Let’s talk about a completely random topic that came to my mind the other day:
Propaganda.
Yes, my friend. You’re in for a little history lesson today.
Let’s start with, what is propaganda?
It’s a type of communication where the goal is to push an agenda and influence an audience’s actions, way of thinking, and attitudes.
We’ve seen many forms of propaganda happen throughout our world’s history.
Here are some of the most notable ones:
Rosie the Riveter, the iconic woman in blue and red headband flexing her bicep. The purpose of this campaign was to recruit women into the workforce during World War II while the men were fighting in the battlefield. She was, at the time, the symbol of women’s empowerment.
Then there’s a famous poster of Uncle Sam pointing his finger outwards with the “I Want YOU!” text below. This was one of the many posters seen during the World War I era to push the agenda of changing the public’s opinion about the U.S. going to war.
And a more recent example, the spread of fake news throughout different social media platforms.
Now the question is, what makes propaganda work?
The answer:
Well, part of it has to do with controlling the information the public sees by either selection or censorship. The other part has to do with tapping into people’s emotions.
Yes, if you can do the latter, then you can make people think or do almost anything you want them to do.
That includes buying your products and services.
Take this for example:
There’s a great copywriter named Justin Goff who once did work in the dog rescue niche.
One of the things he did was he wrote a letter for a fundraising campaign.
To open the letter, he told a heartbreaking story of a dog that was rescued after almost dying from starvation.
Did it work? Did he manage to raise boatloads of money for the campaign?
You bet.
Just a little lesson to keep in mind tonight.
And try this in your emails too. You might be surprised with the results you’ll see.
If you want to learn more about email copywriting, check out How to Become an Email Titan.
Use the link below to get the free sample chapters.