Thread: DO YOU USE this single word that kills copy response.

Could it be I?

Could it be you?

I'm betting it's not banana...

Okay, getting more serious.
Thinking about the psychological impact of words and how the stop, start and flow traffic...

I'm going with...
<drum roll>

But.

It's the hardest flow stopper I of which I can think.

I'm sticking with "but".
Final answer.

my guess is 'limited'.

i'll go with "must" ??

Thanks all...I will put the answer up tonight!!

Mike, this is not from Carl Galletti's course but Ted Nicholas did say at one of Andrew Reynolds bootcamp that you should never use the word 'NO' in copy. Having said that why would you use the word 'NO', in what context?
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This is actually a good thread from you, I think we should do more of these...

Looking forward to the answer...

Maria
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I wouldn't use 'No' just because it is a word of negativity. You automatically insert a negative thought pattern into the readers subconscious brain. You are setting yourself up for failure.

I took a couple psychology courses in college...lol.

Go on, i'll have a guess.

Is it SAVE?

We're all waiting intrigued and with bated breath.

Kevin
:r

I've not a scooby, good thread.

Side note, I take it this guy's stuff is worth reading? I'm crap at copywriting.

Hi Paj,

Carl Galletti and Ted Nicholas are renowned for being the best copywriters in the world... Don't worry though, copywriting scares the life out of most people!
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Maria
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Originally Posted by paj_mccarthy
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I've not a scooby, good thread.

Side note, I take it this guy's stuff is worth reading? I'm crap at copywriting.

I've been watching this thread with interest and I still haven't got a clue what the answer could be!

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Originally Posted by NShah
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I've been watching this thread with interest and I still haven't got a clue what the answer could be!

It's so amazing! If I hadn't found Mike's thread in another forum I would never have guessed it. Someone here has come up with the answer but Mike's not telling yet!
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When you hear Mike's answer you'll want Cialdini's book too. It's on my shopping list for the end of the month.
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Interesting!!! I bet the winner's name begins with M
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Maria

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Originally Posted by Nonthawat
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It's so amazing! If I hadn't found Mike's thread in another forum I would never have guessed it. Someone here has come up with the answer but Mike's not telling yet!
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When you hear Mike's answer you'll want Cialdini's book too. It's on my shopping list for the end of the month.
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Originally Posted by MikeB
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Thanks all...I will put the answer up tonight!!

Come on Mike - tonight (in the UK) is nearly up and I won't be able to sleep without knowing this!!!!
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:

Please put us all out of our misery......!

So to the answer...drumroll...

- Awards to Iworkfromhome - possibly guessed it, from me trying to be too sneaky in the way the question was written

- Captain sounds as though he knew it, although there is one more angle to this than he saw...

- And nonthewhat is in detention for cheating - yes I did post it on a regular business forum in an "alter persona"- amongst other things I advise regular businesses on marketing, that was over a year ago!

So the answer is the simple word "BUT"....

Why?

Because your mind first tries to make sense of conjunctions, to work out the structure of what it reads,

eg IF condition THEN outcome
EITHER alternative OR alternative2
and so on - are all conjunctions.

And your mind tries to sort them out before paying to much attention to the stuff in between.

(anyone who tries to read german latin finds that you can run out of stack, just waiting for the verb!!!, I digress....)


BUT is a conjunction,and a very dangerous one.
Even though its use is simply to qualify what goes before...

It is a generally reliable car , but I had an electrical fault last march.

It has the effect of NEGATING it completely...
"ok your mind says, so it isnt really reliable at all"

Worse still your mind sees it as a CONCLUSION
Your mind expects to see the conclusion last....
"not reliable then"

The point is your mind is racing through all what it sees as irritating detail
looking for the summary, and because the thing after "but" is often only a single statement, it can see it as a conclusion...

And your mind does this at almost a subconscious level.

So be really careful - your mind can see things that just arent there.

So if you write

It has some great benefits
(a) it is this
(b) it is that
But unfortunately
(c) It is the other.

Your mind is left with the impression that either (a) and (b) are either no longer true, or outweighed by the "other"

So you either negate or devalue all that goes before.

And thats what the insurance sales troubleshooter discovered - the best never used "but"...the worst all did.

So eliminate it completely.....mentioning a flaw in copy, can help because it gives the impression of a review not a sales pitch which helps with credibility. If you do that, dont use the word "but" to do it.

And if you must use it at all do it the other way round...to negate the failing, before presenting the benefits.

The focus may be fast and sleek,
but just look at the performance of the new astra!
5 finely tuned cylinders of raw power with full engine management to make it respond at maximum speed, waffle waffle b/s eye watering 0-60 in 7.8 seconds.

The astra could be a lot slower than the focus, but thats not what your mind can see - it assumes the stuff at the end, either negates or overrides the previous.

I tried to be cheeky.....
By giving you the answer in the question...
Someone spotted it.

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Originally Posted by MikeB
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When you hear the answer - but it is not obvious

And...If you enjoyed this, I am hoping to talk the organisers into letting me do a bit of a copywriting/conversion quiz for one of the competitions. Watch this space....

Well done Mike for doing this thread, it was very thought provoking... You would think that the answer would be so easy but for the life of me I could not think what it could be. Absolutely it would be good to do more of them...

Congratulations to I 'workfromhome2'...
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Maria
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Originally Posted by paj_mccarthy
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I've not a scooby, good thread.

Side note, I take it this guy's stuff is worth reading? I'm crap at copywriting.

I think we should all avoid the word "scooby" in our copy!
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-John.