Why John gets more e-mail than me.
In Stroking Thomas I wrote about my nom-de-plums experience with a fellow who promises to teach you how to write a book in 14 days.
Now, the price of the book (excluding all the valuable freebies if you paid full price) is listed at $399. John got an offer to get a downloadable PDF version for US $47.
Since John doesn’t have a credit card, Richard (me) decided to go for it.
The document is 186 pages long (approximately 30 pages of agents and publishers.
What was my impression? Was it worth US $47?
I guess that depends how you look at it. A friend of mine spent several hundred (at least) dollars attending a Power Within seminar with Dr. Phil McGraw and a bunch of other speakers. She thought it was worth it.
I think the ideas in the "How to Write a Book in 14 Days" were pretty good. It gave me some perspective on helping to manage procrastination, break down tasks into smaller units, etc. There is nothing terribly earth shattering in the contents, but on the other hand, it is fairly practical advice and it does have some useful tips. So, yeah, I think it was worth it.
Now, John, my alter ego, keeps getting e-mails - around 1 a day. On the other hand, Richard, the real me, only gets an e-mail when he has something he wants to sell me.
So why does John get more e-mails than me?
Because I’m a patsy. I bought the system without any real hard sell. John on the other hand, is a tougher nut to crack, he just acknowledges the receipt of e-mails, but doesn’t send any money.
About a week after John asked for more information, he was getting very high pressure e-mails encouraging quick action. The e-mails took two forms: (1) “John, if you are serious then order the system, otherwise stop wasting my time and your time”, (2) “John, I’m offering this special promotion, but only until the end of today. After today, your opportunity to buy it is gone forever. Don’t hesitate, don’t let this golden opportunity pass you by.”
(Note: pressure text is mine, since I’m too lazy to actually look up the e-mails).
Now, the price of the book (excluding all the valuable freebies if you paid full price) is listed at $399. John got an offer to get a downloadable PDF version for US $47.
Since John doesn’t have a credit card, Richard (me) decided to go for it.
The document is 186 pages long (approximately 30 pages of agents and publishers.
What was my impression? Was it worth US $47?
I guess that depends how you look at it. A friend of mine spent several hundred (at least) dollars attending a Power Within seminar with Dr. Phil McGraw and a bunch of other speakers. She thought it was worth it.
I think the ideas in the "How to Write a Book in 14 Days" were pretty good. It gave me some perspective on helping to manage procrastination, break down tasks into smaller units, etc. There is nothing terribly earth shattering in the contents, but on the other hand, it is fairly practical advice and it does have some useful tips. So, yeah, I think it was worth it.
Now, John, my alter ego, keeps getting e-mails - around 1 a day. On the other hand, Richard, the real me, only gets an e-mail when he has something he wants to sell me.
So why does John get more e-mails than me?
Because I’m a patsy. I bought the system without any real hard sell. John on the other hand, is a tougher nut to crack, he just acknowledges the receipt of e-mails, but doesn’t send any money.
About a week after John asked for more information, he was getting very high pressure e-mails encouraging quick action. The e-mails took two forms: (1) “John, if you are serious then order the system, otherwise stop wasting my time and your time”, (2) “John, I’m offering this special promotion, but only until the end of today. After today, your opportunity to buy it is gone forever. Don’t hesitate, don’t let this golden opportunity pass you by.”
(Note: pressure text is mine, since I’m too lazy to actually look up the e-mails).
Comments
MIO: It is a typical sales ploy. Essentially, you are trying to quickly weed out those who are not serious. As well, you want to minimize the time people have to think - make the sale now, don't wait until later. I agree, I have no love for high pressure sales.
bee: A counter argument can be that some people are indecisive and need a little push to get them to actually make a decision. Human nature is modelled quite well by Newton's first Law: "A body at rest will remain at rest and a body in motion will remain in motion." Which is why motivation techniques rely on getting people to actually start doing things rather than sitting like a vegetable waiting for things.