Paul's Blog

Have you ever considered the best way to persuade people with the mere use of words?

Dear reader,

My name is Paul Vessies, and I may be perceived as a direct response copywriter and persuasion tactician. Why? Because one of my main activities is to assess and write commercial and corporate texts in order to persuade the reader to buy a product, ask for a service, react on a job vacancy, increase their performance on the workfloor, and so on.

I decided to specialize in these subjects after discovering the enormous power that words and language patterns can have, and in the upcoming blogs I will share a few of my experiences, discuss this magic of language and reveal some valuable discoveries I have made since starting this project.

Curious why 99% of all the commercial communication is ineffective? Interested in the common element that provided self-made people their richness? And would you like to know more about the business of direct response copywriting ? It may be wise to read this blog if you answered these questions with a Yes . Warning: It may change your view on corporate communication forever!

Happy reading and may this blog have a great impact on your level of persuasion!


Part I: Corporate 'spin doctor'

I d like to start this blog with introducing the phenomenon spin doctor . In the most common sense of the word a spin doctor is an instructor of a political party, whose goal it is to affect the public opinion in favour of the party that hired him.

One of his main duties is to calculate the influence of a political speech on the public, in order to maximize the amount of support for the party. We may look to the presidential debates in the United States for an example. The winner of the campaign becomes the most powerful man on earth, and not only influences the American people, but many others around the world.

This very notion means that the words he uses during a debate or speech are of great importance. Misinterpretations and ambiguous premises must be avoided at all costs. The goal is to deliver a message that will be remembered by the audience.

In early 2007 I decided to dedicate much of my time to investigate whether a spin doctor may also be valuable to companies and entrepreneurs. After all, these parties are also dependent on the communication in the commercial campaigns and websites that are solely created for the benefit of persuading prospective clients and current customers. Subsequently the parties are intent to see the board messages addressed to its employees have a desirable effect on their behaviour.

Persuasion

In February 2007 I started to work for a research institute that was specialized in the translation of scientific researches to Sales and Marketing. These researches focused mostly on persuasion, influence, the way the human brain copes with information, etc. The results of these researches were published by 31 universities. In that time I functioned as a link between the universities, corporations, and training centres.

From that time on, I paid continuous attention to the level of persuasion of texts on different communication channels, including the internet. In other words, how much persuasion does a website have on its visitor? I had no other option but to conclude that the level of persuasion exercised by websites is frightfully low most of the times.

Since finding the right words is usually a matter of doing your homework, it s safe to say that everyone can be a word artist . In fact, you re already trying to get things done the way you want by using specific words. Not trying to find the right words doesn t make you an inferior word artist, only a less aware and therefore a less effective word artist. Let s see how this blog can inspire you to become a word artist!


Next Tuesday: The 'Mastermind'-phenomenon