Influence and Persuasion | Dr. Lawrence J. Clark Powerful Influence via Ethical and Creative Communication

Two “F” Words Team Up in a Brilliant Guerrilla Marketing Move

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : September 29, 2016

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Here’s a pretty cool Guerrilla Marketing strategy by the classic rock band Foreigner. You know, the band who had a string of hits including “Cold as Ice,” “I Wanna Know What Love Is,” “Feels Like the First Time,” and many more. If you are older than thirty, you probably made out or got stoned (or both) with their songs playing in the background.

So, why am I writing about a bunch of long-haired old guys with guitars when I’m supposed to be writing about Guerrilla Marketing strategies?

Well, because these guys, in addition to being stellar musicians, are just plain smart. The band has partnered with Ford Motor Company in an ingenious scheme to gain new fans and sell tons of tickets to their most recent tour.

High school choirs can submit a performance of the classic Foreigner song “I Want to Know What Love Is” for the chance to go on to perform the song on stage with the band at a Foreigner concert, rehearse for the performance with a Foreigner band member at a local Ford dealership, and host a Drive 4 UR School event to raise up to $6,000 for their music program.

I got to experience this event first-hand recently when Foreigner performed in Albuquerque, New Mexico with the Sandia High School Choir, and it was both a great performance and a memorable moment for both the student choir members and those of us in the audience.

Imagine the good will that this generates in the communities where they will perform? And for a $500 donation and a little extra time, imagine how many extra tickets they will sell at each concert (other students, teachers, parents, friends, etc.). And how much free publicity will the band get from all the pictures and press releases published in local school and community newspapers, websites, social media, etc.? And imagine the extra exposure they are getting by partnering up with Ford?

Maybe your business isn’t as famous as Foreigner or Ford, but think about ways that you could partner with current and potential customers to increase your customer base, gain exposure in the media, and make your business one of the “good guys.” Let the good times, good will (and profits) roll!

To read more about Foreigner’s smart use of Guerrilla Marketing strategies, check out this story:

https://www.foreigneronline.com/news?n_id=1435

Guerrilla Marketing and the Tuna Fish Sandwich Story

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 19, 2016

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Category: Guerrilla Marketing

Watch this video and learn how a simply tuna fish sandwich can help you discover an important Guerrilla Marketing lesson that can help increase profits and help YOUR business grow.

Enjoy!

Dr. Lawrence J. Clark

Dr. Lawrence J. Clark is one of the world’s leading experts in influence and persuasion, sales psychology, and consumer buying behavior. For more videos, articles, and tips to help promote your business and make more sales, visit https://lawrenceclark.com often.

To receive a free 30-minute phone consultation to find out how Dr. Clark can help YOUR business, click here.

Why Authors, Speakers, and Coaches Should Care about Guerrilla Marketing

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 1, 2016

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Category: Guerrilla Marketing, Influence and Persuasion

Yeah, I know. You’re an author with a gift for the written word. You’re a public speaker with the gift of gab. You’re a business or life coach with a talent for bringing out the best in people.

Marketing is something that other people do. It’s something you hire others to do. It’s something you have absolutely no interest in even learning about, much less doing.

I know how you feel . . .

. . . because I used to feel the same way. Until I learned that even if I spent a fortune on marketing agencies or consultants, nobody cared as much about my books, my public speaking topics, or my life-changing coaching abilities than I did. EVEN IF I PAID THEM A BUNCH OF MONEY.

The Quest

So I set out on a quest to find out as much about marketing as I could. Granted, I had previous experience as a public relations director, a direct salesperson and sales trainer, and a university professor specializing in teaching persuasive writing and speaking. But in most of those cases, I had the power of large corporations with huge marketing and advertising budgets to back me up. When I called and said, “I’m so-and-so from Company X,” the person on the other end of the line had usually heard of my company before I called, which automatically created an open door for a conversation.

When I struck out on my own, though, most people had not heard of Lawrence J. Clark, PhD, no matter how much of a legend I was in my own mind.

So how was I going to get the word out about my books, my speaking topics, my coaching, or my amazingly valuable consulting services?

The Discovery

After reading close to a hundred books on the topic, attending a variety of seminars and workshops and conferences, and hiring knowledgeable but expensive coaches, I found that one name and concept kept coming up again and again: Guerrilla Marketing, and its founder, Jay Conrad Levinson.

Levinson was the brainchild behind such household-name brands as The Jolly Green Giant, The Marlboro Man, The Friendly Skies of United, The Pillsbury Dough Boy, and many others. After escaping the rat race of Madison Avenue advertising (think Mad Men) Levinson moved to Berkeley, California and began a quiet life teaching marketing concept to small business owners.

What he found, though, was that the majority of marketing textbooks catered to the multi-million dollar corporations for which he had previously worked, but had little to offer to the struggling small businessperson. So he began compiling notes and handouts for his students, and those notes eventually became the basis for his seminal book, Guerrilla Marketing, published in 1984.

Since that time, the book has sold over 24 million copies, and launched a series of almost 100 books written or co-written by Levinson. And his concepts have been used not only by small businesses, but also by Apple, Microsoft, Dell, Coca-Cola, and a host of others. Unfortunately Levinson passed on in 2013, but his legacy will live on through the many books, articles, and audio and video recordings that he left behind.

My life’s journey has fortunately led me to read a good number of those books, and to also become officially certified as a Guerrilla Marketing Master Trainer, which means I not only have learned to apply the concepts in my own writing, speaking, coaching, and consulting, but am now able to help thousands of other authors, speakers, coaches, consultants, as well as small businesspeople in a variety of industries, to use Guerrilla Marketing concepts to grow their businesses.

So what is Guerrilla Marketing?

GM Horizontal

Well, Levinson defined it as using unconventional, free, and low-cost methods to grow your business and create profits. That’s the short answer.

Over the next few articles, I will be exploring and explaining several Guerrilla Marketing concepts (there are over 200 Guerrilla Marketing “weapons” in all). Check back often and apply the ones that make sense to your business, and like me, you’ll soon start to appreciate the life, wisdom, concepts, and legacy of the man who brought them all to us, Jay Conrad Levinson. AND make more profits in your business, which wouldn’t be a bad thing, eh?

Dr. Lawrence J. Clark is a specialist in copywriting, sales psychology, and consumer buying behavior, and is a Guerrilla Marketing Master Trainer. To learn more, visit https://thecommunicationleader.com/16-monumental-secrets-of-guerrilla-marketing/ , email lawrence@thecommunicationleader.com , or call 505-585-8594.

How to Write Advertising Copy That Doesn’t Sound Like Advertising Copy, Part II

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 25, 2015

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Category: Copywriting

Tags:advertising, celebrity endorsements, infomercials, marketing

Do you think you’re wonderful? Is your product or service wonderful? If so, are you willing and able to tell others what you are already sure of?

As I mentioned in Part I of this article, most of us have been taught to be humble and to not “brag” about ourselves or our accomplishments, so it’s hard to write those kinds of things about ourselves. But if that’s the case, how else can we let our clients and prospects know how wonderful we and/or our products or services are?

This is where a great deal of advertising copy falls down, especially when it is written by someone who is inexperienced in this type of writing. One effective way to accomplish this goal is to borrow other people’s words and to let THEM tell your readers how wonderful you are.

Persuasion experts call this using “borrowed credibility,” which is sometimes referred to as “social proof.” You’ve seen it before; think of the late night infomercial in which average looking people rave about how they lost weight or cleaned their carpet or made tons of money in real estate by using the product, service, or training program that is being advertised.

This is extremely effective, as viewers think, “if it worked for them, it might work for me, too.” And when you go to a website and see that hundreds or thousands of people have clicked the “like” button and shared it on their favorite social media site, it gives that website instant credibility.

So how could you apply this to your business? To begin, look through your email inbox and in your “snail mail” files. Have you ever received a thank you card or email from a client or customer? You don’t have to copy the entire letter, but find a sentence or two that is most compelling, then copy and paste it into a special file called “social proof” or “testimonials.” You probably have more of these comments than you realize.

If you have received (and kept) thank you cards and letters, go through them and do the same thing. Find 1-3 sentences that really stand out and make you look good, then type them into your file.

If you can’t find any, not to worry: simply write to 3-5 of your best clients, tell them you’re developing a new brochure or website, then ask if they would mind saying a few nice words about you. You’d be surprised at how many people are never asked to do so, but (provided you have given great service in the past) would be happy to help you out in this way.

You can then use these comments in your emails, on your website or blog, in direct mail pieces, and in other situations in which you are hoping to promote your business. And the good news is that people respond in predictable ways; when they see that others, especially those who they have heard of and/or trust as professionals in their own field, have used and are happy with your products and services, they will be much more likely to try you out for themselves.

Stay tuned for the next installment in this series, where I will discuss more creative, ethical, powerful, persuasive, and PROFITABLE ideas to help you and your business stand out from the crowd.

How to Write Advertising Copy That Doesn’t Sound Like Advertising Copy

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 25, 2015

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Category: Copywriting

Tags:advertising, copywriting, infomercials

How much time do you spend writing copy for print ads, online sales pages, or direct mail pieces? Writing advertising copy that is effective (i.e. sells people on the idea of using your product or service so effectively that they WANT to spend money on it) can be one of the most difficult tasks for anyone trying to promote their products or services, especially those who are not trained in writing, marketing, or persuasive rhetoric. It’s pretty common to spend hours writing a blog post, email, or brochure copy, but then decide it’s just too boring or just doesn’t get across the message you are trying to convey.

At the same time, if you’ve spent any time at all on my website, in my live seminars, or on my webinars, you’re probably not the type who wants to fill your copy with a bunch of hype and ridiculous promises. So how does one find a middle ground, yet still draw attention by creating successful advertising copy?

Good question! Read on for some great advice on creating advertising copy that doesn’t sound like advertising copy, but really works help promote the products and services your business has to offer.

There’s no question that writing effective copy can be challenging. As a matter of fact, that’s why a good copywriter can command several thousand dollars, plus residual fees, for a single, well-written, profit-generating sales letter.

To begin with, it’s a good idea to understand the product you are writing about. If you are writing about your own products services, this can be the easiest, yet most difficult part of the task. Let me explain.

Of course, it’s much easier to promote something if you know what its highlights, benefits, or perks are, and if you’re writing about a service you provide, you obviously know the things about it you are going to promote in your ad copy. Or do you?

Here’s the thing: what’s important to you, or what YOU think might be important to your clients and prospects, isn’t always what THEY think is important. This is where things start to get a little tricky.

When you are writing advertising copy, whether it’s on your website, in a direct mail piece such as a brochure, or in an email, your main objective is to get the reader to respond in a specific way – buy the product, sign up for the newsletter, volunteer for the event, etc. Sometimes “you” are the “product” that you’re selling. You might be an expert in your field, you may have numerous successful cases in your track record, and you are prompt, courteous, and professional in your dealings with clients.

Unfortunately, most of us have been taught to be humble and to not “brag” about ourselves or our accomplishments, so it’s hard to write those kinds of things about ourselves.

Stay tuned for Part II of this topic so you can find out some effective “non-bragging” ways to let your clients and prospects know how wonderful you and/or your products or services are!

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues to Live By with Commentary and Self-Improvement Exercises by Dr. Lawrence J. Clark

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 24, 2015

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Category: Goal Setting, Influence and Persuasion

Tags:humility, justice, moderation, personal development, resolution, self-improvement, virtues

Benjamin Franklin, one of America’s most productive, prolific, multi-talented, industrious, and beloved founders, was also a master of time management and productivity. Here is a list of his “13 Virtues to Live By,” which were published in his Autobiography. Franklin even made small charts that he would carry around and mark his performance in each category at the end of every day. Talk about accountability!

Benjamin Franklin’s 13 Virtues

1. Temperance:

Eat not to dullness and drink not to elevation.

2. Silence:

Speak not but what may benefit others or yourself. Avoid trifling conversation.

3. Order:

Let all your things have their places. Let each part of your business have its time.

4. Resolution:

Resolve to perform what you ought. Perform without fail what you resolve.

5. Frugality:

Make no expense but to do good to others or yourself: i.e. Waste nothing.

6. Industry:

Lose no time. Be always employed in something useful. Cut off all unnecessary actions.

7. Sincerity:

Use no hurtful deceit. Think innocently and justly; and, if you speak, speak accordingly.

8. Justice:

Wrong none, by doing injuries or omitting the benefits that are your duty.

9. Moderation:

Avoid extremes. Forebear resenting injuries so much as you think they deserve.

10. Cleanliness:

Tolerate no uncleanness in body, clothes or habitation.

11. Chastity:

Rarely use venery (sexual indulgence) but for health or offspring; Never to dullness, weakness, or the injury of your own or another’s peace or reputation.

12. Tranquility:

Be not disturbed at trifles, or at accidents common or unavoidable.

13. Humility:

Imitate Jesus and Socrates

Here’s an image of the chart that Franklin would carry with him (note that it contains only ONE of the virtues–he suggested focusing on each one for a week at a time, not at the expense of the others, but to really fix his mind and heart on the importance of that virtue. According to Franklin, this practice helped him to master (at least become much better) at practicing each of the virtues by the end of the 13th week.

Your Action Item

1) Download your free PDF Action Guide below, print out the chart on Page 4, and keep it next to your bed. Every night before you hit the pillow, make a note of how well you did in each area.

Right click the link below to download PDF

Benjamin Franklins 13 Virtues to Live By Dr Lawrence J Clark Winners Mindset Development System

2) You can also print out each individual page and carry it with you for one week. This will help your mind and heart focus on the importance of that virtue.

3) At the end of each week (or even every day if possible), write a journal entry in which you reflect upon what you’ve learned and what happened in your work life, relationships, inner thoughts, personal habits, etc. while focusing on that particular virtue.

4) Share what you are doing with a friend, co-worker, classmate, spouse, etc. and invite him or her to join you.

5) At the end of the 13 weeks, write another journal entry, titled “A Letter to Myself.” In that letter, give yourself praise for the areas in which you have improved, and be honest in your assessment of the areas that you still need to work on.

6) You might even repeat this 13-week plan 2, 3, or 4 times. Some of us (myself included) often need to hear things more than once before they sink in. If you complete this exercise, even if only once, I GUARANTEE you will see an improvement in your productivity, ability to conquer bad habits and develop new, better ones, and your general overall character. And I’ll bet others will notice the change in you as well!

Elbert Hubbard’s “A Message to Garcia”

Posted by :lawrencejclark On : April 18, 2015

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Category: Influence and Persuasion

This letter, which was written in 1899 as an article in Hubbard’s The Philistine: A Periodical of Protest, then later republished as a small book and distributed to over 40 million people all around the world in the next dozen years or so, is a fascinating piece of writing. I love it because it is a perfect example of:

Persuasive Rhetoric that energized millions of people to take action
The importance of self-respect, dignity, and ethical behavior
A fascinating, mostly forgotten piece of writing that helped to spread the ideals of American Exceptionalism throughout the known world (Hubbard claims that it had been translated into “all” languages, which despite his braggadocious leanings, was probably very close to true at the time)
A “viral” message that had over 40 million hits almost a hundred years before the World Wide Web or Social Media were even invented!

Here is a portrait of Hubbard, which is housed in the collection at the Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum, located at the Roycroft Artisan Community that Hubbard founded in East Aurora, New York.

Below you will find the original text in a PDF document, as well as two audio files. In the first I am reading the foreword that Elbert Hubbard wrote in 1913 while donating his handwritten manuscript to the Erie County Public Library. Here’s a picture of the first page in Hubbard’s own handwriting:

In the second, I am reading the entire text of the letter. I recommend that you listen to and apply Hubbard’s inspiring (albeit sometimes biting) comments to your own life, and that you share this with any sniveling, entitled, or lazy children, students, employees, or friends who might also benefit from Hubbard’s message.

To Your Success!

~Dr. Lawrence J. Clark

Foreword to A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard, read by Dr. Lawrence J. Clark

A Message to Garcia by Elbert Hubbard, read by Dr. Lawrence J. Clark

PDF: Elbert Hubbard – A Message to Garcia

Take the next step toward achieving your goals by downloading your free copy of Dr. Lawrence J. Clark’s eBook, 3 Months to a Winner’s Mindset.

Click on the image to download your free copy today!

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