If you’ve watched an artist at work, you’ll notice a moment when the artist twitches. The twitch comes from a dilemma: Should you add a few touches to the painting? Or leave well enough alone? And most people don’t leave well enough alone and ruin their work. Of course, once you’ve mucked up a few […]
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Psychotactics Blog
When To Re-Run Articles (And Salesletters) To Your Email List
Have you seen the “Daily Show” hosted by Jon Stewart. Every year, like any sensible person, Jon takes a break. But the “Daily Show” goes on. All the producers do is run some of the best of the “Daily Show” while John lounges on a beach somewhere. You too need a “beach” scenario for your […]
[Continue reading...]How To Isolate the Biggest Problem Of The Client (Without Driving Yourself Crazy)
Ever tried to soothe a very young child when he’s crying? You cuddle him, give him something to eat, something to drink. But the bawling is driving you crazy. And so you give him some of his favourite toys, some keys—and maybe in a moment of madness, a set of drums. You’ve calmed down the […]
[Continue reading...]How Do You Know If Your Outline Has The Humpty-Dumpty Syndrome?
Take one glass and put it on your dining table Put another glass into that glass, so it stacks up. Then another. And keep adding glasses. So when did you stop? You stopped, didn’t you? And for good reason too. At some point those glasses looked very much like they were going to do a Humpty-Dumpty […]
[Continue reading...]Why A Timer Is Your Best Friend (When Writing Articles)
Imagine you have to go away for a week on vacation Suddenly something intensely interesting happens with your planning. You have no time to waste. Facebook, Twitter and all other idiotic distractions never show up on your screen. TV watching becomes a luxury. Every moment of your day is focused on clearing your schedule so that your vacation is […]
[Continue reading...]Why Spikes Are Critical To Sustain The Interest of the Reader (And How To Do It Right)
We’ve all seen that heart monitor in hospitals, haven’t we? It spikes up, down, then flat. In stories, these ups, downs and flats seem to show up almost as part of the story. A story by its very nature seems to bob up and down. Not so with articles. In articles, it’s easy to go from […]
[Continue reading...]The Brain Audit Kit And Other Products
Why A Crappy Name Will Bury Your Book/Infoproduct (Yes, Even On The Internet)
The list you see below is the successive names given to a single book. The author tried repeatedly to come up with a great name, but these were the names he came up with—despite putting in a great effort. See if you like any of the names. – The Parts Nobody Knows – To Love and Write […]
[Continue reading...]How To Create Drama in Article Writing —The Tension and Release Method
How do you start writing a drama? Can you create drama and interest with your story? Do you feel a headache coming on, whenever you make your to-do list? I sure do, because no matter how much I whittle down my list, there’s always a ton of projects that need to be finished. And that’s when […]
[Continue reading...]Why A Unifying Theme For A Product Helps Tell/Sell Your Product A Lot Quicker
What is a unifying theme? And how can it help sell your product or service? Let’s find out. Some days I will put on my music, I turn it on and let it choose a set of songs for me. By the time it’s playing its third Sting song, I decide—yup, let’s just turn off […]
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