6. Joe Vitale--Hypnotic Writing

Hypnotic Writing by: Joe Vitale Joe Vitale The Vitale Estate 121 Canyon Gap Rd. Wimberley, TX 78676-6314 www.mrfire.com  [email protected]

What is this course all about?  Hypnotic Writing is a book by Joe Vitale copyrighted 2007.

Right in the front of the book Vitale defines what ‘hypnotic’ is not: 1) Hypnosis never removes choice . 2) Hypnosis is not evil (sanctioned by the American Medical Assoc). His definition of ‘hypnosis’ is anything that holds your attention. And Vitale’s book teaches you to hold the attention of  readers. Who wrote the course?

Joe Vitale’s website says he is known as the world’s first ‘Hypnotic Marketer.’ His list of services online include consulting, sales letter writing, email letter writing, websites, press releases and speaking &/or marketing strategy. His online rate card for said services seems to indicate past successes. Vitale also has a large number of marketing and advertising products available at his website. One is an executive mentoring program. It is Vitale’s one-on-one coaching program designed for entrepreneurs. Some of his more tangible products include a library of audio and video courses (The Awakening Course, Dreaming Abundance, The Intention Attractor TM, The Clearing Audio TM, The Advanced Clearing Audio TM, The Attractor Factor, Zero Limits, Life’s Missing Instruction Manual, Buying Trances, The Missing Secret, Outrageous Mind Merge, The Subliminal Manifestation, Hypnotic Selling Secrets, Hypnotic Marketing Formula, Hypnotic Publicity, etc.), 30 e-books, 24 books he authored/co-authored and a piece of computer software called The Hypnotic Writing Wizard. His website also includes a blog, video blog, podcast, his newsletter and articles. How does this course teach you?

This book is 245 pages of content and instruction. At the same time it’s an intellectual playground referenced by a 6 ½ page biography following the instructive pages about copywriting. So not only does the book teach, but I found its pages well arrayed with powerful excerpts from many former novelists and ad-men. Many of the relevant quotes are from history; their presence though-out the book are testaments to the universality of his teachings.

Main Points of the Course

To save space I won’t reprint here the titles of all 56 chapters in the Table of Contents. However for the benefit of the reader and the book I will mention 15 chapter titles: 6. Agatha Christie Proves Hypnotic Writing Exists 7. My Secret to Hypnotic Writing 9. What is Hypnotic Writing? 10. Hypnotic Writing: A Case Study 16. Two Ways to Cause Action 20. The Hypnotic Power of Repetition 27. A Writing Lesson from the World’s Greatest Hypnotist 37. What I learned from The Sea Wolf (by: Jack London) 45. 30 Ways to Write a Hypnotic Headline 46. Hypnotic Openings 51. At Last! The Joe Vitale Hypnotic Writing Formula 52. A New Hypnotic Copy Checklist 53. The Five Secret Laws of Hypnotic Persuasion 54. The Seven Most Hypnotic Books of All-Time 55. The Hypnotic Writing Formula

Some Requirements before you take the course To get everything out of the book for what is intended for, you will need to be consistently writing. He says on p. 5 “My intention is to reveal—for the first time anywhere—the principles and strategies that will transform your writings.”

So the requirement is simply that you’re writing to be read…whether it’s a technical manual, brochure, e-mails, press releases, etc.

Some of what you’ll learn specifically: There are innumerable things each reader can take away from Vitale’s book. I appreciated learning Vitale’s history in studying literature as well as copywriting. To give you some of the meat of the book, you can expect to read about: translating facts into benefits people react to pain or pleasure 31 hypnotic words Editing Imitating others Stories allow people to draw their own conclusions Meet customers where they are Putting personality into your copy Importance of your offer • • • • • • • • •

What does the course cost? This is a self-study book with writing opportunities inside (chances to write what has just been discussed). So it’s not a course per se, but you can commit to it like a course. I bought this book inside a local Barnes & Noble some time ago. Who knows what I paid? You can buy it new online at amazon.com for $13.57. My Conclusion:

As I was reading through the book, for me it was intellectually motivating. And the more he talked about principles he had taken from great fiction novelists to write better sales copy, the more of a “waking trance” I was in. Because he mentioned her I can tell you that I will be checking out some Agatha Christie books now. And it just seemed like nearly every point was affirmed by a relevant quote from a historical figure our culture admires. I also found great value in his attention to the detail of editing. And doesn’t this quote he referenced by EB White say it all? “There is no great writing, only great rewriting.” On pages 178-191 (two chapters) he gives ideas for hypnotizing your reader that keep them reading through your headline and opening. I thought of this section like a little file of universal openings (AKA: swipe file)…words and phrases that generally make the mind of the human reader stop, pay attention and respond (even if just internally). For me his book is intellectually motivating. And for many that’s a real simple formula for keeping the reader “riveted” to the page (as Vitale would say). But probably my favorite section of his book is when he quotes Blair Warren in The Forbidden Keys to Persuasion. On page 162 Vitale’s quotes Warren saying, ‘One reason stories are so persuasive is that they allow people to draw their own conclusions…thus, the lesson for persuasion is, tell a story that doesn’t “ram a conclusion down your audience’s throat.”’ And when it comes to attracting the masses with your advertising, I agree that stories are the way to go. Stories let your prospects realize themselves the necessity of product/service. Stories leave admirable impressions without “ad-

speak.” Vitale recognizes the power of stories in persuasion throughout, and that may be the best take-away from the book. But when it comes to ultimately changing the minds or perceptions of your customers Vitale quotes Trevor Silvester’s book WordWeaving: The Science of Suggestion, “We can never know reality.”