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Hooks And Mechanisms: The Tag Team Of Sales DOMINATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!
By Chris “Mr. Moneyfingers” Haddad For Mark Ling’s Copy And Conversion Awesomeness
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What The #@$#@ Is A Hook Anyway?
Seriously, I want to know . .
.Bueller? Bueller?
(Seriously, Definitions Are Hard To Find)
Our Whole Culture Runs On Hooks . . .
• Music - Melody or riff that CATCHES the ear (“Hey Jude,” “Friday.”)
• Fiction - Sentence that sets up the story and drags you through. “All this happened, more or less.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse Five (Unreliable narrator.)
• Movies - The “High Concept” that grabs you and speaks to fear, ambition or curiosity deep in your mind. (“The Matrix,” “Jaws,” “Primer.”)
Our Whole Culture Runs On Hooks . . .
• Video Games - Crazy new gameplay abilities, astonishing graphics, “Never been done before!” “Developed for $5 in a basement!)
• Stuff! - A space age desk that lets you LAY DOWN WHILE WORKING!, LUGGAGE with SPEAKERS in it! Pretty much anything that gets funded on Kickstarter.
“What is a great hook? It’s the connecting point between the tangibles of the product… and the hazy inner needs of your prospect.
Those needs include a steep requirement for believability, a yearning for magic and specialness, and a staggering hunger for something that wakes him up.
A great hook isn’t like a hand coming out of the ad and grabbing your reader.
Naw. It’s more like a black hole that sucks your prospect into the ad, kicking and screaming, and jettisons him through your pitch in a breathless ride that has his heart pumping and his deepest desires roiling.”
“Denim Over Denim” John Carlton
Moneyfingers Definiton . . .“Your hook is the idea, promise, story, feature or thing that catches your prospect’s attention (in spite of terrible
competition) and drags them kicking and screaming through your sales process. A great hook (or hook combo) creates tension, hope and/or curiosity in the heart of your
prospect where the very thought of not continuing down your funnel makes them fearful and nauseous because of
the sheer uniqueness of what you have to offer.”
(Quite a bit to live up to, huh?)
Hook Versus USP . . . Your “Unique Selling Proposition” is what sets your
product apart . . .
Your Hooks are the emotional articulation of what makes your product and/or sales message special. They slide
like a puzzle piece into the hopes, fears, prejudices, values and culture of your target prospect.
Ex. The Salvation Diet . . .
USP - Diet based on the teachings of the Bible.
Outrage Hook - Secret diet Atheists and “Culture Warriors” don’t want
you to know about developed by a Christian who has seen so many
God-fearing people die young . . . “Science” changes all the time, the
Bible never does.
How Most People Come Up With Marketing Hooks . . .
• “I want to do a product about doing the moonwalk because I am ‘passionate’ about it.”
• “I have created the greatest breakdancing product ever!!!!!”
• “Hmm. OK, now that I have my breakdancing product how the heck am I going to sell it? What’s going on in my culture and society that I can “bolt on?” Is Michael Jackson available? Oh . . . no? Um . . . shit.”
Moneyfingers Method . . . • “What’s going on my niche’s culture, prejudices,
beliefs, fears, ambitions, hopes or desires? What does my prospect WANT (even if they don’t know they want it?)”
• “What “Pre-Hooked” product idea can I come up with BEFORE I create the product?” (Create something you already know will sell.)
• THEN create the product making sure every section relates to the promises, big idea and hook of the VSL and sales message.
Ex. The Language Of Desire . . .
Mechanistic Product Hook - “How To Make A Man Sexually Obsessed With
You Without Even Touching Him” (Words) .
(Had that and the bullets BEFORE we created the product.
EVERYTHING in the product goes back to “Dirty Words That Make
Him Yours)
Hook Stacking . . .
The best VSL’s have MULTIPLE hooks that can be used for different swipe/banners or to drag your prospect deeper
and deeper.
Types of Hooks
Hook Type 1: The “Magic Mechanism”
Mechanism: The seemingly “magic,” “done-for-you,” “automatic” or “easy” way of fulfilling the BIG PROMISE of your product and/or solving the desperate problem faced
by your (lazy) prospect.
Mechanism = HOW You Fulfill The Promise
• “Cure Your ED By Drinking This Milk Shake!” (“Wow, that sounds WAY easier than what my doctor says! It’s probably BS but I gotta find out!”)
• “Text Your Ex Back,” (“Yes! I can do it without having to look her in the eye! And the texts are done for me!”)
• Amazon delivers in 30 minutes WITH DRONES!
• “Magic Software pours piles of cash into your bank account while you sleep!”
• Atkins diet - Lose weight by eating steak!
Great Mechanisms . . . • Are “foolproof” and “hands off.” (Customer low
self esteem.)
• Require no creativity or thinking.
• Done for you.
• Feel like a “thing.”
• Goal is: “As Easy As The Roomba.”
Mechanism Types For Info Products
• Technology - “Text Your Ex Back” versus “Get Your Ex Back.” “Mobile Money Machines.”
• Method / Technique - Rosenberg’s “Dr. Feelgood” technique, “Psystrology Method.”
• Software - “Just enter info for personalized report on your perfect man.”
• How the Pros Do it - “Blistering double bass using Joey Jordinson foot technique.”
Hook Type 2: The “Secret Terror Under Your Nose” Hook
STUYN Hook: The common, everyday thing you thought was safe or benign or even good for you revealed to have
DEVASTATING and DANGEROUS!!!!
STUYN Hooks . . . • Attack our sense of safety and create anxiety and
doubt . . .
• “Are satanic rituals happening at YOUR daycare?” (No, but it ruined lives in the 80’s.)
• “Do immunizations cause autism?” (No, kids have died.)
• “Yoga mat chemical in Subway bread!” (Um, you mean water?)
• Having lead in your house is bad. (Look, a real one!)
In Info Land . . .
• “3 ‘Healthy’ Foods Never To Eat”
• “The Healthy Exercise You Must Not Do After 40”
• “The ‘Safe’ Online Business That Is Sending Regular People To Jail.”
Hook Type 3: The “I Knew It!”
I Knew It!: Variation of STUYN - What does your prospect suspect, fear or morbidly hope that you can confirm as
true? (Folks love to be told they are right.)
I Knew It! Hooks . . .
• Close an “anxiety loop” for the prospect.
• Bond the prospect to you (“You’re like me!”)
• Create an “Us against them” mentality.
• If you can articulate what they secretly believe better than you they will listen forever.
I Knew It! Examples . . . • “If a man closes his eyes during sex it means
he’s fantasizing about your sister.”
• “Secret recording reveals Obama’s plan to tak e your guns!!!”
• “Women are secretly hornier than men (and you can have all the sex you want if you know these 3 words.)
“I Didn’t Know It” Can Also Work . . .
• Take a terrible fear, anxiety or belief of your prospect and turn it completely around.
• Ex. “Sex on the first date is bad,” can become “Why you MUST sleep with a man on the first date if you want him to fall in love with you.”
Hook Type 4: The “OUTRAGE SOCIETY!!!!”
Outrage Society!: What terrible thing is “The other side” doing that you MUST get incredibly pissed off about?
Outrage Society! Examples . . .
• “Atheists and ‘alternative lifestyle” proponents are secretly conspiring to have Christians eat nothing but pork rinds and die young! Here’s the online proof!”
• “Fed sticks it to the little guy by raising / lowering interest rates. Here’s what you must know to fight back!”
• “Unlabeled GMO foods are being snuck into school lunches.”
• What can you think of that would PISS YOUR NICHE OFF and make them say “That is not right and I won’t stand for it?”
Hook Type 5: Ancient Secrets Revealed!
Ancient Secrets!: What did ancient cultures discover that has been lost in the annals of time??????
Ancient Secrets Revealed!! • Taps into a deep yearning for a “Better time” and
for “magic.”
• People aren’t happy and therefore can’t imagine that now is “better” than the past.
• A certain romance and mysticism to it.
• You can even bring actual “magic” into it since there’s a belief that there used to be more “magic” than there is now.
Ancient Wisdom Revealed Examples
• “Ancient Secret Of Kings” - How ancient kings accumulated amazing wealth!
• Paleo - Eat like the cavemen did and you will be healthier!
• Salvation Diet - The secret to great health was in The Bible all along.
• “Beauty secrets of Cleopatra,” “Helen of Troy’s seduction secrets.” etc.
• What OLD thing can you dig up as the basis for your product? Remember: People were “wiser” then.
Variation: Foreign Wisdom
• Taps into feelings of unease around Western culture.
• “Why French Women Don’t Get Fat”
• “Law Of Devotion” - how to get a guy like a Russian girl.
Hook Type 6: New Science!
New Science!: Astonishing new discovery makes a formerly insurmountable problem easy!!!!
New Discovery In Science!• New! Shiny! Incredible! Solves problem in a sexy way.
• Taps into desire to be on the “cutting edge.”
• “Well, the thing I tried before didn’t work because I didn’t know THIS.”
• Some people still trust science in this country =-)
• ANY science will work (Psychology is great.)
• Can also be a combination of previous ideas or “sciences.”
New Discovery In Science! Examples
• Anything John Assaraf does around the brain and mindset.
• “Psystrology Method” - combo of Astrology and Psychology.
• All those health offers about freezing off fat.
Hook Type 7: The Yoda Of The Niche
Yoda: Famous and revered master reveals his tips, tricks and secrets to elevate you to the next level almost
automatically.
Yoda Of The Niche• Must be someone who’s had incredible accomplishments
(or a newer name who can demonstrate incredible skill.)
• Niche fame is WAY more important than mainstream fame.
• Has to be someone your prospect wants to “be.”
• Even better if they’ve “refused to teach before now.”
• Unless your “Yoda” is seen as the absolute leader then this hook alone is usually not enough.
Yoda Of The Niche Examples
• Neal Peart teaches rock drumming.
• James Patterson teaches writing.
• Kevin Spacey teaches acting.
• Even “Chris Haddad teaches copywriting” (but not “Chris Haddad teaches hair care.)
Cautionary Tale Of Relying On “Fame” . . .
Hook Type 9: The Unknown But Fascinating Guru
Unknown: You’ve never heard of him, but he’s the best in the world at what he does - and now he will teach YOU.
The Unknown But Fascinating Guru
• Needs to be someone “new” (as in never heard of.)
• Still needs credibility (“The secret guru behind Tom Petty’s songwriting success.”)
• Needs a strong reason why they have decided to teach (especially in the make money niche.)
• Is there something “weird” and fascinating about them?
The Unknown But Fascinating Guru Examples:• One legged golfer (His one leg is why he
discovered this SWING!)
• Claire Casey in “Capture His Heart”
• Any “Mr. X” promo in the IM space.
• “Personal Trainer To The Stars Reveals How To Get The Brad Pitt V.”
Hook Type 10: “I’m Just Like You But Worse”
Just Like You: Regular person with massive obstacles who discovered the answer to your problem.
Just Like You But Worse!
• Must overcome great obstacles
• Hero’s journey
• “If I can do it, you can do it.”
Just Like You But Worse! Examples
• “Morbidly obese and almost died of a heart attack in high school . . . just finished a marathon.”
• “Ten years in jail for a crime I didn’t commit . . . now a millionaire.”
• “Overweight soccer mom . . . learned secret to keeping my man.”
Almost there!
Hook Stacking . . .
The best VSL’s have MULTIPLE hooks that can be used for different swipe/banners or to drag your prospect deeper
and deeper.
Hook Stacking Examples:
• LOD - Words mechanism, Just like you, I knew it!
• LOL - Words mechanism, Just Like You, Outrage Society
• Psystrology - New Science, Ancient Wisdom, Just Like You, I Knew It, Secret Terror
How To Come Up With Your Hooks
• Write your swipe / banners first.
• Don’t let reality get in the way of a brainstorm.
• Pay attention to your market. What do they want? What have they heard too much of? What do they respond to?
• Have fun. It shows in the work.
Questions?You can find me at Facebook.com/chris.haddad
