound strange, but hear me out.
He’s making me curious. Not just the promise of “something strange,” but his plea to “hear him out.” He is literally saying “keep reading.” This is what every marketer wants… to get you to keep reading their sales pitch.

You’re not reading my best content.
This is the confession. He is confiding in me. It goes right back to the subject line of the piece: “Where my blog falls short.” Worth noting: these two sentences actually don’t connect that well, because his blog doesn’t fall short, he is simply saying there is more helpful advice in Platform University.

Don’t get me wrong. I am proud of what I publish on my blog. This community inspires me every day.
But I’m just scratching the surface!
To me, this is where I begin to feel marketed to. It begins as if he is confessing something to me. This is the turn, when I begin to realize that the confession as a setup for this payoff — for him to say “I’m proud of my blog,” and indicate there is more he could sell me.

There’s a level of insight and access I reserve for anyone who is ready to take their influence to a new dimension.
There is a huge word here: “reserve.” He reserves something for certain people. You see this word in alcohol marketing: the “reserve” bottles are the rarest and most highly sought after. That is preceded by the term “access.” You can imagine this already… you are at a fancy restaurant, but off to the corner is a velvet rope and curtain that they “reserve” for those who are special… that “access” is off limits to you. It is intended to create a curiosity and desire to get access.

It’s called Platform University.
Here he lays down his hand, including linking the name.

I founded this online membership in 2013 for anyone with something to say or sell.
To me, this is the weakest line in the whole piece. What is an “online membership”? It seems to be missing the word “website” or “community.” He also describes this really broadly: it is for “anyone with something to say or sell.” Gone are the caveats of those who are special. It is for anyone who has anything to say, and anyone with anything to sell. That seems like a low bar for entry. To me, this line doesn’t belong in the email.

Every week, thousands of leaders — authors, bloggers, entrepreneurs, ministers, and more — learn specific strategies for growing their influence online and offline.
Okay, now we are back on track; using the term “leaders” is genius. It actually goes against the preceding line… and identifies that this program is for a leader, challenging you to consider “Don’t I want to be a leader?”

There is so much packed in this sentence, and it ends with the pitch; he described it as:

1. learn specific strategies
2. growing their influence

For a few days, you have the opportunity to join us!
He is using the idea of scarcity here — that I have to act now, or I will lose out. The program is only accessible for a few days. It is an “opportunity” for me, not just one of 1,000 services I could buy. And the line ends not with a focus on the products that you get, but the access you get… “join us.” For those on Michael’s email list, they likely have a deep respect for him. That is part of what he is selling. Not just to join “him,” which would be enough. But to join “us.” The “us” indicates that right now, you the reader are an outsider. To become an insider, you have a few days to join.

That’s because Spring Enrollment is open from NOW until Wednesday, April 27th.
Worth noting here is that I received the email from him on April 19th, and he is saying enrollment ends on April 27th. I can see now that in the line above, the “for a few days” line meant to indicate scarcity was not fully accurate. Again, just a subtle way to encourage people to take action immediately.

I only open this public enrollment twice a year. After that, the doors will shut until the fall. That’s a lot of time to lose.

The huge line here though is this: “That’s a lot of time to lose.” He wants you to feel a loss if you don’t take advantage of this offer. That, by passing, you are losing a lot of time. It also reframes the calculation people are doing in their head. Instead of trying to justify “Can I afford to spend $30 per month on this program?” it reframes it as “Can I afford to lose 6 months?”

Are you ready to amplify your influence online?
This is a personal challenge. It is not phrased as him trying to prove to you that his program delivers, he is challenging you — are you ready. It positions the goal — “amplify your influence” as something completely attainable.

This also goes to the classic sales strategy: that if you get a potential customer to say “yes” to anything, that increases the chances they will say “yes” to your sales pitch. This is why in a sales situation such as buying a car, you are offered free coffee; why they ask you if you would like to sit down, instead of just saying “let’s sit down.” You saying “yes” to the question somehow seeds the behavior of saying “yes” to this other person, making it more likely you will say “yes” when asked “so, would you like to buy this car?”

Michael wants you to say “yes” in your head when he asks if you are ready.

You can do it.
This is the heavy part of the sales pitch. I am just a name on an email list, and he is now validating my abilities, following the line of asking if I am ready. Then he doubles down…

With the teaching and support of our amazing community, you will make faster progress growing your blog, business, product, or ministry — I guarantee it.
He promises that I will make faster progress, and then he guarantees it. Now, I checked the Platform University website, and I couldn’t find any reference to a guarantee. Or refund policy. It’s not an expensive program or anything, but I did wonder how he backs up this message of guaranteeing not that I will be satisfied or my money back, but he guarantees that I will make faster progress with my business. That is a huge guarantee. How do we measure that? What is the penalty if his guarantee doesn’t come to fruition?

For a little more than $1/day, this will become one of the best investments you can make to ensure the message you have to share with the world doesn’t get lost.
This is a technique I have seen Michael use elsewhere, breaking down the commitment to something really small. He does it on the sales page for Platform University in a similar fashion: “You can engage with each week’s content in about 45 minutes—that’s less than half of 1% of your week.”

Here he also hits a raw nerve of what we fear, that our message will get lost.

Dust off that old blog of yours…
Get serious about that killer online business idea…
Grow the following that will help you pursue your passion full time…
Here he is asking us to dream of what is possible. To remind us of ideas we have had that we have shelved due to being busy in life.

What’s possible for you? I can’t wait to find out. Join me inside Platform University, and I’ll see you on the inside!
Warmly, Michael Hyatt
This is another big sales line, “What’s possible for you.” He wants you to envision that for a moment, because it means that if you don’t sign up for his program, you have to go through the emotions of shutting the door on what is possible.

He then aligns this to the respect or liking you have for him by making this personal; he can’t want to find out, and he personally wants to see you on the inside. He practically puts on his Mister Rogers sweater in the closing, with the word “warmly.” The previous 268 words were a strong sales pitch for a product, yet he ends with “warmly.” He doesn’t want you to feel he is selling to you, rather that he has reached out to you personally and inviting you in to something special.

P.S. I have a special “fast action” bonus for anyone who joins today or tomorrow. It’s a game-changer for your productivity. Get more details here.
You didn’t think he was done, did you? Here he digs back into the tactic of scarcity by offering a fast action bonus which goes away in two days.

P.P.S. Consider this: if you’ve made progress by reading my free blog posts, imagine the impact and growth you can have when you tap into my private membership. It’s a lot more affordable than you’re expecting: http://platformuniversity.com/join
One final statement from him: again he asks you to imagine what is possible. He also uses the concept of commitment & consistency by referencing his blog. That he has been there for you providing great free content. And hinting that perhaps this is your chance to reciprocate. Then he uses that word “private” again, going back to the opening pitch with the idea that there is even better stuff just out of your reach.

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There is a lot going on in that email, right?! I mentioned Simon Sinek’s book Start With Why at the start of this post, and I want to make this point: notice how Michael really didn’t tell you WHAT you receive when you sign up for Platform University. He focuses mostly on the “WHY.” Why he created this, and why you should care. The “How” and the “What” come when you click one of the links over to the sales page.

There are many elements of Robert Cialdini’s book Influence in here as well. The psychological triggers of Liking, Reciprocation, Scarcity and others.

This is where the sophistication of Michael’s marketing comes in. To patiently understand how to take people through a sales funnel. To not do what so many others do: start with “what” and just overwhelm the reader with what they receive. Instead, Michael focuses first on the subtle psychological triggers of imagining what is possible, and of not wanting to miss out.

If you are someone who wants to get better at marketing and selling your work, become a keen observer of how you are sold to.

Do you have your own examples of people that you feel do marketing really well? Please share!

Thanks.
-Dan