Table of Contents

目录

Introduction

引言

An Amazingly Powerful Strategy for Direct Response Success

一个极其强大的直接响应成功策略

1

The Rule of One — One Big Idea

单一法则——一个核心观点

2

The Simple Question That Can Double Your Success

一个简单的问题，可能使您的成功翻倍

3

Direct or Indirect?

直接还是间接？

4

The Easiest Type of Sales Lead You’ll Ever Write — Or Your Money Back

您将写过的最简单的销售线索——否则全额退款

5

Double Your Sales With This Next Kind of Lead

用这种类型的开场白将销售翻倍

6

Still Can’t Find Your Hook? Try This Time-Tested Solution

仍然找不到你的钩子？试试这个经过时间考验的解决方案

7

The Magic of the Velvet Pouch

天鹅绒袋的魔力

8

You Won’t Read This Anywhere Else But Here: The Proclamation Lead

你绝不可能在其他任何地方读到这段内容：宣告式开场白

9

The Tale of the $2 Billion Sales Letter

《价值 20 亿美元的推销信传奇》

10

How to Make This System Work for You

如何让这个系统为您服务

Great Leads

卓越的开场白

The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message

开启任何销售信息的六种最简单方法

Michael Masterson & John Forde

迈克尔·马斯顿 & 约翰·福德

Published by:

出版商：

American Writers & Artists Inc.

美国作家与艺术家协会

245 NE 4th Avenue, Suite 102

Delray Beach, FL 33483

德利贝奇，佛罗里达州 33483

Phone: 561-278-5557

电话：561-278-5557

Fax: 561-278-5929

传真：561-278-5929

Website: www.awaionline.com

网站：www.awaionline.com

© 2011 Michael Masterson and John Forde. All rights reserved.

© 2011 Michael Masterson 和 John Forde。版权所有。

Protected by copyright laws of the United States and international treaties.

受美国版权法和国际条约保护。

No part of this publication in whole or in part may be copied, duplicated, reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the express written permission from the publisher.

未经出版者明确书面许可，不得以任何形式或任何方式复制、复制、再生产或传播本出版物全部或部分内容，包括影印、录音或通过任何信息存储和检索系统。

Copyright and other intellectual property laws protect these materials and any unauthorized reproduction or retransmission will constitute an infringement of copyright law.

版权及其他知识产权法律保护这些材料，任何未经授权的再生产或再传播将构成对版权法的侵犯。

Federal law provides severe civil and criminal penalties for the unauthorized reproduction, distribution, or exhibition of copyrighted materials. Penalties for criminal and statutory copyright infringement are set forth at 18 U.S.C. § 2319.

联邦法律对未经授权复制、分发或展示版权材料的行为规定了严厉的民事和刑事处罚。刑事和法定版权侵权的处罚规定在第 18 美国法典第 2319 条。

ISBN-13: 978-0-9821500-3-0

ISBN-10: 0-9821500-3-2

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To our fathers — Francis P. Ford and George S. Forde, Jr. — who taught us to make that first step count.

致我们的父亲——弗朗西斯·P·福特和乔治·S·福特小——他们教导我们让第一步至关重要。

Acknowledgements

致谢

No book becomes a reality through the work of just the authors. This is particularly true with Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message. We gratefully acknowledge the inspiration and help of the following people. This book would never have been published without you.

一本书的诞生并非仅靠作者的努力。这一点在《Great Leads: The Six Easiest Ways to Start Any Sales Message》这本书中尤为明显。我们衷心感谢以下人士的灵感和帮助。没有你们，这本书永远不可能出版。

Katie Yeakle and the entire AWAI team were a constant resource for ideas and assistance. Thank you for always being there for us.

凯蒂·叶克尔和整个 AWAI 团队始终是我们获取灵感和帮助的可靠资源。感谢你们一直陪伴在我们身边。

Many thanks to the people responsible for the “heavy lifting” of getting this from concept into print: Will Newman, Lorie Drozdenko, Jill Perri, and Nan Hughes for editing, designing, and critiquing.

特别感谢那些负责将这本书从概念变为现实的人：威尔·纽曼、劳莉·德罗兹德科、吉尔·佩里和南·休斯，他们负责编辑、设计和审评。

Thank you to all the copywriters whose work we studied and drew upon. There were literally hundreds, so we can’t thank you personally. But, that doesn’t lessen our gratitude for your contribution.

感谢所有我们研究和借鉴了作品的文案撰稿人。人数众多，我们无法一一感谢。但，这并不减少我们对你们贡献的感激之情。

Thank you to the historic giants on whose shoulders we stand: marketers and copywriters like Eugene Schwartz, Claude Hopkins, Max Sackheim, John Caples, and David Ogilvy. They were our early inspirations for this book, as well as for our careers.

感谢那些我们站在其肩膀上的历史巨人：像尤金·施瓦茨、克劳德·霍普金斯、马克斯·萨克海姆、约翰·卡普莱斯和大卫·奥格威这样的营销人员和文案撰稿人。他们是我们写这本书以及我们职业生涯的早期灵感来源。

And finally, special thanks to Bill Bonner for his early and continued guidance in both of our careers. And, for giving us the final push to turn this book into a reality.

最后，特别感谢比尔·博纳尔在我们两个职业生涯早期和持续给予的指导。也感谢他给了我们最终推动这本书成为现实的动力。

Introduction

引言

An Amazingly Powerful Strategy for Direct Response Success

一个极其强大的直接响应成功策略

If you are a copywriter intent on improving your skills, don’t read this book … Memorize it.

如果你是一名致力于提升写作技巧的文案，不要读这本书……要记住它。

This book reveals in detail a very powerful strategy for writing breakthrough copy. It will change the way you think about sales copy. It will change the way you write sales copy. It will make you a far more skilled — and successful — copywriter.

这本书详细揭示了一种非常强大的突破性文案写作策略。它将改变你对销售文案的看法。它将改变你写作销售文案的方式。它将使你成为一名更熟练——更成功的文案。

And, it does this by giving you a tool you can use to beat “controls” by a factor of two-to-ten.

而且，它通过为你提供一个工具来实现这一点，这个工具可以帮助你以两倍到十倍的优势击败“控制”。

Learn this strategy and you will never have to worry about writing a dud. All your promotions will perform extremely well because your prospects will read them with a high level of interest and excitement.

学会这个策略，你将再也不必担心写出无效的内容。所有你的促销活动都会表现极好，因为你的潜在客户会带着高度的兴趣和兴奋去阅读它们。

Although just a few years old, this strategy is already responsible for hundreds of millions of dollars in sales for the businesses we consult with. And, promotions using this strategy are getting even better profits as we learn more about how it works and how to employ it.

尽管这个策略只有几年历史，但它已经为我们咨询的企业带来了数亿美元的销售。而且，随着我们对这个策略如何运作以及如何运用它的了解越来越多，使用这种策略的促销活动正获得更高的利润。

What you are about to learn is entirely new. Although we have been studying the craft of copywriting for a combined 60 years, the idea behind this strategy was hatched in 2007, tested with our clients between then and 2010, and is only now being made available to the public.

你即将学到的是全新的内容。尽管我们共同研究了 60 年的文案写作技艺，但这个策略背后的想法是在 2007 年构思的，在 2007 年至 2010 年间通过我们的客户进行了测试，现在才首次向公众公开。

If you learn this strategy — and it can easily be learned — you can expect certain immediate benefits:

如果你学会这个策略——而且它很容易学会——你可以期待立即获得某些好处：

You will start producing stronger, more compelling copy

你会开始创作出更有力、更具吸引力的文案

The results of your efforts will improve and your clients (or employer) will notice

你的努力成果将得到提升，你的客户（或雇主）会注意到

The demand for your writing will skyrocket

对你的写作需求将激增

As a result, you will earn more money — perhaps multiples of what you are earning now

因此，你将获得更多收入——或许会是你目前收入的数倍

If that weren’t enough, you will also:

如果还不够，你还将：

Waste almost no time figuring out how to “begin” your sales copy

几乎不花时间思考如何“开始”你的销售文案

Write virtually every ad or promotion with confidence knowing that your copy will work

几乎可以自信地写出每一则广告或促销文案，因为你的文案将会有效

You should be able to read this book in a single day. It will be an exciting first read because you will be discovering new ideas that boost the quality and effectiveness of your copy.

你应该能够在一天内读完这本书。这将是一次令人兴奋的初次阅读，因为你将发现提升你文案质量和效果的新思路。

By this time tomorrow, you will be able to put some of the techniques to work. But, we recommend you reread the book several times during the next few weeks. With each reading, new secrets will be opened up for you.

到明天这个时候，你将能够运用其中的一些技巧。但是，我们建议你在接下来的几周内多次重读这本书。每次阅读，你都会发现新的秘密。

This strategy becomes more powerful as you become more adept at using it. In the hands of a Master Copywriter, it becomes a “magic wand,” doubling and tripling the power of your copy every time you use it.

随着你越来越熟练地使用这一策略，它将变得越来越强大。在一位大师级文案撰稿人的手中，它变成了一根“魔法棒”，每次使用都能使你的文案效果翻倍甚至三倍。

In the next few years, dozens of self-styled copywriting gurus will be teaching this strategy as if it were their own. This has already happened with other copywriting techniques we’ve introduced to the industry. There is no reason why it won’t happen again.

在接下来的几年里，数十位自封的文案撰稿人专家将把这个策略当作自己的来教授，就像它原本就是他们自己的。这种情况已经在我们向行业介绍的其他文案撰稿技巧中发生过。没有理由认为它不会再次发生。

By keeping this book as a personal resource, you won’t have to worry about forgetting any of the details. Everything you need to understand this strategy and put it into action is contained in the following pages. And, since it is coming from two of the three people who invented and refined it, you are getting it undiluted straight from the source.

将这本书作为个人资源保存，你就不必担心会忘记任何细节。理解这一策略并将其付诸行动所需的一切都包含在以下页面中。而且，由于它来自三位发明和改进这一策略的人中的两位，你将直接从源头获得未经稀释的版本。

How Did We Come Up With This Crazy Idea?

我们是如何想到这个疯狂的主意的？

When we were new to copywriting, we read everything we could find on the subject and attended dozens of seminars. Most of the experts back then had a similar pedagogical approach. They taught the craft of copywriting by providing their students with dozens or even hundreds of rules. Rules such as:

当我们刚开始接触文案写作时，我们阅读了能找到的所有关于这个主题的资料，并参加了数十场研讨会。当时的大多数专家都采用了类似的教学习惯。他们通过向学生提供数十条甚至数百条规则来教授文案写作的技巧。这些规则包括：

Always write in the second person.

始终使用第二人称写作。

Never have a headline that is more than seven words.

标题绝不能超过七个字。

Use red or black headlines but never blue or green.

使用红色或黑色标题，但永远不要用蓝色或绿色。

Always give away a premium.

总是提供优质赠品。

Always provide a money-back guarantee.

总是提供退款保证。

Fill your copy with proven power words such as “now” and “free.”

在文案中填充经过验证的强力词汇，如“现在”和“免费。”

These rules often were accompanied by statistical “proof” of their effectiveness. One guru in particular would astound his audience with rules and statistics like the following:

这些规则通常伴随着它们有效性的统计“证据”。有一位专家尤其会通过以下规则和统计数据让他的听众感到震惊：

Using an envelope teaser will increase response rates by 25%.

使用信封小贴士将提高 25%的回复率。

Positioning an information product as a “club” will boost returns by 37%.

将信息产品定位为“俱乐部”将提高 37%的退货率。

Manila envelopes jack up response rates by 15%.

马尼拉信封将回复率提高 15%。

And so on … ad nauseum.

等等……没完没了。

We were always suspicious of that sort of advice. If copywriting could be learned by following a set of static rules, then it would be easy to learn and there would be thousands of super-successful copywriters out there happily plying their trade.

我们一直对那种建议持怀疑态度。如果文案写作可以通过遵循一套静态规则来学习，那么它将很容易学会，而且现在应该有成千上万的超级成功的文案写手在那里愉快地从事他们的职业。

But, in fact, there were very few super-successful copywriters.

但实际上，超级成功的文案写手非常少。

When we looked carefully at our own successes and failures, we decided that the problem with rules and techniques was that they tend to be true only in very specific cases. For every rule that applied to one situation, there was a different situation to which it did not apply.

当我们仔细审视我们自己的成功和失败时，我们决定规则和技术的问题在于它们往往只在非常特定的案例中适用。对于每一个适用于一种情况的规则，总有一种不同的情况它不适用。

We found it was more effective to teach the big things — the rhetorical ideas that are eternal and profound and universal. It is the big ideas — not the little ones — that create breakthrough copy.

我们发现，教授重要的事情——那些永恒、深刻且普遍的修辞理念——更为有效。正是这些大理念——而非小细节——创造了突破性的文案。

So, instead of using rules and secrets to teach our group of up-and-coming copywriters one year, we had them study dozens of the great sales letters of the past. Then, we told them the underlying secrets behind the successful promotions.

因此，那一年，我们没有用规则和秘诀来教导我们这群崭露头角的文案撰稿人，而是让他们研究过去数十封伟大的销售信函。然后，我们告诉他们成功促销背后的深层秘诀。

Soon after this experiment, we incorporated what we knew in a new copywriting program we introduced to American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI).

这项实验之后不久，我们将所知的内容融入了向美国作家与艺术家协会（AWAI）推出的新文案写作计划中。

Since 1997, that program has been refined and improved at least a half-dozen times. We have been part of the process to improve it. It is now, we believe, the very best program for learning copywriting of its kind.

自 1997 年以来，该计划经过至少六次的改进和完善。我们参与了改进的过程。现在，我们相信，这是同类文案写作学习计划中最好的一个。

And, our most recent refinement is the strategy laid out in this book.

而且，我们最近的一个改进是本书中阐述的策略。

What Most Copywriting Teachers Won’t Teach You

大多数文案写作老师不会教你的内容

This is a book about one small part of the advertisement — the few hundred words, what copywriters call the lead.

这是一本关于广告的一个小部分的书——那些几百字，文案写作者称之为引言的部分。

The lead was not much talked about when we were learning the copywriting game. Back then, Master Copywriters talked about features, benefits, proof, claims, and other elements of copy, but not the structure of the direct response advertisement: that every well-formed sales letter has a beginning, a middle, and an end.

在学习文案写作时，引言很少被提及。那时，大师级文案写作者谈论的是特性、利益、证据、主张以及其他文案元素，但不是直接响应广告的结构：那就是每个结构良好的销售信都有开头、中间和结尾。

Of the three, the beginning (or lead) is the most important. It is the first thing the prospect reads and the one chance you have of persuading him emotionally. If you don’t do that in the lead, you will lose him, regardless of what you do later on.

在三者中，开头（或称引导）最为重要。这是潜在客户首先读到的东西，也是你唯一一次有机会从情感上说服他的机会。如果你在引导中没有做到这一点，无论你之后做什么，你都会失去他。

Pareto’s Law — How it Works in Direct Marketing

帕累托法则——它在直接营销中的运作方式

You’ve heard of Pareto’s Law. Loosely defined, it says that 80% of the value of any business or endeavor comes from only 20% of its matter.

你听说过帕累托法则。粗略来说，它指出任何企业或事业的 80%的价值都来自于其 20%的要素。

You may have noticed, for example, that 80% of the profitable sales of your business are generated by 20% of your customers. Likewise, 80% of the successful advertising campaigns you conduct are generated by 20% of the copywriters who work for you.

例如，你可能已经注意到，你企业 80%的盈利销售是由 20%的客户产生的。同样，你 80%的成功广告活动是由为你工作的 20%的文案人员产生的。

At the level of advertising, Pareto’s Law also holds true. About 80% of the emotional impact of any piece of advertising copy will be determined by the first 20% of the copy.

在广告领域，帕累托法则同样适用。大约 80%的广告文案的情感影响力将由文案的前 20%决定。

That brings us back to the proposition stated previously: when it comes to writing breakthrough copy, the lead is, by far, the most important part.

这让我们再次回到之前提出的观点：在撰写突破性文案时，开头无疑是至关重要的部分。

We have been making this point to direct marketers and copywriters for many years now. In the beginning, the idea was greeted with skepticism. “How is it possible that a few hundred words could have such an impact?” the Doubting Thomases asked.

多年来，我们已经向直销商和文案撰稿人强调这一点。起初，这个想法受到了怀疑。“几百个字怎么可能产生如此大的影响？”那些怀疑者问道。

And so, we proved it to them by testing two otherwise-identical sales letters that had two distinctly different leads. And overwhelmingly, one would significantly outperform the other. One might get, for example, a response rate of one-half of one percent. The other would respond at double or triple that. Nothing else would be changed. Just the leads. It was the leads that made such a profound difference.

因此，我们通过测试两封内容完全相同但开头截然不同的销售信来证明这一点。结果，其中一封的表现会显著优于另一封。例如，一封可能获得 0.5%的回应率，而另一封的回应率会是它的两倍或三倍。其他所有因素都保持不变，只是开头不同。正是开头产生了如此深远的影响。

Eventually the disbelievers were converted.

最终，那些不信道者被说服了。

Nowadays, most marketing experts and copywriting coaches accept the importance of the lead. They have seen the tests. They can’t dispute the facts.

如今，大多数营销专家和文案写作教练都承认引言的重要性。他们已经看到了测试结果。他们无法否认这些事实。

If this proposition is new to you and you’re unsure of its truth, consider what these renowned, successful copywriters have to say about the power of the lead …

如果你对这一观点感到陌生，并且不确定其真实性，不妨考虑这些著名成功文案作家关于引言力量的看法……

“You can create a brilliant offer for a product or service everybody wants. But, unless the lead is a ‘grabber,’ you won’t be competitive. Shortened attention spans and increased skepticism have added new rules for an effective lead.”

“你可以为一个所有人都想要的产品或服务创造一个绝佳的提议。但是，除非引言是一个‘吸引人的’，否则你不会有竞争力。注意力的缩短和怀疑的增加为有效的引言增添了新的规则。”

— Herschell Gordon Lewis

— 赫尔希尔·戈登·刘易斯

“The headline gets attention. The lead either forges an instant connection with the reader — or the package fails.”

“标题吸引注意力。导语要么与读者瞬间建立联系——要么整个方案就会失败。”

— Bob Bly

— 鲍勃·布莱

“The headline and lead are 80% of the package. If you don’t have those, you have nothing. And, the rest is journeyman writing.

“标题和导语占整个方案的 80%。如果你没有这些，你什么都没有。而且，剩下的只是普通写作。”

“That is what separates the great writers from the ordinary. Ordinary writers write ordinary leads. Great writers think of intriguing and powerful ideas ...

这就是伟大作家与普通作家的区别。普通作家写普通的引言。伟大作家会构思引人入胜且有力的想法……

“It is the hook that makes a great package — if you involve them there, your chances of success improve incalculably. The more you involve, the more you succeed.”

正是这个钩子让包装变得出色——如果你让他们参与其中，你的成功机会将不可估量。参与得越多，成功就越多。”

— Don Mahoney

— 唐·马霍尼

“30 seconds — that’s how long I’ve got to grab my prospect and get him hooked with my lead. So, never save the ‘good stuff’ for later in the copy — it may never get read!”

“30 秒——这就是我抓住潜在客户并让他对我的引言上钩的时间。所以，不要把‘好东西’留到文案的后面——它可能永远不会被读到！”

— Carline Anglade-Cole

— 卡琳·安格拉德-科尔

“The lead is important because it not only makes the promise, but determines the role you’ll be playing in your presentation of the opportunity ... and kind of ‘relationship’ you’ll have with the reader for those next 10 or so minutes. And, that’s something that will have a very positive (or negative) impact on the success of any package.”

“开场白很重要，因为它不仅做出承诺，还决定了你在机会展示中的角色……以及接下来大约 10 分钟内你与读者的‘关系’。而这一点将对任何方案的成功产生非常积极（或消极）的影响。”

— Paul Hollingshead

— 保罗·霍林斯海德

“In my experience, the lead is about 75% of the work. Finding a really compelling idea ... and figuring out how to express it in a unique and compelling way (in two pages of copy) is by far the most important part of any package. The rest of your promotion can be very formulaic ... because you’ve already done the most difficult and important work in the lead.”

“根据我的经验，开场白大约占 75%的工作量。找到一个真正有吸引力的想法……并想出如何在两页文案中独特且引人入胜地表达它，这无疑是任何方案中最重要的一部分。你其余的推广可以非常模式化……因为你已经在开场白中完成了最困难且最重要的工作。”

— Mike Palmer

— 迈克·帕默尔

Why the Lead is So Damn Important

为什么开场白如此重要

Are you with us? Good. Let’s spend a few minutes discussing why exactly the lead is so important.

你们跟上了吗？很好。让我们花几分钟时间讨论一下开场白究竟为什么如此重要。

Direct response advertising copy is different from brand advertising. Its purpose is to produce an immediate, positive action. To create that response, you need to do more than catch the reader’s attention. You need to do more than entertain him. You need to do more than leave him with a positive impression of the product.

直接响应广告文案与品牌广告不同。它的目的是产生立即的、积极的行动。为了创造这种反应，你需要做的不只是吸引读者的注意力。你需要做的不只是娱乐他。你需要做的不只是给他留下对产品的正面印象。

With direct response advertising, you need to provoke action. And to do that, you must accomplish two important objectives:

在直接反应广告中，你需要激发行动。要做到这一点，你必须完成两个重要目标：

1. You must move the prospect emotionally.

1. 你必须让潜在客户在情感上产生共鸣。

2. You must persuade him intellectually.

2. 你必须在智力上说服他。

Both jobs are equally important. But, to write breakthrough ads or promotions, you must do the emotional persuasion first.

这两份工作同样重要。但是，要写出突破性的广告或促销，你必须先进行情感说服。

Experienced copywriters discovered this truth and were using it to write the great classics of the past. Consider this famous advertisement from 1926 that ran for 40 years:

经验丰富的文案撰稿人发现了这个真理，并利用它创作了过去的经典之作。考虑一下这则 1926 年刊登的广告，它连续使用了 40 年：

Max Sackheim — the author of this much-imitated ad — could have started out by giving statistics (if any existed) about how much mistakes in English reduced a businessman’s earning power.

马克斯·萨克海姆——这位广告的作者，曾被广泛模仿——本可以开始时给出关于英语错误如何降低商人收入能力的统计数据（如果存在的话）。

But, he didn’t. Instead, he appealed to the emotion of insecurity.

但他没有这样做。相反，他诉诸于不安全感这种情感。

You can see this appeal to emotion at work in a much more recent advertisement, this one by Bottomline.

你可以在更近期的广告中看到这种情感诉求的运用，这次是来自 Bottomline 的广告。

This lead plays on one of the most powerful (and frequently, poorly-used) emotions in persuasive arguments: Fear. There’s nothing subtle about this approach. The prospect reads it, and the fears this headline and the subsequent lead arouse force him to keep reading.

这种开场白利用了说服性论点中最强大（且经常被不当使用）的一种情绪：恐惧。这种做法毫不隐晦。潜在客户看到它后，这个标题和随后的开场白所唤起的恐惧迫使他继续阅读。

But, print ads are not the only ones that use emotional hooks to grab the prospective buyer’s attention. We are sure you are familiar with this much-quoted ad. Before reading on, you provide the words:

但是，使用情感钩子来吸引潜在买家注意力的不只是印刷广告。我们确信你熟悉这个广为引用的广告。在继续阅读之前，请说出这些字：

Of course, this is the “I’ve fallen and can’t get up” ad by LifeCall. It ran for about a year in 1989 to 1990. But its imagery, catchphrase, and play on fear were so strong that it is still quoted over 20 years later.

当然，这是 LifeCall 的“我摔倒了起不来”广告。它在 1989 年至 1990 年间持续播放了大约一年。但其画面、口号以及恐惧的运用如此强烈，以至于 20 多年后它仍然被广泛引用。

This seems to be the way the brain works: when it comes to making most decisions, we begin by generating an emotional preference and only then subject that preference to logical debate.

这似乎是大脑运作的方式：在做出大多数决策时，我们首先产生情感偏好，然后才将这种偏好置于逻辑辩论之下。

Another way of saying that is that first we find ourselves wanting to buy a product and then begin the rationalization process of deciding if we should.

另一种说法是，我们首先发现自己想要购买某个产品，然后开始理性思考的过程，决定我们是否应该买。

_________________________

The mind is slave to the heart.”

心是心的奴仆。

— Mahatma Gandhi

— 圣雄甘地

_________________________

The reason this is true has everything to do with the way the brain processes information and makes decisions.

之所以如此，与大脑处理信息和做决策的方式密切相关。

Studies reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience, for example, have pinpointed the parts of the brain that are most active when someone is thinking about buying something: The limbic system, the amygdala, and the posterior cingulated cortex.

《自然·神经科学》期刊上报道的研究，例如，已经精确指出了当人们思考购买某物时大脑中最活跃的部分：边缘系统、杏仁核和后扣带回皮层。

These are the emotional parts of your brain.

这些是你大脑中的情感部分。

The UCLA Brain Research Institute said this about the prospect’s brain and how best to talk to it:

加州大学洛杉矶分校脑研究所关于潜在客户的大脑以及如何最佳与其沟通的说法如下：

“Corporate America, meanwhile, is hoping brain scanning can help sales. The big question for neuroeconomics is, ‘How does the human brain make decisions like which car to buy or what to have for lunch,’ says Antonio Rangel, director of the neuroeconomics lab at Stanford. Research is showing that the limbic system, which governs emotions, often overrides the logical areas of the brain, suggesting that the ‘rational actor’ theory of economics misses deeper sources of motivation rooted in unconscious feelings and interpersonal dynamics. Instead of aiming at consumers’ logical decision-making processes, companies could perhaps appeal to the fuzzier side of how people feel about themselves and others around them.”

“与此同时，美国企业界希望脑部扫描能帮助销售。神经经济学领域的一个大问题是‘人类大脑如何做出决策，比如买哪辆车或午餐吃什么’，斯坦福大学神经经济学实验室主任安东尼奥·兰格说。研究表明，负责情感的大脑边缘系统经常覆盖大脑的逻辑区域，这表明经济学的‘理性人’理论忽视了根植于无意识感受和人际动态的更深层次的动机来源。公司或许可以不针对消费者的逻辑决策过程，而是诉诸于人们对自己和他人的感受的模糊方面。”

But, persuading someone doesn’t have to feel like brain surgery. All it really means is that as copywriters, we must recognize our first job is to win over the prospect’s heart. Once we do that, then the rest of our job — winning over his mind — is relatively easy.

但是，说服他人并不一定像做脑部手术那么复杂。这真正意味着的是，作为文案撰稿人，我们的首要任务是赢得潜在客户的认同。一旦我们做到了这一点，剩下的工作——赢得他的思想——就相对容易了。

Time is a big factor in this. The customer doesn’t have time to read every promotion that comes his way. He will give each a few minutes or seconds depending on how good the copy is. If he becomes bored or confused or doubtful, he will stop reading and move on to the next thing in his reading pile.

时间是一个重要因素。客户没有时间阅读每一个向他推销的促销信息。他会根据文案的好坏，给每个信息几分钟或几秒钟的时间。如果他感到无聊、困惑或怀疑，他就会停止阅读，继续阅读下一份材料。

Those precious few moments are all you have to persuade him emotionally. In such a short space of time, you don’t have time to put forth a rational argument. And even if you could, you would lose the chance to capture his heart.

那些宝贵的几分钟是你说服他情感的关键时刻。在如此短的时间内，你没有时间提出理性的论点。即使你能做到，你也会失去抓住他心的机会。

In a typical long-form direct response advertisement (whether it’s a sales letter, a space ad, a television spot, or a telemarketing script), you have just 100 to 600 words to incite an emotional response. Those 100 to 600 words constitute the lead. And that is why the lead is so important.

在典型的长篇直接响应广告（无论是销售信、版面广告、电视广告还是电话营销脚本）中，你只有 100 到 600 个字来激发情感反应。这 100 到 600 个字构成了广告的开头。这就是为什么开头如此重要的原因。

We once worked with a very successful direct marketer who was famous for his ability to predict very quickly how well advertising copy would work. He never spent more than two minutes reading the copy. He’d read the lead word-for-word and then quickly scan the rest of the copy.

我们曾与一位非常成功的直销营销人员合作，他因能迅速预测广告文案的效果而闻名。他从未花超过两分钟阅读文案。他会逐字阅读文案，然后快速浏览其余部分。

It might have been he who taught us the importance of the lead. Or, perhaps we inferred it from watching him do his thing. But, when we began to concentrate on the leads, we found that we, too, could predict the success of promotions with a fair amount of accuracy.

可能是他教会了我们开头的重要性。或者，也许我们从观察他做事的过程中推断出这一点。但是，当我们开始专注于开头时，我们发现我们也能相当准确地预测促销活动的成功。

We could read the lead and ask, “Does this lead get me excited? Does it make me want to continue reading with a high level of anticipation?”

我们可以阅读开头并问自己：“这个开头让我兴奋吗？它是否让我带着高度期待继续阅读？”

If the lead accomplished these tasks, then we felt with a high degree of confidence that the promotion would work.

如果开头完成了这些任务，我们就非常有信心地认为促销活动会成功。

As we said, most copywriting experts today recognize the critical role the lead has on the success of the ad. But until now, there has never been a book that took a scientific approach to analyzing great leads and demonstrating the principles that made them work so well.

正如我们所说，当今大多数文案写作专家都认识到引言在广告成功中的关键作用。但迄今为止，还没有一本书以科学的方法分析优秀的引言，并展示使其效果如此出色的原理。

In the chapters that follow, we will walk you through our strategy. To put it to work for you, we will teach you a few important strategies:

在接下来的章节中，我们将为您介绍我们的策略。为了使您能够运用这些策略，我们将教您几个重要的策略：

The importance of the lead (You have just learned that.)

引言的重要性（您刚刚已经学到了这一点。）

A unifying principle called the Rule of One that immediately will make all your writing stronger and more effective

一个统帅性的原则，称为“单一法则”，它将立即使您的所有写作更加有力且有效。

The difference between a direct and an indirect lead

直接引言与间接引言的区别

Gene Schwartz’s concept of reader familiarity

吉恩·施瓦茨的读者熟悉度概念

The six archetypal lead types

六种原型引言类型

The rules for each of these six types

这六种类型各自的具体规则

That is how this book is arranged. There are 10 chapters, one each explaining these concepts in detail and with plenty of examples.

这就是本书的编排方式。共有 10 章，每章详细解释这些概念，并配有大量实例。

The strategy you’re about to learn will easily put an extra million dollars in your pocket over the lifespan of your career. More likely, if you are an active, full-time copywriter, the value will be many times that.

你即将学习的策略将轻易使你在职业生涯中多赚一百万美元。更有可能的是，如果你是一名活跃的全职文案，这个价值会高出许多倍。

How this can happen is quite simple. This strategy makes you write compelling copy more effectively — without relying on numerous and often contradictory “rules.”

这发生的原因非常简单。这个策略能让你更有效地写出引人入胜的文案——而不依赖众多且常常相互矛盾的“规则。”

Your prospect will feel a stronger, more real bond with you and with your writing. And, your efforts to “sell him” will fade into the background so that he concentrates on your words and ideas and not on having to fork over money.

你的潜在客户会与你和你的文字建立更强烈、更真实的联系。而且，你试图“向他推销”的努力会淡化，使他专注于你的文字和想法，而不是担心需要掏钱。

This strategy allows you to write effective, compelling copy more quickly with far fewer false starts and time-wasting restarts. Because you understand this strategy, you’ll know how best to approach your reader. And, you’ll know what approaches to avoid that will not work as effectively with him.

这种策略能让你更快地写出有效且具吸引力的文案，大大减少无效尝试和浪费时间重启的情况。因为理解了这种策略，你将知道如何最佳地接近你的读者。同时，你也会知道哪些方法对他来说效果不佳，应避免使用。

You’ll notice how much more effortlessly your writing seems to flow. So will your client or employer. Most importantly, the reader will enjoy an easy, unlabored flow of words that lead him inevitably to the action you want him to take.

你会注意到你的写作似乎更加流畅自然。你的客户或雇主也会如此感受。最重要的是，读者会享受轻松自然的文字流动，从而不可避免地被引导至你希望他采取的行动。

When you put our simple strategy to work for you, you’ll write every advertisement or promotion confidently, knowing that it will work.

当你使用我们的简单策略时，你将自信地写出每一则广告或促销内容，并确信其效果。

Put it all together and this means more work for you, finished faster, garnering more success. And, more money coming to you — multiples of what you’re earning now while expending a lot less labor.

将所有这些结合起来，这意味着你需要更多的工作，但能更快完成，获得更多成功。同时，更多的钱将流向你——在付出更少劳动的情况下，赚取你现在收入的数倍。

Here’s how Master Copywriter David Deutsch characterizes why you want to be writing great leads:

这是文案大师大卫·德意志如何描述你为什么要写出优秀引言的原因：

“A good lead may intrigue, build curiosity, create anticipation, open the reader’s mind, build trust, create a bond, and in a myriad of ways lay the groundwork for (and magnify the effectiveness of) the persuasion to follow.

“一个好的引言可能会引起好奇、激发兴趣、制造期待、打开读者的心扉、建立信任、形成联系，并以无数种方式为接下来的说服（并增强其效果）打下基础。

“A great one — ‘If the list on which I found your name … ’ ‘The American Express Card is not for everyone … ’ ‘You look out your window … ’ — can in itself elevate the reader to an entirely different level of susceptibility to our enticements.”

“一个出色的引言——‘我在哪个名单上找到了你的名字……’‘美国运通卡并非适合所有人……’‘你往外看……’——本身就能让读者提升到对我们诱惑的完全不同的接受程度。”

The book you’re holding represents a tiny investment compared to what you stand to earn using this strategy. All you have to do now — to turn that tiny benefit into a financial windfall — is to read on and pay attention to what you are reading … and then to put it into action.

你手中这本书所代表的投资，与你使用这一策略所能获得的收益相比微不足道。你现在需要做的——将这微小的优势转化为巨大的经济收益——就是继续阅读并关注你所读的内容……然后将其付诸行动。

But that’s easy, as you’ll see as you continue reading …

但这很容易，正如你继续阅读时所看到的……

1

The Rule of One — One Big Idea

单一法则——一个核心观点

________________________________

“There is a certain majesty in simplicity which is far above all the quaintness of wit.”

“简单之中自有庄严，远胜所有机智的怪诞。”

— Alexander Pope

— 亚历山大·蒲柏

________________________________

One of the biggest lessons I ever learned about writing leads came very late — in fact, more than twenty years after I wrote my first piece of copy.

关于撰写销售引言，我学到的最重要的一课来得非常晚——事实上，在我写出第一份文案二十多年后。

It happened about a year after I began writing Early to Rise (ETR). I was looking over the issues I had written that year, and noting which ones the readers rated the highest. Without exception, those that achieved the highest scores presented a single idea.

这大约发生在我开始撰写《早起的罗盘》（ETR）一年后。我回顾了那一年的所有文章，并记录了读者评分最高的文章。无一例外，那些得分最高的文章都呈现了一个单一的观点。

I realized readers didn’t want to hear everything I had to say about a topic every time I fired up my computer. They were looking for a single, useful suggestion or idea that could make them more successful.

我意识到读者每次我打开电脑时，并不想听我关于某个话题的所有观点。他们正在寻找一个能让他们更成功的单一、有用的建议或想法。

That was one of those “a-ha!” experiences for me.

这对我来说是一次“啊哈！”的体验。

As a reader, the stories and essays I liked best tackled one subject, however narrow, and did so effectively and deeply. As a writer, I had a sense that my readers should feel this way, too. But, it wasn’t until I looked at the ETR results that I recognized the power of a narrow focus in writing.

作为一名读者，我最喜欢的那些故事和散文都只探讨一个主题，无论多么狭窄，都做得有效而深入。作为一名作家，我有一种感觉，我的读者也应该这样感受。但是，直到我查看 ETR 的结果时，我才认识到写作中狭窄焦点的力量。

I thought about some of the books I admired the most. Most of them had that narrow focus. Many of them centered on a single idea.

我想起了我最钦佩的一些书籍。它们中的大多数都有狭窄的焦点。其中许多以一个单一的思想为中心。

What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Bolles — Finding a life-changing new job that you love.

《你的降落伞是什么颜色？》作者理查德·博尔斯——找到一份能改变你生活并让你热爱的新工作。

The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell — How trends develop and fortunes are made from them.

《引爆点》作者马尔科姆·格拉德威尔——趋势如何发展以及如何从中创造财富。

Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins — A philosophy that advertising’s purpose is to sell, not entertain or win creative awards — and how to apply this philosophy to create winning ads.

《科学广告》作者克劳德·霍普金斯——一种广告的目的是销售而非娱乐或赢得创意奖项的哲学——以及如何应用这种哲学来创造成功的广告。

How to Become CEO by Jeffrey J. Fox — How to become a great employee and, eventually, take over the business.

如何成为 CEO——杰弗里·J·福克斯——如何成为一名优秀的员工，并最终接管公司。

Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Steven Covey — The behaviors you need to adopt in your professional and personal life to become successful.

高效能人士的七个习惯——史蒂芬·柯维——你在职业和生活中需要采取的行为，以获得成功。

How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie — How to use personal power to achieve success.

如何赢得朋友并影响他人——戴尔·卡耐基——如何运用个人力量取得成功。

My next thought was to see if this same phenomenon applied to advertising copy. I pulled out my box of “best promotions of all time” and went through them. Not all of them were on a single topic, but many of them began by hitting one idea strongly.

我的下一个想法是看看这种现象是否也适用于广告文案。我拿出了我的“史上最佳促销活动”盒子，并逐一查看。它们并非都围绕同一主题，但其中许多都是从强烈突出一个观点开始。

It seemed like I was on to something. When we had our first company-wide meeting for publishers in France, I presented this as one of several dozen “secrets to publishing success.”

似乎我找到了一些东西。在我们为法国出版商召开的首届公司大会上，我将这一点作为几十个“出版成功秘诀”之一进行了介绍。

Bill Bonner, who was there, reminded me that he had been telling me about the Rule of One for many years. He learned it, he said, from the great advertising guru David Ogilvy. Ogilvy called it “the Big Idea.” The concept was that every great promotion has, at its core, a single, powerful idea.

当时在场的比尔·博纳提醒我，多年来他一直向我讲述“单一法则”。他说，他是从伟大的广告大师大卫·奥格威那里学到的这个法则。奥格威称之为“大创意”。这个理念是，每一个成功的推广在其核心都只有一个强大的创意。

Here are Ogilvy’s exact words on the crucial importance of the Big Idea:

以下是奥格威关于大创意至关重要的确切话语：

“Big Ideas. Unless your advertising is built on a Big Idea, it will pass like a ship in the night. It takes a Big Idea to jolt the consumer out of his indifference — to make him notice your advertising, remember it, and take action. Big Ideas are usually simple ideas. Said Charles Kettering, the great General Motors inventor: ‘This problem, when solved, will be simple.’ Big, simple ideas are not easy to come by. They require genius — and midnight oil. A truly big one can be continued for 20 years — like our eye patch for Hathaway shirts.”

“大创意。如果你的广告不是基于大创意，它就会像夜航中的船只一样消失。需要大创意才能将消费者从漠视中惊醒——让他注意到你的广告，记住它，并采取行动。大创意通常是简单的创意。伟大的通用汽车发明家查尔斯·凯特林说：‘这个问题，一旦解决，就会变得简单。’获得大创意并不容易。它们需要天才——和深夜的灯火。一个真正的大创意可以持续 20 年——就像我们为哈特威衬衫设计的眼睛补丁。”

And, my co-author John Forde said that he, too, has used the Big Idea to write some of his best promotions.

我的合著者约翰·福特说，他也曾使用这个大理念来撰写一些最好的促销文案。

The next year, I invited two of Agora’s most successful writers to make presentations at the annual meeting. One gave a very impressive speech about the 12 rules he follows when he writes copy. The other copywriter — Steve Sjuggerud — talked about only one thing: The importance of clarity in writing.

第二年，我邀请了阿格拉最成功的两位作家在年会上做演讲。一位发表了关于他写作文案时遵循的 12 条规则的非常令人印象深刻的演讲。另一位文案撰稿人——史蒂夫·斯朱格鲁德——只谈了一个话题：写作中清晰的重要性。

Both presentations were terrific. But, it was Steve’s speech that people were talking about afterwards. And, it was Steve’s idea that became institutionalized at Agora that year.

两个演讲都非常精彩。但，后来人们谈论的是史蒂夫的演讲。也是史蒂夫的想法在阿格拉那年成为了制度化。

At the same time, John told us he was rereading the classic 1941 book, “How to Write a Good Advertisement” by Victor Schwab, the man Advertising Age called the “greatest mail-order copywriter of all time.”

与此同时，约翰告诉我们他正在重读维克多·施瓦布的经典著作《如何写一则好广告》，这位被《广告时代》称为“史上最伟大的邮购文案撰稿人”的人写的书。

In that book, Schwab lists what he called the “Top 100 Headlines” of his time. John found that in that list, 91 were driven by single ideas.

在那本书里，施瓦布列出了他那个时代所谓的“100 个最佳标题”。约翰发现，在那份名单中，有 91 个是由单一概念驱动的。

Yet, even the remaining 9 not clearly based on a single idea still had an implied strong, single idea that bound the whole thing together.

然而，即便是剩下的 9 个并非明显基于单一概念，它们仍然有一个隐含的强烈单一概念将整个标题串联起来。

Take a look. And remember, this is the list of headlines that DON’T appear at first to fit the single-idea theme we’re talking about ...

看看。记住，这份名单中的标题最初似乎并不符合我们正在讨论的单一概念主题...

“Five Familiar Skin Troubles — Which Do You Want to Overcome?”

“五种常见的皮肤问题——你想克服哪一种？”

“Have You These Symptoms of Nerve Exhaustion?”

“你是否出现神经疲劳的这些症状？”

“161 New Ways to a Man’s Heart — In This Fascinating Book for Cooks”

“161 种赢得男人心的方法——这本引人入胜的书专为厨师编写”

“Do You Do Any of These Ten Embarrassing Things?”

“你是否做这十件令人尴尬的事情之一？”

“Six Types of Investors — Which Group Are You In?”

“六种类型的投资者——你属于哪一组？”

“The Crimes We Commit Against Our Stomachs”

“我们对胃犯下的罪行”

“Little Leaks That Keep Men Poor”

“那些让男人一直贫穷的小漏洞”

“67 Reasons Why It Would Have Paid You to Answer Our Ad a Few Months Ago”

“67 个原因说明为什么几个月前回应我们的广告会对你有益”

“Free Book — Tells You 12 Secrets of Better Lawn Care”

“免费书籍——告诉你 12 个更好的草坪护理秘诀”

“Notice,” John said in a Copywriter’s Roundtable article discussing the Rule of One, “that even though they don’t, each clearly points toward a single, over-arching theme.”

“注意，”约翰在一篇讨论“单一法则”的文案作者圆桌会议文章中说，“尽管它们没有明确指出，但每个都指向一个单一、总体的主题。”

Now, take a look at some of the other 91 “best headlines” of Schwab’s time. Note how instantly clear and engaging these “Big Ideas” are.

现在，看看施瓦布那个时代其他的 91 个“最佳标题”。注意这些“大理念”是如何立刻清晰且引人入胜的。

“The Secret of Making People Like You”

“让人喜欢你的秘诀”

“Is the Life of a Child Worth $1 to You?”

“孩子的生命对你值 1 美元吗？”

“To Men Who Want to Quit Work Someday”

“给那些想有朝一日辞职的男士们”

“Are You Ever Tongue-Tied at a Party?”

“你是否曾在派对上结结巴巴？”

“How a New Discovery Made a Plain Girl Beautiful”

“一项新发现如何让平凡女孩变得美丽”

“Who Else Wants a Screen Star Figure?”

“还有谁想要银幕明星般的身材？”

“You Can Laugh at Money Worries — If You Follow This Simple Plan”

你可以一笑置之金钱烦恼——只要你遵循这个简单计划

“When Doctors Feel Rotten This is What They Do”

“当医生感到糟糕时，他们会这样做”

“How I Improved My Memory in One Evening”

“我如何在一晚之间提升记忆力”

“Discover the Fortune That Lies Hidden In Your Salary”

“发现隐藏在你薪水中的财富”

“How I Made a Fortune with a ‘Fool Idea’”

“我是如何用一个‘愚蠢的想法’发家致富的”

“Have You a ‘Worry’ Stock?”

“你有‘担忧’股吗？”

John pointed out that starting off in the headline with just one, simple idea has two major benefits:

约翰指出，在标题中只用一个简单想法有两个主要好处：

It makes the copy stronger

它使文案更有力

It makes writing the rest of the sales letter easier

这使得撰写销售信的其余部分变得更容易

“Finding the core idea,” John added, “of course, is the hard part. It has to be precise, not scattershot. You have to know your audience and know them well. Or, you risk missing your target completely.”

约翰补充道，“当然，找到核心思想是最困难的部分。它必须精确，不能漫无目的。你必须了解你的受众，并且要深入了解他们。否则，你将完全错过目标。”

At ETR, we made this concept a “rule” of writing — the Rule of One. The mandate was very clear. Our contributors should write about one thing at a time. One good idea, clearly and convincingly presented, was better than a dozen so-so ideas strung together.

在 ETR，我们将这一概念制定为写作的“规则”——单一法则。指令非常明确。我们的作者应该一次只写一件事。一个优秀的主意，如果清晰有力地呈现，比一打平庸的主意要好得多。

That rule made a difference. When we obeyed it, our essays were stronger. When we ignored it, they were not as powerful as they could have been.

这条规则产生了影响。当我们遵守它时，我们的文章变得更加强大。当我们忽视它时，它们就没有达到本可以有的力量。

Although this was clearly a copywriting principle that was extremely powerful, I found that I sometimes ignored it. If I had six good reasons for this, or 12 techniques for that, I couldn’t stop myself from including them all. The results were always disappointing.

尽管这无疑是一条极具力量的文案原则，但我发现有时会忽视它。如果我对此有六条好理由，或 12 种技巧，我就忍不住要把它们全部都写进去。结果总是令人失望。

Why did I break this golden rule? I’m not entirely sure. I think sometimes I was afraid readers would think, “Is that all he has to say on the subject?” I was, in other words, too cowardly and conceited to stick to my rule — even though I knew it would help me.

我为何会打破这条黄金法则？我并不完全确定。我想有时我害怕读者会想，“他对这个主题就只有这些话要说吗？”换句话说，我既胆怯又自负，无法坚持我的原则——尽管我知道这会帮助我。

_________________________

Non-Writing Applications of the Rule of One

原则一的写作之外应用

The Rule of One can also be applied to your daily workday goals. Before you go into a meeting, think about what one thing you’d like to accomplish from it. Make that one thing your priority and hammer away at it during the meeting. You’ll be amazed at how often you will end up leaving the meeting with your goal accomplished.

原则一也可以应用于你的日常工作目标。在开会前，想想你希望从会议中完成的一件事。把这件事作为你的优先事项，并在会议期间全力以赴。你会惊讶于自己有多少次能带着完成的目标离开会议。

You can also use the Rule of One at business lunches, meetings, and even parties. Challenge yourself: “Who is the one best person I can network with?” and “What is the one best thing I can say to that person to capture his interest?”

你也可以在商务午餐、会议甚至派对上运用“单一法则”。挑战自己：“我能与哪一个人建立联系？”“我对那个人说哪一句话最能引起他的兴趣？”

Spend some time today looking at work you’ve done — ads you’ve written, products you’ve created, goals you’ve set. How could you make them stronger by applying the Rule of One?

今天花点时间看看你做过的工作——你写的广告、你创造的产品、你设定的目标。通过运用“单一法则”，你如何能让它们更强大？

_________________________

Here is an example of the Rule of One as applied to a short advertorial, taken from an ETR message:

这里有一个“单一法则”应用于简短广告的例子，来自 ETR 信息：

Subject Line: The Easiest Product to Sell Online

主题行：在线最容易销售的产品

Dear Early to Riser,

亲爱的早起者，

Would you be interested in investing $175 to make $20,727?

你是否愿意投资 175 美元来赚取 20,727 美元？

That’s exactly what Bob Bly just accomplished!

这正是鲍勃·布莱刚刚做到的！

See how he did it below ... and how easily you could do the same.

看看他是如何做到的……以及你如何轻松地做到同样的事情。

MaryEllen Tribby

玛丽·埃伦·特里比

ETR Publisher

ETR 出版社

_______________________

Dear Friend,

亲爱的朋友，

There’s no product easier to create or sell online ...

没有哪种产品比在线创建或销售更容易……

... than a simple, straightforward instructional or how-to e-book.

...比一本简单、直接的指导或操作手册要容易。

Why are e-books the perfect information product to sell on the Internet?

为什么电子书是互联网上最适合销售的信息产品？

• 100% profit margin.

• 100%的利润率。

• No printing costs.

• 没有印刷成本。

• No inventory to store.

• 无需储存库存。

• Quick and easy to update.

• 更快速、更简单地进行更新。

• No shipping costs or delays.

• 无需运输成本或延误。

• Higher perceived value than regular books.

• 比普通书籍具有更高的感知价值。

• Quick, simple, and inexpensive to produce.

• 制作快速、简单且成本不高。

My very first e-book has generated $20,727 in sales (so far).

我的第一本电子书至今已售出 20,727 美元。

My total investment in producing it: just $175.

我制作它的总投资仅为 175 美元。

Now, I want to show you how to make huge profits creating and selling simple e-books — in my new e-book “Writing E-Books for Fun & Profit.”

现在，我想通过我的新书《为乐趣与利润而写电子书》向你展示如何通过创建和销售简单的电子书获得巨额利润。

Normally my e-books sell for anywhere from $29 to $79, and later this year, “Writing E-Books for Fun & Profit” will sell for $59.

通常我的电子书售价在 29 美元到 79 美元之间，今年稍后，“为乐趣和利润撰写电子书”将售价为 59 美元。

However, to make it affordable for you to get started in e-book publishing, I’m letting you have “Writing E-Books for Fun & Profit” for only $19 today — a savings of $40 off the cover price!

然而，为了使电子书出版入门对您来说更加负担得起，我让您今天只需 19 美元就能获得“为乐趣和利润撰写电子书”——比封面价节省 40 美元！

For more information ... or to order on a risk-free 90-day trial basis ... just click here now.

欲了解更多信息...或进行无风险的 90 天试用订购...请立即点击此处。

Sincerely,

此致，

Bob Bly

鲍勃·布莱

P.S. But, I urge you to hurry. This special $40 discount is for a limited time only. And once it expires, it may never be repeated again.

附言：但是，我敦促你赶快。这个特殊的 40 美元折扣仅限限时优惠。一旦它到期，可能就再也不会重复了。

_______________________

Let me explain how the Rule of One operates here.

让我解释一下这里如何运作“单一法则”。

In the lift letter (signed by MaryEllen Tribby), Bob asks a question and then tells a tiny little story. The question is an inverted promise. The story — a single-sentence story, mind you — validates the promise.

在由玛丽·埃伦·特里比签名的电梯信中，鲍勃提出一个问题，然后讲述了一个小小的故事。这个问题是一个倒置的承诺。那个故事——请注意，只是一个单句故事——验证了这个承诺。

The sales letter follows. This, too, is a beautifully simple piece of copy. It leads with a statement. The statement expresses an idea. The idea suggests a promise: the easiest way to make money on the Internet is to market e-books.

销售信件如下。这同样是一份精美而简单的文案。它以一个陈述句开头。这个陈述句表达了一个观点。这个观点暗示了一个承诺：在互联网上赚钱最容易的方式是推广电子书。

That statement is then supported by a number of bulleted “facts.” Then, Bob validates the statement by mentioning his own experience.

然后，这个陈述句通过一系列项目符号“事实”得到支持。接着，鲍勃通过提及自己的经验来验证这个陈述句。

The reader is already sold. Bob makes the sale irresistible with a strong, one-time-only offer.

读者已经被说服。鲍勃用一个强大且仅限一次的优惠让交易变得无法抗拒。

Short, sweet, and simple.

简短、甜蜜、简单。

The Rule of One is not only one big, central idea. It’s a fully engaging piece of copy with five necessary elements. Using Bob’s example:

《单一法则》不仅是一个核心思想，它还包含五个必要元素的完整文案。以 Bob 的例子为例：

One good idea: “There’s no product easier to create or sell online than a simple, straightforward instructional or how-to e-book.”

一个好点子：“没有比简单直接的教程或操作指南电子书更容易在网上创建或销售的产品了。”

One core emotion: “It is simple! I bet I can do it!”

一种核心情感：“它很简单！我敢打赌我能做到！”

One captivating story: Told brilliantly in 17 words: “Would you be interested in investing $175 to make $20,727? That’s exactly what Bob Bly just accomplished!”

一个引人入胜的故事：用 17 个字精彩讲述：“你会愿意投资 175 美元来赚取 20727 美元吗？这正是 Bob Bly 刚刚做到的！”

One single, desirable benefit: “Now, I want to show you how to make huge profits creating and selling simple e-books … ”

一个单一、诱人的好处：“现在，我想展示如何通过创建和销售简单的电子书来赚取巨额利润……”

One inevitable response: The only way to get this book for $19 is to “click here now.”

一个必然的回应：想要以 19 美元的价格获得这本书的唯一方法是“立即点击这里。”

To create blockbuster promotions time-after-time, you must understand the difference between good copy and great copy. The Rule of One is the driving force behind great copy.

要一次次创造爆款促销活动，你必须了解好文案和伟大文案之间的区别。单一法则（The Rule of One）是伟大文案背后的驱动力。

Veteran advertising consultant James Loftus, who has worked with Anheuser-Busch, Holiday Inn, and McDonald’s, among many other clients, agrees with this concept:

曾与安海瑟布希、假日酒店和麦当劳等众多客户合作的资深广告顾问詹姆斯·洛夫斯（James Loftus）也认同这一理念：

“Also keep in mind that the more points you try to cover, the less effective each point, and therefore your ad, will be. An effective ad will actually have only one central focus, even if you discuss it from two or three perspectives. If your points are too diverse, they compete with each other, and end up pulling the reader’s attention in separate directions.”

“同时也要记住，你试图涵盖的要点越多，每个要点以及因此你的广告的效果就越差。一个有效的广告实际上只有一个中心焦点，即使你从两个或三个角度来讨论它。如果你的要点过于多样化，它们会相互竞争，最终导致读者的注意力分散到不同的方向。”

Think for a moment about a few modern ads and ad taglines you remember. Those that stick with you follow the Rule of One:

花点时间想想你记得的几个现代广告和广告标语。那些让你印象深刻并遵循“单一焦点法则”的广告：

Coca Cola: “The pause that refreshes”®

可口可乐：“畅爽一刻” ®

OR

“Always Cool.”®

“总是酷爽。” ®

But not “The pause that refreshes and always cool.”

但不是“让身心焕发，总是酷爽。”

McDonald’s: “You deserve a break today”®

麦当劳：“你今天值得休息” ®

OR

“i’m lovin’ it”®

“我超喜欢” ®

Not “You deserve a break today, and you’re lovin’ it.”

不是“你今天值得休息，我超喜欢。”

You run across numerous other examples of top companies following this rule in their most successful ads:

你会在众多顶级公司在最成功的广告中遵循这一规则的例子中看到许多其他例子：

“We try harder”

“我们更努力”

[Avis]

“Think Different”

“不同凡想”

[Apple Computer]

[苹果电脑]

“Pork, the other white meat”

“猪肉，另一种白色肉类”

[National Pork Board]

“Quality is job one”

“质量是首要任务”

[Ford Motor Company]

“Milk, it does a body good”

“牛奶，有益健康”

[National Dairy Council]

These are more than taglines. The commercials they embellished — when produced by ad execs who understood this rule — used one strong idea to drive the ads.

这些不仅仅是口号。由理解这一规则的广告高管制作的那些广告——使用了单一强大的理念来推动广告。

Porter Stansberry (founder of Stansberry & Associates Investment Research) recently wrote a memo explaining the great success he and Mike Palmer had with two blockbuster promotions. Both advertisements brought in millions of dollars within days of posting them. I won’t tell you all the secrets Porter revealed in his memo (Porter and Mike would kill me if I did) but I’ll tell you this: Each of the blockbuster promotions highlighted one dominant investing idea — not several.

Porter Stansberry（Stansberry & Associates Investment Research 的创始人）最近写了一封备忘录，解释了他和 Mike Palmer 在两个重磅促销活动中的巨大成功。这两则广告在发布后几天内就带来了数百万美元。我不会告诉你 Porter 在备忘录中透露的所有秘密（如果我把它们说出来，Porter 和 Mike 会杀了我），但我可以告诉你：每个重磅促销活动都突出了一个主导的投资理念——而不是多个。

The challenge is to find one good idea that the reader can grasp immediately, Porter said. And then, stick to it.

Porter 说，挑战在于找到一个读者可以立即理解的好点子。然后，坚持这个点子。

But, most marketers and copywriters are not up to this challenge. Instead of sticking to the Rule of One, they conjure up lists of features and benefits and create ads that mention as many of them as possible. The thinking behind this approach goes something like this: “I wonder which of these benefits will really push the buttons I want? Hmmm. I don’t know. I guess what I’ll do is throw them all in the promotion. That way if one doesn’t work, another one will.”

但是，大多数营销人员和文案撰稿人无法应对这一挑战。他们没有坚持“单一法则”，而是编列出一堆特点和优势清单，并制作出尽可能多地提及这些内容的广告。这种方法的思路大致如下：“我想知道这些优势中哪些能真正打动我想要的客户？嗯……我不知道。我猜我会把它们全部加入促销活动中。这样如果有一个不起作用，另一个就会起作用。”

This is what I call the “tossed salad” approach to advertising copy. Throw everything on the counter into a big wooden bowl, marinate with some connecting sentences, and toss. It’s a standard recipe for B-level copywriters. But, it’s not the way to win any blue ribbons in the competitive kitchen of breakthrough advertising.

这就是我所说的“沙拉式”广告文案方法。把所有东西都放在柜台上，倒入一个大木碗中，用一些连接句腌制一下，然后搅拌。这是 B 级文案撰稿人的标准配方。但是，这不是在突破性广告的竞争厨房中赢得奖牌的方法。

The little advertisement Bob wrote had that simplicity. E-books are easy was the idea. E-books are easy to make and easy to sell. The reader hears it. He gets it. He believes it.

Bob 写的那个小广告就具有这种简洁性。电子书容易是它的核心思想。电子书制作和销售都很容易。读者听懂了。他理解了。他相信了。

So, the idea has to be strong. Yet, it also has to be easy to understand. And easy to believe. That last part — being easy to believe — is key.

所以，这个想法必须强大。同时，它也必须容易理解。而且容易相信。最后这一点——容易相信——是关键。

The examples in this book follow this cardinal rule of copywriting: The Rule of One. As a general rule, leads that follow the Rule of One are stronger because they do not have the emotional power dissipated by copy that goes in different directions.

这本书中的例子遵循了文案写作的至高法则：单一法则。通常来说，遵循单一法则的引言更具力量，因为它们不会像那些朝不同方向发展的文案那样分散情感力量。

But, the Rule of One does not mean you can’t have a story and a secret and an emotionally-compelling fact in the same lead.

但是，单一法则并不意味着你无法在同一个引言中包含故事、秘密和具有情感吸引力的事实。

It means that the lead is strongest that promotes one compelling idea by supporting that idea with all the appropriate techniques ... stories, predictions, statements, promises, and so on … but all unified by that single idea and by a single emotion that drives the sale.

它的意思是，引言最强有力的是通过支持单一引人入胜的观点来推广，并运用所有适当的技术——故事、预测、声明、承诺等等——但所有这些都被单一观点和驱动销售的单一情感所统一。

For example, Porter’s Railway package — There’s a Railroad Across America — was both a Story and a Secret Lead. And, it had other elements in it as well. But, there was a single idea — that we are living in a time of change as great as the height of the Industrial Revolution. If you read this letter, you have a chance of becoming as rich as those great oil and railway barons. One compelling idea and one powerful emotion. The package worked because all the other competing ideas and emotions were eliminated.

例如，波特的铁路套餐——《横跨美国的铁路》——既是故事引言，也是秘密引言。其中还包含其他元素。但有一个单一观点——我们正生活在变革时期，其规模不亚于工业革命的高峰。如果你阅读这封信，就有机会变得像那些伟大的石油和铁路巨头一样富有。一个引人入胜的观点和一个强大的情感。这个套餐之所以成功，是因为所有其他竞争性的观点和情感都被排除了。

To reiterate the most important points:

再次强调最重要的几点：

Lead your advertisement with one, and only one, powerful idea

让您的广告以一个且仅有一个强大的观点开篇

Make sure that the idea creates an emotion, a single emotion, which will compel the reader to respond

确保这个观点能引发一种情感，一种单一的情感，从而促使读者做出回应

Support that idea with one engaging story or compelling fact

用一则引人入胜的故事或一个令人信服的事实来支撑这个观点

Direct the reader to one, and only one, action

将读者引导至一个，且仅一个，行动

What is a great advertising idea? That could be the subject of another book. But, in short, a great idea is:

一个伟大的广告创意是什么？这或许是另一本书的主题。但简而言之，一个伟大的创意是：

Big (enough to stir interest)

宏大（足够激起兴趣）

Easy to understand

易于理解

Immediately convincing

立即令人信服

Clearly useful (to the reader)

清晰有用（对读者而言）

Anybody who cares about marketing — and everybody in business should — needs to understand this core principle. Spend five or ten minutes now studying Bob Bly’s little ad and understanding how it is working.

任何关心营销的人——而所有商人都应该关心——都需要理解这个核心原则。现在花五到十分钟研究一下 Bob Bly 的小广告，理解它是如何起作用的。

Put the Rule of One to work for you in all your communications, especially in your promotions and their leads. You’ll be amazed at how much stronger — and successful — your copy will be.

在所有沟通中运用“单一法则”，尤其是在你的促销活动和它们的引子中。你会惊讶于你的文案将变得多么更有力——以及多么成功。

2

The Simple Question That Can Double Your Success

一个简单的问题，可能使您的成功翻倍

_______________________________

“The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.”

“写作的技巧在于创造一个能让其他人思考的环境。”

— Edwin Schlossberg

— 埃德温·施洛斯伯格

_______________________________

Ask a simple question, the next time — and every time — you start a piece of promotional copy, and you could see double or better the results you otherwise might get.

下次——每次——当你开始写宣传文案时，问一个简单的问题，你可能会看到比平时更好的结果，甚至翻倍。

In fact, answer this same question and you’ll immediately find it a lot easier to make many of the same decisions most marketers and business owners find challenging.

事实上，回答同样的问题，你会发现立即更容易做出许多营销人员和企业家认为具有挑战性的决策。

For instance, you’ll have a much better idea which products will sell best to your target audience. You’ll also have a much better idea of the lead types, as detailed in this book, that will work best with that audience, too. Only certain ones fit at certain times. And, by asking this question, you’ll know how to decide among them.

例如，你将更好地了解哪些产品最适合你的目标受众。你还将更好地了解本书中详细说明的适合该受众的最佳潜在客户类型。只有某些类型在特定时间适合。而且，通过提出这个问题，你会知道如何在这些类型之间做出选择。

You’ll even have a fair idea, once you ask this question, which words will work best in your headline, what the opening line of your sales piece should say, even a few ideas about the layout and design.

一旦你提出这个问题，你甚至会有一个合理的想法，哪些词语最适合你的标题，你的销售文案的开头应该说什么，甚至关于布局和设计的几个想法。

And, what question is that?

那么，那个问题是哪个？

Seasoned marketers might think it’s “What am I selling?” or “Who is my customer?” And, in both cases, they wouldn’t be far off.

经验丰富的营销人员可能会认为这是“我在卖什么？”或“我的客户是谁？”在两种情况下，他们都不会错得太远。

But, the real question too many marketers never stop to ask is this one: “What does your customer already know?”

但是，太多营销人员从未停下来思考的真正问题是：“你的客户已经知道什么？”

What does he know, for instance, about who you are? What does he know about your product and the research behind it? What does he know about himself, his own problems, and the other possible solutions available?

例如，他知道你是谁？他知道你的产品及其背后的研究吗？他知道关于他自己、他自己的问题以及其他可能的解决方案吗？

Why does any of this matter?

为什么这很重要？

It matters because it completely changes the way you’ll approach and talk to your customer. And, it’s this question of how you approach him that’s so different.

这很重要，因为它完全改变了你将如何对待和与客户交谈的方式。而且，正是你对待他的方式这个问题如此不同。

In this book, we’re going to ask you to begin with exactly this premise: Everything your prospect knows before you begin your sales pitch will determine not just what you’ll say, but how you’ll say it, when you open the conversation between seller and buyer.

在这本书中，我们将要求你从这一前提开始：在你开始销售演讲之前，你的潜在客户所知道的一切将决定不仅你会说什么，而且你将如何说，何时在卖家和买家之间开启对话。

More specifically, what your reader knows will help you decide which of the following six lead types will work best. It’s that simple.

更具体地说，你的读者所知道的内容将帮助你决定以下六种引导类型中哪一种效果最佳。就是这么简单。

We call this key premise the concept of “customer awareness.” And, we’re not the first. It was the late, great copywriting legend Gene Schwartz who first wrote about this idea, in his classic book Breakthrough Advertising.

我们称这一关键前提为“客户认知”的概念。而且，我们并非首创。是已故的伟大广告文案大师吉恩·施瓦茨首次提出了这个想法，在他的经典著作《突破性广告》中。

If you can get your hands on a copy — we’ve seen it sell “new” for as much as $800 on Amazon.com — you should. It’s worth every penny, just to get his brilliant and full treatment of the idea.

如果你能弄到一本——我们见过它在亚马逊上以高达 800 美元的“全新”价格出售——你都应该买。为了得到他对这个想法的精彩和全面的阐述，每一分钱都物有所值。

But, for our purposes here, you won’t need to go so deep.

但就我们目前的用途而言，你不需要那么深入。

Let’s just start by taking a look at how Gene himself put it:

让我们先看看 Gene 自己是如何阐述的：

“If [your prospect] is aware of your product and realizes it can satisfy his desire, your headline starts with your product. If he is not aware of your product, but only of the desire itself, your headline starts with the desire. If he is not yet aware of what he really seeks, but is concerned only with the general problem, your headline starts with that problem and crystallizes it into a specific need.”

“如果[你的潜在客户]了解你的产品并意识到它能满足他的需求，你的标题应该从产品开始。如果他还不了解你的产品，只了解需求本身，你的标题应该从需求开始。如果他还没有意识到自己真正寻求的东西，只关心一般性问题，你的标题应该从这个问题开始，并将其具体化为一个特定的需求。”

In other words, even when you’re selling the same product to everybody, the people you approach will respond only to one kind of ad — depending on how aware they are of who you are, what you’re selling, and why you’re selling it.

换句话说，即使你向所有人销售相同的产品，你接触的人也只会对一种广告做出回应——这取决于他们对你是谁、你在销售什么以及为什么销售它的了解程度。

Schwartz even broke out what he called the “Five Levels of Awareness.” We’ve laid them out for you here, in a kind of “awareness line,” running from most to least aware:

施瓦茨甚至提出了他所谓的“五个意识层次”。我们在这里为你整理了这些层次，以“意识线”的形式，从最了解到最不了解排列如下：

Gene Schwartz’s Groundbreaking “Five Levels of Customer Awareness”

施瓦茨开创性的“五个客户意识层次”

So, how do you use this concept when making a marketing or copywriting decision?

那么，在做出市场营销或文案写作决策时，你该如何运用这一概念呢？

First, you ask the simple question we have already mentioned: What does your customer already know? In other words, if you had to plot your prospect on the “awareness line” we diagramed, where would he land?

首先，你问我们已经提到过的简单问题：你的客户已经了解什么？换句话说，如果你不得不将你的潜在客户放在我们绘制的“认知线”上，他会落在哪个位置？

If your customer has already bought something from you before and loves your brand, then he’s going to fall on the “most aware” end of the scale.

如果你的客户之前已经从你这里购买过东西并且喜欢你的品牌，那么他将会落在“最了解”的刻度端。

If he’s never bought or heard of your product, but suspects there’s something out there like what you sell but he doesn’t know about your product specifically, then you might say he’s “solution-aware.”

如果他从未购买或听说过你的产品，但怀疑存在像你销售的东西，只是不知道具体是你的产品，那么你可能会说他处于“解决方案认知”状态。

On the other hand, if he only knows the frustration of the problem he’s trying to solve, he’s better described as “problem-aware.” If he’s not even that much in tune, and carries only a general angst that you’ll need to channel, he falls into the category Schwartz labeled “unaware.”

另一方面，如果他只知道他试图解决的问题的困扰，那么他更准确地说是“问题认知”状态。如果他甚至没有达到这种程度，只带着你需要引导的一般焦虑，那么他属于施瓦茨标记的“无认知”类别。

As you’ll see in the upcoming chapters, some leads will work extremely well to “most aware” customers but would most likely bomb to an “unaware” audience. The reverse is also true. Leads that can give you blockbuster success with “unaware” audiences would fall flat with customers that already know you and your products well.

正如你将在接下来的章节中看到的，某些销售线索对“高度认知”的客户可能效果极佳，但对“无认知”的受众则很可能完全无效。反之亦然。那些能让你在“无认知”受众中获得巨大成功的销售线索，在已经非常了解你和你产品的客户面前则可能毫无效果。

How do you discover where to put your target customer on that “awareness line”? Simply by drilling down with even more questions, as a detective might.

你如何发现将目标客户放在“认知线”上的位置？就像侦探一样，通过提出更多问题来深入挖掘。

For instance, you might ask yourself how new your product is to the marketplace? If it’s very new, obviously customer awareness levels will be low. But then, you might also ask, is there anything else out there just like it? In which case, your target customer isn’t completely “unaware” — they already have a frame of reference.

例如，你可以问自己你的产品在市场上的新颖程度如何？如果它非常新颖，那么客户认知水平显然会很低。但接着，你还可以问，市场上是否还有其他类似的产品？如果是这样，那么你的目标客户并非完全“无认知”——他们已经有了参考框架。

Again, the simple key is that you understand this general concept. Simply put, knowing how aware your prospect is will change the conversation. And, it will especially change those first key moments of the conversation, which in advertising we call the headline and the lead.

再次强调，关键在于你理解这个基本概念。简而言之，了解潜在客户的认知程度将改变对话内容。而且，它尤其会改变对话中的关键初期时刻，在广告中我们称之为标题和引言。

Just to make sure you’re clear on how awareness levels can impact your message, let’s just spend a few minutes looking at each of the levels on Gene’s five-level scale ...

为了确保你清楚了解意识水平如何影响你的信息，让我们花几分钟时间看看 Gene 的五级量表中的每一个水平……

1. The Most Aware

1. 最了解的

Your prospect knows your product, and only needs to know “the deal.”

你的潜在客户了解你的产品，只需要知道“交易”。

在很多方面，这是你的理想客户。他们知道他们想要什么。他们知道你提供这种产品。在这个阶段，剩下的就是促成交易。

In a lot of ways, this is your dream customer. They know what they want. They know you offer it. And, at this stage, all that’s left is making the deal.

You’ll hear lots of talk these days about the importance of building a lasting relationship with customers. And even more, about how the Internet and email marketing have made that even easier.

如今，人们经常谈论与客户建立长期关系的重要性，甚至更多谈论互联网和电子邮件营销如何让这一点变得更加容易。

And, this is why.

原因就在于此。

The “most aware” customer can be a very active, even assertive kind of customer. This is where you’ll find your repeat buyers. These are the people who feel loyal to your brand, who shake your hand, and who send you “fan” emails. In the best case, these are the customers who even recommend your product to friends.

最“有意识”的客户可以是非常活跃，甚至具有主张性的客户。这就是你找到回头客的地方。这些人对你品牌忠诚，会与你握手，并发送“粉丝”邮件。在最好的情况下，这些人甚至会向朋友推荐你的产品。

Apple, for instance, has what some — especially hardcore Microsoft customers — call “fanboys.” They’re so devout, they’ll track rumor websites to find out about new product releases. Then, they’ll camp outside the retail stores to be among the first to buy.

例如，苹果公司有一些人——尤其是铁杆微软客户——称之为“果粉”。他们非常虔诚，会追踪传言网站以了解新产品发布。然后，他们会守在零售店外，以便成为首批购买者。

Apple has famously built an avid fan base. Their “most aware” customers have often camped out overnight to be first in line for new products. ©Quintin Doroquez

苹果公司以其忠实的粉丝群体而闻名。他们的“最关注”客户经常通宵排队，只为抢购新产品。©Quintin Doroquez

The benefit of selling to highly aware customers? You can often reach them with something as simple as a straightforward offer, such as this one for the iPad.

向高度关注的客户销售的好处是什么？你通常可以用一个简单的直接提议就能触达他们，比如 iPad 的这次促销。

No doubt, you also know someone who refuses to drive anything but a Chrysler, Ford, or Mercedes. Or, someone who buys tickets, T-shirts, and CDs of a favorite band or goes crazy over anything that has the logo of a favorite sports team. Even something as simple as Colgate, Crest, or Aquafresh toothpaste can build this level of loyalty in a crowd.

毫无疑问，你也认识一些人，他们只愿意驾驶克莱斯勒、福特或梅赛德斯汽车。或者，有人会购买自己喜爱乐队的门票、T 恤和 CD，对任何带有自己喜爱运动队标志的东西都疯狂不已。即使是像高露洁、佳洁士或益达这样的牙膏，也能在人群中建立起这种忠诚度。

Selling at this level of awareness is easy.

在这个关注层面上销售很容易。

Your target customers know you. They know what you do. There’s no education required. Because for them, your product is more than a product. It’s a point of contact with someone they now trust and feel emotionally connected to. More often than not, to this crowd, all you’ll need to do is offer them something new and they’ll buy.

您的目标客户认识您。他们知道您做什么。不需要进行教育。因为对他们来说，您的产品不仅仅是一个产品。它是与一个他们现在信任并与之建立情感联系的人接触的纽带。通常情况下，对于这群人，您只需要提供一些新的东西，他们就会购买。

Why?

为什么？

Because not only are they already passionate in the niche where your product resides, but they’ve already answered many of their own questions. They’re already emotionally ready to make a decision. And, almost all you’ll need to do is give them the opportunity to buy.

不仅因为他们已经在您的产品所属领域充满热情，而且他们已经回答了他们自己的许多问题。他们已经准备好在情感上做出决定。而且，几乎您需要做的只是给他们提供购买的机会。

The first lead we’ll show you, featured in Chapter 4, can work great for this kind of highly-aware customer. What’s more, it’s among the easiest to write, once you’ve decided exactly what you’re selling and whom you’re selling to.

我们将向您展示的第一个潜在客户，在第四章中介绍，对于这种高度了解的客户非常有效。更重要的是，一旦您确定了您要销售什么以及您要向谁销售，它就是最容易写的之一。

To figure out if you’re selling to a “most aware” customer, you’re going to look immediately at whatever kind of mailing list or slice of the market that’s most available to you. For instance, in a company that markets often by direct response, they’ll have a “house list.” And on that list, they might also have what are called “multi-buyers.”

要判断你是否在向一个“最知情”的客户销售，你需要立即查看你最容易获取的邮件列表或市场细分。例如，在一个经常通过直接响应进行营销的公司中，他们会有一个“自有列表”。在这个列表上，他们还可能有所谓的“重复购买者”。

These are the customers who bought before and who came back again for more. Most direct response marketers place high value on this list simply because, as “most aware” customers, they’re much easier to sell. Most of the work has already been done, long before your copy comes along.

这些是之前购买过并且再次回来购买更多产品的客户。大多数直接响应营销者非常重视这个列表，仅仅因为他们是“最知情”的客户，所以更容易销售。大部分工作在您的文案出现之前就已经完成了。

Keep in mind, in today’s over-exposed, media-dense world, you might sometimes run into customers who seem too aware. These are the jaded ones, who have been hit too many times by similar pitches, have tried products like yours that have let them down, or who have just reached a self-imposed limit on how much they’re willing to spend.

请记住，在当今过度曝光、媒体密集的世界里，你有时会遇到看似过于知情的客户。这些是已经受够了的人，他们被太多类似的推销打击过，尝试过像你这样的产品但让他们失望，或者只是达到了他们愿意花费的自主限制。

In those special cases, they’re not only “most aware” of who you are and what you offer, but also they’ve already made up their minds. And, you’ll find it very difficult to change those opinions, even if they’re not exactly right about what they think.

在那些特殊情况下，他们不仅“最了解”你是谁以及你提供什么，而且他们已经做出了决定。而且，你会发现很难改变他们的看法，即使他们对自己所想的并不完全正确。

However, it’s not impossible, as you’ll see with the special lead types we’ll talk about later, starting with Chapter 4. But, before you jump ahead, let’s continue with Schwartz’s other levels of customer awareness, as they might apply to the marketing situation you find yourself in right now.

然而，这并非不可能，正如你将在后面章节中看到的特殊引导类型，从第四章开始。但是，在你跳向前方之前，让我们继续探讨施瓦茨的其他客户意识层次，因为它们可能适用于你目前所处的营销情况。

2. Product-Aware

2. 产品认知

Your prospect knows what you sell, but isn’t sure it’s right for him.

你的潜在客户知道你在销售什么，但不确定它是否适合他。

Even for products that have fans, you’re also going to find buyers sitting on the fence. And, that’s mostly what you’ll see at this second level. These are the prospects that just aren’t sure what you’re selling is right for them.

即使是对于那些拥有粉丝的产品，你也会发现买家犹豫不决。而且，这主要是你在这一级别的所见。这些就是那些不确定你所销售的产品是否适合他们的潜在客户。

Do they know the name of your product? Yes. Do they know the benefits you claim? It’s pretty likely. But, making up their minds whether to buy, that’s a different story.

他们知道你的产品名称吗？知道。他们了解你所宣称的好处吗？很有可能。但是，要他们下定决心是否购买，那又是另一回事了。

First, you’ll need to win their trust. And, because they’re not completely decided, they’re skittish. So, you’ll have to make sure you don’t scare them away.

首先，你需要赢得他们的信任。而且，因为他们还没有完全决定，所以他们会很谨慎。因此，你必须确保不要把他们吓跑。

You’ll find these kinds of prospects reading other customers’ reviews on Amazon.com and poring over copies of Consumer Reports. Even though they’re close to a purchase, they crave reassurance. They want and need to know you sell not only what they need, but that they can trust your claims about what your product or service can do.

你会发现这类潜在客户在亚马逊网站上阅读其他顾客的评论，并仔细研究《消费者报告》的副本。尽管他们接近购买，但他们渴望得到保证。他们想知道和需要确认你不仅销售他们需要的产品，而且可以信任你对你的产品或服务能做什么的声明。

Of course, that means you’ll need to work that much harder to convince them. The good news is that with this kind of “product-aware” customer, at least part of the seller-buyer relationship has already begun.

当然，这意味着你需要更加努力地让他们信服。好消息是，对于这种“产品意识”强的客户，至少卖方和买方的关系已经开始了。

That’s why “product-aware” customers are often easier to win over. Because you still won’t need to do much here to educate the customer about what you’re doing. Most of your work will focus on proving you’re able to do what you say you’ll do.

这就是为什么“产品意识”强的客户往往更容易赢得。因为你仍然不需要做太多工作来教育客户你正在做什么。你的大部分工作将集中在证明你能够做到你所承诺的事情。

Of course, every sale works to build buyer trust. But, with this kind of prospect, trust building becomes especially important. It’s what you’ll want to do as soon as possible in your copy. The lead type you’ll read about in Chapter 5 will show you how that’s done.

当然，每一次销售都是为了建立买方信任。但对于这种潜在客户来说，信任建立变得尤为重要。你需要在文案中尽早做到这一点。你将在第 5 章中读到的线索类型将向你展示如何做到这一点。

Once you move beyond these first two higher levels of customer awareness, selling gets a little tougher. And, this is where good copywriters start to earn their money. Why? Because it’s here that resistance spikes higher and you’ll need to work harder to make that first connection.

一旦你超越了前两个更高的客户意识水平，销售就会变得稍微困难一些。这也是优秀文案撰稿人开始赚钱的地方。为什么？因为在这里，阻力会急剧上升，你需要更加努力地建立最初的联系。

Let us show you what we mean ...

让我们来展示我们的意思……

3. Solution-Aware

3. 了解解决方案

Your prospect knows the result he wants, but not that your product provides it.

您的潜在客户知道他想要的结果，但不知道您的产品能提供它。

Picture yourself craving a midnight snack. You’re standing in the glow of the open refrigerator. You feel the hunger pangs. And, you know there’s food in the house. But, you’re just not sure what you want.

想象一下，你渴望着深夜的小吃。你站在打开的冰箱微光中，感受到饥饿的折磨。你知道家里有食物，但就是不确定想吃点什么。

That’s not so far off from being “solution-aware.”

那已经接近“解决方案意识”了。

At this third level of Schwartz’s Awareness Scale, the prospect knows that somewhere out there, somebody has a solution to his problem. He might even know vaguely where to look. Beyond that, he’s not so sure where to look next.

在施瓦茨意识尺度的第三级，潜在客户知道在某个地方，有人有解决他问题的方案。他甚至可能模糊地知道该去哪里寻找。除此之外，他不太确定下一步该去哪里寻找。

A prospect in this category needs a little extra education before he’s ready to compare his options. When he comes to you, this third-level customer has only an outcome in mind.

处于这一类别的潜在客户在准备好比较选项之前需要一些额外的教育。当他来找你时，这位第三级客户心中只有一个结果。

To make the sale, you show him you’re able to help him reach that outcome. But, before you can do that, you’ll first need to convince him you understand what he wants and needs.

为了做成交易，你需要向他展示你能够帮助他达到那个结果。但在你这样做之前，首先需要说服他你理解他想要什么和需要什么。

An ad like this goes beyond the simple offer, with more claims and proof, to sell to a slightly “less aware” prospect.

这样的广告超越了简单的报价，包含更多主张和证明，以销售给稍微“意识较浅”的潜在客户。

At least two of the kinds of lead types we’ll show you — in Chapters 5 and 6 — will help you do this, as you’ll see.

我们将在第 5 章和第 6 章中展示的至少两种类型的引言将帮助你做到这一点，正如你将看到的。

And then, we start to move into the customer awareness levels where making a solid connection gets much tougher and much more important. So, why target these buyers?

然后，我们开始进入客户意识水平，在这个水平上建立牢固的联系变得非常困难和非常重要。那么，为什么要针对这些买家呢？

Because it’s in these last two categories where you’re going to find the customers that help businesses grow.

因为在这最后两个类别中，你将找到帮助业务增长的客户。

4. Problem-Aware

4. 问题意识

Your prospect senses he has a problem, but doesn’t know there’s a solution.

您的潜在客户意识到自己有问题，但不知道有解决方案。

A “solution-aware” customer has hope. But, a “problem-aware” customer has only worry. They know something’s not working, but they don’t know yet there’s a way to fix it.

一个“解决方案意识”的客户有希望。但，一个“问题意识”的客户只有担忧。他们知道某些事情出了问题，但他们还不知道有办法可以解决。

Notice how this ad taps the emotions attached to the problem of “stiff joints” and “discomfort” before it actually reveals anything about the product.

注意这则广告是如何在揭示产品信息之前，先触及与“僵硬关节”和“不适”问题相关的情感。

The key with this customer is to show you “feel their pain.” Not just that you know they have a problem, but that you know the frustration, desperation, or even fear and anger it causes. We call this the “point of maximum anxiety.” Once you identify it, you’ll find an open avenue for making an emotional connection.

关键在于向客户展示你“理解他们的痛苦”。这不仅仅是你知道他们有问题，而是你知道这些问题带来的挫败感、绝望感，甚至恐惧和愤怒。我们称之为“最大焦虑点”。一旦你识别出这一点，你就能找到建立情感连接的开放途径。

This kind of copy says loud and clear “I sympathize,” before it even tries to begin to name benefits or mention products. Many classic ads fall into this category.

这种文案在尝试列举好处或提及产品之前，就明确传达了“我感同身受”。许多经典广告都属于这一类。

In Chapter 6, you’ll see specific examples. Plus, you’ll see how to connect with the key selling emotions that make this special kind of lead work. And in Chapter 7, you’ll discover a lead type which can also be very effective for prospects keenly aware of what ails them.

在第六章，你会看到具体的例子。此外，你还会了解如何连接这种特殊类型引荐的关键销售情感，从而使其发挥作用。而在第七章，你会发现一种对那些非常清楚自己问题所在的目标客户同样非常有效的引荐类型。

And finally, there’s the toughest and yet potentially most rewarding of the customer awareness levels, and the last in Schwartz’s five-level breakdown ...

最后，还有最难但潜在回报最大的客户认知层次，也是施瓦茨五层次分析中的最后一个层次...

5. Completely Unaware

5. 完全无意识

No knowledge of anything except, perhaps, his own identity or opinion.

除了自己的身份或观点外，对任何事都毫无了解。

Of the customers you’ll target, none is tougher to win over than the completely “unaware” prospect. Not only do they not know who you are, they don’t know your product. They don’t even know products like yours exist. Nor do they know they have a specific problem worth solving.

在你要瞄准的客户中，没有比完全“无意识”的潜在客户更难赢得的。他们不仅不知道你是谁，也不知道你的产品。他们甚至不知道像你这样的产品存在。他们也不知道自己有需要解决的问题。

So, why bother?

那还费什么劲呢？

Because it’s here that you’ll find the completely new markets a growing business needs. This is where you’ll find new places to resell your entire product line. It’s also where you might get lots of ideas for new products.

因为在这里，你可以找到成长型企业所需的全新市场。在这里，你可以找到销售整个产品线的全新渠道。在这里，你或许还能获得许多新产品创意。

It’s in this market where smart marketers make their fortunes.

正是在这个市场中，聪明的营销者创造了财富。

Of course, it’s also here that the pros compete. The secret sounds simple. Here, you’ll need a lead that grabs readers without letting on the least detail of what it is you’re trying to do.

当然，这里也是专业人士竞争的地方。秘诀听起来很简单。在这里，你需要一个能吸引读者注意的引子，同时不透露你试图达成的任何细节。

To make this work, you’ll need finesse.

要使这有效，你需要技巧。

To see how it’s done, take a look at the examples in Chapters 8 and 9. In the first of these, you’ll discover the Proclamation Lead. In the second, you’ll read about what we call the Story Lead.

要了解具体做法，可以查看第 8 章和第 9 章中的示例。在第一章中，你会发现宣告式开场白。在第二章，你会读到我们称之为故事式开场白的技巧。

These two lead types are designed to give you an entry point for a sales message that’s hard for your prospect to see coming, let alone classify.

这两种开场白类型旨在为你提供一个销售信息切入点，让你的潜在客户难以察觉，更不用说分类了。

Why? Because winning the attention of your most “unaware” customers can be especially difficult, as they have no reason to trust or even listen to your message. Come on too strong with a pitch or product mention, and you could chase them away.

为什么？因为赢得你最“无意识”客户的注意力可能特别困难，因为他们没有理由信任甚至听你的信息。过于强势地推销或提及产品，可能会把他们吓跑。

On the other hand, once you’ve won their attention and moved past that initial resistance, their lack of awareness can make them more receptive to an offer which is, to them, unique in a very real way.

另一方面，一旦你赢得了他们的注意力并克服了最初的抵触情绪，他们缺乏意识的特点反而可能让他们更容易接受一个对他们而言真正独特的信息。

One famous example that we’ll look at more closely is one you might know from The Wall Street Journal. It could have opened with an invitation to subscribe to the world’s most famous financial journal at a discount.

我们将会更详细地分析一个著名的例子，你可能从《华尔街日报》中知道它。它本可以以一个折扣订阅世界上最有名的财经杂志的邀请作为开头。

It could have shown how past headlines broke stories about dangers in the markets or giant opportunities that readers might otherwise have missed.

它本可以展示过去的头条如何打破市场中的危险故事，或者巨大的机会，这些机会读者可能原本会错过。

Instead, it began ...

相反，它开始...

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

On a beautiful late spring afternoon, twenty-five years ago, two young men graduated from the same college.

在一个美丽的晚春午后，二十五年前，两个年轻人从同一所大学毕业。

They were very much alike, these two young men. Both had been better than average students, both were personable, and both — as young college graduates are — were filled with ambitious dreams for the future.

这两个年轻人非常相似。他们都是比平均水平优秀的学生，都很有魅力，而且都像年轻的大学毕业生一样，对未来充满雄心壮志的梦想。

Recently, these men returned to their college for their 25th reunion.

最近，这两个男人回到他们的大学参加二十五周年校庆。

They were still very much alike. Both were happily married. Both had three children. And both, it turned out, had gone to work for the same Midwestern manufacturing company after graduation, and were still there.

他们仍然非常相似。两人都幸福地结婚。两人都有三个孩子。而且，事实证明，他们毕业后都去了同一个中西部制造公司工作，并且至今仍在那里。

But, there was one difference.

但是，有一个不同之处。

One of the men was manager of a small department of that company. The other was president ...

其中一名男子是该公司的一个小部门的经理。另一名是总裁……

Where, in that engaging story, is the newspaper mentioned? It’s nowhere to be found. And, the subscription offer? Just as absent.

在那段迷人的故事中，报纸被提及了吗？根本找不到。订阅提议呢？同样不存在。

Yet, as you’ll read in Chapter 9, this powerful and very indirect opening was the start of one of the most successful direct response letters of all time. So much, that the “tale of two young men” story is a much-copied and still successful model today.

然而，正如你将在第 9 章中读到的，这个强大而非常间接的开头是史上最成功的直接回应信件之一的开端。如此成功，以至于“两个年轻人的故事”成为了一个被广泛复制且至今仍有效的模式。

But, before you move ahead for more on these and other examples, find out in the next chapter why each of our specific six lead types tends to work better in some situations where they might fail in others.

但在继续探讨这些及其他例子之前，先在下一章了解我们特定的六种开场白类型为何在某些情况下效果更好，而在其他情况下可能失败。

_________________________

Summary: Why “Awareness” Matters

摘要：为何“认知度”很重要

Knowing what your prospect knows in advance of a sales pitch is just as important as knowing who he is or what he wants. Advertising great Gene Schwartz broke it down into an “Awareness Scale,” ranging from the “most aware” to the “least aware,” as follows:

在销售演讲前了解潜在客户已有的认知，与了解他是谁或他想要什么同样重要。伟大的广告人吉恩·施瓦茨将其分解为“认知度量表”，范围从“最了解”到“最不了解”，如下所示：

_________________________

3

Direct or Indirect?

直接还是间接？

______________________________

“That’s right — it filets, it chops, it dices and slices. It never stops. It lasts a lifetime, mows your lawn, and it picks up the kids from school ... It plays a mean rhythm. It makes excuses for lipstick on your collar. And it’s only a dollar, only a dollar, only a dollar.”

“没错——它能过滤，能砍，能切，能切片。它从不停止。它经久不衰，修剪你的草坪，还从学校接孩子……它演奏的节奏很棒。它为你的衬衫上沾了口红找借口。而且它只需要一美元，只需要一美元，只需要一美元。”

— Tom Waits

— 汤姆·韦茨

_______________________________

At a cocktail party, how do you start a conversation?

在鸡尾酒会上，你如何开始一段对话？

With an old friend, you might pick up right where you left off. With a total stranger, you might first look for ways to “break the ice.”

和一位老朋友交谈，你可能会直接从上次中断的地方继续。而和一个完全陌生的人交谈，你可能会先寻找打破僵局的方法。

Socially, this insight comes naturally. What you might not realize, though, is that in marketing — and especially in crafting powerful leads for sales letters — the same instinct can apply.

从社交角度来看，这种洞察力是自然而然产生的。然而，你可能没有意识到的是，在营销领域——尤其是在为销售信件打造强大潜在客户时——同样的本能同样适用。

For instance, take a look at this envelope:

例如，看看这个信封：

This was for an invitation the Cooking Club of America sent to “serious cooks only.”

这是美国烹饪俱乐部寄给“专业厨师”的邀请函。

Even on the envelope, you know immediately what the letter inside is about. This is not for bachelors who can’t boil eggs. Or college students with take-out shops on speed dial.

即使在信封上，你也能立刻知道信里面的内容是什么。这不是给那些不会煮鸡蛋的单身汉，也不是给那些把外卖店设为快速拨号的大学学生。

This is for “foodies” who love the kitchen, crack spines on cookbooks, and who enjoy talking and thinking about the gadgets and secrets that can make them better at their craft.

这是给那些热爱厨房的“美食家”，他们喜欢翻阅烹饪书籍，喜欢谈论和思考那些能让他们在烹饪技艺上更出色的工具和秘诀。

Inside, you find a letter with this offer stamped right at the top ...

信里面，你发现一封信，上面盖着这个提议的印章……

Then the lead begins ...

然后，潜在客户开始了……

“Dear Fellow Food Lover,

“亲爱的美食爱好者，

“Would you mind very much if I sent you a free cookware set to use in your kitchen? How about a free bread machine? A free selection of spices? A free set of utensils? ... ”

“如果我把一套免费的厨具寄给你用，你介意吗？免费面包机呢？免费的调味料呢？免费的餐具套装呢？……”

It goes on to explain that you can test — and keep — free kitchen gadgets every month, just by joining the Cooking Club of America.

它接着解释说，只需加入美国烹饪俱乐部，你每个月都可以试用并保留免费的厨房小工具。

The club has other benefits, too, of course — a recipe directory, equipment deals and discounts, member contests, member forums and events, a members-only magazine. But, true to the Rule of One principle discussed in Chapter 1, they focused on the one benefit that testing proved an immediate draw.

俱乐部当然还有其他好处——食谱目录、设备交易和折扣、会员竞赛、会员论坛和活动、会员专属杂志。但，正如第一章讨论的“单一原则”所强调的，他们专注于那个被证明能立即吸引人的好处。

And, because they were targeting already passionate and informed cooks, the copywriter saw no need to “warm up” or educate the readers. The offer invitation alone was enough. The letter was a huge success.

而且，因为他们目标是已经充满热情且知识丰富的厨师，文案撰稿人认为没有必要“预热”或教育读者。仅凭优惠邀请就足够了。这封信取得了巨大成功。

Lots of sales letters take exactly this same kind of head on or “direct” approach.

很多销售信都采取完全相同的直接或“直接”方法。

You might recognize some of these famous headlines:

你可能认出一些这些著名的标题：

“Don’t Pay a Penny For This Book Until it Doubles Your Power to Learn”

“这本书加倍你的学习能力之前，不要支付一分钱”

“Weird New Sonic Lure Catches Fish Like Crazy … ”

“奇怪的新声波诱饵疯狂捕鱼 … ”

“We’re Looking For People Who Like to Draw”

“我们在寻找喜欢绘画的人”

“At Last, Instant Beauty!”

“终于，即时美容！”

“FREE — The Book That Has Helped Thousands to Get Slim and Stay Slim”

“免费——帮助成千上万的人瘦身并保持瘦身的书籍”

But, it would be a mistake to think that direct offers are the only way to sell, or even the best way in all situations. Take this Gene Schwartz classic, which first appeared as a full-page space ad in Barron’s ...

但，认为直接推销是唯一销售方式，甚至是在所有情况下都是最佳方式，这是一种错误的想法。以 Gene Schwartz 的经典案例为例，它最初作为整版广告出现在《巴伦周刊》上……

Nowhere in the lead can you guess this is about a $5.95 book. Nor does the lead focus on the six wealth-creation secrets found inside.

在引言中，你无法猜到这是一本售价 5.95 美元的书。引言也没有聚焦于书中发现的六种财富创造秘诀。

Schwartz realized that if he really wanted to highlight how this book differed from all the rest, he would have to find a different way to lead the reader into the sales message.

Schwartz 意识到，如果他想真正突出这本书与其他书籍的不同之处，他必须找到一种不同的方式来引导读者进入销售信息。

So, instead of focusing on the book or the secrets, he threw the spotlight on the reader. Not just his desire to get rich, which is common, but with the word “courage,” some deeper unspoken feelings the reader might harbor about making money.

因此，他没有专注于书籍或秘诀，而是将焦点放在读者身上。不仅是他渴望致富的普遍想法，而是用“勇气”这个词，触及读者内心深处关于赚钱可能隐藏的更深层次的情感。

This ad, too, was a big hit, selling thousands of copies of the book.

这则广告同样大获成功，售出了数千册这本书。

These other, less direct headlines just as famous as that one include:

这些其他不那么直接的标题也同样著名，包括：

“She Fled the Hospital When the Doctor Said ‘Cut Her Open’”

“当医生说‘切开她’时，她逃离了医院”

“71-Year Old Man Has Sexual Congress 5 Times a Day”

“71 岁老人每天性交五次”

“How a ‘Fool Stunt’ Made Me a Star Salesman”

“一个‘傻瓜把戏’如何让我成为明星销售员”

“What Never, Ever to Eat on an Airplane ... ”

“飞机上永远不该吃的东西……”

“The Great Oil Hoax: What George Bush Was Told Behind Closed Doors”

“伟大的石油骗局：乔治·布什在闭门会议中被告知的真相”

In each case, the lead pulls you in with a story or a piece of news. But, claims tied directly to the product have all but disappeared. When the headline and lead take this approach of avoiding direct claims or reference to the product, we call it an “indirect” sales lead.

在每种情况下，导语都通过故事或新闻将你吸引进来。但是，直接与产品相关的声明几乎消失了。当标题和导语采取避免直接声明或提及产品的这种方式时，我们称之为“间接”销售导语。

Which Approach is Better?

哪种方法更好？

Which is better: a “direct” or “indirect” approach?

“直接”还是“间接”方法更好？

Here’s what award-winning copywriter Don Hauptman, who you might remember for the famous headline “Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat,” wrote in a memo way back in 1979:

这里引用了获奖文案作家唐·哈特曼在 1979 年的一封备忘录中的话，你可能还记得他写的那句著名标题“像外交官一样说西班牙语”：

“I have come to the conclusion that some of the strongest copy is not of the traditional hard-sell variety, with superlatives, benefits, and how-to. A more seductive, indirect, oblique approach strikes me as being the wave of the future.”

“我得出结论，一些最强大的文案并非传统的硬性推销类型，包含超级形容词、利益点和操作方法。我认为更具诱惑力、间接的迂回方法才是未来的趋势。”

Meanwhile, equally successful copywriter and author Bob Bly says, “The majority of my heads and leads are direct, as a result of my long years in Business-to-Business ... where virtually every headline and lead is direct.”

与此同时，同样成功的文案作家兼作家鲍勃·布莱说：“我大部分的标题和引言都是直接的，这是因为我多年来一直从事企业对企业业务……在那里，几乎每个标题和引言都是直接的。”

Then, there’s copywriter Clayton Makepeace, possibly the highest-earning U.S. copywriter. Says Clayton: “Do direct benefit headlines still work? Hell, yes! I use them all the time ... but in many markets and for many products, they’re working less well than they once did — so ‘A’-level writers have evolved other ways to seize prospects’ attention ... ”

然后，还有文案作家克莱顿·麦凯斯，可能是美国收入最高的文案作家。克莱顿说：“直接的效益型标题现在还管用吗？当然管用！我经常使用它们……但在许多市场和许多产品上，它们的效果不如从前好——所以‘A’级作家已经发展出其他方法来吸引潜在客户的注意力……”

Or, you could ask highly-successful copywriter Lee Euler his opinion about direct or indirect leads. Lee is famous for some of the most successful indirect sales letters in the financial newsletter industry — including The Plague of the Black Debt you’ll see highlighted in Chapter 8. Lee’s opinion:

或者，你可以询问非常成功的文案作家李·欧勒对直接或间接引言的看法。李因在金融行业中最成功的间接销售信而闻名——包括在第 8 章中重点介绍的黑债瘟疫。李的看法：

“Pure news or curiosity, with no clear connection to the customer’s concerns, can be very dangerous ... if you have to choose, choose the [direct] benefit approach. You’re almost always better off with a headline that offers a strong benefit that addresses a deep need of the customer.”

“纯粹的新闻或好奇心，如果没有与客户关心的直接联系，可能会非常危险……如果你必须选择，选择[直接]效益型方法。你几乎总是能更好地使用一个提供强大效益、满足客户深层需求的标题。”

Bill Bonner launched his own publishing empire with the indirect International Living classic lead shown here.

比尔·博纳用这里展示的间接国际生活经典引言，创办了自己的出版帝国。

Bill has his own opinion about indirect leads. “I like indirect leads because they have to appeal straight to the heart. Copy always has to aim that way, of course, but indirect copy forces you to do it. The risks are higher, but so are the rewards.”

比尔对间接引言有自己的看法。“我喜欢间接引言，因为它们必须直接打动人心。当然，文案总是要朝这个方向努力，但间接文案迫使你这样做。风险更高，但回报也同样高。”

With copywriting giants like these leaning both ways, you can guess that both “direct” and “indirect” can work extremely well. The trick is deciding which to use and when.

有这些文案巨匠两全其美，你可以猜到“直接”和“间接”都能非常有效。诀窍在于决定何时使用哪种方式。

The Role Awareness Plays

角色认知的作用

In the last chapter, we saw how much the awareness level of your customer can vary. Your customer can be “most aware” of who you are and what you’re selling or at least of the problems you can help him solve. Or, he can be completely “unaware” of much of anything having to do with what you’re trying to sell him, his problems, or the solutions to them.

在上一章中，我们看到客户的认知程度可以有多大差异。你的客户可能“非常了解”你是谁以及你在销售什么，或者至少了解你能帮他解决什么问题。或者，他可能对你试图销售给他的一切、他的问题或解决方案完全“毫无察觉”。

By far the easiest way to figure out if you should come at a sales lead idea head on or sidle up to it indirectly, is to figure out where your prospect falls on this scale of awareness.

到目前为止，判断你是否应该直接切入销售线索想法或间接接近的最简单方法，是确定你的潜在客户在这个认知程度量表上处于什么位置。

The more aware he is, usually the more direct sales lead works best.

他越了解，通常越直接的销售线索效果最好。

The less aware, the more indirect you’re going to want to go.

他越不了解，你就越需要采取更间接的方式。

It’s not a perfect indicator, but it’s pretty close.

这不是一个完美的指标，但相当接近。

On the “awareness line” we showed you in Chapter 2, it might look like this:

在第二章中我们展示的“意识线”上，它可能看起来像这样：

How Aware Your Customer Is Helps Decide How Direct You Should Be

客户意识的程度决定了你应该如何直接

Of course, there are other ways to explain why you might want to use one kind of approach or the other. For instance, you’ll hear that directly stating the benefit or getting right to your offer in the lead works best when ...

当然，还有其他方法可以解释为什么你可能想要使用一种方法或另一种方法。例如，你会听到直接陈述好处或在开场白中立即提出你的提议在...时效果最好

You’re selling a product that’s easy to understand.

你销售的产品很容易理解。

You can make a promise that’s very large and easily accepted.

你可以做出一个很大且容易被接受承诺。

You’ve got an exceptionally good deal or guarantee to offer.

你有一个非常棒的交易或保证要提供。

Your customer knows and trusts you and deals with you often.

你的客户了解并信任你，经常与你交易。

You’ve made a product improvement your market was already waiting for.

你已经做出了市场早已期待的产品改进。

Each is a case when awareness and acceptance levels are already high. So, buyers are more receptive to the sale right away.

每个案例中，认知度和接受度都相当高。因此，买家更容易立即接受销售。

Here’s an example of a direct lead that did very well. The product, TurboTax, is already well-known tax software.

这里有一个直接开场白案例，效果非常好。产品是 TurboTax，它是一款广为人知的税务软件。

What could be more familiar, at least to this product’s target audience, than the pain of preparing and paying taxes?

对于这款产品的目标受众来说，还有什么比准备和缴纳税款带来的痛苦更熟悉的呢？

This copy doesn’t need to dredge up those emotions. Because the customer is already there and, most likely, on the brink of a purchase. He may even know TurboTax by name.

这篇文案不必再勾起那些情绪。因为顾客已经在这里，而且很可能正要购买。他甚至可能已经知道 TurboTax 这个名称。

The relationship is already in place. So instead, this copywriter can cut right to the chase with something much more direct. He can jump right to the irresistible offer.

关系已经建立。所以，这位文案可以直接切入主题，用更直接的方式。他可以立刻推出极具吸引力的优惠。

As you can see, writing direct ads can be easier than writing indirect ads, simply because you don’t have to work as hard to educate or seduce a prospect before you reveal that you’re looking to make a sale. When you’re working with a “most aware” prospect, a straightforward direct lead can be extremely powerful.

正如你所见，写直接广告比写间接广告更容易，仅仅因为你不必在展示销售意图之前那么费力地教育或吸引潜在客户。当你面对的是“最知情”的潜在客户时，一个直接的直接引导可以非常有力。

On the other hand, you’ll also find times when a purely direct approach comes on too strong or makes it too easy for a target customer to assume he’s not interested, even before he actually knows what you’re selling.

另一方面，你也会发现，有时纯粹的直接方法会显得过于强势，或者让目标顾客在实际上还不知道你在卖什么之前，就轻易地认为自己不感兴趣。

This happens more often when ...

这种情况更经常发生时...

Your customer trusts you less as a resource than you imagine.

您的客户不像您想象的那样信任您作为资源。

Your customer just doesn’t trust the scope of your claims.

您的客户只是不信任您的声明范围。

Your customer doesn’t believe a solution to his problem is possible.

您的客户不相信有解决他问题的方案。

Your customer doesn’t even know there’s a problem worth solving.

您的客户甚至不知道有什么问题值得解决。

Your claims all sound too much like everybody else’s.

您的说法听起来都太像其他人的了。

The less your customer knows about you, what you’re selling, or his own needs, the less effective a direct lead is likely to be. For instance, he might not know what sets your product apart from similar ones. He might not understand what makes you credible. Or, he might not even be aware of the problems you’re promising to solve at all.

您的客户对您、您所销售的产品或他自己的需求了解得越少，直接开场白的效果就越差。例如，他可能不知道您的产品与同类产品有何不同。他可能不理解您为何值得信赖。或者，他甚至可能根本没有意识到您承诺要解决的问题。

In each case, a lead that’s too direct risks forcing assumptions or ignoring obstacles that will get in the way of making your sale. So, you’ll want instead to close that awareness gap before you try to reveal the details of whatever you’re offering.

在每种情况下，过于直接的开场白都有可能导致强加假设或忽视会阻碍成交的障碍。因此，在您试图透露所提供内容的细节之前，您需要先缩小这种认知差距。

_________________________

Copywriter and publisher William Bonner, who’s also a history buff, often compares this lead-writing lesson to the history of wars and military strategy.

文案作家兼出版人威廉·博纳，同时也是一位历史爱好者，经常将这个写标题的教训与战争历史和军事策略相比较。

Empires like to fight direct wars, coming on strong with full force, says Bill. And, that works a lot of the time. But, when you’re outflanked and outmatched, going in headfirst can be suicide.

比尔说，帝国喜欢打正面战，用全部力量猛烈进攻。而且，这在很多时候是有效的。但是，当你被包围且处于劣势时，不顾一切地冲上去可能是自杀行为。

Some of the greatest military “upsets” in history — when the barbarians took Rome, when American revolutionaries turned back British redcoats, even when the Vietcong repelled the West — tie their victories to “end around” tactics and sneak attacks. In short, they win by being more indirect.

历史上一些最伟大的军事“意外”胜利——比如野蛮人攻占罗马，美国革命者击退英国红 coat 士兵，甚至越共击退西方——都将他们的胜利归功于“迂回”战术和偷袭。简而言之，他们通过更间接的方式取得胜利。

Of course, nobody recommends you wage war on customers. But, you are waging war on their skepticism, along with the many demands on your customer’s time, and the years of built-up resistance they might have to advertising or new ideas in general.

当然，没有人建议你对客户宣战。但是，你正在对抗他们的怀疑，以及客户时间的诸多需求，还有他们可能对广告或新想法多年积累的抵触情绪。

_________________________

When you’re working with a less aware or skeptical customer, the great power of an indirect lead is it can open — or re-open — the door on that relationship before the customer has the chance to get confused or sock your offer away in a pigeon-hole of “heard that, done that before.”

当你面对一个意识较低或持怀疑态度的客户时，间接引导的强大之处在于它可以在客户有机会感到困惑或把你的提议归入“听过且做过”的 pigeon-hole 之前，打开或重新打开这段关系的大门。

You might want to try one of the more indirect kinds of leads when ...

当你需要尝试更间接的引导方式时...

You’re writing to a customer who knows little or nothing about you.

你正在给一个几乎不了解你的客户写信。

You’re selling something that needs explanation.

你正在销售需要解释的产品。

You’ve got a jaded customer with a lot of skepticism to overcome.

你面对一位充满怀疑的疲惫客户，需要克服他的许多疑虑。

Your product has a timely news connection too big to ignore.

你的产品与一个不容忽视的时事新闻紧密相连。

You’re ready to reinvent or elevate your product or the idea behind it.

你准备好重新构想或提升你的产品或其背后的理念。

For instance, here’s a promotion that successfully uses an indirect approach …

例如，这里有一个成功运用间接方法的促销活动……

Obviously, the subject here is health.

显然，这里的话题是健康。

It’s clear the subject here is health. But beyond that, does anything here immediately give away what kind of health product might be offered? Not quite.

很明显，这里的话题是健康。但除此之外，这里是否有任何内容能立刻揭示可能提供哪种健康产品？并非如此。

Rather, the lead and headline combination promise to entertain and inform all by themselves, enough to make reading the sales piece almost irresistible to even the most skeptical or disconnected reader.

相反，引言和标题的组合本身就承诺提供娱乐和信息，足以让即使是最大胆或最疏离的读者也几乎无法抗拒阅读销售内容。

Another benefit of the indirect lead is that part of what makes it work is not just the emotional connection it makes on the spot, but the way it actively involves the reader in making that connection.

间接引言的另一个好处是，使其奏效的部分不仅在于它现场建立的情感联系，还在于它如何积极让读者参与建立这种联系。

Direct leads deliver an idea to a customer that he’s ready to accept. Indirect leads, on the other hand, give the customer extra emotional momentum and reaffirming proof to help him finish forming the conclusions he’s only just started to make. Conclusions that will, hopefully, energize his imagination enough that he’ll soon be ready to buy.

直接引导向客户传达一个他已准备好接受的观点。而间接引导则给予客户额外的情感动力和强化证据，帮助他完成刚刚开始形成的结论。这些结论将，希望，足以激发他的想象力，让他很快准备好购买。

This might help explain why, when an indirect lead works — and it can take a lot more work to find one that will — it can work extremely well. Because to write a good indirect lead, you have to work that much harder to get inside your prospect’s head and figure him out. In some cases, you might even need to get to know him better than he knows himself.

这可能有助于解释为什么，当间接引导起作用时——而找到一个有效的间接引导可能需要更多的工作——它可以非常有效。因为要写一个好的间接引导，你必须更加努力地进入潜在客户的思维并了解他。在某些情况下，你可能甚至需要比他自己更了解他。

Master Copywriter Clayton Makepeace calls what we’re referring to as indirect leads as “dominant emotion” leads. Says Clayton:

精通文案写作的克莱顿·梅克佩斯将我们所说的间接引导称为“主导情感”引导。克莱顿说：

“Every time I get a new control, I go to work cranking out up to six cover tests for each roll-out, each one trying a different type of lead. Sometimes, my benefit heads win. Other times, my dominant emotion leads win. Recently, I’m finding in heads-up A/B splits, dominant emotion leads are winning more often. And looking back over the 34 years I’ve been doing this, the fact is, most of my biggest controls (packages that mailed 20 to 30 million pieces per year) have had dominant emotion leads.”

“每当我获得一个新的控制时，我都会开始工作，为每次推广制作多达六个封面测试，每个测试尝试不同类型的引子。有时，我的利益头引子获胜。其他时候，我的主导情绪引子获胜。最近，我发现在对决式 A/B 测试中，主导情绪引子获胜的频率更高。回顾我这 34 年来的经验，事实是，我最大的控制（每年邮寄 2000 万到 3000 万份的包裹）大多都有主导情绪引子。”

Again, as powerful as they can be, you do have risks to consider when testing indirect leads. For instance ...

再次强调，尽管间接引子可能非常有效，但在测试它们时你确实需要考虑风险。例如……

You might accidentally use an indirect lead when you don’t need to.

你可能在不必要的情况下意外使用了间接引子。

You might pick a lead that’s too indirect to connect back to your product.

你可能选择了一个过于间接的引子，无法与你的产品建立联系。”

You risk being too subtle by taking your time to get to the product.

你花太多时间才说到产品，这样会显得过于含蓄。

You risk boring your customer by taking too long to get to the product.

你花太长时间才说到产品，这样会令客户感到无聊。

You risk getting distracted by writing something “interesting” but not relevant.

你写一些“有趣”但与产品无关的内容，这样会分散注意力。

Many humor-based “brand advertising” ads, for instance, take such an indirect approach to selling that the prospect never figures out what’s for sale. But, rarely is being clever or coy in sales copy the same as being successfully indirect.

例如，很多基于幽默的“品牌广告”采用这种间接的销售方式，以至于潜在客户永远搞不清楚在卖什么。但是，在销售文案中显得聪明或含蓄，并不总是等同于成功地采用间接方式。

When trying to decide whether you should try the “direct“or “indirect” approach, you should start by figuring out where your target reader falls on the Awareness Scale.

当试图决定是采用“直接”还是“间接”方法时，你应该首先确定你的目标读者在认知尺度上的位置。

More aware and already engaged customers tend to respond better to direct leads.

认知度高且已经投入的客户往往对直接引导反应更好。

Less aware or skeptical customers tend to respond better to indirect leads.

认知度低或持怀疑态度的客户往往对间接引导反应更好。

Of course, in advertising everything remains to be tested and nothing is a hard-and-fast rule. But generally speaking, that’s how we’ve seen the chips fall.

当然，在广告中一切仍需测试，没有绝对的硬性规则。但一般来说，这就是我们观察到的结果。

Of course, just like there are shades of customer awareness, there are also shades of directness and indirectness. Which is why there are different types of direct and indirect leads. In this book, we’ve identified the six major categories of these lead types we see most often. We’ll spend the rest of this book showing you how to make each of these six lead types work best for you.

当然，就像客户意识有不同层次一样，直接性和间接性也有不同程度的差异。这就是为什么会有不同类型的直接和间接引导。在这本书中，我们确定了最常见的六种引导类型。我们将用剩余的篇幅向你展示如何让这六种引导类型为你发挥最佳效果。

Six Types of Direct and Indirect Leads

直接与间接引导的六种类型

Here’s a quick introduction to the lead types we’ll cover:

以下是我们要涵盖的引导类型的简要介绍：

The Offer Lead: This is a direct appeal that goes straight to deal. Offer Leads almost always mention the product, the price, discounts, premiums, guarantees, and other related “deal” elements very early in the lead, if not in the headline. An “Invitation” type of lead that opens by asking a prospect to become a member or try a product is a more subtle variation on the classic Offer Lead.

优惠引导：这是一种直接诉求，直接指向交易。优惠引导几乎总是在引导的开头，甚至是在标题中，提到产品、价格、折扣、赠品、保证以及其他相关的“交易”要素。一种“邀请”类型的引导，以邀请潜在客户成为会员或试用产品开头，是经典优惠引导的一种微妙变体。

The Promise Lead: This might be the most common type of lead that you’ll see. It’s only slightly less direct than the Offer Lead, in that the product usually isn’t mentioned as early. But, it still opens with your product’s best and biggest claim. In a classic “Promise” ad, the big promise is your headline, your first line, and often your last line, too.

承诺型引言：这可能是你最常看到的引言类型。它比报价型引言稍微不那么直接，因为产品通常不会过早提及。但它仍然以你产品最强大、最重要的主张开头。在经典的“承诺”广告中，巨大的承诺就是你的标题、第一行，有时也是最后一行。

The Problem-Solution Lead: This is the classic “hot button” approach, where you delay any talk of the product at first and instead lead off by identifying your prospect’s biggest, most emotionally-charged, and relevant issue. Promises related to the product immediately follow.

问题-解决方案引言：这是经典的“热点”方法，你最初会延迟谈论产品，而是以确定潜在客户最大、最具情感冲击力且最相关的问题作为开场。随后立即跟进与产品相关的承诺。

The Big Secret Lead: The “tease” of hard-to-come-by knowledge, formula, or ‘system’ leads the promo. The secret can either be a solution or hidden problem or, as in many financial promos, a ‘system’ for getting consistently good results. Usually, you get the best mileage when ordering the product reveals the secret.

大秘密引言：难以获得的知识、公式或“系统”的“诱惑”引领宣传。这个秘密可以是一个解决方案或隐藏的问题，或者在许多金融宣传中，是一个获得持续良好结果的“系统”。通常，当订购产品时揭示秘密，你会获得最大的收益。

The Proclamation Lead: Decidedly indirect, a Proclamation Lead seeks to jar the “unaware” reader out of his seat. Maybe with a factoid that’s just incredible, maybe with a shocking future forecast or prediction, or maybe with a bold statement. The goal is to disarm the prospect for just long enough to work your way back to the product and your pitch.

宣告式开场白：非常间接，宣告式开场白试图让“不知情”的读者从他的座位上惊醒。也许用一个令人难以置信的小知识，也许用一个令人震惊的未来预测或预言，或者也许用一个大胆的声明。目标是让潜在客户放松警惕，只够时间将话题引回到产品和你的推销上。

The Story Lead: This may be not only the most indirect way to open a sales letter, but also one of the most consistently powerful. Everyone loves a story. What’s more, stories can engage readers who don’t know you or the product well or who might flinch at a more direct, unbelievable claim. Testimonials, guru bios, historical proof, or track record — all yield Story Leads. Just make sure to tell the story quickly and keep it in context of the bigger promise/core idea of the promotion.

故事式开场白：这可能是打开销售信最间接的方式之一，也是最一致有力的一种。每个人都喜欢故事。更重要的是，故事可以吸引那些不熟悉你或产品的人，或者那些对更直接、难以置信的声明会退缩的读者。推荐信、专家简介、历史证明或业绩记录——所有这些都可产生故事式开场白。只要确保快速讲述故事，并保持在促销的更大承诺/核心思想的大背景下。

True to what you read in Chapter 1 about the Rule of One, all of these lead types still work best when focused on one unifying Big Idea. All of them will also need, sooner rather than later, to work their way back to big product claims and benefits. And ultimately, all need to get back to the product itself and the offer.

正如你在第一章中读到的关于“单一法则”一样，所有这些开场白类型在专注于一个统一的“大想法”时仍然效果最佳。所有这些类型也需要，迟早，将话题引回到大的产品声明和利益上。最终，所有这些都需要回到产品本身和优惠上。

You’ll find that some of these leads work better when you can talk to your prospect more directly. Others work best when you take a more indirect approach.

你会发现，当你可以更直接地与潜在客户交谈时，其中一些销售线索效果会更好。而其他情况下，采用更间接的方法效果最佳。

And, in some cases — Story Leads, for example — you’ll find you can make the lead type work either directly or indirectly. It will depend on who you’re writing to, what they know, and what kind of product you’re writing for.

在某些情况下——例如故事式销售线索——你会发现这种销售线索类型可以直接或间接地使用。这取决于你写给谁、他们了解多少以及你为哪种产品撰写内容。

We’ll show you this with specific examples in the chapters that follow. But roughly plotted on the Awareness Scale we’ve used so far, here’s how it might break down ...

在接下来的章节中，我们将通过具体实例向你展示这一点。但根据我们目前使用的认知尺度大致划分，它可能如下所示……

You may find sales leads that defy definition exclusively as any one of these types. Certainly of the millions of sales letters mailed or posted online, copywriters have tried thousands of ‘new’ approaches.

你可能会发现一些销售线索无法被严格归类为以上任何一种类型。确实，在数百万封通过邮件或在线发布的销售信中，文案撰稿人已经尝试了数千种“新”方法。

But, when we studied the most memorable and imitated “Hall-of-Fame” classics and million-dollar mailings, we found they almost entirely fell into one of these six categories that we’ll define and discuss in detail in the pages ahead.

但是，当我们研究那些最令人难忘且被模仿的“名人堂”经典案例和百万美元级别的邮件时，我们发现它们几乎完全属于以下这六种类别，我们将在接下来的页面中详细定义和讨论这些类别。

4

The Easiest Type of Sales Lead You’ll Ever Write — Or Your Money Back

您将写过的最简单的销售线索——否则全额退款

______________________

“What marketers sell is hope.”

“营销者销售的是希望。”

— Seth Godin

— 塞斯·戈丁

______________________

If this first lead type we’ll look at isn’t the easiest you’ll ever write, with the most return per ounce of effort ... we’ll see to it you get back every penny you paid for this book.

如果我们要看的这种第一种销售线索不是您写过的最简单的，也不是每盎司努力回报率最高的……我们将确保您收回为此书支付的每一分钱。

Sound like a good deal? To us, it does.

听起来是个好交易？对我们来说是的。

Because what we’ve just done — promising you that the Offer Lead is the simplest you’ll find in this book — is a safe bet. In the right situation, an Offer Lead can practically write itself.

因为我们刚刚做的一件事——向你承诺 Offer Lead 是这本书中最简单的——是一个稳赚不赔的赌注。在合适的情况下，一个 Offer Lead 几乎可以自己写出来。

In fact, here’s what our old friend Gene Schwartz says ...

事实上，这里是我们老朋友 Gene Schwartz 说的话……

“Here, the copywriter is nothing more than the merchandise manager’s phrasemaker. The price is the most important part of his headline. There is nothing creative about his job and he should receive the lowest possible scale of pay.”

“在这里，文案撰稿人不过是商品经理的措辞制造者。价格是他标题中最重要的一部分。他的工作没有任何创造性，他应该得到最低的工资标准。”

But, hang on.

但是，等等。

Are Offer Leads Really That Simple?

提供线索真的那么简单吗？

In most cases, yes — Offer Leads can be that simple.

在大多数情况下，是的——提供线索可以那么简单。

In some cases, they can get a little more sophisticated.

在某些情况下，它们可能会变得稍微复杂一些。

To understand why, first you’ve got to understand what we mean by “offers” themselves. The offer is how you close every single sales letter you’ll ever write. There is no such thing as a sales letter without an offer that lays out the details of what’s for sale and what the prospect gets in return.

要理解原因，首先你必须明白我们所说的“提议”是什么意思。提议是你写出的每一封销售信的收尾方式。没有提议的销售信是不存在的，而提议会详细说明所售商品以及潜在客户能得到什么回报。

The difference here is usually the offer only shows up close to the end of the copy. And, the product might not get mentioned until sometime after the lead as well.

这里的区别通常在于提议只出现在文案的接近结尾处。而且，产品可能直到潜在客户之后才会被提及。

But with an Offer Lead, you’re lifting the curtain on your offer right up front.

但使用提议引导，你会在一开始就揭开你的提议的面纱。

We talked about the “directness” of a sales letter. You can measure how direct a letter is by how quickly it gets to mentioning the product and — even more so — the details of the deal. This is what makes Offer Leads the most direct of all the lead types you’ll discover in this book.

我们讨论过销售信的“直接性”。你可以通过信件提到产品有多快来衡量其直接性——甚至更直接的是——交易细节。这就是为什么提议引导是本书中你将发现的各类引导方式中最直接的一种。

This is also why Schwartz and others often think of Offer Leads as the easiest to write. Because when you’ve got a very good deal ... going out to a very receptive audience ... it can be almost impossible to screw up a good Offer Lead.

这也是为什么施瓦茨和其他人常常认为优惠引言是最容易撰写的。因为当你有一个非常好的交易……面向一个非常容易接受的受众……几乎不可能搞砸一个优惠引言。

That said, even something as innately appealing as a good deal can be made even more effective in the hands of a good copywriter. You only need to look at some of the great Offer Leads written by Schwartz himself for examples. Take a look at this headline from an ad Schwartz wrote to sell an educational product for the Univox Institute …

话虽如此，即使是像好交易这样天生吸引人的东西，在优秀文案手中也能变得更加有效。你只需要看看施瓦茨本人撰写的一些伟大的优惠引言作为例子。看看施瓦茨为销售 Univox 学院的教育产品所写的一则广告的标题……

Guaranteed To Improve Your Child’s School Marks — or you pay nothing!

保证提高您孩子的学习成绩——否则分文不付！

The Fabulous New Teaching Machine Automated Speed Learning Method

神奇的全新教学机器 自动化速成学习法

Is there any question here that you’re about to be “sold?” Not at all. We know in the first instant that it’s about a product, in this case some sort of “teaching machine.” We know that in just moments from reading these words, someone will ask us for money. And, we know, also, that it’s attached to some sort of guarantee.

这里有任何问题让你即将被“推销”吗？完全没有。我们一瞬之间就知道这是关于一个产品，在这个案例中是某种“教学机器”。我们知道，在阅读这些文字的片刻之后，有人会向我们索要金钱。而且，我们也知道，它还附带着某种保证。

Yet, despite the often-repeated cliché that nobody likes to be “sold,” this ad brought in millions of dollars from new and returning customers. No wonder Schwartz used a similar approach in an ad he wrote to sell a book called How to Double Your Power to Learn. His headline for this one began ...

然而，尽管“没有人喜欢被推销”这个陈词滥调经常被重复，但这则广告从新客户和回头客那里带来了数百万美元。难怪施瓦茨在为名为《如何加倍你的学习能力》的书撰写广告时，使用了类似的方法。他为这则广告的标题开始...

Don’t Pay A Penny For This Book Till It Doubles Your Power to Learn!

在加倍你的学习能力之前，别为这本书付一分钱！

Here at last is your chance to make such an overwhelming difference in your child’s performance in school — in as little as five short minutes of your time everyday — that the teacher may actually call you up to see what happened!

终于在这里，你有机会在短短五分钟内，每天花那么一点时间，让你的孩子在学校的表现产生如此巨大的差异——以至于老师可能会真的打电话给你看看发生了什么！

Let me explain ...

让我解释一下...

Again, the offer is instant. His first four words reveal that you’ll be asked for money — by guaranteeing you’ll get it back if you’re not satisfied — and yet, this ad went on to sell over 600,000 copies of the book.

再次强调，这个优惠是即时的。他前四个字就表明你会被要求付款——通过保证如果你不满意可以拿回钱——然而，这则广告最终卖出了超过 60 万册这本书。

The formula comes back again in this headline ...

这个公式在这则标题中再次出现...

“Don’t Pay One Penny Till This Course Turns You Into A Human Computer!”

“这门课程让你成为一台人形电脑之前，一分钱都别付！”

And, in this one ...

而且，就在这一则 ...

“Don’t Pay One Penny Till This Course Turns Your Mind Into A Mental Magnet”

“直到这门课程将你的思维转变为一个精神磁铁，别支付一分钱”

Notice the twist. In each case, the offer detail isn’t price but guarantee. And in each case, he’s also shored up the offer with a very powerful promise. This is something you’ll see often in Offer Leads. Take a look at a few more examples and you’ll see what we mean ...

注意这个转折。在每个案例中，提议的细节不是价格而是保证。在每个案例中，他也用一个非常有力的承诺来强化提议。你会在提议引导中经常看到这种情况。再看看几个例子，你就会明白我们的意思 ...

“Give me five days and I can give you a magnetic personality ... let me prove it — free”

“给我五天时间，我可以给你一个有磁性的个性……让我证明它——免费”

“You must win at least $7,500 with my 13 points or they’re yours free”

“你必须用我的 13 点赢得至少 7500 美元，否则就免费送给你”

“Free for a month ... a full head of hair in only 32 seconds a day”

“免费一个月...每天只需 32 秒就能拥有一头浓密的头发”

“Pick the brains of a millionaire for $10”

“花 10 美元向百万富翁学习”

“Free to brides — two dollars to others”

“新娘免费——其他人两美元”

“I guarantee (with my own money) that you will shoot your lowest score ever on your next round of golf”

“我保证（用自己的钱）你将在下一轮高尔夫球中打出你最低的分数”

As you can see, each headline leads explicitly to some kind of offer. But in each example, simply by hinting at the guarantee, these copywriters elevated the impact beyond a simple price-driven “good deal.” They’ve opened the door to make a claim, and in most of these cases, an irresistible one.

正如你所见，每个标题都明确地引向某种形式的优惠。但在每个例子中，仅仅通过暗示保证，这些文案作者就提升了其影响力，超越了单纯的以价格驱动的“好交易”。他们打开了提出主张的大门，而且在大多数情况下，这是一个无法抗拒的主张。

Of course, adding guarantees or promises to an Offer Lead just scratches the surface of what you can do with this type of sales letter opening. What else can you test?

当然，在优惠引导中添加保证或承诺只是你可以用这种类型销售信开头的表面功夫。你还能测试什么？

You’ll see some examples in just a moment.

你很快就会看到一些例子。

You’ll also notice as you read, even when we’re working with very different products and very different deals, most successful Offer Leads still share a similar formula. It goes something like this ...

当你阅读时，你也会注意到，即使我们处理的是非常不同的产品以及非常不同的交易，大多数成功的报价线索仍然遵循一个相似的公式。它大致是这样的……

Immediately focus on the most emotionally-compelling detail of your offer

立即聚焦于你报价中最具情感吸引力的细节

Underscore the most valuable benefit of that deal

强调该交易中最有价值的利益

Elaborate on that same deal-benefit in the lead that follows

在接下来的引言中详细阐述同样的交易利益

At some point, include a compelling “reason why” you’re offering that deal

某个时候，要包含一个有说服力的“为什么”来解释你提供这个交易的原因

Each of these four steps in the Offer Lead formula is important. But, we want to draw your attention here to that last part of the formula, the “reason why,” because it’s the element many copywriters overlook.

这四个步骤中的每一个在交易引导公式中都很重要。但是，我们想在这里特别强调公式中的最后一部分，即“为什么”，因为这是许多文案撰稿人容易忽略的元素。

The “reason why” could be almost anything, depending on what you’re selling and the context in which you’re selling it. Maybe supplies are short. Maybe the price offer has a deadline. Maybe there’s a news event that’s coming or has already happened that makes your offer an imperative.

“为什么”可以是几乎任何事物，具体取决于你在销售什么以及销售的环境。也许供应短缺。也许价格优惠有截止日期。也许有一个即将发生或已经发生的新闻事件，使得你的提议变得至关重要。

But, in each case, you must offer your prospect something to answer the question that’s inevitable, in response to an offer that sounds too good to be true: “Okay, that sounds great ... but what’s the catch?”

但是，在任何情况下，你必须向你的潜在客户提供一些内容来回答那个不可避免的问题，作为对听起来好得不真实的提议的反应：“好吧，听起来很棒……但有什么陷阱？”

A good “reason why” can help diffuse that last bit of resistance. It can be a device to heighten the urgency of your offer. And, it can even be something that shows your prospect you share his concerns or agenda.

一个好的“原因”可以帮助化解最后的抵抗。它可以是一个增强你提议紧迫性的工具。而且，它甚至可以是一种向潜在客户展示你与他关心的问题或议程相同的东西。

There can, in fact, be a catch attached to an Offer Lead. And if there is, you should mention it.

事实上，一个提议引导可能会有一个陷阱。如果有，你应该提及它。

Either reveal it or hint at it early and make sure you explain the catch sometime before you ask for the final sale. Why?

要么早点揭示它或暗示它，并确保在请求最终销售之前解释这个陷阱。为什么？

First, because it’s better business not to try to “put one over” on your prospect. But also, because the “catch” can or should always be something that’s also a net positive for the deal.

首先，因为试图“欺骗”潜在客户不是更好的商业行为。但同样，因为“陷阱”可以是或应该是始终对交易有净积极影响的东西。

For instance, the “catch” of a gift-driven offer might be the purchase of a valuable product that’s even better than the gift itself. Or, the “catch” might be a limit on how many customers you’ll accept, who you’ll accept, how many items you’ll sell, or how long the offer is going to last.

例如，以赠品为驱动的优惠的“门槛”可能是购买一件比赠品本身更贵重的产品。或者，“门槛”可能是接受客户数量的限制、接受客户的资格、销售物品的数量，或优惠的持续时间。

In each case, what’s most important in an effective Offer Lead is that the prospect feels immediately that the benefit he’s about to get is both valuable and a “steal” by comparison to what he would normally be willing to pay.

在每种情况下，一个有效的优惠开场白最重要的是让潜在客户立刻感觉到即将获得的利益既有价值，又比他通常愿意支付的价钱要划算。

Again, that value could be connected to the quality of what you’re offering, the promise of what it will do for the reader, or even the availability of what’s on offer.

再次强调，这种价值可能与所提供产品的质量有关，与它将给读者带来的承诺有关，甚至与所提供物品的可用性有关。

And, what makes it a “steal” might be a low price or a discount — often that’s the case — but it doesn’t have to be. Sometimes emphasizing a higher or more elite price is what will get you the sale. Many luxury brands charge more simply because some prospects being able to afford the higher price is part of the appeal.

而使其成为“划算”的因素可能是低价或折扣——通常情况是这样——但不必如此。有时强调更高的或更精英的价格才是促成销售的关键。许多奢侈品牌收取更高的价格，仅仅是因为有些潜在客户能够负担得起更高的价格是吸引力的一部分。

The following email ad from Thompson Cigars illustrates this first kind of “value” offer and does it very simply and directly. If you’re a cigar smoker, you know what they’re promising you immediately: a highly-regarded brand of cigars at an uncommonly good price. And, just to make sure that point isn’t missed, the copywriter does all the math to show you that this is a really good deal.

来自汤普森雪茄公司的一封电子邮件广告，就很好地说明了这种“价值”提议，而且非常简单直接。如果你是雪茄爱好者，你会立刻明白他们承诺的内容：备受推崇的雪茄品牌，以非同寻常的优惠价格。为了确保这一点不被忽视，文案人员还做了所有计算，向你展示这是一笔真正的划算交易。

And, here’s the twist that makes this ad different from all the other cigar ads. To sweeten the deal, the copy also throws in a $20 Gift Card for Omaha Steaks. This is what you call a “dissolving bonus” — a gift that adds so much extra value, it melts away remaining resistance. No doubt a good steak likely holds plenty of appeal for your typical stogie-smoker.

然而，这里有一个转折点，让这则广告与其他所有雪茄广告都不同。为了使交易更加诱人，文案还在其中加入了一张价值 20 美元的奥马哈牛排礼品卡。这就是所谓的“溶解性奖金”——一份增加了如此多额外价值的礼物，它消除了剩余的抵触情绪。毫无疑问，一份美味的牛排很可能对你的典型雪茄爱好者具有很大的吸引力。

Here is another example of a clear, direct Offer Lead from Littleton Coin:

这里是小顿硬币公司的另一个清晰、直接的提议引导示例：

Like the cigar ad, the offer is instant and explicit. The prospect is told exactly what he’ll get (all 56 commemorative quarters). His savings are made clear (67%) and he’s also teased with a “free gift” — or resistance-resolving bonus — of 4 uncirculated Lincoln pennies.

与雪茄广告类似，提议是即时且明确的。潜在客户被告知他将得到什么（全部 56 枚纪念币）。他的节省非常明确（67%），他还被逗引着获得一份“免费礼物”——或者说是解决抵触情绪的奖金——4 枚未流通的林肯分币。

Are all Offer Leads this explicit? Not necessarily. Consider, for example, a special sub-type of Offer Lead called the “Invitation” offer. Invitations work especially well when you have something that’s anticipated or exclusive on offer. Take a look at this next example, from an investing and wealth protection society called The Oxford Club ...

所有销售线索都如此明确吗？不一定。例如，考虑一种特殊的销售线索子类型，称为“邀请”型销售线索。当您提供期待或独家内容时，邀请型销售线索特别有效。看看下一个例子，来自一个投资和财富保护协会——牛津俱乐部……

Immediately, you notice that it’s much less forthcoming about the details of the deal. But, because it looks and feels like an invitation, there’s no question for the prospect that some tempting carrot is about to be dangled.

您会立刻注意到，它对交易细节的披露要少得多。但由于它看起来和感觉上像一份邀请，潜在客户毫无疑问即将得到一些诱人的好处。

When explaining how this special kind of “exclusivity” offer works, we like the example of a high-end restaurant or big city nightclub. If you’ve ever taken a ride through Manhattan or Miami after hours, you don’t have to travel far to see clubs with the aspiring “in” crowd lined up for entry.

在解释这种特殊的“独家”型销售线索如何运作时，我们喜欢以高端餐厅或大城市夜店的例子来说明。如果您曾深夜在曼哈顿或迈阿密乘车，您会发现不必走多远就能看到排着长队的夜店，那些渴望成为“圈内人”的群体。

Almost invariably in front of these clubs, you see a bouncer or that icon of exclusivity, the ominous red “Velvet Rope.” Nobody gets past the rope without a nod from the gatekeeper.

几乎在这些夜店前，您会看到保安或独家象征的阴森红丝带。没有人能在守门人的点头示意下通过丝带。

But, as much as that rope keeps people out, it also draws people in. Something, they reason, must be really great on the other side of that door.

但是，尽管那根绳子将人们挡在外面，它同时也吸引着人们。他们推断，门的那一边一定有什么真正棒的东西。

Invitation offers often capitalize on that deep desire to feel included. Of course, they’re only valid when what you’re offering really does hold some kind of exclusive value. Not every product does. Products with a long tradition of quality, clubs and societies, and luxury items, can work especially well with an invitation-style pitch.

邀请式优惠常常利用人们渴望被接纳的深层心理。当然，只有当你提供的东西确实具有某种独家价值时，它们才有效。并非所有产品都适用。具有悠久品质传统、俱乐部和协会，以及奢侈品，使用邀请式推销特别有效。

When Should You Use an Offer Lead?

什么时候应该使用优惠式引子？

Of course, not every product works every time with an Offer Lead either.

当然，并非所有产品在任何时候都适合使用优惠式引子。

To help you decide, follow the guideline we set earlier: More aware customers often respond to direct leads and less aware customers often respond better to indirect leads.

为了帮助你做出选择，请遵循我们之前设定的指南：对产品更了解的客户通常对直接引导反应更积极，而对产品了解较少的客户则往往对间接引导反应更好。

Since the Offer Lead is the most direct lead type you’ll come across, you will mostly want to use it for products that are easy to explain and for prospects who already know something about you, about what you’re selling, and even about the market value of what’s for sale.

由于优惠引导是最直接的引导类型，你通常希望将其用于那些容易解释的产品，以及那些已经对你、你所销售的产品，甚至所售产品的市场价值有所了解的客户。

Why? Because your “most aware” customers are those whose trust you’ve already won. Or, at least, they are those that already know very well what they want. And, if you’re offering it, they’re the ones who are already prepared to buy. They are emotionally open to hearing what you have for sale.

为什么？因为你的“最了解”客户是那些已经赢得你信任的客户。或者至少，他们是那些非常清楚自己需要什么的产品。如果你提供这些产品，他们已经准备好购买。他们在情感上愿意了解你提供的产品。

In that kind of situation, that’s why seasoned copywriters and marketers agree that it’s pretty tough to screw up an Offer Lead. In fact, the more aware and open the customer, the simpler that up-front offer can usually be.

在这种情况下，经验丰富的文案撰稿人和营销人员都认为，使用优惠引导很难出错。事实上，客户越了解和开放，通常前期的优惠可以越简单。

We say “usually” because there’s a special caveat. Occasionally, you can run into situations where a high-level awareness is a net negative. For instance, think of someone on a car lot or the other end of a phone conversation with an insurance salesman.

我们说“通常”是因为有一个特殊的例外。偶尔，你可能会遇到高级意识反而造成负面影响的情况。例如，想想在汽车销售展厅或与保险推销员电话交谈的人。

In those examples, awareness levels might be very high. So might the need for the product and even the desire to buy. But so, too, might be the level of skepticism, thanks to too many similar offers and too many broken sales promises.

在这些例子中，意识水平可能非常高。对产品的需求可能也很高，甚至购买欲望也很强烈。但同样，怀疑程度也可能很高，这是由于太多类似的提议和太多被打破的销售承诺。

In that case, a simple Offer Lead is suicide. Instead, you’ll need to move more toward the indirect side of the scale, so you can buy the time to build up trust levels all over again.

在这种情况下，简单的提议引导是自杀行为。相反，你需要更多地转向间接的一面，以便赢得时间重新建立信任水平。

What to Test in Offer Leads

在提议引导中要测试什么

What’s the best detail to test in an Offer Lead?

在 Offer Lead 中应该测试哪个最佳细节？

“Most aware” prospects will respond just fine if you lead with something about the price — a discount, a last-chance deal before a price hike, a countdown price deal.

对于“最知情”的客户，如果你以价格相关内容开场——如折扣、涨价前的最后机会、倒计时价格优惠——他们会反应得很好。

Slightly less aware prospects, even though they’re almost ready to be sold, might need a little extra to get them over that hump of indecision. For instance, a free or almost-free trial offer, extra gift premiums, or an extra-strong guarantee.

对于稍微不那么知情的客户，尽管他们几乎已经准备好成交，但可能需要一点额外帮助来克服犹豫的障碍。例如，免费或几乎免费的试用优惠、额外的礼品奖励，或更强大的保证。

When you’re looking for ideas, just keep this in mind: Anything you can test in a regular offer at the end of a sales letter, you can test in an Offer Lead.

当你寻找创意时，请记住这一点：你在销售信末尾的常规 Offer 中可以测试的任何内容，在 Offer Lead 中也可以测试。

There’s something else special about Offer Leads.

关于优惠线索还有另一特别之处。

You’ve seen that this lead type often blends not just the offer detail but also a promise in the headline. In most cases, you’ll find blending two or more lead types violates the Rule of One principle we covered in Chapter 1.

你注意到这种线索类型往往不仅融合了优惠细节，标题中还会包含承诺。在大多数情况下，你会发现融合两种或多种线索类型会违反我们在第一章中提到的“单一原则”。

But, for a handful of lead types — Offer Leads and Promise Leads especially — you can combine with other lead types to get an even stronger impact. This is because elements like offers and promises are indispensable in every kind of package. So, rather than adding what isn’t there, you’re simply bringing it forward.

但是，对于少数几种线索类型——尤其是优惠线索和承诺线索——你可以与其他线索类型结合，以获得更强的效果。这是因为像优惠和承诺这样的元素在每种套餐中都是不可或缺的。因此，与其添加原本不存在的内容，你只是将其突出。

Here’s a famous example from The Economist ...

这里有一个来自《经济学人》的著名例子...

____________

May I send you 3 FREE Issues of what may be the most influential (as well as selectively distributed) newsweekly in the world?

我可以免费寄给你 3 期可能是世界上最具影响力（同时也是选择性发行）的周刊吗？

Dear Colleague,

尊敬的同事，

Every Monday morning, a rather unusual publication arrives at the desks of a select circle of individuals in positions of power and influence.

每个周一早晨，一份相当不寻常的刊物会送达一群有权势和影响力的精英们的办公桌上。

The readers of this discreetly (one is almost tempted to say reluctantly) publicized newsweekly include presidents (of countries, banks, universities, and Fortune 500 companies), ranking executives (in business, government, and industry) and prominent thinkers (in law, science, economics, and military strategy).

这份低调（几乎让人忍不住说成是勉强）宣传的周刊的读者包括总统（来自国家、银行、大学和《财富》500 强公司）、高级管理人员（来自商业、政府和工业领域）以及杰出思想家（来自法律、科学、经济和军事战略领域）。

Now, it may not surprise you to learn that the average personal income of North American subscribers to this singular periodical exceeds $144,800 per annum. However, it may surprise you to discover that despite the enormous clout and affluence of its world renowned readers ... only a relative handful of Americans are aware of the existence of this exclusive publication, much less the intelligence it provides.

现在，您或许不会感到惊讶，这个独特期刊的北美订阅者的平均年收入超过每年 144,800 美元。然而，您可能会惊讶地发现，尽管其世界闻名读者拥有巨大的影响力和富裕，但只有少数美国人知道这本独家期刊的存在，更不用说它提供的信息了。

But now, with this letter, you are cordially invited to join the extremely select circle of men and women who wouldn’t think of beginning each business week without the incomparable insight of and reporting of ... The Economist.

但现在，通过这封信，您被诚挚邀请加入这个极其精英的圈子里，这些男男女女不会考虑在每开始一个商业周之前，没有《经济学人》无与伦比的见解和报道。

Enclosed you will find a non-transferable order card. Return it to me and I will send you three absorbing issues of The Economist to read at my expense. These three issues will be yours to keep free whether or not you decide to become a subscriber ...

随信附有一张不可转让的订购卡。将它寄回给我，我将为您支付费用，寄给您三本引人入胜的《经济学人》供您阅读。无论您是否决定成为订阅者，这三期都将免费归您所有...

____________

Again you see it’s an offer right away.

您再次看到，这是一个立即提供的优惠。

It slaps down those details in the headline.

它将那些细节放在了标题中。

Then, it continues by stressing how exclusive their “club” of subscribers happens to be, a hallmark of the special “Invitation” type of Offer Lead we talked about earlier.

接着，它强调他们“俱乐部”的订阅者是多么独特，这正是我们之前讨论的特殊“邀请”类型销售信息的特点。

Would opening with an offer have worked here without the recognition and credibility The Economist has spent years building ahead of this? Probably not.

没有《经济学人》多年来建立的认可度和信誉，在这里以优惠作为开头会有效吗？可能不会。

How likely is it that this letter landed in the hands of the “relative handful of Americans who are aware of the existence of this exclusive publication ... ?” Very.

这封信落入那些“少数了解这本独家出版物存在的美国人”手中的可能性有多大？非常大。

Otherwise, the three-free issue offer might have gone over like free ice cream in winter.

否则，这个三免优惠可能就像冬天里的免费冰淇淋一样无人问津。

Here’s one more.

再举一个例子。

____________

Dear Sir,

尊敬的先生，

This letter is going to be short and to the point. We don’t want to make a big thing of it. Not yet anyway.

这封信会简短而直截了当。我们不想把它大张旗鼓地宣扬。至少目前还不打算这样。

We’d like to invite you to take advantage of what we call our “no-strings” membership.

我们诚挚邀请您体验我们所谓的“无附加条件”会员资格。

This offer extends our typically generous introduction to you: choose any 4 books for $1 each.

这项优惠将我们通常慷慨的入门体验延伸给您：选择任意 4 本书，每本只需 1 美元。

But it omits the usual obligation to buy four more books. You don’t even have to buy one more book.

但它省去了通常需要购买另外四本书的义务。您甚至不必购买任何额外的书籍。

In other words, you can join Book-of-the-Month Club, take your welcoming package of 4 books (saving up to $100 or more), and never buy another thing from us.

换句话说，您可以加入每月一书俱乐部，领取您的欢迎套装 4 本书（节省高达 100 美元或更多），并且永远不必再向我们购买任何东西。

It’s an experiment for us. Will this attract the kind of reader who will appreciate our other Club benefits as well as the introductory offer?

对我们来说这是一次实验。这能否吸引那些会欣赏我们其他俱乐部福利以及入门优惠的读者？

It’s an experiment for you. A way to try us without tying yourself down to a commitment.

对你来说这是一次实验。一种无需做出承诺就能尝试我们的方式。

So enjoy all the Club benefits you wish. Just as if you were a committed member. We’ve put it all in writing. Take any books for $1 each, plus shipping and handling, with no obligation to buy anything else. The rest is up to you.

所以尽情享受你想要的俱乐部福利。就像一个正式会员一样。我们已经将所有内容写入书面。每本书 1 美元，加上运费和手续费，无需购买任何其他东西。剩下的都由你决定。

I can’t imagine a bigger bargain for the reader. Can you?

我无法想象对读者来说有比这更好的交易了。你能吗？

Sincerely,

诚挚地，

James Mercer,

詹姆斯·梅克萨尔，

President

总裁

P.S. This offer isn’t available to everyone. It isn’t transferable. But, if you decide to join and become a member of the Club, we can understand why you might want to share the news of your “no-strings” membership with a special friend or two. In that event, ask them to write me and mention your name.

附言：此优惠并非人人皆可享受。不可转让。但，如果你决定加入并成为俱乐部会员，我们能理解你可能会想与一两个特别的朋友分享你“无附加条件”的会员资格。在这种情况下，请让他们写信给我并提及你的名字。

____________

This “Book-of-the-Month Club” mailing was a huge success. The only other elements in the envelope were a folded lift note and a reply card. Yet, this promotion was so successful, it is one of the many offer-driven pieces collected and featured by Dennison Hatch in his book, “Million Dollar Mailings ... ”

这次“每月一书俱乐部”的邮件活动取得了巨大成功。信封中除了折叠的宣传单和回复卡外没有其他元素。然而，这次促销活动如此成功，以至于它成为丹尼斯·哈奇在其著作《百万美元邮件……》中收录和展示的众多由优惠驱动的作品之一。

What Else Do You Need to Know About Offer Leads?

关于优惠引导，你还需要了解什么？

Most of what you need to know about writing Offer Leads, you already understand if you know how to write regular offers because both share a lot of the same tricks and techniques.

如果你知道如何撰写常规优惠，那么关于撰写优惠引导的大部分内容你已经了解了，因为两者共享许多相同的技巧和策略。

Here’s a quick rundown, though, of some key ideas ...

不过，这里简要概述一些关键要点……

Endorsements can give a big boost. Remember, an offer-based pitch is something you use with your “most aware” customers — that is, they trust you to cut to the details of the deal because they already know what they feel they need to know about you. Your name means something to them. In that sense, if you know you’re sending something to a list that’s already warm to you or some person connected with you ... use that to your advantage. That might mean making the signature under the sales letter come from the person they know and trust most. It could mean showing the face of that most-trusted person next to the headline. It might even mean putting that person’s name in the product title.

背书可以带来巨大的推动力。记住，基于优惠的推销方式是针对你最了解的客户使用的——也就是说，他们信任你能够直奔交易的细节，因为他们已经知道关于你的那些他们认为需要了解的信息。你的名字对他们来说意义重大。从这个意义上说，如果你知道你要发送的东西是给一个已经对你有好感或与你有关联的人的名单……那就利用这一点。这可能意味着让销售信末尾的签名来自他们最了解和信任的人。它也可能意味着在标题旁边展示那位最信任的人的面孔。甚至可能意味着把那个人的名字放在产品标题中。

Know your goal. Offer Leads that give away irresistible “FREE” gifts will get subscribers who sign up just for the gift. That might be fine for a low-priced product, where they still might stick around for more. But, it might not be so fine for a high-priced product, where the incentive to cancel and keep the premium is greater. If you need cash now, an easy-payment offer might not be something you’ll want to test. But, if you want lots of new orders, this might be just the ticket. What you want out of your target audience can change what deal detail you feature up front in your Offer Lead.

了解你的目标。提供赠送难以抗拒的“免费”礼物的线索会吸引只为礼物而订阅的订阅者。对于低价产品来说，这可能还可以，他们可能还会留下来购买更多。但对于高价产品来说，这种做法可能就不那么好了，因为人们更有可能取消订阅并保留高级产品。如果你现在需要现金，简单的付款方案可能不是你想测试的东西。但如果你想要大量新订单，这可能正是你需要的。你希望从目标受众中得到什么，会改变你在线索中 upfront 突出的交易细节。

Mirror and Test. The offer that’s usually at the end of a sales letter and the Offer Lead you’ll put up front share details, but you’ll also want them to share similar language, hit the same hot buttons, and share rationale behind the special deal. Likewise, just like you would test different details in the close of a sales letter, you can test those same details in your Offer Lead.

模仿并测试。销售信末尾的优惠方案和 upfront 放置的线索会共享细节，但你还需要它们使用相似的措辞，触动相同的敏感点，并共享特殊交易的合理依据。同样，就像你在销售信结尾测试不同细节一样，你也可以在线索中测试这些相同的细节。

If you can, stay short. One of the key reasons you go to a direct Offer Lead is because the customer you’re writing to is already mostly sold on you or whatever you’re offering. This means you can often cut a lot of the warm-up and copy-coddling that happens in less direct sales pieces. Most of what you’ll write in a sales package with an Offer Lead, outside of what the deal is and how to take advantage of it, is proof that the offer has value.

如果你能，尽量简洁。采用直接报价开场法的关键原因之一是，你正在写给的那位客户已经对你或你提供的产品大多持认同态度。这意味着你通常可以省去许多非直接销售材料中常见的铺垫和安抚性文字。在采用报价开场的销售文案中，除了交易内容以及如何利用它之外，你写的大部分内容都是证明该报价具有价值。

When in doubt, do the math. If you’re leading with a special price break, some kind of guaranteed result, or anything you can express as a percentage ... try doing the math for your reader. If your Offer Lead compares your product cost to someone else’s, show the savings in terms of a dollar amount. Often, that math is aimed at showing you’re about to give more to the reader than you’ll expect to get in exchange.

不确定时，不妨计算一下。如果你以特殊价格优惠、某种保证结果或任何可以表示为百分比的事物作为开场，试着为你读者进行计算。如果你的报价开场将你的产品成本与他人进行比较，请以金额形式展示节省金额。通常，这种计算旨在表明你即将给读者更多，而期望从他们那里获得的回报则相对较少。

Find clever ways to price. Offer Leads often focus on price, but not always on a simple discount or “FREE” trial deal. For instance, say you’ve got a half-off discount to use in your lead. It might work better if you keep the nominal price high but give them a “2-for-1” deal. Or, you could try a trade-in offer or say you’ll cover the entire cost of shipping. Try introductory or limited-time pricing. Or, you might even want to try a “$1 trial offer,” where you get their credit card information with a nominal $1 charge and then say something like, “If after a 30-day trial, you like our widgets, you don’t need to do anything. We’ll just debit you for the full amount ... ”

找到巧妙的定价方式。潜在客户通常关注价格，但并不总是简单的折扣或“免费”试用优惠。例如，假设你的潜在客户有一个半价折扣可以使用。如果将名义价格保持较高，但提供“买一送一”的优惠，可能会效果更好。或者，你可以尝试以旧换新优惠，或者表示将承担全部运费。尝试推出入门价或限时优惠。或者，你甚至可以尝试“1 美元试用优惠”，通过收取名义上的 1 美元费用获取他们的信用卡信息，然后说类似这样的话：“如果在 30 天试用期内，如果你喜欢我们的小工具，你无需做任何事。我们将直接扣除全额费用……”

Test time limits. Ready-to-order customers can feel even more ready to buy if they know the special deal you’re offering won’t last forever. Try testing a countdown deadline of either time or quantity in your Offer Lead. If your sales letter is online, set up a live “countdown” timer that shows how much (or how little) time is left on the deal.

测试时间限制。对于准备下单的客户来说，如果知道你提供的特别优惠不会永远持续，他们会更有购买意愿。在你的潜在客户优惠中尝试测试时间或数量的倒计时截止日期。如果你的销售信在网上发布，设置一个实时的“倒计时”计时器，显示优惠剩余的时间（或剩余不多）。

Make it easy. Just like you would never want a prospect to get confused over how to fill out your order form or whom to call to get started, a good Offer Lead hits the reader with at least a short sentence or paragraph that hints at how easy it will be to take advantage of the deal (e.g., “And this is easy to do — just take the ‘Send-no-money Invitation’ card you’ll find in the envelope, fill it out telling me which gifts you’d like and where to send your first issue, and drop it in the postage-prepaid envelope I’ve provided. It’s that simple. But, you’ll want to make sure you do this quickly. And, here’s why ... ”).

让它简单。就像你永远不会希望潜在客户在填写你的订单表单或联系谁开始时感到困惑一样，一个好的优惠引言会以至少一句话或一段话的方式冲击读者，暗示利用这个交易将有多么容易（例如，“这很容易做到——只需取出信封中你找到的‘不花钱邀请’卡片，填写它告诉我你想要的礼物以及发送第一份期刊的地址，然后把它放进我提供的预付邮资信封里。就这么简单。但是，你还需要确保你尽快这样做。而且，原因如下……”）。

Provide a parachute. Even though you’ll most often use Offer Leads with “already sold” buyers who have at least a partial if not full emotional commitment to your deal, you’ll still have a better chance of getting them to respond if you can reverse some or all of the risk early in the lead. Possibly even in the headline. (e.g., “Don’t pay a penny until this book ... ” or “You risk nothing unless this new strategy ... ” and so on). The Offer Leads that do this aggressively — where you pay later for a free trial now, are called “soft offers.”

提供降落伞。尽管你通常会用优惠引言与那些已经“售出”的买家合作，他们至少在情感上对交易有部分甚至全部的承诺，但如果你能在引言的早期阶段逆转部分或全部风险，你将更有可能让他们做出回应。（甚至可能就在标题中。（例如，“直到这本书……”或“除非这个新策略……”等等）。那些采取这种激进方式的优惠引言——你现在免费试用，稍后付费——被称为“软优惠”。）

Test highlighting the guarantee. We recently saw a “No Matter What” warranty on a site selling Eagle Creek luggage. “If your luggage is ever damaged (even by the airlines) we’ll repair or replace it free — no matter what.” That’s bold. And, to someone already searching for luggage, it could be a clincher that makes the sale. If you’re in a situation where an Offer Lead might work, and you’ve got a great guarantee, consider pulling it up front to feature in the headline.

测试突出保证。我们最近在一个销售 Eagle Creek 行李箱的网站上看到了“无论什么情况”的保修。“如果你的行李箱有任何损坏（即使是航空公司造成的），我们会免费修理或更换——无论什么情况。”这是大胆的。对于已经正在寻找行李箱的人来说，这可能是一个促成交易的决定因素。如果你处于一个可能适合提供保证的情况，并且你有一个很棒的保证，可以考虑将其放在前面，在标题中突出显示。

_________________________

A Warning about “FREE”

关于“免费”的警告

Featuring something “FREE” is common in Offer Leads, but it might not always be the best or strongest way for you to go. Why?

在提供保证中突出显示“免费”是很常见的，但这可能并不总是你最好的或最强有力的选择。为什么？

When your gift or set of giveaways feels almost as valuable as the product you’re selling, it’s rarely a problem.

当你的赠品或一系列赠品几乎和你要销售的产品一样有价值时，这通常不是问题。

Prospects are likely to sign on for the bonuses, but they’re also likely to stick around and try what they’ve paid for, too, because they can rationalize that they’ve gotten their money’s worth already.

潜在客户可能会购买奖金，但他们也可能留下来尝试他们所支付的东西，因为他们可以合理化地认为他们已经得到了物有所值。

However, when you’re selling something with a much higher perceived value, throwing in lots of freebies can actually work against you. Why?

然而，当你销售的东西具有更高的感知价值时，提供大量免费赠品实际上可能对你不利。为什么？

Because it can make the paid product you’re offering look like it’s not worth as much as you claim it is.

因为它可能让你要出售的付费产品看起来不像你声称的那样值钱。

“FREE” is a powerful word. But like jokes, funny ties, and wine — context is everything when it comes to deciding whether it’s something worth featuring in your deal.

“免费”是一个有力的词。但就像笑话、有趣的领带和葡萄酒一样——在决定是否值得在交易中突出显示它时，背景非常重要。

_________________________

5

Double Your Sales With This Next Kind of Lead

用这种类型的开场白将销售翻倍

____________________________

“Be neither too remote nor too familiar.”

“既不要太疏远也不要太熟悉。”

— Prince Charles

— 查尔斯王子

____________________________

“Cash If You Die, Cash If You Don’t”

“如果你死了就付钱，如果你没死也付钱”

According to our friend Drayton Bird — who has written copy for Ford, American Express, and Proctor & Gamble — that headline was one of the most successful ever written in the insurance industry.

根据我们的朋友德雷顿·伯德——他为福特、美国运通和宝洁公司撰写过广告文案——这个标题是保险行业有史以来最成功的标题之一。

And, we believe it.

而且，我们相信这一点。

“Your safest opening,” says Drayton, “ ... is your prime benefit and offer ... an instant statement, instantly comprehensible.” Despite a career going back to 1957, Drayton’s not the first to say so.

德雷顿说：“你最安全的开场白……就是你的主要利益和优惠……一个即时陈述，立即可以理解。”尽管他的职业生涯可以追溯到 1957 年，但德雷顿并不是第一个这么说的人。

For instance, in 1904, a Canadian Mounted Policeman named John E. Kennedy marched into the office of Albert Lasker, a young partner in one of Chicago’s biggest ad agencies, and told him more or less the same thing.

例如，在 1904 年，一名加拿大皇家骑警警官约翰·E·肯尼迪走进了一位芝加哥最大广告公司年轻合伙人阿尔伯特·拉斯克尔的办公室，告诉他几乎相同的事情。

Their meeting started at six o’clock in the evening and they talked about nothing but this ad technique until 3 a.m. Kennedy had spent long, snowy nights studying ads and had come up with a theory he called “Reason-Why Advertising.”

他们的会议在晚上六点开始，直到凌晨三点，他们只谈论了这种广告技巧。肯尼迪在漫长的雪夜中研究广告，并提出了一个他称之为“原因-为何”广告的理论。

To find the real reason why customers buy was to find the emotional core of the promise your ad needed to make. Said Kennedy in a book by the same title, “To strike the responsive chord with the reader ... is to multiply the selling power of every reason-why given.”

找到顾客购买的真实原因，就是要找到广告需要做出的承诺的情感核心。在同名的一本书中，肯尼迪说：“击中读者的共鸣……就是增加每个‘原因-为何’的推销力量。”

Up until then, most ads appeared in newspapers and were written as news. Products were announced. They were explained. But, Kennedy and Lasker began to change all that.

直到那时，大多数广告都出现在报纸上，并以新闻形式撰写。产品被宣布，被解释。但是，肯尼迪和拉斯克开始改变这一切。

They first tested their promise-driven “reason-why” ads with a washer company. Within four months, the ads were so successful, the company increased its budget with Lasker’s advertising agency from $15,000 per year to $30,000 — per month.

他们首先用一种驱动承诺的“原因-为何”广告测试了一家洗衣机公司的广告。四个月内，广告非常成功，该公司将其在拉斯克的广告代理处的预算从每年 15,000 美元增加到每月 30,000 美元。

Kennedy went on to earn the highest salary paid to any copywriter in the industry. And, Lasker went on to build what would be the world’s most successful ad agency at the time.

肯尼迪继续成为行业内薪酬最高的文案。而拉斯克则继续建立了当时世界上最成功的广告公司。

If you’ve ever eaten a bowl of Quaker Puffed Rice, washed your dishes with Palmolive, brushed your teeth with Pepsodent, or taken a ride in an Oldsmobile, you’ve seen success built with the help of promise-driven advertising.

如果你曾经吃过 Quaker 爆米花，用过 Palmolive 洗碗液，刷过 Pepsodent 牙膏，或者乘坐过 Oldsmobile 汽车，你就见证了依靠承诺驱动型广告建立的成功。

Ad giant David Ogilvy went on to say, nearly 80 years later, that with the help of this one technique, “Albert Lasker made more money than anyone in the history of the advertising business.” With Kennedy’s inspiration and his own version of the Promise Lead, Lasker went on to be called “the father of modern advertising.”

广告巨头大卫·奥格威在近 80 年后继续表示，借助这一技巧，“阿尔伯特·拉斯克赚到了广告业历史上任何人都赚不到的钱。”在肯尼迪的启发和他自己版本的“承诺引导”帮助下，拉斯克继续被称为“现代广告之父。”

When you consider the trillions of dollars Lasker’s title represents, that’s no small feat. It’s no wonder Ogilvy himself took pains to teach the same technique in an ad he wrote for prospective ad agency clients:

当你考虑到拉斯克这个称号所代表的数万亿美元时，这绝非小事。难怪奥格威亲自在为潜在广告公司客户写的广告中费心教授同样的技巧：

The headline, “How to Create Advertising That Sells” was itself a tempting, straightforward promise for Ogilvy & Mather’s future clients. But, the lead puts it just as plain with this powerful nugget:

标题“如何创作能卖货的广告”本身就是一个对奥格尔维·马瑟未来客户的诱人、直接的承诺。但引言用这个有力的精华信息将其表述得同样直白：

“It pays to promise a benefit which is unique and competitive, and the product must deliver the benefit you promise. Most advertising promises nothing. It is doomed to fail in the marketplace ... Headlines that promise to benefit sell more than those that don’t.”

“承诺一个独特且具有竞争力的利益是值得的，而产品必须实现你所承诺的利益。大多数广告承诺什么都没有。它在市场上注定要失败……承诺利益的标题比不承诺利益的标题更能卖货。”

Our friend and fellow copywriter, Clayton Makepeace, put it even more bluntly in a recent message to readers of his Total Package blog:

我们的朋友兼同事，文案 Clayton Makepeace，在最近给他的 Total Package 博客读者的一封信中，甚至更加直白地表达了这一点：

“The only reason any rational human being ever purchases anything is to derive a benefit from it! That means … any scrap of sales copy that fails to clearly, dramatically, emphatically, credibly, and repeatedly present the benefits a product will deliver is destined to fail miserably.”

“任何理性的人购买任何东西的唯一原因是从中获益！这意味着……任何未能清晰、戏剧化、强调、可信地、反复呈现产品将带来的利益的销售文案都注定要惨败。”

In other words, if you have any hope of getting your reader by the lapels and making him listen to your message, you first have to give him a reason why. And, that reason is bound up in a promise he cannot resist.

换句话说，如果你有任何希望让读者注意你的信封并听你的信息，你首先必须给他一个理由。而这个理由是与他无法抗拒的承诺紧密相连的。

These days, you won’t find many ads of any type — at least not successful ones — that lack a promise of some kind, either stated outright or implied. And, almost always right there in the lead or, just as often, in the headline.

如今，你不会找到很多类型的广告——至少不是成功的广告——缺乏某种承诺，无论是明确提出的还是暗示的。而且，几乎总是在引言中，或者同样经常，在标题中。

That includes every one of the six types of sales copy leads in this book. So why, you might ask, use a chapter to single out Promise Leads for special focus?

这包括本书中六种销售文案引言中的每一种。所以，你可能会问，为什么用一章的篇幅特别关注承诺引言？

When Pure Promise Leads Work Best

纯承诺引言何时效果最佳

Because, as often as there are times when a prospect needs a more subtle approach, there are also times when a simple, direct promise really is best. And again, you’ll find it’s always tied up with how “aware” and ready your customer is to hear about what you’re selling.

因为，当潜在客户需要更微妙的方法时，也有时候简单直接的承诺才是最好的。而且，你会发现这总是与你的客户准备“意识到”并准备好了解你正在销售的内容有关。

This can be easy to test. Since almost every kind of lead type will include some kind of promise, often all you need to do is remove the extra elements to unearth the pure promise hidden underneath.

这很容易测试。由于几乎所有类型的潜在客户类型都会包含某种承诺，通常你只需要移除额外元素就能揭示隐藏在下面的纯粹承诺。

Take, for instance, a hypothetical offer headline for a tooth-whitening product, as you might have expected to see in our previous chapter. It might read:

以一个假设的牙齿美白产品的优惠标题为例，正如你可能在我们之前的章节中预期看到的那样。它可能这样写：

A Hollywood smile in 3 days ... or your money back

3 天内拥有好莱坞笑容...或退款

The promise is clear. Use this product and flashbulbs will soon glint off your pearly whites. By adding the offer line “... or your money back,” however, this becomes a clear sales pitch. An offer. The lead that follows will quickly get to the heart of the deal and the credibility bound up in that guarantee.

承诺很明确。使用这个产品，很快你的珍珠白牙就会闪闪发光。然而，通过添加优惠条款“...或退款”，这便成为了一个明确的销售提议。一个优惠。接下来的引言将迅速触及交易的核心，以及那份保证所蕴含的信誉。

No doubt, if you’re already out there looking for a good deal on exactly this kind of product, an ad that starts off with that kind of bang would likely get your attention.

毫无疑问，如果你已经在寻找这类产品的优惠，一则以这种方式开头的广告很可能吸引你的注意力。

But, suppose you’re talking to someone who’s interested, but not quite sure yet that the product can deliver. For this kind of prospect, the promise is tempting. Yet, revealing the offer out of the gate might come on too strong.

但是，假设你正在与一个感兴趣但尚未完全确定产品能否兑现的人交谈。对于这类潜在客户，承诺很有诱惑力。然而，一开场就透露优惠可能会过于强势。

In that case, it may need to be that you’ll want to develop anticipation with just the promise first. You might even do it without mentioning the product at all ...

在这种情况下，你可能需要先仅用承诺来培养期待。你甚至可以完全不提产品...

A Hollywood smile in 3 days

三天拥有好莱坞笑容

A lead that would follow just the pure promise alone could sound very different from the lead following an offer headline. How so? Instead of talking up the deal, it might repeat the promise another way or dive into proof.

仅仅跟随纯承诺的线索可能会与跟随优惠标题的线索听起来非常不同。怎么会这样？与其夸大交易，它可能会用另一种方式重复承诺或深入探讨证据。

____________

You’ve seen them on the red carpet, I’m sure — the tuxes and gowns, the makeup and jewelry — but what do they all have in common? Yep.

你一定在红毯上见过他们——燕尾服和礼服，化妆品和珠宝——但它们有什么共同点呢？是的。

Pearly, shining smiles full of straight, white teeth.

洁白闪亮的笑容，充满笔直的白牙。

Now you can get the same flashy grin, and you don’t need $50,000 worth of caps and a high-ticket Hollywood dentist to make it happen.

现在你可以获得同样的闪亮笑容，而且不需要 5 万美元的假牙和高价的好莱坞牙医来实现。

This wasn’t even possible, just a year ago.

一年前这甚至不可能。

But, it is now.

但现在可以了。

Let me show you why ...

让我来告诉你为什么...

____________

Of course, opening with a pure Promise Lead like this one has gotten a little harder recently. The reasons for this are almost directly tied to the Promise Lead’s unique success in the past. In short, more and more prospects today have become “hyper-aware.”

当然，最近以纯粹的承诺引导方式开头变得稍微困难一些。这其中的原因几乎直接与承诺引导在过去取得的独特成功有关。简而言之，如今越来越多的潜在客户变得越来越“高度警觉”。

That is, they’ve been hit so often with so many similar promises from a flood of so many similar products — thanks to the Internet and other always-on sources of advertising — that prospects have gone the other way and shut down to many promises.

也就是说，他们经常受到来自大量相似产品的大量相似承诺的冲击——这要归功于互联网和其他持续的广告来源——以至于潜在客户采取了相反的做法，对许多承诺关闭了心门。

As much as they still want their needs met by the products they buy, they have more walls raised against marketing messages. And, the one that’s become most familiar to those “hyper-aware” prospects is an ad that busts into the room making a big claim or promise.

尽管他们仍然希望购买的产品的需求得到满足，但他们为营销信息筑起了更多的壁垒。而对于那些“高度警觉”的潜在客户来说，最熟悉的一种广告是那种闯入房间并做出重大声明或承诺的广告。

Still, you have at least two key reasons to master the Promise Lead.

尽管如此，你至少有两个关键原因需要掌握承诺引导。

First, because you need to identify and write strong promises to create any other kind of successful lead. And second, because there are times when a simple, direct, pure Promise Lead opening will not only work, but will prove the single best way for a marketer to get his foot in the door.

首先，因为你需要识别并撰写有力的承诺来创造任何其他类型的成功线索。其次，因为在某些时候，一个简单、直接、纯粹的承诺式开场白不仅有效，而且证明是营销人员敲开客户大门的最佳方式。

The decision is almost this simple: Promise Leads work best with “mostly aware” prospects who are almost ready to buy.

这个决定几乎是这么简单：承诺式线索最适合那些“基本了解”但几乎准备购买的潜在客户。

What to Promise

承诺的内容是什么

“Advertising works best,” says Drayton Bird again, “if you promise people something they want, not — as many imagine — if you are clever, original, or shocking.”

德雷顿·伯德再次说：“如果承诺人们想要的东西，广告效果最好，而不是像许多人想象的那样，如果你聪明、原创或惊人。”

It’s not hard to see that the core promise in any ad is like a statement of intention. If I read this, says your reader, what do I get in return? You, in your promise-driven copy, answer that question. But, it’s also clear they’ll only stick around if they like your answer.

不难看出，任何广告中的核心承诺都像是一种意图声明。如果我看到这个，读者会问，我能得到什么回报？在你的以承诺为导向的文案中，你需要回答这个问题。但很清楚，只有当他们喜欢你给出的答案时，才会继续关注。

So, what’s the most relevant promise you can make to your prospect?

那么，你能向潜在客户做出最相关的承诺是什么？

We know ads can and have promised all kinds of things: To make you thin or bulk you up. To make you stronger, younger, fitter, and faster. To teach you to do something you’ve always wanted to do. Or, to make something easier than you ever thought it could be. Be more attractive. Be rich. Save money. Drive a better car, own a bigger house, look more beautiful or more handsome, dress sharp, have a happy marriage.

我们知道广告可以承诺各种事情：让你变瘦或增重。让你更强壮、更年轻、更健康、更敏捷。教你做一直想做的事情。或者，让事情变得比你想象的更容易。变得更吸引人。变得富有。省钱。开更好的车，住更大的房子，看起来更漂亮或更英俊，穿着得体，拥有幸福的婚姻。

Here are just a couple of headlines from classic Promise ads ...

这里只是从经典的承诺广告中摘录几个标题...

Instant Relaxation!

即时放松！

Build Your Memory In 4 Short Weeks —

四周内提升记忆力—

So Powerfully Your Family Won’t Believe It

强大到让家人不敢相信

What made these ads work, when they did?

这些广告为何在特定时候奏效？

It’s easy to guess the products these could sell. But, when a lead starts this way, it’s not the promise derived from the product that’s done the selling. Instead, it’s the emotional promise you can see barely hidden behind the words.

很容易猜出这些产品能卖什么。但是，当潜在客户以这种方式开始对话时，真正促成交易的不是产品本身带来的承诺，而是几乎隐藏在字里行间的情感承诺。

For instance, “Instant Relaxation!” promised more than just peace and quiet. It was a reward that acknowledged a well-earned rest. And, the promise of a “powerful memory” gets elevated to the respect, love, and admiration you’ll get for having such an impressive skill.

例如，“即时放松！”这个承诺不仅承诺了宁静与安静，更是一种对辛苦付出后应有的休息的认可。而“强大记忆”的承诺则被提升到因拥有如此令人印象深刻的能力而获得的尊重、爱与钦佩。

The richer part of the promises you’ll make is the part that pulls the strings from behind the curtain. Friendship and status among your peers. Confidence and freedom from worry. Inclusion. Safety and security. Even just the feeling of association to people you admire and respect.

你承诺中更丰富的一部分，是那些从幕后牵线的部分。与同伴间的友谊和地位。自信与无忧无虑。归属感。安全与保障。甚至仅仅是与那些你欣赏和尊敬的人产生关联的感觉。

The bottom line is that the most effective part of Promise Leads — and, in fact, the promises you’ll use in all six of the lead types in this book — is that what your product will do for customers is only as important, or maybe less so, as how you’ll make them feel about themselves while using it. Or, even more importantly, how they’ll be seen by others while using it.

归根结底，最有效的部分在于——实际上，也是本书中六种潜在客户类型所使用的承诺——你的产品为客户做了什么，其重要性不亚于，甚至可能不如，他们使用产品时如何感受自己，或者更重要的一点是，他们使用产品时在他人眼中的形象。

You’ll recognize the headline of this following ad:

你会认出以下这则广告的标题：

This, of course, is the same title used on one of the most successful self-help books ever sold. And, this was the ad that sold it, much better than anyone imagined possible.

当然，这和一本最成功的自助类书籍所使用的标题是相同的。而且，这正是售出这本书的广告，其效果远超人们的想象。

The original publisher had printed only 5,000 copies for the first run.

最初的出版商仅印刷了 5000 册作为首版。

The author, after all, was only an ex-farm-boy salesman named Dale Carnegie, who had hawked everything from bacon and soap to Packard cars, before moving to New York to become — of all things — an actor. He only started teaching his course after the acting career failed to pan out. And, it took Carnegie 15 years of compiled class notes to pull his textbook together.

毕竟，作者只是一个名叫戴尔·卡耐基的前农场男孩推销员，他推销过从培根和肥皂到帕克汽车等各种商品，后来搬到纽约成为——说起来有点奇怪——一名演员。他直到演艺事业失败后才开始教授课程。而且，卡耐基花了 15 年时间整理课堂笔记才将他的教科书汇编成册。

Yet, it caught on with readers.

然而，它吸引了读者的注意。

And, when a copy landed on the desk of copywriting legend Victor Schwab, he was smart enough to know that the best promise he could use to sell it was the one already on the book’s cover, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.”

当一本副本落到了文案大师维克多·舒华的桌上时，他足够聪明，知道他能用来销售它的最佳承诺是书封上已有的那一个：“如何赢得朋友并影响他人。”

Underneath the headline, Schwab’s Promise Lead began ...

在标题下方，舒华的承诺引言开始...

John D. Rockefeller, Sr., some years ago said: “The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee. And, I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun.”

约翰·D·洛克菲勒 Sr. 几年前说过：“与人打交道的能力和糖或咖啡一样是一种可以购买的商品。而且，我将为此能力支付比太阳下任何其他东西更多的钱。”

Wouldn’t you suppose that every college in the land would conduct practical, common sense courses to develop this “highest-priced ability under the sun?”

难道你不认为全国每所大学都会开设实用、常识性的课程来培养这种“天下最高价的能力”吗？

To our knowledge, none did.

据我们所知，没有一所大学这样做。

How to develop that ability is the subject of Dale Carnegie’s amazing new book ...

如何培养这种能力是戴尔·卡耐基那本令人惊叹的新书……的主题。

For extra punch, Schwab included some promise-laden chapter titles, straight out of the original book. Some of those titles read like textbook Promise headlines, for example:

为了增强效果，斯考布在书中加入了一些充满承诺的章节标题，直接来自原书。其中一些标题读起来像教科书承诺式的标题，例如：

Six Ways to Make People Like You Instantly

六种让人立刻喜欢你的方式

Do This and You’ll be Welcome Anywhere

这样做，你将受欢迎于任何地方

A Simple Way to Make a Good First Impression

一种简单的方式，给人留下良好的第一印象

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

十二种让人认同你的想法的方式

How to Interest People

如何引起人们的兴趣

How to Get Cooperation

如何获得合作

An Easy Way to Become a Good Conversationalist

成为优秀交谈者的简易方法

Letters that Produce Miraculous Results

产生奇迹效果的信件

How to Spur Men on to Success

如何激励人们走向成功

Any one of these might have worked as the main headline for the ad. And, some were tested. Over the years that followed, Schwab’s ad and others went on to sell over 15 million copies.

这些中的任何一个都可以作为广告的主要标题。其中一些确实经过了测试。在随后的几年里，施瓦布的广告和其他广告一起销售了超过 1500 万份。

Where Good Promise Leads Get Started

好承诺的起点在哪里

When writing a Promise Lead, where should you start?

在撰写承诺引言时，你应该从哪里开始？

The default for most marketers is to study the product and just figure out what it does best. After all, we’ve all heard the lesson about “features” versus “benefits.” First, you make a list of the product’s best features, then you translate those into what they will do for the customer.

大多数营销人员默认的做法是研究产品，并弄清楚它最擅长什么。毕竟，我们都听过“特性”与“利益”的教训。首先，你列出一个产品最突出的特性清单，然后将其转化为这些特性能为客户带来什么。

Simple.

很简单。

This is a lesson you may have heard connected with one of the most successful product pitches in history. Forrest E. Mars grew up in a candymaker’s house. And, with some big shoes to fill. His father’s home business grew to invent and sell some of the world’s most famous candy bars including Snickers, Mars Bars, and Milky Way.

这个教训你可能在某个历史上最成功的商品推介中听过。福雷斯特·E·玛斯在一个糖果制造商的家庭长大。他肩负着巨大的期望。他父亲的这家家庭生意发展壮大，发明并销售了世界上一些最著名的糖果，包括玛氏巧克力棒、玛氏棒和牛奶路。

But, Forrest’s father didn’t want to expand the business and Forrest, fresh home from Yale University, did. So, he sold his share in the business back to Dad and moved to Europe. That’s where he took up with other candymakers.

但福雷斯特的父亲不想扩大业务，刚从耶鲁大学毕业的福雷斯特却想。于是他将自己在公司中的股份卖回给父亲，并搬到了欧洲。在那里，他结识了其他糖果制造商。

It’s also where he first spotted the breakthrough that would help change the chocolate business, the course of World War II, and millions of kids’ birthday parties — and indirectly, the advertising industry.

它也是他第一次发现那个将改变巧克力行业、二战进程以及数百万孩子生日派对的突破性成果——并且间接地，改变了广告行业的地方。

It was a tiny pellet of chocolate, wrapped in a candy shell, found in the field kits of soldiers fighting the Spanish Civil War. The chocolate gave them quick energy, the shell kept it from melting under harsh conditions.

那是一颗小小的巧克力弹珠，裹着糖果壳，被发现在西班牙内战士兵的野战装备中。巧克力能迅速提供能量，外壳则能在恶劣条件下防止其融化。

We know it now, of course, as the M&M.

我们现在当然知道它，就是 M&M 巧克力。

Forrest took it back to the States and patented his own formula for the candy in 1941. Within a year, the U.S. was committed to World War II. And not long after, M&Ms made their way into soldiers’ field rations. When the soldiers came home, the candies were a hit with the general public.

福雷斯特将其带回美国，并于 1941 年为自己的糖果配方申请了专利。一年之内，美国便投身于第二次世界大战。不久之后，M&M 巧克力便进入了士兵的野战口粮。当士兵们归来时，这些糖果深受公众喜爱。

But, sales were about to get even bigger.

但是，销售额即将迎来更大的增长。

Forrest realized that television — making its way into the mainstream at that time — was the next place he wanted to go to sell M&Ms. He hired a copywriter named Rosser Reeves to do it. It turned out to be another groundbreaking move.

福雷斯特意识到，电视——当时正逐渐进入主流——是他想要推广 M&M 巧克力豆的下一个地方。他聘请了一位名叫罗斯·里斯的文案来负责这件事。事实证明，这又是一次具有开创性的举措。

Reeves was already a success at the time. He was both copy chief and vice president of his agency in New York. But, when he sat down with Forrest Mars to talk candy, he listened and took notes like a first-year copywriter.

里斯当时已经小有成就。他是纽约一家广告公司的文案主管兼副总裁。但是，当他和福雷斯特·马尔斯讨论糖果时，他像一名初出茅庐的文案一样认真倾听并做笔记。

“He was the one who said it,” claimed Reeves in the version we’ve heard told. “He told me the whole history and then I pressed him and he said, ‘Well, the thing is, they only melt in your mouth, but they don’t melt in your hands.’”

“是他提出这个想法的，”里斯在流传至今的版本中声称。“他向我讲述了整个历史，然后我追问了他，他说，‘好吧，关键在于，它们只会在你嘴里融化，但不会在你手里融化。’”

That was all Reeves needed.

那是里夫斯所需要的全部。

Within four years, Mars was selling one million pounds of M&Ms per week. M&Ms have since gone on Space Shuttle flights with astronauts. They’ve been the official candy of the Olympics. And, according to Business Week, they’re the bestselling candy in the world.

四年后，玛氏每周销售一百万磅的 M&M 巧克力。此后，M&M 巧克力随宇航员乘坐航天飞机升空，成为奥运会的官方糖果。据《商业周刊》报道，它们是世界上最畅销的糖果。

Mars died at age 95 in 1999, with a $4 billion fortune. And, his candy company takes in over $20 billion per year with 30,000 employees worldwide.

1999 年，玛氏以 95 岁高龄去世，留下 400 亿美元的财富。而他的糖果公司每年收入超过 200 亿美元，在全球拥有 3 万名员工。

It’s no accident that Reeves went on to his own kind of fame. And, not just because Reeves happens to be the real-life model for the character of Don Draper on the TV series Mad Men.

里夫斯后来获得自己的名声并非偶然。不仅仅因为里夫斯恰好是电视剧《广告狂人》中唐·德雷珀角色的现实原型。

You might know him even better, after all, as the father of what every copy cub and professional advertiser memorizes as the “Unique Selling Proposition” or “USP.”

你甚至可能更熟悉他，毕竟，他是每位文案新手和职业广告人都牢记的“独特销售主张”或“USP”的父亲。

To Find the Promise, Find the USP

要找到承诺，就要找到 USP

When Reeves first wrote about the USP in his book Reality in Advertising, he was writing down the formula you can use to write any effective Promise Lead.

当里斯第一次在《广告的现实》一书中写下 USP 时，他写下的是你可以用来写出任何有效承诺引言的公式。

Reeves’ formula had three parts.

里斯的公式有三部分。

The first part for Reeves meant starting with the product. But, only if that product was actually good enough to almost sell itself. As a preacher’s son, Reeves was fundamentally honest and felt all advertising should be, too. The product must be able to do what you’ll say it can do.

对于里夫斯来说，第一部分意味着要从产品入手。但前提是，这个产品必须足够好，几乎能自我销售。作为牧师的儿子，里夫斯从根本上诚实，认为所有广告也应该如此。产品必须能够做到你所承诺的。

But, an even better reason for starting with the product is the second part of Reeves’ formula. What the product does, and by default will claim to do, has to be original. That is, the best products do something the competitor’s won’t or can’t. That’s key because the USP — the promise you’ll make — has to sound and feel different from everything your prospect has heard before, too.

但，从产品入手还有一个更好的理由，那就是里夫斯公式中的第二部分。产品所做之事，以及它默认会声称能做的事，必须具有原创性。也就是说，最好的产品会做一些竞争对手不会或不能做的事情。这很关键，因为独特销售主张——你所做出的承诺——必须听起来和感觉上与你的潜在客户之前听到的所有内容都不同。

Then, there’s the final part of Reeves’ formula. This is the one most forgotten, but it’s impossible to overlook if you’ve got any hope of coming up with a powerful promise. Every promise must target your prospect’s core desire. That is, they have to already want what you’re promising.

然后，还有里夫斯公式的最后一部分。这是最容易被遗忘的部分，但如果你有任何希望做出一个有力的承诺，就不可能忽视它。每个承诺都必须针对你的潜在客户的核心欲望。也就是说，他们必须已经想要你所承诺的东西。

This is worth repeating.

值得重复的是。

Reeves believed, and so did Eugene Schwartz, and so do we, that you cannot create desire in a customer. You can only awaken what’s already there. This is especially true in a pure Promise Lead, where you have nothing but the claim pulling all the weight. The more tightly you can target those core desires, the more likely your ad will work.

里夫斯相信，尤金·施瓦茨也相信，我们同样相信，你无法在顾客心中创造欲望。你只能唤醒那些已经存在的东西。这在纯粹的承诺引导中尤其如此，那时你只有声明在支撑一切。你能多么精准地瞄准那些核心欲望，你的广告就多么有可能成功。

It’s that simple.

就是这么简单。

Can a Claim Be Too Big?

声明会不会太大？

We’re sure you’ve heard British writer Samuel Johnson’s advice, who famously said, “Promise, large promise, is the soul of advertisement.”

我们确信你听过英国作家塞缪尔·约翰逊的建议，他曾说过：“大承诺是广告的灵魂。”

And, when Johnson and his friends were about to auction off a brewery, he went on to warn them, “We are not here to sell off a parcel of vats and boilers; but to offer the potentiality of wealth beyond the dreams of avarice.”

此外，当约翰逊和他的朋友们准备拍卖一家啤酒厂时，他继续警告他们：“我们这里不是来卖一堆储罐和锅炉的；而是要提供超越贪婪梦想的财富可能性。”

A good promise, in other words, is a big one.

换句话说，一个好的承诺应该是重大的。

And, Promise Leads should promise to change lives.

此外，承诺型引荐应该承诺改变生活。

But, is that always true? No, not necessarily. Because you can run a few risks by committing to bigger and bigger advertising promises. One risk, even Johnson went on to write about, saying “Advertisements are now so numerous that they are very negligently perused, and it has therefore become necessary to gain attention by magnificence of promises, and by eloquence sometimes sublime and sometimes pathetic.”

但是，这总是真的吗？不，不一定。因为如果你不断承诺更大、更大的广告效果，可能会承担一些风险。其中一种风险，就连约翰逊也继续写道，他说：“现在广告太多了，它们被非常粗心地带过，因此有必要通过宏伟的承诺和有时崇高、有时感人的雄辩来吸引注意力。”

That was in 1759.

那是 1759 年。

Imagine what he would say today.

想象一下他今天会说些什么。

A second risk is that oversized promises, especially in today’s crowded market, can be so large that they become unbelievable. As copywriter Clayton Makepeace recently warned:

第二个风险是，过大的承诺，尤其是在当今拥挤的市场中，可能会大到让人觉得难以置信。正如文案作家克莱顿·麦凯斯最近所警告的那样：

“Simply shout[ing] benefits are not working as well as they used to, because yours is the gazillionth ‘benefit’ head your prospect has seen today … your benefit [lead] screams, ‘I WANT TO SELL YOU SOMETHING!’ … [and] increasingly skeptical prospects think, ‘Yeah, RIGHT!’”

“仅仅大声喊出好处已经不像以前那么有效了，因为你的潜在客户今天已经看到了无数个‘好处’……你的好处[开场白]尖叫着，‘我想向你卖东西！’……[而]越来越怀疑的潜在客户心想，‘哦，真的吗！’”

Of course, you still need some kind of claim to sell. Which is why even the most indirect lead types you’ll find in this book still lead up to a promise of some kind.

当然，你仍然需要某种主张来销售。这就是为什么即使你在这本书中找到的最间接的引导类型也会导向某种承诺。

So, what to do when a promise seems too large?

那么，当承诺看起来太大时该怎么办？

One way to derail the skeptics is to just acknowledge the reason for their skepticism before they have a chance to. For instance, by turning the giant claim into a question:

一种让怀疑者失去信心的方法是，在他们有机会之前就承认他们怀疑的原因。例如，把巨大的主张变成一个问题：

Can You Really Grow $500 Into $8.4 Million?

你能真的把 500 美元增长到 840 万美元吗？

The risk, of course, is that you still can’t deliver on a promise that large. Or, that you’ll disappoint the prospect when they realize it was just a hook to get him reading.

当然，风险在于你仍然无法兑现如此重大的承诺。或者，当潜在客户意识到这只是一个让他继续阅读的诱饵时，他们会感到失望。

Another option, obviously, is to scale back to a promise until it’s surprisingly small. For instance, we remember a great and simple Promise Lead that did just that, in the midst of a sea of cliché “Get Rich Quick” ads. The headline read:

另一个明显的选择是缩小承诺规模，直到它出人意料地小。例如，我们记得在众多陈词滥调的“快速致富”广告中，有一个非常简单且出色的承诺式开场白做到了这一点。其标题是：

Get Rich Slow

慢慢致富

Who on earth wants to get rich “slow?” Maybe nobody. But, you can see how it still promises something desirable while actually fitting neatly into the prospect’s comfort zone.

世界上有谁想要“慢慢”致富呢？也许没有谁。但，你可以看到它仍然承诺了某种令人向往的东西，同时实际上又完美地契合了潜在客户的舒适区。

Here’s another interesting example of a scaled-down promise working better than a big one, from career copywriter Dick Paetzke.

这是职业文案作家迪克·佩茨基提供的另一个有趣案例，说明缩小承诺规模比宏大承诺效果更好。

It seems that Sears had hired a team to help them sell their “Diehard” car battery on TV. To show how the battery could hold up in rough weather, the team lined up 10 cars in front of TV cameras on a cold icy night.

看起来西尔斯公司曾雇佣一个团队帮助他们在电视上销售“Diehard”汽车电池。为了展示电池在恶劣天气中的表现，团队在一个寒冷的冰夜，在电视摄像机前排好了 10 辆汽车。

They shut off all the engines, linked all 10 cars to one Diehard battery, and then had 10 drivers start all the cars up at the same time. It was an amazing performance from a great product. But, there was one problem: Viewers didn’t believe it.

他们关闭了所有引擎，将 10 辆汽车全部连接到同一块 Diehard 电池上，然后让 10 位司机同时启动所有汽车。这是该伟大产品的一次精彩表现。但，存在一个问题：观众不相信。

The team shot the commercial again, but with only three or four cars. Everything else in the demonstration was the same. This time the commercial was a smash hit. By scaling the promise back just enough, the claim was suddenly believable.

团队重新拍摄了这则广告，但只用了三或四辆汽车。演示中的其他所有内容都保持不变。这次广告大获成功。通过将承诺适度缩小，这个说法突然变得可信起来。

How do you know how to make a promise that’s just right?

你知道如何做出恰到好处的承诺吗？

First, you have to know what’s been promised before. That’s your mark to beat. You also have to know what your prospect expects, so you don’t under-promise.

首先，你必须清楚之前已经做出了哪些承诺。这是你要超越的目标。同时，你也要了解潜在客户期望什么，这样就不会低估承诺。

You need to make promises you know you can prove. All copywriting claims, but Promise Leads especially, demand airtight credibility. That can be testimonials or anecdotes, clear metaphors, case studies, charts, and powerful statistics. Whatever it takes to make even your biggest claim a clear possibility.

你需要做出能够证明的承诺。所有文案宣传都声称如此，但"承诺引导"尤其需要无可辩驳的可信度。这可以是客户评价或轶事、清晰的比喻、案例研究、图表和强大的统计数据。无论需要什么，都要让你的最大承诺成为明确可能实现的事情。

And finally, you need to know how much what you’re selling can meet or beat those expectations, too. Promise Leads that over-sell a product — even successfully — only set that product up to fail faster, once it under-delivers.

最后，你还需要知道你所销售的产品能够满足或超越这些期望的程度。过度销售产品的"承诺引导"——即使成功——一旦产品未能满足期望，只会让产品更快地失败。

The Bottom Line

底线

When you’re targeting an eager and ready-to-buy customer, try an Offer Lead. When you’re selling to someone farther removed, or to a skeptic, try one of the other leads you’ll find in here. The more distant, the later you should look in these pages.

当你瞄准的是一位渴望购买且准备就绪的客户时，尝试使用提议引导。当你销售的对象距离较远，或者是一位怀疑者时，尝试使用这里列出的其他引导方式。距离越远，你越应该在这些页面中寻找更合适的引导。

But, when you’re targeting a prospect that’s just barely sitting on the fence, almost ready to buy but just waiting for that extra nudge, a simple, direct Promise Lead can be an excellent tool.

但是，当你瞄准的是一位刚刚站在天平边缘的潜在客户，几乎准备购买，只是等待那最后一推时，一个简单直接的承诺引导可以是一个极好的工具。

What’s more, make no mistake, no matter which approach you take, Johnson was right: Promises are the soul of good ads. Make strong ones, where you can.

更重要的是，不要误解，无论你采取哪种方法，约翰逊都是正确的：承诺是优秀广告的灵魂。尽可能做出强有力的承诺。

Just remember, far more important than the size of the promise in your lead is how original and relevant it is to your target customer.

记住，比你的潜在客户中承诺的大小更重要的是它的独创性和与目标客户的关联性。

The promises that work best are the promises that your prospect doesn’t hear anybody else making ... at a time when he really wished someone would.

最有效的承诺是那些你的潜在客户没有从其他人那里听到的承诺……在他真正希望有人能这样做的时候。

Of course, that means doing more research and staying on top of the competition. It means finding new ways to say simple things. And, it means knowing your prospect’s secret desires, maybe better than he knows them himself.

当然，这意味着要做得更多研究，并保持对竞争对手的了解。这意味着找到新的方式来表达简单的事情。而且，这意味着了解你的潜在客户的秘密愿望，可能比他自己更了解。

But, it’s the only way.

但是，这是唯一的方法。

_________________________

Promise Leads ...

承诺引导...

Should start with the product’s biggest benefit.

应从产品的最大利益开始。

Should hit the targeted promise right away.

应立即击中目标承诺。

Must connect the core benefit to the prospect’s core desire.

必须将核心利益与潜在客户的核心愿望联系起来。

Should sound as new and original as possible.

应尽可能听起来新颖独特。

Should be bold but still believable.

应大胆但仍然可信。

Must follow with even bigger proof.

必须接着提供更强大的证据。

Often focus on speed, size, or quality of results.

通常关注速度、规模或结果的质量。

Usually won’t work to skeptics or highly “unaware” prospects

通常对怀疑论者或高度“未意识到”的潜在客户无效

Can work very well with “on the fence” prospects.

对“摇摆不定”的潜在客户效果非常好。

_________________________

6

Still Can’t Find Your Hook? Try This Time-Tested Solution

仍然找不到你的钩子？试试这个经过时间考验的解决方案

____________________________

“When you advertise fire-extinguishers, open with the fire.”

“当你宣传灭火器时，从火灾开始。”

— David Ogilvy

— 大卫·奥格威

____________________________

What keeps your customer up at night?

是什么让你的客户彻夜难眠？

In countless seminars and training sessions with new copywriters, it’s a question we’ve both repeated often. And, one we hope you’ve answered, too, no matter what it is you’re hoping to sell.

在无数场针对新文案作者的研讨会和培训中，这个问题我们反复提及。希望你也已经找到了答案，无论你希望销售什么。

Because once you identify that one big worry, you could have the makings of a blockbuster pitch in the form of this next lead type, the Problem-Solution Lead.

因为一旦你确定了那个主要担忧，你就能形成一种重磅提案，即接下来的这种引言类型——问题解决方案引言。

This lead type is a “go-to” classic when it comes to starting sales copy. You’ll find plenty of examples in ad archives from every era, including plenty included in this chapter.

在撰写销售文案时，这种引言类型是一种“首选”经典。你会在各个时代的广告档案中找到大量例子，本章中也包含了许多这样的例子。

You can also find lots of Problem-Solution Leads in an industry where we’ve both done a lot of consulting — financial publishing.

在另一个我们都有大量咨询经验的行业——金融出版业中，你也可以找到许多问题解决方案引言。

When we’ve asked that question in the financial publishing business, our prospects shared a similar profile. Most are men in their mid-50s to 60s with some money to invest. Some have set aside a lot already; some, not so much.

当我们向金融出版行业的潜在客户提出这个问题时，他们分享了一个相似的背景。大多数是 50 多岁到 60 多岁的男性，有一些钱可以投资。有些人已经存下了很多；有些人则不然。

But, even in their differences, their worries are often similar.

但是，即使他们之间存在差异，他们的担忧也常常相似。

In the big picture, they often worry about the mess politicians have made of the economy. They worry about countries fighting over oil, gas, food, and other resources. And, they worry about market scandals and corruption that might cheat them out of savings.

从大局来看，他们常常担心政治家们把经济搞得一团糟。他们担心国家之间争夺石油、天然气、食物和其他资源。他们还担心市场丑闻和腐败，这些可能会让他们失去储蓄。

More locally, they worry about keeping up with bills in retirement after paychecks stop rolling in. They worry about shrinking bank accounts and the impact of inflation.

在更本地化的层面上，他们担心在薪水停止发放后，退休后如何支付账单。他们担心银行账户的减少和通货膨胀的影响。

They worry about the crushing impact of taxes, about making dumb mistakes with money, about having less than the Jones’ next door, or about missing out on a big opportunity.

他们担心税收的沉重影响，担心在金钱上犯愚蠢的错误，担心不如隔壁的琼斯家富有，或者担心错失一个重大机会。

Maybe most of all, they worry about running out of money before they run out of life.

也许最重要的是，他们担心在生命耗尽之前钱会花光。

All the ads we helped clients create targeted the most pressing of these worries.

我们帮助客户制作的广告都针对了这些最紧迫的担忧。

Not all of those ads used Problem-Solution Leads, but in certain cases, you can get your biggest results by directly naming and promising to fix those problems.

并非所有这些广告都使用了问题-解决方案引导，但在某些情况下，直接指出并承诺解决这些问题能带来最大的效果。

Getting Less Direct

减少直接性

With our first two types, Offer Leads and Promise Leads, you’ve seen how aware, ready customers can respond best to a really direct approach. They’re so in tune with what you’re selling — or at least what they want — that you don’t need much to gain their trust or attention.

在我们的前两种类型——优惠引导和承诺引导中，你已经看到了如何让意识强、准备好的客户对非常直接的方式做出最佳反应。他们对你在销售的东西——或者至少是他们想要的东西——非常了解，因此你不需要太多就能赢得他们的信任或注意力。

But, when the worry outpaces everything else in the prospect’s mind, this is where you start needing an interest-grabber that’s less direct. Consider, for instance, the “solution-aware” and “problem-aware” prospects we mentioned earlier in this book.

但是，当担忧在潜在客户心中超过一切其他事情时，这就是你需要一个不那么直接的吸引兴趣的方式的地方。例如，考虑一下本书前面提到的“解决方案意识”和“问题意识”的潜在客户。

In both cases, you have a customer who knows at least that there’s a situation they want to improve. They may even suspect that, somewhere out there, there’s a way to improve it.

在这两种情况下，你都有一个知道至少有一个他们想要改善的情况的客户。他们甚至可能怀疑，在某个地方，有一个改善它的方法。

But, with both prospect types, you’re starting to see a gap in what they know about themselves and what they know about your product. This is a small gap you’ll need to cross before you can start to make a sale.

但是，对于这两种潜在客户类型，你开始看到他们对自己了解的内容和他们对你产品了解的内容之间存在差距。这是在你开始销售之前需要跨越的一个小差距。

And, a good Problem-Solution Lead might help you do it.

而且，一个好的问题-解决方案引导可能会帮助你做到这一点。

Why start there?

为什么要从这里开始？

As you move away from customers who are “most aware,” your lead types shift to less direct because — before you can make a sale — you need that much more time to build trust.

当你远离“最了解”的客户时，你的引导类型会变得不那么直接，因为在你可以完成销售之前，你需要更多的时间来建立信任。

Problem-Solution Leads are a little harder to write than Promise Leads or Offer Leads because you first must take a moment to show empathy. Think about it. In personal conversation, what’s one of the ways we show a person that we’re listening?

问题-解决方案式开场白比承诺式或优惠式开场白稍难撰写，因为你首先必须花点时间展现同理心。想想看。在私人对话中，我们向对方表明自己在倾听的方式之一是什么？

To paraphrase a President, it’s “I feel your pain.”

用一位总统的话来说，那就是“我能体会你的痛苦。”

While a certain prospect might not know about your specific product, or even know that a product like yours exists, he might desperately feel his problem. Just identifying it is a way to win trust by saying, “I feel your pain … ” which then opens the door to you continuing, “ … and I have a solution.”

虽然某个潜在客户可能不了解你的具体产品，甚至可能不知道存在像你这样的产品，但他可能正深切地感受到自己的问题。仅仅识别出这个问题就是一种赢得信任的方式，通过说“我能体会你的痛苦……”，进而为你继续说“……并且我有一个解决方案。”打开大门。

When someone sees that you understand their concerns, that helps open doors. What’s more, hearing those concerns echoed can also make your target reader more willing to believe you might also be someone capable of finding a meaningful solution. This can begin a relationship between customer and seller where one didn’t exist before.

当人们看到你理解他们的担忧时，这有助于打开大门。更重要的是，听到这些担忧被回应，也能让你的目标读者更愿意相信你可能也是一个能够找到有意义解决方案的人。这可以开始一段客户与销售者之间原本不存在的关系。

So, what’s the full formula for an effective Problem-Solution Lead? Sometimes it can seem as simple as identifying the problem and offering the product that answers it. But, the reality usually has a few more layers. It goes something like this ...

那么，一个有效的 Problem-Solution 开场白完整公式是什么？有时候它看起来就像识别问题并提供能解决它的产品那么简单。但现实通常有几个更多层次。它大致是这样的……

Target those worries that keep customers up at night.

瞄准那些让客户夜不能寐的担忧。

Make sure they’re worries that carry deep emotional weight.

确保这些担忧承载着深厚的情感分量。

You have to stir those emotions first, to prove you feel your prospect’s pain.

你必须先激起这些情感，以证明你理解潜在客户的痛苦。

You don’t want to linger on the problem too long before offering hope.

在提供希望之前，你不想过多地停留在问题上。

You must offer hope of a relevant solution at some point in the pitch.

你必须在演讲的某个时刻提供与相关问题的解决方案的希望。

But, you ask, isn’t it a mistake to “go negative” when you’re trying to put somebody in an optimistic, buying mood? And, even if it does work, isn’t it just plain wrong to make a sale by stirring up bad feelings and capitalizing on people’s fears?

但是，你可能会问，当你试图将某人置于乐观的购买情绪中时，使用“负面策略”是不是一个错误？即使它确实有效，通过激起负面情绪并利用人们的恐惧来达成交易，难道不是完全错误的做法吗？

Reasonable questions.

这是合理的问题。

After all, you don’t want to come across like a health insurance salesman pitching products at his high school reunion, or a lawyer handing out business cards in the hospital cardiac unit. That said, there are times when the Problem-Solution approach to selling is not only right; it’s what your customers will prefer.

毕竟，你不想在高中同学聚会上表现得像个推销健康保险产品的保险推销员，或者在医院的冠心病病房里发名片像律师一样。话说回来，有时候采用问题-解决方案的销售方法不仅是对的；这是你的客户会偏好的。

How so?

怎么会这样？

When It’s Right To “Go Negative”

什么时候适合“转向负面”

Have you ever tried to cheer someone up — a friend, a family member, or a spouse — only to have them turn on you and start making a case for their right to feel bad?

你有没有试过试图让某人开心——一个朋友、家人或配偶——结果他们反而对你发火，开始为自己的有权利感到难过辩护？

It’s a pretty common experience. Some studies even show that “up” messages directed at someone who’s already feeling “down” can actually make them feel worse.

这是一种相当普遍的经历。一些研究甚至表明，向已经感到“沮丧”的人发送“向上”的信息，实际上可能会让他们感觉更糟。

Why is that?

为什么会这样？

At least in part, it’s because negative emotions that have an unwelcome way of washing over you — fear, pain, anger, frustration, shame, desperation, and more — can be isolating. It’s easy to feel like you’re the only one in the world who really “gets” how wrong things feel.

至少部分原因在于，那些不请自来的负面情绪——恐惧、痛苦、愤怒、挫败感、羞耻、绝望等等——往往具有孤立人的效果。很容易觉得自己是世界上唯一真正理解事情感觉有多糟糕的人。

This is why someone who is upset or depressed by something can actually bond better with somebody else that sees what’s going on and can commiserate. Simply acknowledging the problem gives it legitimacy. It can also help open up your long-suffering prospect to looking for solutions. The fact that you understand what’s wrong can help make you seem like a more credible source for solutions, too.

这就是为什么因某事感到困扰或沮丧的人，反而能更好地与另一个人建立联系，那个人能理解正在发生的事情并与之共情。仅仅承认问题本身就赋予了它合法性。这也有助于打开长期忍受的潜在客户寻找解决方案的大门。你理解问题的程度也能帮助你显得更像是一个更可信的解决方案来源。

Which problems to focus on first?

应该优先关注哪些问题？

Obviously, that has a lot to do with what you’re selling. More importantly, it has a lot to do with whom you’re selling to. Because the most relevant worry clearly originates with the prospect, not the product. You might find that easy to accept, which puts you ahead of product-focused marketers. But, identifying what those worries are might still prove tougher than you think.

这显然与你销售的产品有很大关系。更重要的是，这与你销售的对象有很大关系。因为最相关的问题显然源自潜在客户，而不是产品。你可能会觉得这很容易接受，这让你领先于以产品为中心的市场营销人员。但是，识别这些担忧可能比你想象的要困难。

See, it’s easy to imagine the practical, superficial problems most people share: pounds they want to lose, stained teeth and wrinkles, a nasty smoking habit worth quitting, pain that lingers, low savings, low income, or bad job prospects, sleepless nights, a nasty cold, undisciplined children — all of them and more, obvious obstacles to the good life.

你看，很容易想象大多数人共同面临的实际、表面问题：想要减掉的磅数、有污渍的牙齿和皱纹、一个值得戒烟的坏习惯、持续性的疼痛、储蓄低、收入低或工作前景差、失眠的夜晚、讨厌的感冒、不守规矩的孩子——所有这些以及更多，都是通往美好生活的明显障碍。

But, behind these run even deeper feelings, including some even your prospect would find challenging to name. We refer to these as the “core emotions.” And, in Problem-Solution Leads, you’ll consistently get more bang for your buck if you can tap these subconscious feelings first.

但是，在这些背后还有更深层的感觉，甚至包括你的潜在客户都难以命名的那些。我们将这些称为“核心情感”。在问题-解决方案引导中，如果你能首先触动这些潜意识中的感受，你将获得更多的回报。

From the solution side of the equation, Master Copywriter Clayton Makepeace does a good job identifying these when he writes about what he calls “emotional relief benefits.”

从解决方案的角度来看，文案大师克莱顿·麦凯普在谈论他所谓的“情感解脱利益”时，很好地识别了这些内容。

“[This is the promise that] erases your prospect’s fears and frustrations. It eases his feelings of guilt, shame, self-doubt, and feelings of inadequacy. It soothes nerves and ends shyness and embarrassment. It prevents future humiliation. It delivers blessed relief from loneliness, sadness, or depression. It protects them from future feelings of regret.”

“[这是承诺]消除潜在客户的恐惧和挫折。它缓解他的内疚、羞耻、自我怀疑和不足感。它安抚神经，结束羞怯和尴尬。它防止未来的羞辱。它带来从孤独、悲伤或抑郁中的祝福解脱。它保护他们免受未来后悔的感觉。”

You can only identify these deeper target emotions in one way, and that’s by spending time “talking” to ideal prospects for whatever you’re selling. Do it by speaking with them directly. Read their letters and emails to customer service; even ask if you can sit in on their calls.

你只能通过一种方式识别这些更深层次的目标情绪，那就是花时间“与”你销售的理想潜在客户交谈。直接与他们交谈。阅读他们写给客服的信件和电子邮件；甚至可以询问是否可以旁听他们的电话。

Find out which blogs and magazines they read, which podcasts they listen to, and which conventions they go to. Read their posts on online forums. Meet them where you can and get them talking. Record what they’re saying — if you can get their permission and don’t think it will change the way they respond.

找出他们阅读哪些博客和杂志，收听哪些播客，参加哪些会议。阅读他们在在线论坛上的帖子。在你能找到他们的地方与他们见面，让他们交谈。记录他们所说的话——如果你能获得他们的许可，并且不认为这会改变他们的回应方式。

People with worries often can’t help talking. Listen for the patterns, especially those things they don’t realize they’re saying and repeating. It’s those deeper problems you’re setting out to solve.

担忧的人往往忍不住要说。留意这些模式，尤其是那些他们没有意识到自己在说并在重复的事情。正是这些更深层次的问题，你才立志要解决。

The key to Problem-Solution ads is often that the problem you’re fixing is connected to a lot of deeper feelings, not just surface issues. Identifying the unspoken worry can be far more powerful than promising to fix a spoken one.

问题-解决方案广告的关键，往往在于你要解决的问题与许多更深层的情感相关，而不仅仅是表面问题。识别未说出口的担忧，其力量远胜于承诺解决已说出口的问题。

How Long to Linger?

停留多久？

Once you accept the idea that problem-based selling can work with problem-focused prospects, you run into your next question. How long should you focus on the worry in your lead before you start teasing with a solution?

一旦你接受了基于问题的销售可以与关注问题的潜在客户一起工作的想法，你就会遇到下一个问题。在你开始用解决方案来挑逗之前，你应该在开场白中专注于担忧多久？

First, as we said, you need to make sure you’re targeting the right problem and offering the right solution. As an example, maybe you know the story of Kleenex® Brand tissues.

首先，正如我们所说，你需要确保你瞄准了正确的问题并提供了正确的解决方案。例如，你可能知道 Kleenex ® 品牌纸巾的故事。

Depending on whom you ask, the paper company Kimberly-Clark got stuck with warehouses full of “cellucotton,” a filter product they made for gas masks at the end of World War I.

根据你问的是谁，造纸公司 Kimberly-Clark 可能被滞留在堆满“cellucotton”仓库中，这是一种他们在第一次世界大战结束时为防毒面具生产的过滤产品。

With the war over, they needed to find another market. They tried out a couple of ideas until someone hit on Kleenex® Brand “facial tissues,” a disposable replacement for towels that women back then used to remove cold cream.

随着战争的结束，他们需要找到另一个市场。他们尝试了一些想法，直到有人想到了 Kleenex ® 品牌“面巾纸”，这是一种可重复使用的替代品，当时女性用它来去除冷霜。

And, they sold it that way, too.

他们也是这样销售的。

In 1925, a magazine ad showed up in the Ladies Home Journal promising “no more dingy cold-cream towels” and showed celebrities demonstrating how they used the tissues. For the next five years, Kleenex® was sold as “the new secret of keeping a pretty skin as used by famous movie stars.”

1925 年，《妇女家庭杂志》上出现了一则杂志广告，承诺“不再使用暗淡的冷霜毛巾”，并展示了名人如何使用这些纸巾。在接下来的五年里，Kleenex ® 被作为“著名电影明星保持漂亮肌肤的新秘密”而销售。

In some of those ads, a small box suggested Kleenex® tissues might work as disposable handkerchiefs, too. Other ads also tested alternative uses for Kleenex®, everything from spare coffee filters to cleanup towels.

在这些广告中，一个小盒子建议 Kleenex ® 纸巾也可以作为一次性手帕使用。其他广告还测试了 Kleenex ® 的替代用途，从备用咖啡滤纸到清洁毛巾。

But, it was Kimberly-Clark’s head researcher, who suffered chronic hay fever, who pushed Kimberly-Clark’s top copywriter to rewrite the ads with the disposable handkerchief lead up front.

但正是 Kimberly-Clark 的首席研究员，由于患有慢性花粉症，推动 Kimberly-Clark 的首席文案作家重新撰写广告，将一次性手帕作为主要卖点。

“Don’t Put a Cold In Your Pocket,” said the ads. Instead of putting a dirty cloth tissue back in your pocket, “It’s ‘Kleenex® Tissue Time’.”

“不要把感冒放进你的口袋，”广告上写着。不要把脏的布条纸巾放回口袋，“现在是‘Kleenex ® 纸巾时间’。”

And, it was those campaigns, along with other Problem-Solution promises like “No more sore noses — use gentle Kleenex®!” that helped create a $1.6 billion brand.

而且，正是这些活动，连同其他“问题-解决方案”承诺，如“不再流鼻血——使用温和的 Kleenex ® ！”等，帮助打造了一个价值 16 亿美元的品牌。

Problem-Solution pitches have been a staple for copywriters since the early days of advertising. For instance, Kimberly-Clark’s ad department tried a lot of different ways to sell their now-famous tissues before they settled on these Problem-Solution ads that targeted cold and hay fever sufferers.

“问题-解决方案”推广自广告早期以来一直是文案撰稿人的必备策略。例如，金佰利公司的广告部门在推出现在家喻户晓的纸巾之前，尝试了多种不同的销售方式，最终选择了这些针对感冒和花粉症患者的“问题-解决方案”广告。

Of course, you don’t need much copy to sell cold tissues.

当然，销售感冒纸巾并不需要太多文案。

But notice, in Problem-Solution pitches that target both big and small, you’ll get your biggest impact when you can first sum up the core worry in as instant a phrase as possible.

但请注意，在针对大小问题的“问题-解决方案”推广中，当你能用最简短的语言迅速概括核心担忧时，你将获得最大的影响力。

Think of the problem you target as the cover on a blockbuster novel or the opening shot in a movie. On the one hand, you want your prospect to linger over it long enough to commit to your message that follows. On the other hand, you know you’ve got to stir an emotion before the prospect’s head kicks in and reminds him about his to-do list for the rest of the day.

将你瞄准的问题想象成一部重磅小说的封面或电影的开场镜头。一方面，你希望你的潜在客户能驻足足够长的时间来承诺你接下来要传达的信息。另一方面，你知道在潜在客户的头脑开始运转并提醒他当天待办事项之前，你必须先激起某种情感。

So, how long do you linger on the problem in your copy, assuming you’ve identified the biggest worry? For exactly as long as it takes to win that commitment to read on.

那么，在你文案中，当你已经确定了最大的担忧后，你应该驻足探讨这个问题多长时间？只要赢得他们继续阅读的承诺所需的时间即可。

For simple products that solve simple worries, it might happen as early as right there in your headline. For something more complex, you might have to hold off just a little bit longer.

对于解决简单问题的简单产品，这可能早在你的标题中就会发生。对于更复杂的产品，你可能需要稍微再等待一段时间。

Understandably, we know that’s an unsatisfactory and abstract answer. But, it should become clearer as we look at some samples, like the ones you’ll find here:

我们当然知道，这个答案是令人不满足且抽象的。但当我们查看一些样本，比如你在这里能找到的那些，它应该会变得更清晰。

“If This, Then That”

“如果这样，那么那样”

The classic “If-then” approach to writing a Problem-Solution Lead might be the most common you’ll come across, both now and in the advertising archives.

经典的“如果-那么”写作问题-解决方案引言方法可能是你将来会遇到的最常见的，无论是在现在还是在广告档案中。

Take this classic 1950s ad for Geritol ...

以这个经典的 1950 年代 Geritol 广告为例...

If you’re feeling run down, then this will pick you up. The phrase “tired blood” isn’t a medical term. Geritol’s makers — or copywriters — cooked it up to characterize how it feels to come out of a cold or the flu.

如果你感到疲惫，那么这个能让你振作起来。短语“疲劳血液”不是一个医学术语。Geritol 的制造商——或者说是文案撰稿人——编造了这个短语来描述从感冒或流感中恢复时感觉如何。

Just reading it almost wears you down. It also makes the promise you’ll “feel stronger fast” that much more life-changing. It’s such a direct and simple proposition, you can see some Offer Lead creeping in: “within 7 days — or money back!”

仅仅阅读它几乎就能让你筋疲力尽。它还让“快速感觉更强壮”的承诺显得更加改变人生。这是一个如此直接和简单的提议，你可以看到一些优惠引导 creeping in：“7 天内——退款！”

Just to see how an ad for a similar product did it, here’s another classic Problem-Solution pitch from around the same era. It uses nearly the same formula, only instead of “If this, then that” it’s “For Relief from this, try that” ...

为了看看一个类似产品的广告是如何做到的，这里有一个来自同一时期的经典问题-解决方案推销。它使用了几乎相同的公式，只是把“如果这样，那么那样”换成了“为了摆脱这种痛苦，试试那个”...

The emotional pull of the problem is all in the mention of the “misery” and the image, with arrows pointing to the blocked areas of an appropriately-miserable man. You can see that the power of the solution is also tied up in the specific details of a “3-Layer Tablet” that “Helps Drain All 8 Sinus Cavities.”

问题的情感吸引力完全在于提到“痛苦”和图像，箭头指向一个适当痛苦男人的堵塞区域。你可以看到解决方案的力量也和“三层片剂”的具体细节联系在一起，它“帮助排出所有 8 个鼻窦”。

“Inversions”

“反转”

Gene Schwartz was a big fan of what he called “Negative Promise” leads. We might call them “Inversion” or “Solution-Problem” leads, because what they do is flip the formula around and promise a way to get yourself out of a situation before highlighting the problem itself.

吉恩·施瓦茨非常喜欢他称之为“负面承诺”的引言方式。我们或许会称它们为“反转”或“解决方案-问题”引言，因为它们的做法是先翻转公式，承诺一种让自己摆脱困境的方法，然后再突出问题本身。

This is also something you can see in ads going way back. For instance, there’s a yellowed old newspaper ad for Pond’s Vanishing Cream that shows a drawing of a woman bather who’s barely showing any skin, aside a headline and lead copy that reads ...

这种现象你也可以在非常古老的广告中看到。例如，有一则泛黄的旧报纸广告为 Pond's Vanishing Cream，展示了一位几乎不露肌肤的沐浴女性，旁边是一则标题和引言文案...

“Get all the benefits of Summer sunshine but avoid the discomforts.”

“享受夏日阳光的所有好处，却避免不适。”

“You will find that your skin will not blister and burn half as readily if you protect it before exposing it. Apply Pond’s Extract Vanishing Cream and ... it will [also] soften dried, scorched skin and keep it from peeling, leaving you a rich, beautiful tan ... ”

“你会发现，如果你的皮肤在暴露之前得到保护，就不会那么容易起泡和灼伤。使用 Pond's Extract Vanishing Cream，它将[同时]软化干燥、灼伤的皮肤，防止其脱皮，让你拥有丰富、美丽的晒黑效果...”

It’s a foregone conclusion with claims that set out to solve a problem before you even have it. Here’s another old-school example, from a Solution-Problem headline for a property ad:

在提出解决方案之前就声称要解决一个尚未出现的问题，这显然是注定要失败的。这里再举一个老派的例子，来自一则房产广告的解决方案-问题式标题：

“How to Do Wonders With a Little Land!”

“如何用一小块地创造奇迹！”

It ran against a more conventional Problem-Solution Lead, under the headline “A Little Land — a Lot of Living” and beat it by 40%. And, it beat a flat-out — if abstract — Promise Lead that ran under the headline, “Two Acres and Security,” by a crushing 75% margin.

它在一则更传统的“问题-解决方案”式开头，标题为“一小块地——许多生活”的竞争下脱颖而出，成功率高出 40%。此外，它还以压倒性的优势——尽管有些抽象——击败了一则以“两英亩土地与安全”为标题的承诺式开头，成功率高出 75%。

“Identification”

“识别”

Of course, you’re not just writing to the problem, but to the person who has the problem and feels strongly about it.

当然，你不仅仅是在写问题，而是在写给那个有这个问题并且对此感受强烈的人。

So, it’s no wonder some of the most successful Problem-Solution Leads are written to make the reader feel identified by their troubles or even directly responsible for them.

因此，难怪一些最成功的"问题-解决方案"开场白都是写给读者让他们感觉自己的困扰被认同，甚至直接对这些问题负责。

For instance ...

例如...

“Advice to Wives Whose Husbands Don’t Save Money — By a Wife”

“给那些丈夫不存钱的妻子的建议——由一位妻子撰写”

“To People Who Want to Write — But Can’t Get Started”

“给那些想写作——但无法开始的人”

“For the Woman Who is Older Than She Looks”

“给看起来比实际年龄年轻的女人”

This last one ran against a headline that was all solution, no problem, “For the Woman Who Looks Younger Than She Is” and outperformed it by a big margin. Why?

最后一个标题与一个全是解决方案、没有问题的标题竞争，即“给看起来比实际年龄年轻的女人”，并且以很大的优势胜出。为什么？

Most likely because the latter targets a woman who doesn’t feel like she needs a change, where the former is all about an emotion the prospect would love to rid herself of — frustration with looking older than she should.

很可能是因为后者针对的是那些不觉得自己需要改变的女人，而前者则完全关注于潜在客户想要摆脱的情绪——即比实际年龄显老而感到的挫败感。

“The Question”

“问题”

You’ll find many successful Problem-Solution ads phrased as challenging questions.

你会发现许多成功的“问题-解决方案”广告都是以挑战性问题的方式表述的。

Here are a couple of examples you might recognize ...

这里有几个你可能熟悉的例子……

“Are You Ever Tongue-Tied at a Party?”

“你是否曾在派对上语塞？”

“Do You Do Any of These Ten Embarrassing Things?”

“你是否做这十件令人尴尬的事情之一？”

And, of course this one from great Madison Avenue copywriter Maxwell Sackheim:

当然，还有这位伟大的麦迪逊大道文案大师麦克斯韦尔·萨基姆的观点：

“Do You Make These Mistakes in English?”

“你在英语中犯这些错误吗？”

Sackheim tried other ads, including a simple Promise Lead under the headline, “15 Minutes a Day Gives You a Wonderful Command of Language,” and a Secret Lead under the headline, “His New Invention Finds and Corrects Your Mistakes in English.”

萨基姆尝试了其他广告，包括在标题“每天 15 分钟让你掌握语言”下使用简单的承诺引导，以及在标题“他的新发明发现并纠正你的英语错误”下使用秘密引导。

But, we agree with ad archivist Lawrence Bernstein of infomarketingblog.com, who points out that one of the keys that makes this ad work is the word “these” in this headline. Plus, the fact that it targets the deeper emotions in a way the other leads don’t: the shame and embarrassment connected to the mundane subject of grammar.

但我们同意 infomarketingblog.com 的广告档案学家劳伦斯·伯恩斯坦的观点，他指出，使这则广告奏效的关键之一是标题中的“这些”一词。此外，它以其他引导无法做到的方式针对更深层的情感：与日常的语法主题相关的羞耻和尴尬。

Questions also work in Problem-Solution Leads because they jump-start the mental conversation with your prospect. Once well-targeted customers answer “Yes” to what you’re asking, it’s that much tougher for them to quit reading.

问题在问题-解决方案引导中也同样有效，因为它们能立即启动与潜在客户的思维对话。一旦目标客户对你所问的问题回答“是”，他们就更加难以停止阅读。

Asking a question about a problem with an inevitable “Yes” answer from the right prospect is a strong way to jump-start a conversation with your customer.

针对问题提出一个必然得到“是”答案的问题，是启动与客户对话的强有力方式。

“Instruction”

“指令”

If you have a problem that’s a little more complex to address, another technique that can work is to invent a name for the problem that characterizes it quickly.

如果你有一个稍微复杂的问题需要解决，另一个可行的方法是为这个问题创造一个能快速概括它的名字。

We’re sure you’ve seen at least some of these famous examples:

我们确信你至少见过这些著名例子中的部分：

“Have You a ‘Worry’ Stock?”

“你有‘担忧’股票吗？”

“Is Your Home Picture-Poor?”

“你的家照片贫乏吗？”

“How Much Is ‘Worker Tension’ Costing Your Company?”

“‘工人紧张’正让你的公司损失多少？”

All of these headlines are also questions but with the added twist and intrigue of a term your prospect hasn’t heard before. The key is that the term, even though it’s new, instantly makes sense of the negative situation (a lot like the phrase “tired blood” in the earlier Geritol ad).

所有这些标题也都是问题，但增加了你的潜在客户之前未听说过的术语所带来的额外转折和吸引力。关键在于这个术语，尽管是新的，但能立刻解释负面情况（就像之前 Geritol 广告中的“疲惫血液”短语一样）。

Of course, creating a new term means that somewhere the lead will have to explain what it means. In this way, these kinds of ads are also usually “instructional.” They teach the customer something about the negative situation, even as they promise to free him from it. Here’s another example but without the invented term:

当然，创造一个新术语意味着潜在客户必须解释它的含义。以这种方式，这些广告通常是“指导性”的。它们在承诺帮助客户摆脱负面情况的同时，也教会客户关于这种情况的知识。这里再举一个例子，但没有使用新创造的术语：

“Five Familiar Skin Troubles — Which Do You Want to Overcome?”

“五种常见的皮肤问题——你想克服哪一种？”

In 10 words, the headline promises to teach the prospect something about “five familiar skin troubles,” nearly assumes he’ll have at least one of them — the “which” here is like the “these” in the famous Sackheim headline we looked at earlier — and teases hope for a solution.

在十个字中，标题承诺教会潜在客户关于“五种常见的皮肤问题”的知识，几乎假定他会至少有一种——这里的“哪个”就像我们之前看到的著名 Sackheim 标题中的“这些”——并暗示希望找到解决方案。

Could an ad that simply asked “Do You Suffer One of These Five Familiar Skin Troubles?” have worked? It certainly seems worth testing. And in either case, the rest of the lead would have continued as this one did — educating the prospect on the problem he was about to solve.

一个仅仅问“你是否遭受这五种常见皮肤问题之一？”的广告能起作用吗？这绝对值得测试。无论哪种情况，其余的广告内容都会像这个例子一样继续——教育潜在客户即将解决的问题。

Here’s another Problem-Solution Lead example, though this time without depending on any invented terms in the headline. It was also written by Max Sackheim:

这里再举一个问题-解决方案引言的例子，不过这次标题中不依赖任何虚构术语。它同样是由马克斯·萨克海姆撰写的：

Obviously, it riffs on the idea of “Seven Deadly Sins.” He’s created what feels like a definitive list of big mistakes you really don’t want to make. Really, it’s just a way to make common advertising mistakes feel more memorable.

显然，它借鉴了“七宗罪”的概念。他列出了一个感觉像是不可逾越的重大错误清单，你真的不想犯。实际上，这只是让常见的广告错误显得更加令人难忘的一种方式。

Just like with David Ogilvy’s “How to Create Advertising That Sells” ad from Chapter 5, Sackheim’s future clients feel like they would learn something, just by reading the ad alone.

就像第五章中大卫·奥格威的“如何创作能销售的广告”广告一样，萨克海姆的未来客户仅仅通过阅读广告就能感觉学到一些东西。

Of course, deciding whether to use one of these approaches to the Problem-Solution formula hinges on the idea that you’re writing to prospects who know what they’d like to change.

当然，决定是否使用这些方法来构建问题-解决方案公式，取决于你正在写给那些知道他们想要改变什么的人。

The pulling power isn’t in educating the reader about a problem. It’s more in the idea that his or her troubles are heard and understood.

吸引力不在于向读者解释问题，而在于让他们觉得自己的烦恼被倾听和理解。

Once the reader feels that you’ve heard him, that you understand his problems, and his need for a solution, then he’ll be ready to listen to your solutions to those problems — solutions that come through your product.

一旦读者觉得你听懂了他，理解了他的问题，以及他对解决方案的需求，他就会准备好听你针对这些问题提出的解决方案——这些方案通过你的产品来实现。

7

The Magic of the Velvet Pouch

天鹅绒袋的魔力

_______________________

“Life is 95% anticipation.”

“生活有 95%是期待。”

— Gloria Swanson

— 格洛丽亚·斯旺森

_______________________

In this chapter, you will discover a technique that has recently become the dominant lead type in the information publishing industry.

在这一章中，你将发现一种最近成为信息出版行业主导的引言技巧。

In the past five years alone, it has been responsible for more than a billion dollars worth of sales.

在过去五年中，它就促成了超过 10 亿美元的销售。

We know of one copywriter who used this lead type for a health package. It worked so well that he was offered a six-figure contract as a senior copywriter.

我们知道有一位文案使用了这种开头方式来推广健康套餐。效果非常好，以至于他被提供了一份六位数的合同，成为高级文案。

We know another group of copywriters who used this technique last year to create more than $40 million worth of sales for their publisher and gave themselves all very substantial bonuses.

我们还知道另一组文案去年使用了这种技巧，为他们的出版商创造了超过 4000 万美元的销售，并给自己争取到了非常丰厚的奖金。

We have used this technique to our own advantage many times in recent years. In fact, it is one of the two most powerful lead techniques working today.

近年来，我们多次利用这种技巧为自己谋取利益。事实上，它是当今最强大的两种开头技巧之一。

It won’t take you weeks to develop this technique. You will probably pick it up fairly quickly because it is something that you already know how to do.

这个技巧不需要你花几周时间来开发。你很可能很快就能掌握它，因为这是你已经知道如何做的事情。

Let me tell you a story about the velvet pouch.

让我给你讲一个关于天鹅绒袋的故事。

Almost forty years ago, I got a job selling pots and pans to flight attendants in Queens, New York, near LaGuardia Airport.

差不多四十年前，我在纽约皇后区，靠近拉瓜迪亚机场，找了一份向空姐销售锅碗瓢盆的工作。

I was trained for this job by a master. His name was Harry. He had been selling products door-to-door for thirty of his forty-five years at the time. I was working part-time, as I was in my senior year of college. Harry didn’t think much of formal education. “Why do you want to waste your time reading a bunch of dusty old books?” he’d ask me. “Everything you need to know about life you can learn by knocking on doors.”

我是由一位大师培训这份工作的。他的名字叫哈里。当时，他在四十五年的职业生涯中已有三十年的直销经验。我那时是大学四年级，兼职工作。哈里不太看重正规教育。“你为什么要浪费时间读一堆满是灰尘的旧书？”他会问我。“关于生活的所有知识，你都可以通过敲门来学习。”

Harry was wrong about that, but he knew an awful lot about salesmanship. Many of the secrets of marketing I’ve discovered since then were based on the fundamentals of selling that Harry taught me.

哈里在那件事上是错的，但他对销售技巧了如指掌。我后来发现的许多营销秘诀，都是基于哈里教给我的销售基础原理。

One of the most important of these fundamentals Harry called the velvet pouch.

哈里将这些基础原理中最重要的一条称为天鹅绒袋。

After gaining admittance to the apartment, Harry would start his pitch about the quality of our cookware, taking out the pots and pans individually from his case. But, they were each encased in plush, royal blue velvet pouches. As Harry described the features and benefits of the cookware, he would gently massage the pots, first from outside over the velvet pouches, and then by slipping his hands inside them but still keeping them hidden from the prospect.

进入公寓后，哈里会开始推销我们的厨具，他从箱子里逐一取出锅碗瓢盆。但它们每个都装在奢华的皇家蓝色天鹅绒袋里。当哈里描述厨具的特点和优势时，他会轻轻抚摸锅具，先从外面隔着天鹅绒袋，然后把手伸进袋子里，但仍然让客户看不到他的手。

“Just keep your eye on the customer,” he told me. “In the beginning they’ll be looking at you. But as you go on, you’ll notice that they will shift their focus to the pots and pans. That let’s you know they are getting interested. Keep hitting them with the benefits while they stare at what you’re doing. And never, ever take the pots out until you know they have the prospects’ full attention.”

“只要盯着客户看，”他告诉我。“一开始他们会看着你。但渐渐地，你会注意到他们的注意力会转移到锅碗瓢盆上。这说明他们开始感兴趣了。在他们盯着你做的同时，继续向他们展示好处。而且，直到你确定客户已经全神贯注，才永远不要把锅具拿出来。”

It was a visual gimmick that had great power. Harry closed almost a hundred percent of the prospects he got to look at those velvet pouches. The more he fondled them from without and from within, the more intrigued they seemed. When he finally withdrew the gleaming pot, you could see their eyes widen. Sometimes they literally oohed and aahed.

它是一种极具力量的视觉技巧。哈里几乎能成交他展示那些天鹅绒袋子的几乎所有潜在客户。他越是内外把玩这些袋子，潜在客户就越是好奇。当他最终抽出那闪亮的小罐时，你能看到他们的眼睛睁大。有时他们会真的发出惊叹声。

I didn’t fully understand what was happening at the time, but now I realize what Harry was doing. He was creating emotional tension by talking about the benefits of the product without showing it. The prospect’s instinctive desire to discover what was in the velvet pouch played in Harry’s favor. The longer he could get the prospect mesmerized by the hidden product, the greater the chance he would close.

当时我并没有完全理解发生了什么，但现在我意识到哈里在做什么。他通过谈论产品的优点而不展示产品来制造情感张力。潜在客户想要发现天鹅绒袋子里有什么的直觉欲望对哈里有利。他能让潜在客户被隐藏的产品迷住的时间越长，成交的机会就越大。

The same psychological principal is what makes the technique we will be examining in this chapter so powerful.

同样的心理原理也是本章将要探讨的技术如此强大的原因。

It taps into a very basic human instinct that can’t be resisted. That’s why, when used properly, it has such power.

它触动了一种无法抗拒的基本人类本能。这就是为什么，当正确使用时，它具有如此大的力量。

As I said, this secret has become more commonplace in recent years. Before then, most direct marketers relied on the other, more traditional techniques we’ve been talking about: Offers, Promises, Problem-Solution Leads, and occasionally Story Leads.

正如我所说，这个秘诀近年来变得更为普遍。在那之前，大多数直效营销人员依赖我们之前讨论的其他更传统的技巧：优惠、承诺、问题-解决方案引言，偶尔也会使用故事引言。

The first time I used this technique was about ten years ago.

我第一次使用这种技巧大约是在十年前。

Working with a junior copywriter, we launched a new financial publication using it. That sales letter was a runaway blockbuster. It generated tens of millions of dollars of sales and turned that junior copywriter into a multimillionaire. Seeing that success, about a dozen other copywriters adapted that same lead type for their promotions and the result was massive and undeniable. Together, they accounted for more than a billion dollars in sales in the following four years.

当时我和一位初级文案一起，用这种技巧推出了一本新的财经出版物。那封销售信成为了一款现象级爆款。它创造了数千万美元的销售额，并将那位初级文案变成了百万富翁。看到这个成功，大约有十多位其他文案将同样的引言类型用于他们的推广活动，结果非常显著且不容否认。在接下来的四年里，他们共同创造了超过十亿美元的销售额。

Nowadays, this lead type is the preferred one for selling not just information products but natural supplements, body building systems, marketing programs, stock market systems, and diets — just to name a few.

如今，这种引言类型已成为销售不仅仅是信息产品，还包括天然补充剂、健身系统、营销计划、股市系统和减肥计划（仅举几例）的首选方式。

It is a simple technique, but it has rules that must be followed. If you learn these rules and use them consistently, you will see the amazing power this lead type can give your copy.

这是一种简单的技巧，但它必须遵循规则。如果你学习这些规则并始终如一地使用它们，你会看到这种引子类型能为你的文案带来惊人的力量。

Would you like to know what this technique is?

你想知道这个技巧是什么吗？

It is the “secret” — starting your sales presentation off by teasing the prospect with a secret.

它是“秘密”——通过向潜在客户透露一个秘密来开始你的销售陈述。

Harry created a sort of secret when he put the pots and pans in velvet pouches. The prospect, seeing them enclosed in such nice, soft cases, couldn’t help but imagine what they looked like. The more Harry talked about their many useful and valuable qualities, the more they wanted to see them. By withholding the “reveal” until he had finished his pitch, he achieved the goal of all leads — he had emotionally persuaded them that they wanted it before they even saw what it looked like.

当哈里把锅碗瓢盆放进天鹅绒袋子里时，他创造了一种“秘密”。潜在客户看到它们被装在这样的精致柔软的套子里，不禁想象它们的样子。哈里越是谈论它们的许多用途和珍贵品质，他们越是想看到它们。通过直到他讲完推销内容才揭晓“真相”，他达成了所有引子的目标——他在他们看到它的样子之前，就让他们在情感上相信他们想要它。

Agora founder and legendary copywriter Bill Bonner has this to say about the power of the secret:

Agora 创始人、传奇文案作家比尔·博纳对秘密力量的看法如下：

The Secret Lead really connects to a deep instinct in people to feel that there are secrets to things; that the things that you know and are obvious to everybody don’t give you any edge. What everybody knows is what everybody knows and once you know what everybody knows, you’re just like everybody else.

秘密引言真正触动的是人们内心深处的一种本能——感觉事物背后都有秘密；你知道的、显而易见的事情并不能让你获得优势。人人都知道的就是人人知道的事，一旦你知道了人人知道的事，你就和所有人一样了。

If you want to get an edge, you need to know something that everybody doesn’t know and those things tend to be secrets. You look at people who are very rich, for example, and you say, “What’s his secret?” Or, you look at somebody who is 60-years-old with beautiful skin and perfect body and perfect hair and you say, “Oh, what’s her secret?”

如果你想获得优势，你需要知道一些人人不知道的事，而这些事往往就是秘密。比如你看那些非常富有的人，你会问：“他的秘密是什么？”或者你看一个 60 岁却皮肤美丽、身材完美、头发完美的人，你会说：“哦，她的秘密是什么？”

We feel there must be secrets to these things because they’re not obvious. So, part of us wants to know. We don’t believe these things are random. We don’t believe the world works in a random way; it’s just by accident that people get that way. We believe there must be a secret. So, if you reveal the secret, you already have a lot of people who want to listen to you.

我们感觉这些事情背后一定有秘密，因为它们并不显而易见。所以我们内心的一部分渴望知道。我们不认为这些事情是随机的，我们不认为世界是随机运作的；人们变得这样只是偶然。我们相信背后一定有秘密。所以，如果你揭示了秘密，你就已经有很多想听你说话的人了。

Let’s see how this works in the following copy.

让我们看看以下文案是如何运作的。

Closed to New Investors for the Last 6 Years — Now Open Again ...

过去 6 年对新的投资者关闭——现在再次开放...

The “Chaffee Royalty Program” That Turned Every $1 Into $50

“查菲特许权计划”将每一美元变成了 50 美元

Now, let me ask you: What is a Chaffee Royalty Program? Do you know?

现在，让我问你：什么是查菲特许权计划？你知道吗？

No? Well, don’t feel bad. You aren’t supposed to know. The copywriter made it up!

不知道？那也没关系。你本来就不该知道。这是文案编造出来的！

He invented the phrase because he didn’t want the prospect to know exactly what he was talking about. He wanted to get the reader excited before he told him what it was.

他编造这个短语是因为他不想让潜在客户确切知道他在说什么。他想在告诉对方是什么之前先让读者兴奋起来。

We used to call this process neologizing — giving some key concept a new name in order to spark interest.

我们过去把这个过程称为新造词——给某个关键概念赋予一个新名字以激发兴趣。

Let’s continue reading this lead a while and see how long the copy goes before the term is explained. This is the literary equivalent of the velvet pouch.

让我们继续读这个引言一会儿，看看文案在解释这个术语之前会写多长。这是文学上的丝绒袋的对应物。

The copywriter who wrote this was trying to get his prospect to ask, “What is this Chaffee Royalty Program?” To find out, he must read on. “I’ll give this another minute or so,” he thinks — unconsciously. And, that is as much time as the copywriter needs to set the hook deeper.

撰写这段文字的文案试图让他的潜在客户问：“什么是 Chaffee 版税计划？”要了解详情，他必须继续阅读。“我再花一分钟或两分钟，”他——无意识地——想着。而这就是文案需要的时间，让钩子更深地钓住读者。

So, that is the first thing to notice here: this velvet-pouch trick that holds the reader’s attention. But, that is not all the copywriter has done. The headline continues:

所以，这里要注意的第一点是：这个让读者注意力集中的天鹅绒袋技巧。但文案所做的还不止这些。标题继续写道：

In 2002, the same royalty “paycheck program” that paid out $50 for every $1 invested ... decided to shut the door to new “members.”

2002 年，那个每投资 1 美元就支付 50 美元版税的“工资计划”决定关闭新“会员”的大门。

In 2008, that door is open again ... and it just got easier than ever to “make money while you sleep” ...

2008 年，那扇门再次敞开……而且比以往任何时候都更容易“边睡边赚钱”……

But the door will slam shut again right at Midnight on Wednesday, May 28, so you’d better collect your own “Chaffee Royalties” right NOW …

但门将在 5 月 28 日星期三午夜再次砰然关闭，所以你最好现在就收集自己的“查菲特许权金”……

Now, what’s the copywriter doing?

那么，文案撰稿人在做什么？

He is sinking the hook deeper by attaching a specific claim to it: that the Chaffee Royalty Program paid out 50-to-1 in 2002. And then, he pushes the hook in deeper. For some reason, in 2008 (the year this promotion was written), the same opportunity has been opened up again for a short period of time.

他通过附加一个具体声明来加深诱饵：查菲特许权金计划在 2002 年支付了 50 倍的回报。然后，他进一步加深诱饵。不知何故，在 2008 年（这次促销活动撰写的那一年），这个相同的机会又再次开放了一段时间。

The reader thinks, “Hmm. This is interesting. This Chafee Royalty Program, whatever it is, produced a huge return six years ago. And now, this advertisement is telling me, it might do the same thing again. I should read on.”

读者会想，“嗯。这很有趣。无论查菲特许权金计划是什么，它在六年前产生了巨大的回报。而现在，这则广告告诉我，它可能再次做到这一点。我应该继续阅读。”

So, he reads on.

所以，他继续读下去。

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

Doing nothing while collecting royalties has to be one of the best — and easiest — ways to get rich.

在收集版税时无所事事，这必须是最棒也最简单的方法之一，让人致富。

“I like the idea of ‘doing nothing while collecting royalties,’” the reader thinks. He reads on.

“我喜欢‘在收集版税时无所事事’这个想法，”读者心想。他继续读下去。

For instance, David Sengstack does nothing and collects royalty paychecks of $2 million per year ... just because his dad was smart enough to buy the commercial rights to a song you’ve sung a hundred times, “Happy Birthday to You.”

例如，大卫·森格斯特什么也不做，每年就能收到 200 万美元的版税支票……仅仅因为他的父亲足够聪明，买下了你唱过无数次的《祝你生日快乐》这首歌的商业版权。

Michael Jackson does nothing and collects royalties every time a Beatles song plays on the radio (he bought the rights years ago). But, Paul McCartney — now a billionaire — does nothing and collects even more on the 3,000 song rights from other artists that he owns.

迈克尔·杰克逊什么也不做，每次披头士的歌曲在收音机里播放时都会收到版税（他多年前就买下了这些权利）。但是，保罗·麦卡特尼——如今已是亿万富翁——什么也不做，从他所拥有的其他艺术家 3000 首歌曲版权中获得的版税甚至更多。

Paul Newman made plenty acting. But, licensing his name piles up even more donations for his favorite charities — over $200 million so far — from royalties on the Newman’s Own food line.

保罗·纽曼在演艺事业上已经赚得盆满钵满。但是，通过授权使用他的名字，他为最喜欢的慈善机构筹集了更多的捐款——迄今为止已超过 2 亿美元——来自纽曼自创食品系列的版税。

Even boxer George Foreman does better doing nothing than he did fighting in the ring, thanks to the $137 million royalty checks he gets for lending his name to a grill.

就连拳击手乔治·福尔曼，依靠每年收到 1370 万美元的版税支票，把他的名字授权给烤架品牌，所获得的收益也比在拳台上比赛时还要好。

No wonder the world’s richest investor calls collecting royalties the best business in the world. It’s literally one of the easiest ways to do nothing and “make money while you sleep.”

难怪世界上最富有的投资者称收集版税是世界上最好的生意。这字面意义上是做最简单的事情之一，并且“在睡觉时赚钱。”

“All these rich guys are somehow involved in this Chafee Royalty Program,” the reader thinks. “Maybe it’s legitimate.”

读者心想：“所有这些富人都在某种程度上参与了查菲版税计划。也许这是合法的。”

What might shock you is that there actually IS a way for anybody to tap into a pool of growing royalties ... wealth that piles up by itself ... that, ultimately, could be worth more than the entire Beatles catalog, all the commercial rights to “Happy Birthday,” and the total value of the top 25 most expensive works of art in the world ... combined.

可能让你震惊的是，实际上确实有一种方法可以让任何人进入一个不断增长的版税池……财富会自行积累……最终，其价值可能超过整个披头士乐队的目录、所有“生日快乐”的商业权利，以及世界上前 25 件最昂贵的艺术作品的总价值……合计。

And, you can set it up in less than five minutes.

而且，你可以在不到五分钟内设置它。

“Hmm. This is pretty interesting. I can get in on this in less than five minutes?”

“嗯。这挺有意思的。我五分钟内就能参与进来？”

I call it the “Chaffee Royalty Program,” after a former schoolteacher and wealthy American millionaire, Jerome B. Chaffee. Just like people who make a living collecting royalty checks, you don’t need to do anything once you’ve tapped into the program.

我称之为“查菲皇室计划”，以一位前学校教师和富有的美国百万富翁杰罗姆·B·查菲的名字命名。就像那些靠收集版税支票谋生的人一样，一旦你参与了这个计划，就不需要再做什么了。

You just sit back and watch the money pile up.

你只需坐享其成，看着钱越积越多。

The prospect has now read a page-and-a-half of copy. He is intrigued — no, more than intrigued. And yet, he still doesn’t know what the Chaffee Royalty Program is.

潜在客户现在已经读了一半多的文案。他感到好奇——不，不仅仅是好奇。然而，他仍然不知道查菲皇室计划是什么。

He knows that some of the most famous people in the world including Paul McCartney and George Foreman are involved in it. He knows, too, that the richest investor in the world thinks its hot stuff. The hook is getting deeper.

他知道世界上最著名的一些人物，包括保罗·麦卡特尼和乔治·福尔曼，都参与其中。他也知道世界上最富有的投资者认为这很棒。这个钩子越来越深。

So, he reads on.

于是，他继续阅读。

8 Americans Who Just Cashed in on “Chaffee Royalties”

8 位美国人也通过“查菲特许权”获得了收益

Even though I’m almost positive you’ve never heard of “Chaffee Royalties,” some of America’s wealthiest families have — though by another name. In fact, it’s a secret that’s made more than a few Americans exceedingly rich.

尽管我几乎可以肯定你从未听说过“查菲特许权”，但美国一些最富有的家庭却知道——尽管是以另一个名字。事实上，这是一个让许多美国人变得极其富有的秘密。

• Robert Friedland made millions of dollars when his “Chaffee Royalty” holdings jumped in value from $4 to $167 in just two years.

• 罗伯特·弗里德兰的“切夫里特许权”资产在两年内从 4 万美元飙升至 167 万美元，让他赚得盆满钵满。

• George Hearst borrowed the $3,000 he used to buy his way into “Chaffee Royalties” in Nevada. Within months, his stake had grown to $91,000 — money he used to buy even more royalty rights, which ultimately launched his empire.

• 乔治·赫斯特借了 3000 美元，用这笔钱买入了内华达州的“切夫里特许权”。几个月后，他的股份增长到 9.1 万美元——他用这些钱购买了更多的特许权，最终建立起了他的商业帝国。

• Jim Fair, a former Illinois farmer, got so rich with his “Chaffee Royalties,” he was able to hand his daughter a $1 million check as a wedding present.

• 詹姆斯·菲尔，一位曾经的伊利诺伊州农民，凭借他的“切夫里特许权”变得如此富有，以至于他能够以一百万美元的支票作为礼物送给女儿。

• William O’Brien earned enough from his “Chaffee Royalties” to make him one of the 100 richest Americans of all time.

• 威廉·奥布莱恩从他的“切夫里特许权”中赚得足够多，使他成为有史以来美国最富有的 100 人之一。

• Former California carpenter John Mackay scraped together $500 to buy his first share in a “Chaffee Royalty Program.” He made enough to build a mansion surrounded by 70 acres of land and formal gardens for his son.

• 加利福尼亚州前木匠约翰·麦凯攒了 500 美元，买下了“查菲特许权计划”的第一股。他赚到的钱足以为他儿子建造一座豪宅，周围环绕着 70 英亩的土地和正式的花园。

• E.J. “Lucky” Baldwin parked his last $800 in “Chaffee Royalties” while living in Virginia City, Nev. By the time he was through, he’d piled up royalty wealth worth over $5 million.

• “幸运”E.J.鲍德温在内华达州弗吉尼亚城时，将他的最后 800 美元投入了“查菲特许权”。到那时，他已经积累了价值超过 500 万美元的特许权财富。

• James Flood, who came to the U.S. with next to nothing, got so rich on “Chaffee Royalties” he was able to build a beautiful sandstone home on top of San Francisco’s famous Nob Hill. It’s still there today.

• 几乎一无所有的詹姆斯·弗洛德来到美国后，通过“查菲特许权”变得极其富有，他能够在旧金山著名的诺布山山顶建造一座美丽的砂岩住宅。如今那座房子还在那里。

• Then there’s Stanley Dempsey. A lawyer who quit law and put his money into “Chaffee Royalty” contracts now makes his living collecting on 23 different streams of royalty income. Forbes even featured Dempsey and called his fortune “virtual gold,” since he barely has to do or run anything to keep the money rolling in.

• 然后还有斯坦利·登普西。一位辞去律师职业，将资金投入“查菲特许权”合同的律师，现在靠收取来自 23 个不同特许权收入的现金流谋生。福布斯甚至以他的名字为题报道了他，称他的财富为“虚拟黄金”，因为他几乎不需要做任何事或管理什么就能让钱持续流入。

Now, the hook is deeply buried in his gut. “All these regular folks are taking advantage of it,” he thinks. “Why can’t I?”

现在，这个钩子深深地埋在他的心底。"这些普通人都利用它了，"他心想。"为什么我不能呢？"

And, the copywriter has an answer for him:

而，文案撰稿人给他提供了一个答案：

But, there’s no reason you can’t collect anytime you like.

但是，你随时都可以收集。

In fact, now that these “Chaffee Royalty Programs” trade directly on the stock exchange, you can get in anytime you like. And with the right timing, you can get in at a very good price. And then, start seeing gains from “Chaffee Royalties” immediately.

事实上，现在这些"Chaffee Royalty Programs"直接在证券交易所交易，你随时都可以参与。并且，在恰当的时机，你可以在一个很好的价格入场。然后，立即开始看到"Chaffee Royalties"的收益。

This is the situation we’re in right now.

我们现在正处于这种情况。

Which is why I’m writing you today. See in 2002, one of the most impressive Chafee Royalty opportunities of all time closed its doors to new funds, just after delivering a 50-to-1 payoff for its earliest members.

这就是我今天写信给你的原因。看看在 2002 年，有史以来最令人印象深刻的 Chafee Royalty 机会之一在向最早成员提供 50 倍的回报后，刚刚关闭了对新资金的接受。

And for reasons I’ll share, the timing now is better than ever.

而且，出于我将要分享的原因，现在的时机比以往任何时候都更好。

What’s more, today, there’s more than one way to lock into “Chaffee Royalties.” And one of those options, according to research that took me nine months to pull together, could pay out even better than what was once the most profitable “Chaffee Royalty” opportunity of all time.

此外，如今，锁定“Chaffee Royalties”的方式不止一种。根据我花了九个月时间收集的研究，其中一种选择甚至可能比曾经最赚钱的“Chaffee Royalty”机会支付得更好。

We’ll get to those details.

我们会谈到那些细节。

But first, let’s start at the beginning ...

但首先，让我们从开头开始……

The reader’s interest is peaking now because he is being told that the opportunity won’t last very long. He has to take action soon.

读者现在正兴趣盎然，因为他被告知这个机会不会持续太久。他必须尽快采取行动。

Finally, he gets his answer. Or, begins to get it …

最后，他得到了答案。或者，开始得到答案……

The “Chaffee Royalty Program” That Changed America

“切夫特特许权计划”改变了美国

Jerome B. Chaffee didn’t make enough as a schoolteacher. So, he took a job as a sales clerk in a dry goods store. Then he took that money and started a dry goods store of his own.

杰罗姆·B·切夫特当教师挣的钱不够用。于是，他在一家干 goods 店里找了份售货员的工作。然后他把这些钱用来开了一家属于自己的干 goods 店。

When that wasn’t enough, he packed his bags and went to Colorado in 1860.

当这些还不够时，他在 1860 年收拾行李去了科罗拉多。

See, Colorado then — as right now — was mineral rich. And, even though Chaffee knew next to nothing about mining, he saw the possibilities. And, started snapping up the “royalty rights” on as many gold and silver claims as he could afford.

你看，当时的科罗拉多——就像现在一样——富含矿产资源。尽管切夫特几乎不懂采矿，但他看到了其中的可能性。于是，他开始尽可能多地购买黄金和白银矿脉的“特许权”。

%%

I won’t take you through the rest of the letter. I will tell you it was very, very successful. It generated thousands of subscriptions and millions of dollars. And, the reason it was successful is the subject of this chapter.

我不会带你读完这封信。我会告诉你，它非常非常成功。它带来了数千订阅和数百万美元。而且，它成功的原因是本章的主题。

Introducing the Secret Lead

介绍秘密引导

Next to the Story Lead, the Secret Lead is the most universal and useful. It can be used to sell just about any sort of proprietary product or service.

在故事引导旁边，秘密引导是最普遍和有用的。它可以用来销售几乎所有类型的专有产品或服务。

We have used and seen the Secret Lead used to sell everything — from investment newsletters to kitchen knives.

我们已经使用并看到秘密引导用来销售各种东西——从投资简报到厨房刀具。

The purpose of a Secret Lead is the same as any lead: to get the reader to keep reading until the prime benefits and Unique Selling Proposition of the product are fully presented.

秘密线索的目的与任何线索相同：让读者持续阅读，直到产品的核心利益和独特销售主张完全呈现。

The mechanism is the secret. It is presented in the headline and not revealed until after the prospect has read everything the copywriter wants him to read.

其机制是秘密。它出现在标题中，直到潜在客户阅读完文案人员希望他阅读的所有内容后才揭晓。

To understand how powerful this is, let’s look at the Secret headline again:

要理解其强大之处，让我们再次看看这个秘密标题：

Closed to New Investors for the Last 6 Years — Now Open Again ...

过去 6 年对新的投资者关闭——现在再次开放...

The “Chaffee Royalty Program” That Turned Every $1 Into $50

“查菲特许权计划”将每一美元变成了 50 美元

Now, compare that to the following:

现在，将其与以下内容进行比较：

Closed to New Investors for the Last 6 Years — Now Open Again ...

过去 6 年对新的投资者关闭——现在再次开放...

A Dividend Strategy That Turned Every $1 Into $50

一种将每 1 美元变成 50 美元的股息策略

This, as you can see, is considerably less intriguing.

如您所见，这显然没有那么吸引人。

The prospect for this promotion, an avid investment newsletter reader, has seen hundreds of stock schemes in his time. He is skeptical of them. Yet, he is still looking.

这位促销活动的潜在客户是一位热心的投资简报读者，他一生中见过数百个股票计划。他对这些计划持怀疑态度。然而，他仍在寻找。

The copywriter who wrote the “Chaffee Royalty Program” letter knew that. So, he wanted to do something that would hold his reader’s attention for a few minutes. If he could only keep him reading long enough to explain the product’s Unique Selling Proposition, he would have a chance to make the sale. So, he created a hook: an intriguing name for an investment service that specializes in natural resources stocks.

撰写“Chaffee Royalty Program”信函的文案人员知道这一点。因此，他想做些事情来吸引读者的注意力几分钟。如果他能够让他读足够长的时间来解释产品的独特销售主张，他就有机会做成交易。所以，他创造了一个钩子：一个专门投资自然资源股票的投资服务的引人入胜的名字。

A good Secret Lead, in the hands of a clever copywriter, can compel the casual reader to read a dozen or more pages of copy before the secret is revealed. In this case, the second version of the same headline might have stopped the reader cold.

一个优秀的秘密卖点，在精明的文案手中，能够促使随意浏览的读者在秘密揭晓前阅读十多页文案。在这种情况下，同一标题的第二版可能会让读者完全停止阅读。

Now, let’s get back to the copy we have just read. We’ve shown you the technique of the velvet pouch and how the copywriter used it while he was making three promises:

现在，让我们回到刚刚读到的文案。我们已经向你展示了天鹅绒袋子的技巧，以及文案在做出三个承诺时是如何使用它的：

That this secret has the power to turn a single dollar into fifty

这个秘密有能力将一美元变成五十美元

That the prospect can learn the secret in five minutes

潜在客户可以在五分钟内学会这个秘密

That he can sit back and benefit from it like rich people who collect royalty checks without doing anything

他能坐享其成，就像那些什么都不做就能收到版税支票的富人一样

All three promises are strong. The first one promises significant profits — the kind of profits that can make a person wealthy. The second one promises ease of understanding and implementation. Making a solution easy is always a very good thing to do. The third promise appeals to everyone who has ever dreamed of owning a money tree — which is just about any person who is likely to read this promotion.

这三个承诺都很强大。第一个承诺是显著利润——那种能让一个人变得富有的利润。第二个承诺是易于理解和实施。让解决方案变得简单总是非常好的事情。第三个承诺吸引所有曾经梦想拥有摇钱树的人——几乎每个可能读到这个宣传的人都是。

In fact, most of the 300 to 400 words that comprise this lead are devoted to illustrating this promise. Beginning with a man who collects $2 million a year from royalties on Happy Birthday to celebrity check-cashers like Michael Jackson, Paul Newman, and George Foreman. And then, moving to eight bulleted examples of others who got rich or are getting rich cashing in royalty checks.

事实上，这 300 到 400 字的开场白大部分都是用来阐述这个承诺的。从每年通过《生日快乐》歌曲版税赚到 200 万美元的男人，到像迈克尔·杰克逊、保罗·纽曼和乔治·福尔曼这样的名人支票兑现者。然后，再列举八个要点，介绍其他人通过兑现版税支票而致富或正在致富的例子。

Royalty checks? Well, not exactly. These aren’t royalties in the way that Michael Jackson’s estate collects royalties when Beatles records are bought or played. They are stock returns and dividends — an altogether different thing.

版税支票？嗯，不完全是这样。这些不是像迈克尔·杰克逊的遗产在购买或播放披头士唱片时收取版税那样意义上的版税。它们是股票回报和股息——完全是不同的事情。

Dividend stocks are rather ordinary in the investment world. They definitely don’t have the sex appeal that something called The Chaffee Royalty Program would.

股息股票在投资界相当普通。它们绝对没有像"查菲皇室计划"这样的东西所具有的吸引力。

And that is why the copywriter began with Newman and Foreman and Jackson and then switched to the others. He wanted to take full advantage of the emotional impact of royalty checks. It’s a bit of a conceptual bait and switch — letting attributes of one thing carry over into another.

这就是为什么文案作者从纽曼、福尔曼和杰克逊开始，然后又转向其他人。他想充分利用皇室支票的情感冲击力。这是一种概念上的诱饵和转换——让一个事物的属性转移到另一个事物上。

At both Agora and AWAI, we call this type of secret transubstantiation. This means we turn something ordinary (like water or mining stock returns) into something special (like wine or advertising royalty checks). It’s another useful technique that is often used by Master Copywriters when crafting Secret Leads.

在 Agora 和 AWAI，我们都称这种秘密的变质为"转质"。这意味着我们将普通的东西（如水或采矿股票回报）变成特殊的东西（如葡萄酒或广告皇室支票）。这是另一位文案大师在创作秘密引子时经常使用的一种有用技巧。

Read the lead again. See how the copywriter engages the prospect by providing teasing details that seem like they are revealing the secret, but never quite do. The prospect’s initial interest is merely to find out what the Chaffee Royalty Program is. But sentence by sentence, the copywriter makes the secret more appealing. Before the copywriter reveals that the program is a dividend investment strategy, the prospect has decided he wants to get in on this investing opportunity. By now, he is willing to read the entire sales letter to find out more.

再次阅读这个开场白。看看文案如何通过提供看似揭秘实则并未完全透露的细节来吸引潜在客户。潜在客户的初始兴趣仅仅是想了解 Chaffee Royalty Program 是什么。但文案一句句地让这个秘密显得更加诱人。在文案揭示该计划是分红投资策略之前，潜在客户已经决定要参与这个投资机会。此时，他已经愿意通读整封销售信以获取更多信息。

In this case, the reader discovers the full secret before he buys the product. But, in many promotional packages that use the Secret Lead, the nature of the secret is never revealed. To find out, the prospect must buy the product.

在这种情况下，读者在购买产品前就发现了全部秘密。但在许多使用秘密开场的推广方案中，秘密的性质从未被揭露。要了解详情，潜在客户必须购买产品。

Let’s take a look at another Secret Lead. This, too, is for an investment newsletter promotion.

让我们再看看另一个秘密开场。这次也是一则投资简报的推广。

Texas Company Tapping $2.8 Trillion Oil Reserve… Under the Eiffel Tower

德克萨斯公司正在开采埃菲尔铁塔下的 2.8 万亿美元石油储备...

Some company in Texas has struck oil. In Paris! And under the Eiffel Tower!

德克萨斯州有一家公司发现了石油。在巴黎！就在埃菲尔铁塔下面！

“That’s pretty amazing,” the reader thinks. “I didn’t know there was any oil beneath the Eiffel Tower!”

读者心想：“这太令人惊讶了，我没想到埃菲尔铁塔下面还有石油！”

So, he reads on:

于是他继续阅读：

Tiny company from Dallas preparing to extract 40 billion barrels of crude oil from beneath Paris, France …

达拉斯的一家小公司准备从法国巴黎地下开采 400 亿桶原油……

Discovery big enough to fuel U.S. demand for 5.2 years, according to Energy Information Administration …

据美国能源信息署统计，这一发现足以满足美国 5.2 年的需求……

Estimates show 4,620% gains for investors who get in now … before this oil comes to market …

据估计，现在进入市场的投资者将获得 4620%的收益……

The first word he reads, “tiny,” helps him understand why hasn’t heard about this before. It is a tiny company. But, it’s from Dallas. “This can’t be a hoax,” he thinks. “The writer is telling me that the company is located in Dallas. It must be real.”

他读到的第一个词是“微小”，这让他明白为什么之前没听说过这家公司。它是一家小公司。但它来自达拉斯。“这不可能是个骗局，”他心想。“作者告诉我公司位于达拉斯。这一定是真的。”

Most investors these days are skeptical. And, the best prospects are the most skeptical because they have read and responded to more offers than most. They are aware, if only unconsciously, that they are reading an advertisement. They are looking for clues that this particular advertisement is factually based. The copywriter knows that, so he is handing out teasing little details as the lead progresses.

如今的投资者大多持怀疑态度。而最好的潜在客户恰恰是最怀疑的，因为他们比大多数人阅读并回应了更多的提议。他们意识到——即使是无意识的——自己正在阅读一则广告。他们正在寻找这则特定广告基于事实的线索。文案撰稿人知道这一点，所以在广告进展过程中逐渐透露一些诱人的小细节。

The prospect reads on to discover more specifics:

潜在客户继续阅读以了解更多具体信息：

The size of the oil find is 40 billion barrels.

该油田的储量为 400 亿桶。

That is big enough to supply America’s fuel needs for more than five years.

这足以满足美国超过五年的燃料需求。

Someone has estimated that this discovery could produce investment returns of more than 4,000%.

有人估计这一发现可能带来超过 4000%的投资回报率。

Once again, the copywriter is sinking in the hook by providing teasing details that reveal more information about the secret without giving it away. And, some of those details are indirect promises. (That he can possibly make 4,000% on his money once he finds out what this stock is.)

再次，文案通过提供撩人的细节，透露更多关于这个秘密的信息，却又不直接揭晓。而且，其中一些细节是间接的承诺。（比如，一旦他知道了这只股票是什么，他有可能在资金上获得 4000%的回报。）

The reader continues:

读者继续：

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

It could be the richest oil deposit in Western Europe.

这可能是西欧最丰富的石油矿藏。

But, very few even know of its existence … yet.

但是，很少有人甚至知道它的存在……然而。

Even leading oilmen in the U.S. have no idea.

就连美国顶尖的石油商也不知道。

Because … well … who ever thought of looking for oil beneath the Eiffel Tower?

因为……嗯……谁会想到在埃菲尔铁塔下面寻找石油呢？

In just four simple sentences, the copywriter has explained away an objection that must surely come into the reader’s mind. If this discovery is so big, why haven’t I read about it?

仅用四句话，这位文案就解释了读者必定会想到的一个异议。如果这个发现如此重大，为什么我没有听说过？

He reads on:

他继续读下去：

Indeed, while Parisians sip coffee and nibble croissants in Montmarte … as tourists stroll through the Louvre, and walk along the Left Bank … there’s an ocean of sweet crude oil bubbling directly beneath their feet.

确实，当巴黎人在蒙马特喝咖啡、啃羊角面包时……当游客在卢浮宫漫步，沿着左岸行走时……脚下正有一片片甜 crude 油在冒泡。

The copywriter creates a picture of the promise. This is effective because it excites the reader’s imagination and reduces his skepticism at the same time.

文案创作者描绘出承诺的画面。这很有效，因为它既激发了读者的想象力，又同时减少了他们的怀疑。

He can practically see all those billions of barrels of oil floating in an underground sea beneath Paris.

他几乎能看到所有那些数十亿桶石油漂浮在巴黎地下的海洋中。

He reads on:

他继续阅读：

The French Oil Ministry has confirmed more than 40 billion barrels.

法国石油部确认超过 400 亿桶。

It’s enough to fuel total U.S. oil demand for 5.2 years, according to the Energy Information Administration.

据能源信息署称，这足以满足美国全部石油需求 5.2 年。

Enough to fill more than 2.54 million Olympic-sized swimming pools …

足以填满超过 254 万个奥运会标准游泳池……

And 27 times more oil than ExxonMobil produces annually …

年产量比埃克森美孚多 27 倍的石油……

The reader discovers that the French Oil Ministry has confirmed the finding. This is sounding more credible. The reader’s skepticism is further diminished.

读者发现法国石油部已经确认了这一发现。这听起来越来越可信。读者的怀疑进一步减少。

He continues:

他继续：

Perhaps most amazingly, the rights to every drop of this oil now belong to one little company from Dallas, Texas!

最令人惊讶的是，这每一滴石油的权利现在都属于得克萨斯州达拉斯的一家小公司！

When it brings this mother lode to market later this year, the company will multiply its oil inventory 5,632-fold.

当它今年晚些时候将这批大矿推向市场时，公司的石油库存将增加 5632 倍。

No wonder Goldman Sachs and Barclays are quietly building positions in the stock before the big event.

难怪高盛和巴克莱在重大事件之前悄悄地增持了该股票。

“Goldman Sachs and Barclays?” the reader thinks. “Those are well-known names. If they are investing in it, it must be the real thing!”

“高盛和巴克莱？”读者心想，“这些是知名的名字。如果他们投资了它，那一定是真的！”

He keeps reading:

他继续阅读：

And, no wonder they’re keeping this news to themselves — not telling a single one of their retail clients.

难怪他们自己保留这个消息——不告诉任何一个零售客户。

“Gee,” the reader thinks. “I’m glad I’m reading this. I’m going to find out what Goldman Sachs’ retail clients don’t even know!”

读者心想：“真高兴我在读这篇文章。我要发现高盛零售客户都不知道的事情！”

Over the next few minutes, you’ll discover all the details of this opportunity.

接下来的几分钟里，你会了解到这个机会的所有细节。

And, you’ll learn how you could turn a small speculation of $5,000 into $231,000 starting just a few weeks from today.

你还将学到如何将 5000 美元的小额投机变成 231000 美元，只需从今天算起的几周时间。

But, you must act right now.

但是，你必须立刻行动。

Let’s get right to the details …

让我们直接进入细节……

The copywriter knows that the hook is in deep. So, he makes a promise now, that he will reveal “the details” of this opportunity in just a few minutes. He also promises to tell them how they can profit from the information. And, he asks them to keep reading to find out more details. And, they will.

文案撰稿人知道钩子已经深入。因此，他现在做出承诺，将在几分钟内揭示这个机会的“细节”。他还承诺告诉他们如何从这些信息中获利。并且，他请求他们继续阅读以了解更多细节。而他们也会继续。

Let’s look at one more investment newsletter lead, this one from Stansberry & Associates:

让我们再来看一个投资简报的开头，这次来自 Stansberry & Associates：

The Only Investment Legally Obligated to Pay You 181% Gains By June 15, 2009

唯一一项法律强制要求在 2009 年 6 月 15 日前支付您 181%收益的投资

It’s not a stock, option, or gov’t bond ... But this unusual investment has crushed the S&P 500 by 543% since 2001, according to a recent Dow Jones report.

它不是股票、期权或政府债券……但据道琼斯最近的一份报告，这项非同寻常的投资自 2001 年以来已使标普 500 指数飙升 543%。

By now, you’re beginning to see how this is working. The copywriter has created a Unique Selling Proposition with the phrase “only investment legally obligated to pay you 181% gains by June 15, 2009.”

此时，您开始明白这是如何运作的。文案创作者通过“唯一一项法律强制要求在 2009 年 6 月 15 日前支付您 181%收益”的短语创造了一个独特的销售主张。

The investment isn’t named. So, the prospect reads on to find out what it is.

这项投资没有命名。因此，潜在客户继续阅读以了解它是什么。

Dear S&A Subscriber,

亲爱的 S&A 订阅者，

What if I told you there’s an investment that could pay you 181% gains over the next 12 months ...

如果告诉我有一种投资可以在未来 12 个月内给你带来 181%的收益……

And that this money is SECURED by a legal contract ...

而且这笔钱是由一份法律合同担保的……

Would you be interested?

你会感兴趣吗？

Well, how about if I told that your 181% gain is required BY LAW to be delivered on this EXACT date: June 15, 2009.

那么，如果我告诉你，你的 181%收益是根据法律必须在确切日期——2009 年 6 月 15 日——交付，你会怎么想？

The copywriter has done nothing but repeat the claims made in the headline, a very common and successful pattern with Secret Leads. Restate what is said in the headline and you make it seem more credible.

这位文案只是重复了标题中的声明，这是 Secret Leads 中非常常见且成功的一种模式。重述标题中的内容，会让你让它看起来更可信。

And, that in addition to a 181% gain, you’d also be legally entitled to collect 3 interest payments over that same period, bringing your total return to 227% ...

而且，除了 181%的收益外，你还将根据法律有权获得 3 笔利息支付，同期你的总回报将达到 227%...

... Turning every $10,000 invested into $32,700, with almost 100% certainty.

...将每投资 10,000 美元变成 32,700 美元，几乎可以 100%确定。

Still interested?

还有兴趣吗？

Well, before I go any further, I should warn you: After reading this, you may never want to buy stocks, EVER again.

不过，在我继续之前，我应该提醒你：读完这篇文章后，你可能永远都不想再买股票了。

That’s because this unique opportunity has nothing to do with the stock market ... government bonds ... mutual funds ... or options.

这是因为这个独特的机遇与股票市场、政府债券、共同基金或期权毫无关系。

Instead, it’s something we call a “Secured Investment Contract.”

相反，它是一种我们称之为“担保投资合同”的东西。

So, you see what is happening here: The copywriter neologizes. He’s come up with a clever phrase to introduce the Unique Selling Proposition. If he gave it its conventional name, it would seem mundane.

所以，你看到了这里发生的事情：文案创造了新词。他构思了一个巧妙的短语来介绍独特销售主张。如果他给它一个常规的名字，它就会显得平庸。

What are “Secured Investment Contracts” exactly?

"Secured Investment Contracts"到底是什么？

In short, these Contracts offer you a way to collect gains that are potentially as big as the fastest moving stocks. The big difference is, your gains are secured by a legal agreement.

简而言之，这些合同为你提供了一种收集潜在收益的方式，这些收益可能和最快涨跌的股票一样大。主要的区别在于，你的收益是由法律协议保障的。

Even better ... you’ll know, months ahead of time, exactly when and how much you should be paid.

更好的是……你将提前数月确切知道应该何时以及多少你应该被支付。

Let me show you how it works ...

让我向你展示它是如何运作的 ...

It seems like the copywriter has just explained the term, but in fact he’s revealed nothing more than he had already. Yet, because the copywriter posed the question the reader has been asking (What is a Secured Investment Contract?) and provides a summary in different words, the reader feels that progress is being made.

看起来文案已经解释了这个术语，但实际上他并没有透露比之前更多的信息。然而，因为文案提出了读者一直在问的问题（什么是担保投资合同？），并用不同的方式提供了总结，读者感觉事情正在取得进展。

So, the prospect continues reading. In doing so, he gets his curiosity further aroused by techniques you’ve already seen.

因此，潜在客户继续阅读。在这个过程中，他通过你已经见过的技巧进一步激发了好奇心。

The copywriter strengthens his case by providing teasing details. He tells the reader that Secured Investment Contracts are offered by U.S. corporations. And, they are somehow more “secure” than shares of stock.

文案通过提供诱人的细节来加强他的论点。他告诉读者，担保投资合同是由美国公司提供的。而且，它们在某种程度上比股票更“安全”。

He then gives an “example” of a specific trade that adds no new clue to solve the puzzle. But, it is more information.

他接着给出一个“例子”，这个具体的交易并未为解开谜题提供任何新的线索。但，这确实提供了更多信息。

The copywriter wants there to be no question of how valuable the secret is, so he does the math for the reader — a $10,000 investment returning 227% would be worth $32,700.

文案作者希望没有任何疑问关于这个秘密的价值，所以他为读者做了计算——一个 1 万美元的投资回报 227%将值 3 万 2 千 7 百美元。

And, he continues adding specific evidence to the copy including a list of dates secured payments were made.

此外，他继续在文案中添加具体的证据，包括一份已收到款项的日期列表。

Here is a core secret about writing Secret Leads: Specificity is absolutely required to overcome the skepticism that secrets automatically evoke.

这里有一个关于撰写 Secret Leads 的核心秘密：具体性是绝对必要的，用以克服秘密本身自动引发的怀疑。

Not Just for Financial Promotions

不只是用于金融促销

As Bill Bonner said, “The Secret Lead really connects to a deep instinct in people to feel that there are secrets to things.”

正如比尔·博纳所说：“秘密线索真正连接到人们内心深处的一种本能，即感觉事物中存在秘密。”

Since secrets instinctually inhabit all aspects of our lives, Secret Leads have been used successfully in different direct marketing niches, not just financial.

由于秘密本能地存在于我们生活的各个方面，秘密线索已成功应用于不同的直效营销领域，而不仅仅是金融领域。

So, let’s take a look at how Secret Leads can work in two other examples, the first from the self-improvement/self-actualization niche in the following promotion from Learning Strategies Corporation.

那么，让我们看看秘密线索如何在另外两个例子中发挥作用，第一个例子来自学习策略公司以下促销活动中的自我提升/自我实现领域。

In this promo, the prospect is probably familiar with the word “dowsing” — the practice of searching for water or valuable minerals using a dowsing rod. But here, it’s used in a much different context, raising the question “What’s that?”

在这个宣传中，潜在客户可能熟悉“寻水”这个词——即使用寻水杖寻找水源或珍贵矿物的行为。但在这里，它被用在完全不同的语境中，提出了“那是什么？”的问题。

What exactly is “Diamond Dowsing”? The envelope hints at it being a way to discover ancient secrets and modern solutions. But, no more information than that is available. The fact that it’s tied up with someone named Marie Diamond doesn’t diminish the intrigue. Is it dowsing for diamonds? Is it dowsing with diamonds? What exactly is it?

“钻石寻水”究竟是什么？信封暗示这是一种发现古代秘密和现代解决方案的方式。但除此之外，没有更多信息。它与名为玛丽·钻石的人联系在一起，并没有减少这种神秘感。是寻钻石吗？是用钻石寻水吗？这究竟是什么？

Without using the word “secret,” this phrase (a neologism like we’ve seen before) is exactly that: A secret that might deeply affect the prospect’s life. The secret aspect of the promo is reinforced as soon as the prospect begins reading the letter:

不使用“秘密”这个词，这个短语（就像我们之前看到的造词）就是秘密：一个可能深刻影响潜在客户生活的秘密。当潜在客户开始阅读信件时，宣传中的秘密方面得到了强化：

How you can use “dowsing” to take anything you’re doing to radically higher levels

你如何使用“寻水”将你所做的一切提升到革命性的高度

… making money, exercising, playing, working, sleeping, meditating, even PhotoReading … you name it!

…赚钱、锻炼、玩耍、工作、睡觉、冥想，甚至 PhotoReading……你想做什么都可以！

Dear Friend,

亲爱的朋友，

I used to think dowsing was just for finding water, until our Feng Shui Master Marie Diamond gave me a spectacular demonstration that changed my mind.

我以前以为占卜只是用来找水的，直到我们风水大师玛丽·戴尔蒙给我做了个令人震撼的演示，改变了我的想法。

You see, many people assume that the problems they have in their lives are caused by something they’re doing. Marie showed me this might not be the case at all.

你看，很多人认为他们生活中的问题是由他们所做的事情引起的。玛丽向我展示了这完全可能不是事实。

If you have issues or struggles that just won’t go away, it might not be your fault but actually your home or office that is attracting them.

如果你有那些一直无法解决的问题或困扰，这可能并非你的过错，而是你的家或办公室在吸引它们。

These issues could be the result of “geopathic stress,” “interference lines,” or “negative energy vortexes.” I’ll talk about these later — right now you merely need to know that you can easily learn how to use dowsing to find and resolve these problem areas.

这些问题可能是“地球应力”、“干扰线”或“负能量漩涡”的结果。我稍后会谈到这些——现在你只需要知道你可以轻松学会如何使用通灵术来寻找和解决这些问题区域。

Marie showed us jaw-dropping demonstrations

玛丽向我们展示了令人惊叹的演示

In the summer of 2005, Marie Diamond, Paul Scheele, and I met up for a week in Aspen, Colorado. Marie brought brass L-shaped dowsing rods and began demonstrating how to use them within seconds of meeting up with her.

2005 年夏天，玛丽·戴蒙德、保罗·舍勒和我会在科罗拉多州的阿斯彭共度一周。玛丽带来了黄铜 L 形通灵杖，在见到她几秒钟内就开始演示如何使用它们。

First, she used the dowsing rods (divining rods) to show us energy lines that thread the Earth and in one way or another affect all living things. I was surprised at how the dowsing rods opened when Marie approached these stress lines.

首先，她使用占卜杖（dowsing rods）向我们展示了贯穿地球的能量线，这些能量线以某种方式影响着所有生物。当玛丽靠近这些压力线时，我惊讶于占卜杖是如何张开的。

Sleeping on these energy lines can create nightmares, sleeplessness, and even illness.

在这些能量线上睡觉可能会引发噩梦、失眠，甚至疾病。

In this first page of an 8-page letter, the reader is given a lot of “facts” — ideas like geopathic stress, interference lines, and the like. The copywriter has also started talking very specifically about proof — “jaw-dropping demonstrations” — that dowsing can solve problems.

在这封信的八页中的第一页，读者被提供了许多“事实”——比如地球电磁场压力、干扰线之类的观点。文案也开始非常具体地谈论证据——令人震惊的演示——占卜可以解决问题。

The copy continues like this throughout the next 7 pages. But, the real secret of “dowsing” is never revealed. It’s teased and danced around in a way that the reader feels she’s getting some real, substantial information.

文案以这种方式在接下来的七页中继续下去。但是，“占卜”的真正秘密从未被揭示。它以一种挑逗和回避的方式呈现，让读者感觉她正在获得一些真实、重要的信息。

But, the secret is kept cleverly hidden in the words and phrases.

但，这个秘密巧妙地隐藏在字词和短语中。

If an energy line goes through your garden, it can even retard the growth of plants or make them susceptible to disease and drought.

如果一条能量线穿过你的花园，甚至可能延缓植物的生长，或使它们容易受到疾病和干旱的影响。

Remember, Marie Diamond knows how energy works not only because she is a Feng Shui Master and has worked with Dowsing Masters the world over for years but because she sees energy.

记住，玛丽·戴蒙知道能量是如何运作的，不仅因为她是一位风水大师，多年来与世界各地的寻水大师合作，还因为她能看到能量。

You see, she has a rare gift: She can actually see energy flow, much like how you and I can see water flow in a river. This ability makes what she says infinitely credible and valuable.

你看，她有一种罕见的才能：她实际上能看到能量流动，就像你我能够看到河流中的水流一样。这种能力使她所说的话变得无限可信和有价值。

You cannot expect the prospect to believe everything you say — especially about a secret as mystical as this one — simply because you say it. So, the copywriter provides “proof.”

你无法指望潜在客户相信你所说的一切——尤其是关于这样一个神秘莫测的秘密——仅仅因为你说了它。所以，文案作家提供了“证据。”

Marie then showed us positive and negative energy vortexes. She told the story of one of her clients who owned a failing retail store. Marie used the dowsing rods to uncover a negative vortex right on the cash register. Marie neutralized it, and immediately the business began to thrive. She said, “It was as if the vortex repelled customers.”

玛丽随后向我们展示了正能量旋涡和负能量旋涡。她讲述了一个她客户的经历，这位客户经营一家濒临倒闭的零售店。玛丽用寻龙棒发现了一个负能量旋涡，正好位于收银台。玛丽将其中和后，生意立即开始兴隆。她说：“就好像这个旋涡把顾客赶跑了。”

Diamond Dowsing and The Secret

寻龙棒与秘密

We were in Aspen that summer for a meeting of the Transformational Leadership Council. Another phenomenon was born there, too. Rhonda Byrne showed up with a film crew and a wild idea about a movie called The Secret. As a matter of fact, much of The Secret was filmed right there during the meeting. That’s how Marie Diamond got into the film herself.

那年夏天我们在阿斯彭参加转化型领导力委员会会议。在那里，另一个现象也诞生了。罗娜·拜恩带着摄制组和一个关于电影《秘密》的疯狂想法出现了。事实上，《秘密》的大部分内容正是在会议期间拍摄完成的。这就是玛丽·戴尔蒙自己参与这部电影的原因。

The readers of this promotion have at least heard about the movie The Secret. In all likelihood, they’ve seen it more than once. So, the copywriter ties that movie’s credibility back to Marie Diamond and her secret.

这份促销的读者至少听说过电影《秘密》。很可能他们看过不止一遍。所以，文案作家将这部电影的信誉与玛丽·戴蒙德和她所藏的秘密联系起来。

Much of our Transformational Leadership Council meetings involve members presenting mini-workshops so we can learn each other’s specialties. The first day’s events in Aspen were awkward and uncharacteristically boring.

我们变革性领导委员会的许多会议都涉及成员们展示小型研讨会，以便我们学习彼此的专业领域。阿斯彭第一天的事件显得尴尬且不寻常地乏味。

That evening, Marie whipped out her dowsing rods and walked over the exact spot where the presenters had stood — and the rods began spinning wildly in a counterclockwise direction. This indicated a negative energy vortex.

那天晚上，玛丽拿出了她的探测杖，走到演讲者曾经站立的确切位置——探测杖开始疯狂地逆时针旋转。这表明存在负能量漩涡。

When Marie neutralized the energy, the rods quit spinning. For the remaining few days, the presentations were more engaging than ever! (I wonder how much of the great energy in The Secret came from Marie’s dowsing.)

当玛丽中和了能量后，探测杖停止了旋转。在剩下的几天里，演讲比以往任何时候都更具吸引力！（我猜《秘密》中那么好的能量有多少是来自玛丽探测杖的。）

I found an “Energy Vortex” in my own home!

我在自己的家里发现了一个“能量漩涡”！

So, the actual secret isn’t really about Diamond Dowsing. It’s about how to neutralize negative energy. But, that subtle shift came about unnoticed. The reader doesn’t care at this point. She just wants to know how to use Marie Diamond’s gifts to improve her life.

所以，真正的秘密其实并不是关于钻石探测。它是要知道如何中和负能量。但是，这种微妙的变化并未引起注意。读者此时并不关心。她只想知道如何利用玛丽·钻石的礼物来改善她的生活。

And, we don’t learn until much later that the way to do it is by learning from Marie directly — in a special DVD course.

而且，直到很久以后我们才明白，要这样做的方法是直接向玛丽学习——通过一个特别的 DVD 课程。

We see this same formula followed in the following promotion from Rodale Press for a book about “Square Foot Gardening.” Notice how this lead actually combines two different lead types very successfully: a Secret Lead and a Promise Lead.

我们在这本关于“平方英尺园艺”的书推广中看到了同样的公式。注意这个引言实际上非常成功地结合了两种不同的引言类型：秘密引言和承诺引言。

The promise here is direct and clearly stated: you will have “Your Most Bountiful Garden … Ever!” But, this bounty is going to come from just a few square feet. And, that’s where the secret comes in. The fascination with how that will happen is what really brings the prospect into the letter.

这里的承诺直接且明确：你将拥有“史上最丰饶的花园！”但，这份丰饶将来自仅仅几平方英尺。而，这就是秘诀所在。正是对这一切将如何发生的着迷，才真正将潜在客户带入信函中。

On this envelope, there is nothing to give a hint at what this technique is except that “You’ll love the ease and results of this proven gardening technique.” As you begin reading the body copy, the promise remains strong and the secret remains hidden. But, as with the previous examples, the copywriter feigns revealing the secret.

在这封信封上，除了“你将爱上这种经过验证的园艺技巧的便捷与成果”之外，没有暗示这种技巧是什么。当你开始阅读正文时，承诺依然强烈，而秘诀依然隐藏。但，就像之前的例子一样，文案作者假装要揭示这个秘诀。

Dear Fellow Gardener,

亲爱的园丁朋友，

Grow the same bounty of tomatoes, peppers, and beans in one tiny 4 x 4 foot space as you’d get in a 20-foot row? Yes!

在 1 个微小的 4 x 4 英尺空间里，种植出与 20 英尺长的一行地相同的番茄、辣椒和豆类？是的！

Make one packet of lettuce seeds last 5 to 6 years instead of planting all 1,950 of them in one season? Yes!

让一包生菜种子用上 5 到 6 年而不是在一个季节里全部种植 1,950 颗？是的！

Grow bigger, longer-lasting tomatoes and lettuce in winter? Yes!

在冬天种出更大、更耐久的番茄和生菜？是的！

Garden with less work, less weeding. Less watering? Yes!

更少的工作、更少除草、更少浇水地园艺？是的！

What’s the secret?

秘密是什么？

It’s a technique called “Square Foot Gardening,” I couldn’t wait to try it — and now I can’t wait to share it with you! Put down the hoe. Hang up your hose! Join hundreds of gardeners who’ve learned the secrets of SQUARE FOOT GARDENING . . . yours FREE for 21 days.

这是一种名为“方块英尺园艺”的技术，我迫不及待想尝试它——现在我也迫不及待想与你分享！放下你的锄头。挂起你的水管！加入成百上千已经学会“方块英尺园艺”秘诀的园丁们……现在你可以免费体验 21 天。

The copywriter hasn’t revealed anything substantial about the secret is except that it is a secret and that the reader can learn about it for free. (The 21-days barely comes into the reader’s consciousness at this point).

文案作者并没有透露关于这个秘密的实质性内容，除了它是一个秘密，以及读者可以免费了解它。（21 天在这个阶段几乎不会进入读者的意识）。

The copywriter answers the question in the first subhead “What’s the secret?” with his next subhead. Only he doesn’t really answer it at all.

文案作者在第一个副标题“秘密是什么？”中回答了这个问题，但他的下一个副标题并没有真正回答这个问题。

An easier, more foolproof way to garden — anywhere

一种更简单、更万无一失的园艺方式——无论在哪里

The revealed secret — an easier, more foolproof way — is a dodge, a way of presenting the big promise clothed as the “secret.”

被揭示的秘密——一种更简单、更万无一失的方法——是一种规避，一种将大承诺伪装成“秘密”的呈现方式。

The copywriter then gives a bit more to further sharpen the prospect’s interest.

文案接着给出更多内容，以进一步激发潜在客户的兴趣。

Traditional methods like rows, tilling, and irrigation were all designed for farmers … and tractors. But now, with SQUARE FOOT GARDENING, you can grow all your favorites in your garden with a lot less work.

传统的耕作方法，如犁地、翻耕和灌溉，都是为农民……和拖拉机设计的。但现在，通过方寸园艺，你可以在花园里种植所有你喜欢的植物，而花费的精力却少得多。

The copywriter seems closer to revealing the secret by telling what it isn’t. You’ve seen this previously in the “Secured Investment Contract” promo: “That’s because this unique opportunity has nothing to do with the stock market ... government bonds ... mutual funds ... or options.”

文案似乎通过说明它不是什么来更接近于揭示秘密。你之前在“安全投资合同”促销中见过这种情况：“那是因为这个独特的机会与股票市场……政府债券……共同基金……或期权毫无关系。”

By telling the prospect what the secret is not, you have him feeling he is closer to finding out what it is.

通过告诉潜在客户秘密不是什么，你让他感觉离发现秘密更近了。

The Square Foot Garden promotion goes on to follow a similar structure to the others we’ve examined. And, what is that hidden, “secret” structure?

方英尺花园促销活动继续遵循我们已研究的其他结构的类似模式。那么，这个隐藏的、“秘密”结构是什么？

What Patterns Can You Observe in Secrets Lead?

在秘密引导中，你能观察到哪些模式？

Since we first began to think about leads in this way, we have created and/or edited thousands of them. What we have found is that the most successful have certain commonalities:

自从我们开始以这种方式思考潜在客户以来，我们已经创建和/或编辑了数千个。我们发现最成功的潜在客户具有某些共性：

1. The secret is intriguing and beneficial

1. 这个秘密既迷人又有益

2. It is introduced in the headline

2. 它在标题中介绍

3. It is not disclosed during the lead

3. 它在开场白中并未透露

4. As the letter progresses, more clues are given

4. 随着信件的推进，会给出更多线索

Not every successful Secret Lead has this precise pattern, but we have found that most successful ones do.

并非每个成功的秘密线索都有这种精确的模式，但我们发现大多数成功的线索都遵循这一模式。

It’s because this pattern is so common that we recommend the following “rules” for writing Secret Leads.

正是因为这种模式非常普遍，所以我们推荐以下“规则”来撰写秘密线索。

1. The Secret is Intriguing and Beneficial.

1. 秘密具有吸引力和益处。

Let’s take a look at the first example headline again.

让我们再次看看第一个示例标题。

Closed to New Investors for the Last 6 Years — Now Open Again ...

过去 6 年对新的投资者关闭——现在再次开放...

The “Chaffee Royalty Program” That Turned Every $1 Into $50

“查菲特许权计划”将每一美元变成了 50 美元

We have already discussed in some detail how the copywriter used neologism to create intrigue. But notice, too, the super-head: Closed to New Investors for the Last 6 Years — Now Open Again. That certainly adds to the intrigue. It also, by the way, creates a sense of urgency. So, it is intriguing.

我们已经详细讨论了文案如何使用新词创造悬念。但请注意那个超级标题：过去六年对新投资者关闭——现在重新开放。这无疑增加了悬念。顺便说一句，这也制造了一种紧迫感。所以，它确实引人入胜。

Is it beneficial? Indeed. It is a program that “turned every dollar into fifty.” For an investor, that’s about as relevant as can be.

这是否有益？当然。这是一个“将每一美元变成五十美元”的计划。对投资者来说，这几乎是最相关的了。

Any good secret will attract the reader’s attention and distract him from the fact that he is reading an ad. But, if you don’t connect the secret to a major benefit of the product right away, then you will make it that much harder to complete in the second part of the package (after the lead).

任何好的秘密都会吸引读者的注意力，并让他忽视自己正在阅读一则广告。但是，如果你不立即将这个秘密与产品的重大利益联系起来，那么你将使完成包装的第二部分（在吸引客户之后）变得更加困难。

When you tie the benefit to the secret, you tip your copywriting hand, so to speak. You indicate to the reader that you are selling him. It is not overt but it is certainly more direct than the Story Lead.

当你把利益与秘密联系起来时，可以说你露出了文案的底牌。你向读者表明你在向他推销。这不是直接的，但比故事引子更直接。

But, even though the prospect knows that he is being sold, he can’t keep his conscious mind on that because is he so intrigued by the secret.

但是，尽管潜在客户知道自己在被推销，但他无法让意识专注于这一点，因为他被这个秘密深深吸引。

Now, let’s look at the third headline we studied:

现在，让我们看看我们研究的第三个标题：

The Only Investment Legally Obligated to Pay You 181% Gains By June 15, 2009

唯一合法承诺在 2009 年 6 月 15 日前为您带来 181%收益的投资

It’s not a stock, option, or gov’t bond ... But this unusual investment has crushed the S&P 500 by 543% since 2001, according to a recent Dow Jones report.

它不是股票、期权或政府债券...但据最近一份道琼斯报告称，这种不寻常的投资自 2001 年以来已使标普 500 指数上涨了 543%。

Again, you can see that it is both intriguing and beneficial.

再次，你可以看到这既引人入胜又有益。

The intrigue is achieved by two things: the “legally obligated” concept and the fact that it’s not a stock, option, or government bond …

这种引人入胜的感觉来自于两个方面：一是“法律义务”的概念，二是它不是股票、期权或政府债券……

The benefit is provided in the promise of 181% and the fact that it “crushed the S&P 500 by 543% since 2001.”

而益处则体现在承诺的 181%以及它“自 2001 年以来使标普 500 指数下跌了 543%”这一事实上。

In the Diamond Dowsing example, the intrigue comes from using the word “dowsing” in a way the prospect hasn’t seen before. And the benefit? Taking virtually everything in your life to “radically higher levels.”

在“钻石探测”的例子中，引人入胜之处在于使用了“探测”这个词，而这种方式是潜在客户以前没见过的。至于益处？那就是将你生活中的几乎所有事物都提升到“显著更高的水平”。

And finally, the Square Foot Garden copy … The big promise, splashed across the envelope is a grabber for any serious (and not-so-serious) gardener:

最后，关于方形英尺花园的宣传……大承诺，印在信封上，对任何认真（和不太认真）的园丁来说都是一个吸引人的点：

Your Most Bountiful Garden … Ever

你前所未有的丰饶花园……

That’s the benefit, and the intrigue comes from being able to do it in “a few square feet of any soil … ”

这是利益点，而神秘感来自于能在“几平方英尺的任何土壤上”做到这一点……

2. It is Introduced in the Headline.

2. 它在标题中引入。

With virtually all of the Secret Leads we have studied, the secrets were introduced immediately, in the headlines.

几乎所有我们研究的秘密线索中，秘密都在标题中立即被引入。

There is a very good reason for that. Of all the lead types, none is as instantly engaging as the Secret Lead.

这背后有一个非常好的原因。在所有线索类型中，没有比秘密线索更即时吸引人的了。

Who can resist the temptation to see what is under the velvet pouch? The impulse to discover “the secret” is buried deep in the human brain.

谁能够抵挡住揭开天鹅绒袋下是什么的诱惑？发现“秘密”的冲动深深埋藏在人类的大脑中。

Like stories, secrets are universal. They exist and play a role in just about every aspect of culture, from sports to cooking to espionage — even to copywriting!

像故事一样，秘密是普遍的。它们存在于几乎所有文化方面，从体育到烹饪到间谍活动——甚至到文案写作！

We are all prone to believe that those who excel at certain things have secrets that make them better. We want to discover those secrets so we can enjoy their success.

我们都倾向于相信那些擅长某些事情的人有让他们更出色的秘密。我们想要发现这些秘密，以便我们能享受他们的成功。

In fact, good copywriters use the power of the velvet pouch in all sorts of ways and in every possible place in their advertisements. They are used to introduce products, to explain systems and track records, to introduce premiums, and so on.

事实上，优秀的文案作家在各种方式中，在广告的每一个可能的地方都运用天鹅绒袋的力量。它们被用来介绍产品，解释系统和业绩记录，介绍奖品等等。

And, as you have already seen, they can also be used in conjunction with other types of leads to keep the reader engaged.

而且，正如你已经看到的，它们也可以与其他类型的开场白结合使用，以保持读者的兴趣。

If you take a look at almost any Story Lead, for example, you will see that a secret is usually introduced either within the lead or just afterwards. By introducing the secret in the story, the copywriter is able to hold the reader’s interest.

如果你看看几乎任何故事开场白，例如，你会看到秘密通常在开场白中或之后被引入。通过在故事中引入秘密，文案作家能够抓住读者的注意力。

3. The Secret is Not Disclosed in the Lead.

3. 引子中并未透露秘密。

Without a doubt, the most common mistake beginners make when constructing Secret Leads is to disclose the secret too soon.

毫无疑问，初学者在构建引子时最常见的错误是过早透露秘密。

Consider the effect on the reader if the copywriter had followed the Chafee Royalty Program headline with this:

如果文案撰稿人按照 Chafee Royalty Program 的标题接着写这个：

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

The Chaffee Royalty Program describes a system for investing in dividend stocks that we believe is amazing, etc.

切夫公司版税计划描述了一个投资股息股票的系统，我们认为这个系统非常棒，等等。

The reader’s curiosity is satisfied in the first sentence. If the reader believes dividend stocks are boring (as many investment readers do), he will read no further. The power of the secret created by neologizing dividend stocks into royalty programs is gone. The number of readers who continue to read drops dramatically … as does the response rate (and the copywriter’s reputation).

读者在第一句话中就满足了好奇心。如果读者认为股息股票很无聊（像许多投资读者那样），他就不会继续读下去。通过将股息股票重新定义为版税计划所创造的神秘感消失了。继续阅读的读者数量急剧下降……响应率（以及文案撰稿人的声誉）也随之下降。

If this mistake weren’t so common, we wouldn’t even mention it here. But, for whatever reason, many copywriters feel compelled to reveal their secrets. Perhaps they feel it is too cruel to tease the reader for very long. Perhaps they are looking for the pleasure one gets from disclosing secrets.

如果这个错误不是如此普遍，我们甚至不会在这里提及它。但是，无论出于什么原因，许多文案撰稿人觉得有义务透露他们的秘密。也许他们认为长时间戏弄读者太过残忍。也许他们正在寻找透露秘密所带来的乐趣。

Whatever the reason, it is a mistake to reveal it during the lead. Remember, the purpose of the lead is to persuade the reader emotionally. To do that, you have to maintain the reader’s full attention until you have shown him all the benefits. That takes some number of words — 100 to 600 depending on the product. Those 100 to 600 words constitute the lead. Thus, the rule: Don’t disclose the secret in the lead.

无论是什么原因，在开场白中透露它都是个错误。记住，开场白的目的是在情感上说服读者。要做到这一点，你必须保持读者的全部注意力，直到你已经展示了他所有的利益。这需要一定数量的字——根据产品不同，100 到 600 字不等。这 100 到 600 字构成了开场白。因此，规则是：不要在开场白中透露秘密。

In fact, many Secret Lead advertisements never reveal the secret at all. Instead, they promise the revelation in a premium. As the copy progresses, the secret becomes more intriguing. The prospect reads on only to discover that he must buy the product to learn the secret and that the revelation will come alongside the product.

事实上，许多秘密开场白广告根本就没有透露秘密。相反，它们承诺在高级产品中揭示秘密。随着文案的推进，秘密变得更加引人入胜。潜在客户继续阅读，发现他必须购买产品才能了解秘密，而揭示秘密将伴随着产品一起到来。

4. As the Letter Progresses, More Clues Are Given.

4. 随着文案的推进，提供更多线索。

We have spent some time in reviewing these examples to see how the copywriter maintains his reader’s interest by providing clues to the secret as the copy goes on.

我们已经花了一些时间来审查这些例子，看看文案撰稿人是如何随着文案的推进，通过提供关于秘密的线索来保持读者的兴趣。

In the Chaffee Royalty Program, for example, the prospect knows from the headline that this is an opportunity to make fifty times his money and that this opportunity, closed for the past six years, has just been opened up again.

在 Chaffee 版税计划中，例如，潜在客户从标题中就得知这是一个让他财富增长五十倍的机会，而且这个过去六年关闭的机会现在刚刚重新开放。

Even in the subhead, it appears that the reader is given more clues. He finds out, for example that:

即使在副标题中，也似乎向读者提供了更多线索。例如：

In 2002, the same royalty “paycheck program” that paid out $50 for every $1 invested was closed new “members.”

2002 年，那个每投资 1 美元就支付 50 美元版税的“工资计划”关闭了新的“会员”。

In 2008, that door is open again ... and it just got easier than ever to “make money while you sleep” ...

2008 年，那扇门再次打开……而且比以往任何时候都更容易“边睡边赚钱”……

The door will slam shut again right at Midnight on Wednesday, May 28.

门将在 5 月 28 日星期三午夜再次砰地一声关上。

In fact, the prospect has already been told this in substance in the headline. The extra details (the more precise dating) give the reader the feeling that he is learning more, but he is not.

事实上，潜在客户已经在标题中实质上被告知了这一点。额外的细节（更精确的日期）让读者感觉他正在学到更多信息，但实际上并非如此。

As the copy continues, he is given the names of some celebrities who have “used” the program. Michael Jackson and Paul Newman come into play. This again gives the reader the feeling that he is being given more clues, but in fact, he is no closer to guessing the secret then he was after reading the headline.

随着文案的继续，他得知了一些名人“使用”过该项目的名字。迈克尔·杰克逊和保罗·纽曼被提及。这再次让读者感觉他获得了更多线索，但实际上，他离猜出秘密的距离和阅读标题后一样远。

Later he is given some relevant details. He learns, for example, that “Chaffee Royalty Programs” trade directly on the stock exchange and that he can get in anytime he likes.

后来，他获得了一些相关细节。例如，他了解到“查菲皇室计划”直接在证券交易所交易，并且他可以随时加入。

You can see this use of “clues” in all the copy we’ve reviewed. These sorts of clues give the prospect the feeling that he is getting closer to discovering the secret. The copywriter knows he won’t, but he continues to put down these clues like bread crumbs leading him forward through the sales copy.

你能看到我们在审阅的所有文案中都在使用“线索”。这类线索让潜在客户感觉他正接近发现这个秘密。文案作者知道他不会真的发现，但他仍然继续抛出这些线索，就像在销售文案中撒下面包屑，引导他向前。

How Do You Create the Secret?

如何创造这个秘密？

There are two ways to create a secret headline. The first is to find a secret already in the product. The second way is to take one of its benefits and neologize or transubstantiate it into a secret — that is, to take something familiar and rename it and reposition it so it seems new and secret.

创造一个秘密标题有两种方法。第一种是在产品中找到一个已有的秘密。第二种方法是将它的一个利益进行新造词或转化，使其成为一个秘密——也就是说，将一个熟悉的事物重新命名并重新定位，让它看起来是新的和神秘的。

Let’s say you were asked to write copy about a natural supplement with eight ingredients. You might decide to lead with the one that was relatively unknown. By focusing the copy on that unusual ingredient the prospect hasn’t heard of before, you intrigue him. And at the same time, you solve the problem of his thinking, “Oh, I’ve tried that before. It doesn’t work for me.”

假设你被要求为一种含有八种成分的天然补充剂撰写文案。你可能会决定以其中一种相对不为人知的成分作为重点。通过将文案聚焦于这种潜在客户之前没听说过的特殊成分，你会引起他的兴趣。同时，你也解决了潜在客户可能会想的问题：“哦，我之前试过那个。它对我没用。”

In taking this first approach, make a list of all the qualities, characteristics, and components of the product and ask yourself which, if any of these, is not well-known. Then, decide if the benefit provided by an unusual or unfamiliar quality, characteristic, or component is enough to drive the lead. If it is, you have a good secret to start your promotion with.

在采用这种第一种方法时，列出产品的所有品质、特征和组成部分，并问自己哪些（如果有的话）并不为人所知。然后，判断一个不寻常或陌生的品质、特征或组成部分所带来的好处是否足以吸引潜在客户。如果是，你就有一个好的秘诀可以用来开始你的推广。

When the qualities and characteristics of the product are all well-known, then you can “reinvent” the product by giving it a new name (neologizing or transubstantiating). You have seen five examples of how that is done in this chapter.

当产品的品质和特征都为人所知时，你可以通过给它取一个新名字（创造新词或改变本质）来“重新发明”这个产品。在本章中，你已经看到了五个如何做到这一点的例子。

These are the basic rules for writing strong Secret Leads. Find something about the product that your customer doesn’t know (or describe something he does know in a new way). Then, tease the prospect with that unusual aspect starting from the headline. Continue to provide teasing “clues” along the way, but be sure that you do not disclose the secret until the prospect is emotionally ready to buy the product.

这是撰写强力秘密引言的基本规则。找到关于产品的一些你的客户不知道的事情（或者用一种新的方式描述他已知的事情）。然后，从标题开始，用这个不寻常的方面来吸引潜在客户。在过程中继续提供吸引人的“线索”，但要确保直到潜在客户在情感上准备好购买产品时才揭示这个秘密。

The Secret Lead is relatively easy to master. It is a simple tool … but a powerful one. Adding it to your repertoire will greatly increase your power as a copywriter. If you follow the rules!

秘密开场白相对容易掌握。它是一个简单的工具……但非常强大。将它加入你的技能库将大大增强你作为文案的能力。如果你遵循规则！

8

You Won’t Read This Anywhere Else But Here: The Proclamation Lead

你绝不可能在其他任何地方读到这段内容：宣告式开场白

________________________

“Boldness be my friend.”

“勇敢作我的朋友。”

— William Shakespeare

— 威廉·莎士比亚

________________________

As far as we know, no one else has ever categorized this kind of lead.

据我们所知，还没有人将这种开场白进行过分类。

And yet, not only could you find it extremely powerful in the right instance, but there are many examples of the Proclamation Lead both in advertising and in persuasive editorial literature. In fact, they are a very common way to begin a rhetorical speech.

然而，在适当的情境下，它不仅可能非常有力，而且在广告和有说服力的编辑文献中都有许多关于宣告式引言的例子。事实上，它们是开始修辞演讲的一种非常常见的方式。

When we first discussed the idea of making Proclamation Leads their own special category, we had different ideas about what to call them. “Emotionally-compelling sentences” was the term we originally discussed. But, then we debated whether all leads are emotionally compelling and whether that might confuse readers.

当我们最初讨论将宣告式引言作为特殊类别时，我们对如何称呼它们有不同的想法。"具有情感感染力的句子"是我们最初讨论的术语。但是，我们随后争论了所有引言是否都具有情感感染力，以及这是否会让读者感到困惑。

We also tossed around the terms “declarations” and “pronouncements.” We finally settled on “proclamations” because we felt the word connoted the energy inherent in these emotionally-compelling statements.

我们还讨论过"声明"和"宣告"这两个术语。最终我们选择了"宣告"，因为我们觉得这个词暗示了这些具有情感感染力的陈述中固有的能量。

Whatever you call them, they are a type of lead distinct from the other five covered in this book. They are first and foremost assertions — sometimes they are statements of fact, other times they are statements of opinion, and still other times they are statements about what might be true now or in the future.

无论你如何称呼它们，它们都是本书中涵盖的其他五种引言类型之外的另一种引言。它们首先是一种断言——有时是事实的陈述，有时是观点的陈述，有时是关于现在或未来可能为真的陈述。

But in all cases, they startle, intrigue, and tempt. This is where they get their great power.

但在所有情况下，它们都会让人震惊、好奇并诱惑。这就是它们获得巨大力量的地方。

So, if you are looking for a definition for a Proclamation Lead, here is one that will do:

所以，如果你正在寻找一个宣告式引言的定义，这里有一个可以满足你的定义：

A well-constructed Proclamation Lead begins with an emotionally-compelling statement, usually in the form of the headline. And then, in the copy that follows, the reader is given information that demonstrates the validity of the implicit promise made.

一个结构良好的宣告式引言以一个具有情感吸引力的陈述开始，通常以标题的形式呈现。然后，在随后的文案中，读者会获得证明隐含承诺有效性的信息。

One of the things we’ve been talking about in this book is the concept of directness and indirectness. We have made the point that some lead types — Offer Leads, Promise Leads, and Invitation-type — are direct in the sense that the reader is very much aware he is reading sales copy. Indirect leads — stories and secrets — distract the reader from that recognition. Done well, the reader temporarily forgets he is reading an advertisement and gives the same attention and suspension of disbelief that he would give to a novel or movie.

在这本书中，我们一直在讨论直接性和间接性的概念。我们已经指出，某些引言类型——如优惠引言、承诺引言和邀请式引言——在直接性方面表现得非常明显，因为读者非常清楚自己在阅读销售文案。间接引言——故事和秘密——会分散读者对这种认识的注意力。如果做得好，读者会暂时忘记自己在阅读广告，并给予与小说或电影相同的关注和想象力的暂时搁置。

The Proclamation Lead, though very simple, is primarily indirect. It is indirect because it distracts the reader from the sale by forcing him to pay attention to the point suggested by the proclamation, without revealing exactly how it will lead to the essential claims of the actual sale.

宣告式开场白虽然非常简单，但主要是间接的。它之所以间接，是因为通过迫使读者关注宣告中提出的观点，从而将读者从销售中分心，而没有透露它将如何引导到实际销售的核心主张。

Good Proclamation Leads read like newspaper stories — tabloid newspapers sometimes, but newspaper stories nonetheless. The target reader’s rational brain might realize he is reading a sales pitch, but his emotional brain is so taken by the secret and the story that he suspends disbelief and reads on with eager anticipation.

好的宣告式开场白读起来像报纸故事——有时是通俗报纸，但终究是报纸故事。目标读者的理性大脑可能会意识到自己在读销售宣传，但他的情感大脑被秘密和故事深深吸引，从而暂停怀疑，带着热切的期待继续阅读。

And that, as you already know, is the secret of effective indirect leads. They “borrow” the emotional framework of other communication forms — stories and secrets to name two — and use that to “sell” the reader emotionally before the sales pitch becomes obvious and direct.

而正如你已经知道的，这是有效间接开场白的秘诀。它们“借用”其他沟通形式（如故事和秘密）的情感框架，并在销售宣传变得明显和直接之前，利用这种框架“情感上”吸引读者。

Because Proclamation Leads are primarily indirect, you’ll find they share a lot of similarities with good secret-driven, story, and other indirect leads. Here are some ways in which they’re similar:

由于宣告式开场白主要是间接的，你会发现它们与好的以秘密驱动、故事和其他间接开场白有很多相似之处。以下是一些它们的相似之处：

Because it’s more indirect, the Proclamation Lead gets a lot of its strength from taking the reader by complete surprise. It must be relevant, but it has to be something almost pushing the envelope of the incredible. The reason for this is that ordinary statements are too easy to pass over. To get the reader to pay attention to your Proclamation Lead, you must hook him with the remarkable.

因为它更间接，公告式开场白的大部分力量都来自于让读者完全出乎意料。它必须相关，但必须接近令人难以置信的极限。原因在于普通陈述太容易被忽略了。为了让读者关注你的公告式开场白，你必须用非凡之处吸引他。

Like the Secret Lead, the skillful copywriter will not reveal the product’s USP until he has finished proving the proclamation. The proclamation itself is very strong and irresistible. The goal is raising curiosity in an intense and relevant way. What he wants first is proof that justifies his curiosity, and only then will he search for a link to the promises also made or implied in the lead.

像秘密式开场白一样，熟练的文案不会在证明完公告之后再揭示产品的独特销售主张。公告本身非常强大且无法抗拒。目标是以一种强烈且相关的方式激起好奇心。他首先需要的是证明他好奇心的依据，然后他才会寻找与开场白中做出的或暗示的承诺之间的联系。

Like the Story Lead, the Proclamation Lead must be concise and engaging. This is why you’ll often find Proclamation Leads “proven” using anecdotes or detailed stories — because these can help you vividly show the proclamation describes something real in just a few words.

像故事式开场白一样，公告式开场白必须简洁且引人入胜。这就是为什么你经常发现公告式开场白用轶事或详细故事来“证明”——因为这些能帮助你用几个字生动地展示公告描述的是真实情况。

Like all good leads, the more specific you can be with your proclamation usually the better. There’s no better shortcut to real credibility than specific detail. And likewise, as with all the leads in this book, the Proclamation Lead must lead ultimately to some kind of big claim or promise that’s relevant to the reader.

像所有好的开场白一样，你越具体越好。具体细节是建立真实可信度的最佳捷径。同样地，正如本书中的所有开场白一样，宣告式开场白最终必须引向某种与读者相关的大声声明或承诺。

Let’s take a look at the lead in one of the most successful sales letters ever written so you can see how these rules apply. The following example is “report-a-log” promotion that sold a health product ...

让我们看看有史以来最成功的销售信之一中的开场白，以便你了解这些规则是如何应用的。以下示例是一个“报告日志”促销活动，销售一款健康产品……

Useful, arresting, and on-point: What you see is the cover to a “report-a-log,” a sales piece in the form of a paperback book. The first phrase — Read This Or Die — is obviously a title. But, it is not like many titles the reader might have read before. We can think of only one: Abbie Hoffman’s 1970 bestselling counter-culture manifesto, Steal This Book.

有用、引人注目且切题：你看到的是一本“报告日志”的封面，这是一本平装书形式的销售材料。第一句话——“不读就死”——显然是一个标题。但它不同于读者可能读过的许多标题。我们只能想到一个：阿比·霍夫曼 1970 年畅销的反文化宣言《偷这本书》。

This statement is meant to arrest the reader’s attention. It certainly does that. Imagine seeing it on a bookstand. Then, imagine reading the subhead and learning that you have a 95% chance of dying from a curable disease.

这句话旨在吸引读者的注意力。它确实做到了这一点。想象一下在书架上看到它。然后，想象一下阅读副标题，得知你有 95%的几率死于一种可治愈的疾病。

Do you think you would be startled? Do you think you would be incredulous? Of course you would. And, the copywriter who wrote this headline was very much aware of that.

你是否会感到震惊？你是否会表示怀疑？当然会。而且，撰写这个标题的文案人员非常清楚这一点。

But, the job of a good Proclamation Lead is not just to startle, but also to excite and to tempt. And this headline accomplishes both those important goals by a few simple words: “for which there is already a known cure somewhere on the planet.” This gets the reader thinking, “Gee, if this statement (about having a 95% chance of dying from a curable disease) is really true, I better find out more about this.”

但是，一个好的宣传引言的职责不仅在于震惊，还在于激发和诱惑。而这个标题通过几个简单的字眼就实现了这两个重要的目标：“在某处星球上已经存在已知的治疗方法。”这促使读者思考，“哇，如果这个声明（关于有 95%的几率死于可治愈疾病）是真的，我最好了解更多关于这个信息。”

The target reader (someone who buys information about health) is compelled to read on. He is reading for a specific purpose — to find out if the claims made on the cover are valid. And, if they are, to discover something about the “known cures.”

目标读者（购买健康信息的人）被促使继续阅读。他带着明确的目的阅读——找出封面上的声明是否有效。如果有效，就要了解一些关于“已知治疗方法”的信息。

Here is the next page of copy:

这是下一页文案：

An Announcement from Mountain Home Publishing, Publisher of Alternatives

来自《替代方案》杂志出版商山家出版社的公告

After 6,000 years of recorded human history, we are finally able to issue this statement:

在人类有记载的 6000 年历史中，我们终于能够发布这一声明：

The worldwide medical community has found solutions for all of the primary diseases and disorders of our time.

全球医学界已经找到了我们这个时代所有主要疾病和紊乱的解决方案。

Until now, the healing arts have always lagged behind the onslaught of plagues and chronic illness. But as of today, at the start of the 7th millennium, we at last have remedies, successful treatments, or outright cures for every one of the leading maladies of our modern world.

迄今为止，医疗保健领域总是落后于瘟疫和慢性疾病的冲击。但从今天起，在第七千年的开始，我们终于有了针对我们现代世界所有主要疾病的疗法、成功的治疗方法或直接治愈方法。

What’s interesting here is that the copy continues with another proclamation: That after 6,000 years, the medical community has remedies for every known disease. This is effective because it repeats the emotional work that was done on the cover. The text, the reader realizes, is not backing away from the claim made on the cover. If anything, they are repeating it more strongly.

这里有趣的是，文案接着又提出了另一项声明：在 6000 年后，医学界已经为所有已知疾病都有治疗方法。这之所以有效，是因为它重复了封面所做情感上的铺垫。读者意识到，文本并没有回避封面所提出的声明。事实上，它们是在更加强调这一声明。

Let’s read on:

我们继续阅读：

This does not mean, of course, that every known disease will quickly vanish from the face of the earth. But, it does mean that some segment of the medical community in some nation now has an answer — or the answer — to virtually every common health problem.

当然，这并不意味着所有已知疾病将很快从地球上消失。但它确实意味着，某个国家的医学界的一部分人现在对几乎每个常见健康问题都有一个答案——或者就是答案。

Actually, this claim could have been made 15 years ago. But, it would have required stretching the definition of “the medical community” to include a lot of practitioners of traditional folk medicine. Today, however, research laboratories have put many thousands of folk remedies under their microscopes, and hundreds of long-treasured ethnic remedies have been refined, polished up, and upgraded from “ancient lore” to “scientific fact.”

实际上，这个声明 15 年前就可以提出。但那时，它将需要将“医学界”的定义扩展到包括许多传统民间医学的从业者。然而，如今，研究实验室已经将数千种民间疗法置于显微镜下，数百种长期珍视的少数民族疗法经过精炼、润色和升级，从“古代传说”转变为“科学事实”。

Do you see what the copywriter is doing here? He’s dealing with possible objections the target reader might have (“Is this based on science?”) while sticking strongly to the startling claim made on the front page. He knows that the success of this lead will depend on the reader feeling like he is learning something useful and new to him. It gets him excited. He wants it to be true!

你能看出这位文案正在做什么吗？他正在处理目标读者可能提出的质疑（“这是基于科学吗？”），同时坚定地坚持首页上提出的惊人主张。他知道这个引言的成功将取决于读者感觉自己在学习一些有用且新颖的东西。这让他兴奋起来。他希望这是真的！

Let’s read on:

我们继续阅读：

The Journal of Alternatives exists to bring together all these newly-discovered treatment modalities and deliver them to you — in formats that enable you (or your patients) to use them very easily.

《替代疗法杂志》致力于汇集所有这些新发现的治疗方式，并将它们交付给你——以使你（或你的患者）能够非常轻松地使用这些方式的格式。

We are a network of 150,000 rugged individualists, a highly educated and sophisticated society of health experts and perpetual students. About one-fourth of us are doctors and other health professionals.

我们是一个由 15 万名坚韧不拔的个体组成的网络，是一个由健康专家和终身学习者组成的高度教育和复杂的社会。我们中约有四分之一是医生和其他医疗专业人员。

Now the reader is introduced to the product — the Journal of Alternatives, which he finds has 150,000 members. This extra bit of detail makes him feel more comfortable.

现在读者被介绍到这个产品——替代品杂志，他发现这个杂志有 15 万名成员。这一额外的细节让他感觉更舒适。

Let’s continue reading.

我们继续阅读。

The purpose of this bulletin is to cordially invite you to become one of us. Please see our invitation on the last page.

这份简报的目的是诚挚邀请您成为我们中的一员。请查看最后一页的邀请函。

Now, this is interesting. The copywriter is extending an invitation to the reader. The invitation is a direct technique. The reader knows now that he is being sold something, but the invitation format makes it feel personal and exclusive.

这很有趣。文案作者正在向读者发出邀请。这是一个直接的技巧。读者现在知道他正在被推销某物，但邀请的格式让它感觉个性化和专属。

This is, as you have already learned, a very common practice in writing leads. You might begin strongly with one type of lead (in this case, a proclamation) but once the emotional hook is set in, you can use more direct leads to move your reader along.

这是，正如你已经学到的，写作引导中一个非常常见的做法。你可能会用一个类型的引导（在这种情况下，是一个宣告）开始并强力吸引读者，但一旦情感钩子设置好了，你可以使用更直接的引导来推动读者继续阅读。

Increasing detail: Jim Rutz, the copywriter who wrote this masterpiece, hints that the reader will learn more about saving himself from dying right from the beginning. But, as he continues through the copy, he provides increasing details about the nature of the remarkable, scientifically-proven cures.

增加细节：写出这部杰作的文案师吉姆·鲁茨暗示读者从一开始就会学到更多关于如何拯救自己免于死亡的内容。但是，随着他在文案中的继续，他提供了越来越多的关于这种非凡且经过科学验证的疗法的细节。

As we’ve said, Proclamation Leads typically have an implicit promise. “Read This Or Die!” — an imperative — implies that the reader will be able to avoid some terrible, life-threatening calamity if he reads on.

正如我们所说的，宣告引导通常有一个隐含的承诺。“读一读或死！”——一个祈使句——暗示如果读者继续阅读，他将能够避免某种可怕、危及生命的灾难。

Proclamation Leads are used most often for selling consumer-based products, usually to prospects that aren’t aware of the product. But, that’s not always the case.

宣告引导通常用于销售消费品，通常是针对那些对产品不了解的潜在客户。但是，情况并不总是如此。

Let’s take a look at another very successful Proclamation Lead taken from the Business-to-Business niche where the prospects — doctors in this case — are very aware of the product:

让我们来看另一个非常成功的公告式销售开场白，它来自 B2B 领域，其中潜在客户——在这个案例中是医生——对产品非常了解：

The copy that jumps out at you — “Warning: Your 1995 PDR is Obsolete” — is a declarative statement.

跳入你眼帘的文案——“警告：您的 1995 年 PDR 已过时”——是一个陈述句。

You may not know what a PDR is, but the prospects who received this promotion did. The PDR is the Physicians’ Desk Reference. It is one of the first books interns buy and is a consistent part of all physicians’ libraries.

你可能不知道 PDR 是什么，但收到这个促销的潜在客户知道。PDR 是《医师案头参考书》。这是实习生最早购买的第一本书之一，也是所有医生图书馆中始终存在的组成部分。

If you were a health professional, you would be very concerned to hear the book you’ve been using to make diagnoses is obsolete. It would arrest your attention. It would cause you to worry. And, it would cause you to think that maybe you should replace the one you have with the newer version. The newer, updated PDR is the promise.

如果你是一名医疗专业人士，听到你一直用来做诊断的书籍已过时，你会非常担心。这会吸引你的注意力。这会让你感到担忧。这会让你想到或许应该用新版替换你现有的版本。更新的 PDR 就是承诺。

Can you see how much work has been done so far? In about 50 words of envelope copy, Master Copywriter Bob Bly grabbed attention, scared the prospect, and then gave him a solution for the problem he may not have known he had!

你能看到到目前为止做了多少工作吗？在约 50 字的信封文案中，大师级文案作家 Bob Bly 吸引了注意力，吓到了潜在客户，然后给了他一个解决方案，这个解决方案可能是潜在客户自己都不知道他有的问题！

That’s the efficiency of a Proclamation Lead.

这就是宣告式引言的效率。

Later in this letter, Bly did something so clever we had to show it to you. Take a look at this sticker that he included:

在这封信的后面，Bly 做了一件非常聪明的事情，我们不得不向你展示。看看他包含的这张贴纸：

Talk about ratcheting up the core emotion!

这简直是把核心情感提升到了极致！

In this clever bit of copy, Bly has transformed “outdated” into something that seems downright dangerous. This is the kind of cleverness that can arise when you have figured out a strong Proclamation Lead.

在这段巧妙的文案中，布莱将“过时”这个词转化成了某种看起来相当危险的东西。当你成功掌握了一种强有力的宣告式开场白时，这种聪明才智便会出现。

In selling political, environmental, health, and financial ideas, Master Copywriters often turn to a special form of a proclamation — the prediction — to achieve the desired emotional effects.

在销售政治、环境、健康和金融理念时，大师级文案撰稿人常常采用一种特殊的宣告形式——预测——来达到预期的情感效果。

Here’s one that ran in the late summer of 1999. The product was a monthly subscription newsletter from the famous Dr. Robert Atkins.

这里有一个例子，发生在 1999 年夏末。产品是著名医生罗伯特·阿特金斯博士的每月订阅简报。

This title copy — “Why Most 20th Century Medicine Will Soon Become Extinct” — is certainly arresting. The reader is surprised by it. How could an entire century of medical knowledge suddenly become extinct?

这个标题文案——“为什么 20 世纪大部分医学将很快消亡”——确实引人注目。读者对此感到惊讶。一个世纪的医学知识怎么可能突然消亡？

The reader wants to know the answer. He reads the subhead and finds out that a “maverick doctor is reporting amazing success treating cancer, arthritis, heart disease, and other ‘untreatable’ diseases.”

读者想知道答案。他读了一下副标题，发现一位“特立独行的医生正在报告治疗癌症、关节炎、心脏病和其他‘无法治愈’的疾病方面的惊人成功。”

And, the specificity of “maverick” and the diseases mentioned gives the lead just enough detail to make the reader believe that the book might contain some very interesting and useful information.

“特立独行”这个词以及提到的疾病的具体性，为这则广告提供了足够的细节，让读者相信这本书可能包含一些非常有趣和有用的信息。

That same subhead is also an implied promise: That the reader will discover new, presumably 21st century remedies that might make him healthier and help him avoid deadly diseases.

同样的副标题也隐含了一个承诺：读者将发现新的、可能是 21 世纪的疗法，这些疗法可能会让他更健康，并帮助他避免致命疾病。

Beneath the subhead, there are bullets that indicate particular benefits the reader will derive from opening the book and reading through it.

在副标题下方，有项目符号，表明读者翻开这本书并阅读后能获得的具体好处。

Let’s look at another example of a Proclamation Lead that also hinges on a prediction.

让我们再来看一个以预测为基础的宣告式开场白示例。

This one appeared in the summer of 2006, when many people worried whether real estate prices, stocks, and the world economy had hit a peak.

这个例子出现在 2006 年夏天，当时许多人担心房地产价格、股票和世界经济是否已经达到顶峰。

One European economist, Dr. Kurt Richebacher, offered sophisticated research that proved this was the case.

一位欧洲经济学家库尔特·里希巴赫博士提供了复杂的调研，证明情况确实如此。

But, his argument was complex and the copywriter knew he had to find a way to simplify it. The lead you see here was his solution.

但是，他的论点很复杂，而文案人员知道必须找到一种简化它的方法。这里看到的这个开场白就是他的解决方案。

It begins with a super head in a flag: “Countdown to Crisis!”

它以一面旗帜上的超级标题开始：“危机倒计时！”

That sets the tone and piques the reader’s interest. Then, the main headline predicts “Three Shocking Events will wipe out millions of American investors.” And, it will happen by a specific date: December 31, 2006.

这设定了基调并激发了读者的兴趣。接着，主要标题预测“将有三件震惊事件将使数百万美国投资者消失。”而且，这一切将在一个特定日期发生：2006 年 12 月 31 日。

Linking a predicted event to a specific date is a proven technique for increasing credibility. The reader wonders, “What three events could have such a great impact by the end of the year?” In asking that question, the reader has already half-accepted the veracity of the prediction. He is on a hunt now to find out what these events could be and how the writer knows they will take place by December 31st.

将预测事件与特定日期联系起来是一种提高可信度的有效技巧。读者会想，“到年底会有哪三件事会产生如此大的影响？”在提出这个问题时，读者已经半接受了预测的真实性。他现在正在寻找这些事件是什么，以及作者是如何知道它们会在 12 月 31 日发生的。

The copy that follows the headline lets the reader know that this prediction is coming from someone credible: “one of the world’s most famous market analysts.” And, a moment later, he discovers that this same authority has just made two recommendations that will protect him from this predicted set of disasters.

标题后的文案让读者知道这个预测来自一个可信的人：“世界上最著名的市场分析师之一。”而且，片刻之后，他发现这位同样的权威刚刚提出了两项建议，将保护他免受预测的灾难性事件的影响。

As we said about Proclamation Leads in general, in a prediction-based lead, once an emotionally-compelling statement (in the form of a prediction) has hooked the reader, the copy can then start using some of the techniques that work in other types of leads.

正如我们之前所说，关于宣告式引言的一般情况，在基于预测的引言中，一旦一个具有预测形式的、能引起情感共鸣的陈述抓住了读者的注意力，文案就可以开始使用在其他类型引言中同样有效的技巧。

For instance, in this example, you can also see the pull of a secret (actually five secrets: three events and two recommendations) and a large promise. The pull being that these recommendations will protect the reader.

例如，在这个例子中，你还可以看到秘密的吸引力（实际上是五个秘密：三个事件和两个建议），以及一个巨大的承诺。这种吸引力在于这些建议将保护读者。

A story element then follows: “One of the smartest and richest investors I know says he will not buy any stocks or gold or bonds this year.” The reader is very drawn in at this point. He feels compelled to continue reading until he’s found out just what these events are and what sort of unusual investments will save him.

接着是一个故事元素：“我所知道的最聪明和最富有的投资者之一说，今年他不会购买任何股票、黄金或债券。”读者在这个时候被深深吸引。他感到有动力继续阅读，直到他弄清楚这些事件到底是什么，以及什么样的非同寻常的投资将拯救他。

Here’s another Proclamation Lead, also in the form of a prediction ...

这里还有一个宣告式引言，也是以预测的形式...

In the early 1990s, the U.S. had just emerged from a banking crisis. We had just fought a costly war. And, our government had launched into a spending spree. People were worried and this promotion — in the form of a small “bookalog” — capitalized on that fear.

20 世纪 90 年代初，美国刚刚摆脱了一场银行业危机。我们刚刚经历了一场代价高昂的战争。此外，我们的政府还发起了大规模的支出狂潮。人们感到担忧，而这次促销——以一本小型“书式日志”的形式——正是利用了这种恐惧。

As you can see, it begins with a single, massive prediction: That there was going to be a depression. And, that depression was caused by debt, something people were talking about then (just as they are now).

正如你所看到的，它以一个单一的、巨大的预测开始：即将出现经济大萧条。而且，这场大萧条是由债务引起的，而当时人们正在谈论这件事（就像现在一样）。

The cover copy is not precisely a declarative statement, but it is close enough. It asserts a prediction, identifies a problem, and then offers the solution to that problem.

封面文案并非一个明确的陈述句，但已经非常接近了。它提出了一个预测，指出了一个问题，然后提供了该问题的解决方案。

Again, this is a very efficient way to stir up emotions: in this case, fear and hope.

再次强调，这是一种非常有效激发情绪的方式：在这个案例中，是恐惧和希望。

Notice how it was done: through a metaphor. The copywriter, Lee Euler, decided to compare a stock market crash (which might have seemed a bit abstract) to something that they could visualize more easily: a plague.

注意它是如何做到的：通过一个比喻。文案撰稿人李·欧勒决定将股市崩盘（这可能有点抽象）比作他们更容易形象化的事物：一场瘟疫。

The Table of Contents deepened the boldness of the prediction, with chapter teasers that fleshed out the seriousness of the threats and identified solutions.

目录加深了预测的冲击力，章节预告详细阐述了威胁的严重性并指明了解决方案。

This promotion mailed over seven million times and brought in over 170,000 orders. And, the bookalog format became a much-copied industry standard.

这次促销活动寄出了七百多万份，带来了超过 17 万份订单。而且，书状宣传格式成为了一个被广泛模仿的行业标准。

More recently, another Master Copywriter, Mike Palmer (with whom Michael Masterson has also written a book about copywriting), wrote a similar promotion using another big prediction: the end of America.

最近，另一位大师级文案撰稿人麦克·帕默尔（迈克尔·马斯顿也与他合著了一本关于文案写作的书）使用另一个重大预测——美国末日——撰写了类似的促销活动。

So far, this promotion has already brought in 200,000 subscribers and may well bring in 300,000 more before it loses steam. If so, it will be the single most successful promotion selling an investment newsletter and perhaps the second most successful promotion in investment publishing history, after The Wall Street Journal’s famous “tale of two young men” Story Lead.

到目前为止，这次促销已经吸引了 20 万订阅者，并且很可能在热度减退之前还能吸引 30 万更多。如果这样的话，它将成为迄今为止最成功的投资简报促销活动，也许也是投资出版史上第二成功的促销活动，仅次于《华尔街日报》著名的“两个年轻人的故事”故事导语。

Okay, you’ve had a chance to study Proclamation Leads that use both strong declarative statements and predictions. And, we’ve talked about the other elements of successful Proclamation Leads. Now, let’s review some “rules” ...

好的，你已经有机会研究过使用强烈断言和预测的宣告式导语。并且，我们也讨论了成功宣告式导语的其他要素。现在，让我们回顾一些“规则”...

Rule # 1: Make the Proclamation Bold, Not Reasonable

规则 # 1：让宣告大胆，而非合理

To be effective, Proclamation Leads must be big and bold. They must not only grab attention, but also stir up thoughts and excite emotions. Take a look at all the examples in this chapter. One thing they all have in common: They are all big and bold and most of them are contrary to the point of being startling.

要有效，宣告式导语必须大而大胆。它们不仅要吸引注意力，还要激发思考和点燃情绪。看看本章中的所有例子。它们都有一个共同点：它们都是大而大胆的，而且大多数都反常到令人震惊。

You won’t break any marketing records by writing sensible Proclamation Leads. Being sensible is not your job. Not, at least, in the lead.

通过撰写明智的宣告式开场白，你不会打破任何营销记录。明智不是你的工作。至少在开场白中不是。

Rule # 2: Make a Promise

规则 # 2：做出承诺

To be effective, all leads must make or at least imply a promise. And, the Proclamation Lead is no exception, even though its’ approach is that much more indirect. In the Read This Or Die promo, the promise is that the reader could find a cure inside for a disease that conventional medicine has yet to overcome. The reader himself immediately inverts the message to be, “If I read this, I won’t die.”

为了有效，所有开场白都必须做出或至少暗示一个承诺。而宣告式开场白也不例外，尽管它的方法更加间接。在《读这个或死》的促销中，承诺是读者可以在其中找到一种传统医学尚未克服的疾病的治疗方法。读者自己立即将信息反转成“如果我读这个，我就不会死。”

This is typical for most Proclamation Leads to only hint at solutions. If the promise isn’t implicit in the headline, you’ll find it somewhere in the subhead. Even the rest of the lead will spend the bulk of the time expanding on the proclamation first and only hinting at the solution.

这通常是大多数宣告式开场白的特点，只暗示解决方案。如果承诺没有在标题中隐含，你会在副标题中找到它。即使开场白的其他部分也会花费大部分时间首先扩展宣告，并只暗示解决方案。

Remember, however, that you’ll eventually have to make the promise of the sales pitch much more concrete. This begins when the reader is emotionally committed to reading the copy and intensifies as you work your way through the proof. You’ll want to repeat the promise in different ways and make it more concrete as you move along, giving the reader a chance to imagine enjoying the benefit.

然而，请记住，最终你必须让销售话术中的承诺更加具体。这始于读者在情感上投入阅读文案的时刻，并在你逐步展示证据的过程中不断强化。你希望以不同的方式重复承诺，并在过程中使其更加具体，给读者一个想象享受利益的机会。

Rule # 3: The Subject Must Be Relevant

规则 # 3：主题必须相关

Even though Proclamation Leads gain a lot of impact by saying something unexpected, they still must be relevant in the sense that they must address something the prospect cares about. They also must be relevant in the sense that the promise must be something the prospect desires.

尽管宣告式引言通过说出意想不到的事情而获得很大冲击力，但它们仍然必须在某种意义上是相关的，即它们必须针对潜在客户关心的事情。它们还必须在某种意义上是相关的，即承诺必须是潜在客户渴望的东西。

Rule # 4: Return to the Proclamation at the Close

规则 # 4：在结尾处回归宣告式引言

Be sure to go back and underscore the main theme of the proclamation in any sales premiums you offer and in the wording of the guarantee. You can even connect the guarantee to the proclamation: “If you’re not happy with the product or what I’m telling you simply doesn’t play out the way I’ve described, you can send in for a full refund ... ”

务必确保在提供的任何销售奖励和保证措辞中，再次强调公告的主要主题。你甚至可以将保证与公告联系起来：“如果您对产品不满意，或者我所告诉您的并没有按照我描述的方式发生，您可以申请全额退款……”

One Last Secret

最后一个秘密

Proclamation Leads, more than any other lead, depend on efficiency for their success. Usually all the power is contained in a single declarative sentence. Since it is just one sentence, you might think that Proclamation Leads would be easy to write. In fact, they can’t really be written at all. They have to be found.

公告式引言比任何其他引言都更依赖于效率来取得成功。通常所有力量都包含在一个陈述句中。既然只是一个句子，你可能认为公告式引言会很容易写。事实上，它们根本无法真正被写出来。它们必须被发现。

Great Proclamation Leads almost always come from research. The cures discussed in Read This Or Die or the Three Shocking Events were not conjured up out of thin air. They came after weeks of research — poring over reams of documents and medical reports. There were many impressive studies cited in the promos, several of which contributed to the headline and lead ideas. Even though it’s the bold headline that strikes the reader first, you can tell that it wouldn’t have been possible without the research that preceded it.

优秀的公告式引言几乎总是来自研究。在《读这个或死》或《三个震惊事件》中讨论的疗法并非凭空产生。它们是在数周的研究之后——仔细研读大量文件和医疗报告——才出现的。宣传中引用了许多令人印象深刻的研究，其中一些为标题和引言想法做出了贡献。尽管醒目的标题最先吸引读者，但你能看出，如果没有之前的研究，这一切都不可能实现。

Likewise with the example of The Plague of the Black Debt. At the time it was written, the growing U.S. national debt was already a major concern. But, simply saying that wasn’t enough. So, Lee Euler dug deep into his research until he found the proof that substantiated the proclamation. In his case, it was a series of three charts that showed mounting debt could lead to a financial breakdown.

同样地，以《黑色债务的瘟疫》为例。在它被写成的时候，不断增长的美国国家债务已经是一个主要问题。但，仅仅这样说还不够。因此，李·欧勒深入挖掘他的研究，直到他找到了支持这一声明的证据。在他的案例中，这是一系列三个图表，显示不断增长的债务可能导致金融崩溃。

And that was how he began the lead copy that followed the headline, with an opening chapter to his promotional bookalog that he titled “Three Little Charts and the Truth.” The rest of the lead went on to show how dangerous this debt could be, before hinting that there were ways for investors to protect themselves.

这就是他如何开始标题下方的引导文案，以他题为“三个小图表与真相”的促销书籍开篇。引导文案的其余部分继续展示这种债务可能有多危险，然后暗示投资者有方法可以保护自己。

You’ll see this over and over again with this kind of lead especially. The trick is to stay alert for “amazing” facts as you are doing your reading. When you find something that strikes you as remarkable, write it down, and go back to it later. It might just be the fact you need to create a great Proclamation Lead.

你会一次又一次地看到这种引导，尤其是这种。诀窍是在阅读时保持警觉，寻找“惊人”的事实。当你发现一些让你觉得非凡的事情时，记下来，稍后再回去看。这可能是你创建一个伟大宣告引导所需的事实。

9

The Tale of the $2 Billion Sales Letter

《价值 20 亿美元的推销信传奇》

___________________________

“Those who tell the stories rule the world.”

“讲述故事的人统治世界。”

— Plato

— 柏拉图

___________________________

It was in the winter of 1983. I was in the library. If I could get my hands on it, I’d meet my deadline and my reputation would be saved.

1983 年的冬天，我在图书馆里。如果我能够拿到它，我就能按时完成任务，我的声誉也将得以挽救。

Legendary copywriter Don Hauptman had mentioned it to me in passing.

传奇文案作家唐·哈特曼曾随口提过此事。

“It is one of the most successful sales letters ever written,” he said. “But it had a lead that was very unconventional at the time.”

“这是有史以来最成功的销售信之一，”他说。“但它当时的开头非常不寻常。”

He assumed I was familiar with it. If I’d had more confidence, I would have admitted I’d never heard about it. But I pretended I had, and he gave me a brief history of its success.

他以为我熟悉这封信。如果我更有自信，我会承认我从未听说过。但我假装知道，他给我简要介绍了它的成功历史。

When Don told me about this letter — written by Martin Conroy — it had been a control for six years — quite an accomplishment for any piece of copywriting. But, it went on to hold that honor for a total of 28 years and generated an estimated 2 BILLION dollars in revenue.

当唐告诉我这封信——由马丁·康罗伊撰写——曾作为对照组长达六年——对任何文案来说都是一项了不起的成就。但它继续保持着这项荣誉，总共长达 28 年，并创造了估计 20 亿美元的营收。

I made a mental note to find and study it. If Don Hauptman was recommending it, I knew it was something worthy of my attention. But, those were the pre-Internet days and I had no easy way to locate it. So, I forgot about it until almost two years later. I was on a deadline and stuck on the lead. I’d tried a half-dozen but none of them were good enough to show my boss. I had followed my first great success with a clunker. If the next one wasn’t good, he would write that first one off as beginner’s luck. But, if I hit another home run with this one, I would be on the fast track. I could feel it.

我暗下决心要找来并研究它。如果唐·豪特曼都推荐，我知道那必定是值得我关注的东西。但，那还是互联网普及之前的日子，我没有任何便捷的方式找到它。于是，我几乎忘了这件事，直到快两年后。那时我正面临截止日期，却卡在了客户线索上。我试了六种方法，但它们都不够好，不足以向老板展示。我之前紧随第一次巨大成功的是一个失败品。如果下一个也不成功，他会认为第一个只是新手运气。但，如果这次我能再次打出全垒打，我就能走上快速晋升之路。我能感觉到这一点。

Don had told me enough about the headline to know it was the model I needed. So, I called up the few copywriters I knew, but they had no copies. They, too, had heard about it, but none could tell me where to find it.

唐已经告诉我足够的信息，让我知道这就是我需要的模型。于是，我联系了我认识的几个文案撰稿人，但他们也没有相关资料。他们同样听说过这件事，但没有一个能告诉我去哪里找。

Then, my wife suggested I try the Library of Congress. “If it was such a big thing, I’m sure somebody wrote about it. There’s got to be a book or magazine article that has it.” It was my only hope. My deadline was fast approaching. So, I drove through a near hurricane to get there and arrived less than an hour before closing.

然后，我的妻子建议我试试国会图书馆。“如果它那么重要，我确信有人写过关于它。一定有一本书或杂志文章包含它。”这是我唯一的希望。我的截止日期迫在眉睫。于是，我冒着接近飓风的天气开车前往那里，并在闭馆前不到一小时到达。

I spent the first half-hour looking through the periodical index. But, I found nothing. A voice came over the sound system warning that the library would be closed soon. Despite my stubborn inclination never to ask anybody for anything, I walked up to the lady at the reference desk and begged her to help me. For twenty minutes, she dug but could find nothing either. Then, just as the final warning to leave was called, she located it. She helped me make a quick copy and, wanting to kiss her, I thanked her profusely and hurried home.

我花了前半小时翻阅期刊索引。但是，什么也没找到。扩音系统里传来声音，提醒图书馆即将关闭。尽管我向来不愿向任何人求助，我还是走到参考台前，恳求那位女士帮我。她找了二十分钟，但同样一无所获。就在最后警告离开的铃声响起时，她终于找到了。她帮我快速复印了一份，而我想要亲她，便连声道谢，匆忙赶回家。

It was just what I needed. The first example of a Story Lead I had ever seen.

这正是我需要的。我看到的第一个故事引导的例子。

Before reading it, I thought all sales letters should begin with a promise or an offer or an invitation. My first big success — the one that got my boss to wonder if I might “have it,” was an invitation letter. But the next one, a promise offer, didn’t do so well. Just looking at this famous ad, I could see it had the power that my package needed.

在阅读之前，我以为所有的销售信都应该以承诺、提议或邀请开头。我的第一次重大成功——那封让我老板开始怀疑我“是不是有点东西”的信——是一封邀请信。但下一封，一封承诺提议信，却不太成功。仅仅看着这则著名广告，我就看出它拥有我那套方案所需要的力量。

Take another look at this lead. It is a very short story about two people who start out their careers with equal prospects, but then meet 25 years later at a reunion. One of them is very successful and the other is not. The reader wants to know what happened. That is the hook.

再看看这个开场白。这是一个关于两个人的短故事，他们一开始事业前景相同，但在 25 年后的一次聚会上重逢。其中一个人非常成功，另一个人则不然。读者想知道发生了什么。这就是钩子。

As you can see, there is a promise embedded in this little story. If the reader finds out how this one young man became so successful, he can apply that strategy to his own life and enjoy success, too.

正如你所见，这个小故事中包含了一个承诺。如果读者了解到这个年轻人是如何变得如此成功的，他就可以将这一策略应用到自己的生活中，并享受成功。

Story Leads always contain a promise. But, they are much less direct than promise offers. The reader may know that he is reading an advertisement, but if the story is well-told, he soon forgets about that and gets emotionally involved in the story itself.

故事开场白总是包含一个承诺。但是，它们比承诺式开场白要间接得多。读者可能知道自己在读一则广告，但如果故事讲述得很好，他很快就会忘记这一点，并全身心投入到故事本身。

In this chapter, we are going to talk about Story Leads, which I contend are perhaps the most powerful type of lead. And, I will explain why. And then, I will show you how a good Story Lead is constructed.

在这一章中，我们将讨论故事开场白，我主张这或许是最强大的开场白类型。我将解释原因。然后，我将向你展示一个好的故事开场白是如何构建的。

Let’s begin by taking a look at an ad that predated The Wall Street Journal ad by 51 years. I’m talking about the most famous ad of all. Here it is:

让我们从一则比《华尔街日报》广告早 51 年的广告开始。我指的是所有广告中最著名的一则。它就是：

Let’s break this down and see what’s going on:

让我们来分析一下发生了什么：

They laughed when I sat down at the piano …

当我坐在钢琴前时，他们嘲笑……

But when I started to play!

但当我开始弹奏时！

This headline instantly conveys all the key elements of a successful ad:

这个标题瞬间传达了成功广告的所有关键要素：

One strong idea

一个强烈的观点

One desirable benefit

一个诱人的好处

One driving emotion

一种驱动的情感

One inevitable solution

一个必然的解决方案

In just 15 words, copywriting legend John Caples tells a powerful story. You can see someone approaching a piano in a crowded room — perhaps it’s a dinner party. You can see the look of disbelief on people’s faces as he nears it. When he pulls back his cuffs, a twitter of laughter starts. Before his fingers touch the ivories, there is a chorus of abusive cackling.

在短短 15 个字中，文案大师约翰·卡普莱斯讲述了一个有力量的故事。你可以看到一个身影走向拥挤房间里的钢琴——也许是在晚宴上。你可以看到人们脸上露出难以置信的表情，当他靠近时。当他卷起袖口时，一阵笑声开始响起。在他手指触碰到琴键之前，已经是一阵刺耳的嘲笑声。

How can you not feel sorry for this guy? Surely you have experienced, sometime in your life, a similar moment of embarrassing derision. (Who hasn’t?)

你怎能不为他感到同情？你一定在人生中某个时刻经历过类似的尴尬嘲笑。（谁没有呢？）

Imagining this situation, you feel his need for approval and revenge — two of the deepest and strongest human desires.

想象这个情景，你能感受到他需要认可和报复——这是人类最深层和最强烈的两种欲望之一。

Now comes the second line — “But when I started to play!”

现在来到第二行——“但当我开始演奏时！”

You can see the shock and disbelief on the faces of those who were laughing. Our hero has begun playing, and the music is flowing like wine. Men grow pale with admiration and jealousy. Women glow in appreciation.

你可以看到那些正在笑的人们脸上的震惊和不相信。我们的英雄开始演奏，音乐如美酒般流淌。男人因钦佩和嫉妒而脸色苍白。女人因欣赏而容光焕发。

And then the thought hits you: “Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could play the piano?”

然后你突然想到：“如果我能弹钢琴该多好啊？”

Based on Caples’ headline alone, the reader of this ad is already half-persuaded to sign up for the course it is selling. This is an astonishing amount of work to get done with 15 simple words.

仅凭卡普尔斯的标题，这个广告的读者已经有一半被说服报名他们所推销的课程。用 15 个简单的词完成如此惊人的工作量，这令人惊叹。

What’s going on here?

这里发生了什么？

I said this about the Rule of One, “Write about only one thing at a time. Because one good idea, clearly and convincingly presented, is better than a dozen so-so ideas strung together.”

我曾说过关于“单一法则”的道理，“一次只写一件事。因为一个清晰有力地呈现的好点子，胜过一打平庸点子的堆砌。”

Caples’ headline is a beautiful example of that. Had he taken the salad bowl approach — so popular with the whippersnappers who write copy today — it might have read as follows:

卡普勒的标题就是这一点的完美例证。如果他采用了当时那些写文案的年轻人流行的沙拉碗方法——那么它可能会是这样写的：

Now You Can Learn to Play the Piano Quickly and Easily!

现在你可以快速轻松地学会弹钢琴！

After years of research, musicologist discovers the world’s most efficient method for teaching the piano.

经过多年的研究，音乐学家发现了教授钢琴的最有效方法。

Using this unique new program, you can master the piano in less than a year!

使用这个独特的全新课程，你可以在不到一年的时间内掌握钢琴！

You will amaze your friends and neighbors! Some may even be shocked at how well you can play! Plus, you can earn extra income on the weekends!

你将令你的朋友和邻居惊叹不已！有些人甚至可能对你的演奏水平感到震惊！此外，你还可以在周末赚取额外收入！

This headline doesn’t have nearly the force of the original because it has too much going on. Too many unnecessary details, too many unrelated emotions, and too many damn words!

这个标题远没有原文有力量，因为它包含了太多内容。太多不必要的细节，太多不相关的情感，以及太多该死的词语！

Another reason Caples’ headline is so strong is because, as I pointed out, it tells a story. Of all the ways to get your readers emotionally involved in your copy, nothing works better and more consistently than the Story Lead.

另一个原因在于 Caples 的标题如此有力，正如我指出的，它讲述了一个故事。在所有让读者在文案中产生情感共鸣的方式中，故事引导（Story Lead）是最有效且最稳定的方式。

Story Leads are not as common as Promise or Offer Leads, but if you look at the greatest ads in history, they are surprisingly common. In the early 2000s, Raphael Marketing compiled a list of 101 of the best print advertising headlines ever written. As a group, these ads sold hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of products and services. (That would be tens of billions of dollars today.)

故事引导不如承诺引导（Promise Lead）或优惠引导（Offer Lead）常见，但如果你纵观历史上最伟大的广告，你会发现它们出奇地普遍。在 21 世纪初，Raphael Marketing 整理了一份史上最佳印刷广告标题的清单。这些广告作为一个整体，销售了数亿美元的产品和服务。（按今天的标准，这将是数百亿美元。）

While most of the actual ads are “lost to history,” a quick examination shows that a good 35% of the headlines are story-based. There’s a good reason that number is so high.

虽然大多数实际广告已经“消失在历史长河中”，但快速检查表明，大约有 35%的标题是基于故事的。这个数字如此之高的原因是有道理的。

Stories are a very primal way of communicating. Long before the printing press was invented, human beings used stories to convey important cultural lessons to their offspring. All the ancient pre-literate societies had stories — stories of how the world was formed and how they became the chosen people.

故事是一种非常原始的沟通方式。在印刷术发明之前很久，人类就使用故事向后代传达重要的文化教训。所有古代未开化社会都有故事——关于世界如何形成以及他们如何成为被选中的人民的故事。

The Iliad and the Odyssey and Beowulf were stories that inspired and educated their respective cultures. Some of those stories contained non-narrative elements (lists, commandments, etc.), but these were all wrapped in stories.

《伊利亚特》和《奥德赛》以及《贝奥武夫》是激励和教化各自文化的故事。其中一些故事包含非叙事元素（清单、戒律等），但这些都被包裹在故事之中。

What is the Bible — Old Testament and New — if not a collection of stories?

《圣经》——旧约和新约——不正是故事集吗？

Why are stories so much a part of all cultures? The main reason is that they can convey information in a way that is easy to remember. They can convey both a quantity of information and a quality of information that other forms of communication cannot.

为什么故事如此普遍存在于所有文化中？主要原因在于它们能以易于记忆的方式传递信息。它们能传递其他交流形式无法传达的信息数量和质量。

There are schools of thinking that argue that our brains are wired to respond to stories. It may be that stories are in and of themselves more compelling.

有些学派认为我们的大脑天生就为响应故事而设计。或许故事本身就更具吸引力。

Now with these points in mind, let’s look at another extremely successful ad with a Story Lead.

现在让我们带着这些要点来看另一个极其成功的带有故事引言的广告。

The Man in the Hathaway Shirt

穿哈特威衬衫的男人

Have you seen The Most Interesting Man in the World?

你看过《世界上最有趣的男人》吗？

I’m referring to the TV commercials for Dos Equis beer. They star a rugged-looking, silver-haired man who is always surrounded by beautiful women.

我指的是 Dos Equis 啤酒的广告。它们由一个看起来粗犷、银发的男人主演，他总是被美丽的女人包围着。

In one version of the commercial, he arm-wrestles a Third World General and releases a grizzly bear from a trap. In another, the narrator relates that even his enemies list him as their emergency contact and that the police often question him just because they find him interesting.

在一个版本的广告中，他与人进行臂力对决，并从陷阱中释放了一只熊。在另一个版本中，旁白提到即使他的敌人也把他列为紧急联系人，而且警察经常因为觉得他有趣而审问他。

If you are a student of advertising, you know this is a knockoff of David Ogilvy’s famous ad campaign: The Man in the Hathaway Shirt.

如果你是广告学的研究者，你知道这是对大卫·奥格威著名广告活动《哈撒韦衬衫中的男人》的模仿。

In brief: It was 1951. Ellerton Jette, a shirtmaker from Waterville, Maine, wanted to grow his little business into a national brand, but he didn’t have much money. He had heard about the advertising prowess of David Ogilvy. So, he booked a meeting with him.

简而言之：1951 年。来自缅因州沃特维尔的衬衫制造商埃尔顿·杰特，想将他的小生意发展成全国性品牌，但他没什么钱。他听说过大卫·奥格威的广告才能。于是，他预约了与他见面。

“I have an advertising budget of only $30,000,” he told Ogilvy. “And I know that’s much less than you normally work with. But, I believe you can make me into a big client of yours if you take on the job.”

“我的广告预算只有 3 万美元，”他告诉奥格威。“我知道这远低于你通常合作的金额。但是，我相信如果你接下这个工作，你可以让我成为你的大客户。”

If he’d stopped there, Ogilvy would have thrown him out of the office. But then he said something that sold the great salesman.

如果他当时就此打住，奥格尔维会把他赶出办公室。但他随后说了一句让这位大销售员成功的话。

He said, “If you do take on the job, Mr. Ogilvy, I promise you this. No matter how big my company gets, I will never fire you. And, I will never change a word of your copy.”

他说：“如果您真的接受这份工作，奥格尔维先生，我向您保证。无论我的公司发展得多大，我永远不会解雇您。而且，我永远不会更改您的一个字。”

There is a big lesson here. So, let’s stop for a moment and talk about it.

这里有一个重要的教训。所以，让我们暂停片刻来谈谈它。

What Ellerton Jette did was a little bit of genius. In two short sentences, he changed the mind of one of the most powerful men in the world of advertising. At the same moment, he made himself a very rich man.

艾勒顿·杰特的做法堪称小聪明。用短短两句，他改变了世界上最有权势的广告人士之一的想法。同时，他也让自己变得非常富有。

Jette’s $30,000 budget might have put $3,000 in Ogilvy’s pocket. Though it was a paltry sum then and a mere pittance now, at least it was something. But, what really clinched the deal were the two promises Jette made.

杰特的 3 万美元预算可能让奥格尔维赚了 3000 美元。虽然当时这笔钱微不足道，现在也只是一点零碎，但至少是些东西。然而，真正促成交易的是杰特做出的两个承诺。

Going into the meeting, Jette knew he had one chance to forge a relationship with Ogilvy. He somehow understood that Ogilvy, as successful as he was, had two big problems. He worried that his biggest clients would walk away from him. And, he hated it when his clients screwed with his copy. So, instead of thinking only of his own goals, Jette took the time to figure out how he could offer Ogilvy something that would be of immense value to him.

进入会议时，杰特知道他只有一次机会与奥格尔维建立关系。他设法理解到，尽管奥格尔维很成功，但他有两个大问题。他担心最大的客户会离开他。而且，他讨厌客户对他的文案指手画脚。因此，杰特没有只考虑自己的目标，而是花时间思考如何能为奥格尔维提供对他极具价值的东西。

When Jette made his two promises, Ogilvy realized that he was talking to a businessman who would eventually become a partner. He could see that Jette was a man of good faith who would let Ogilvy be in charge of his marketing. And, that he would reward Ogilvy with a lifetime of loyalty.

当杰特做出他的两个承诺时，奥格尔维意识到他正在与一个最终会成为合作伙伴的商人交谈。他能看出杰特是一个讲信用的人，会让他负责奥格尔维的营销。而且，他会用一生的忠诚来回报奥格尔维。

Now, let’s get back to the story of the Hathaway shirt ad …

现在，让我们回到哈特威衬衫广告的故事……

After accepting Jette’s offer, Ogilvy spent days doing in-depth research on Jette’s client base. He came up with dozens of ideas. The one he settled on was a campaign built around the image of a distinguished man in a romantic location dressed in a Hathaway shirt. He selected a model that looked like William Faulkner and booked the first photo shoot.

接受杰特的提议后，奥格尔维花了几天时间深入研究杰特的客户群。他提出了几十个想法。最终他选定的是一个围绕一位着穿哈特威衬衫的绅士在浪漫地点的形象展开的活动。他挑选了一个看起来像威廉·福克纳的模特，并安排了第一次拍摄。

On the way to the shoot, he passed a five-and-ten cent store where he bought a few cheap eye patches. At the shoot, he asked the model to wear an eye patch for a few shots.

在去拍摄的路上，他经过一家五分和一角钱的杂货店，买了几副廉价的眼罩。在拍摄时，他让模特戴着眼罩拍了几张照片。

The moment he saw the photos with the eye patch, he knew.

看到带眼罩的照片时，他立刻明白了。

The Man in the Hathaway Shirt campaign was an instant success. The ads were carried in papers around the country, and were mentioned editorially in Time, Life, and Fortune.

哈特威衬衫男士活动立刻取得了成功。广告在全国各地的报纸上刊登，并在《时代》、《生活》和《财富》杂志上被专题提及。

Before long, hosts of imitators appeared. Other companies ran ads featuring eye patches on babies, dogs … even cows. A cartoon in The New Yorker shows three men looking into the display window of a shirt store. In the second panel, they’re coming out of the store, with eye patches on.

不久之后，大量模仿者涌现。其他公司开始在广告中展示婴儿、狗……甚至奶牛佩戴眼罩的画面。一幅《纽约客》的漫画展示了三个人正对着衬衫店的橱窗观看。在第二格中，他们走出商店，脸上都戴着眼罩。

Ogilvy got the idea for the patch, he said, from a photo of Ambassador Lewis Douglas, who had injured his eye while fishing in England. But, he got the idea itself — the idea of this aristocratic man with a romantic life — from the James Thurber story “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.” (Actually, Kenneth Roman pointed out in The King of Madison Avenue, it could have been from the secret life of David Ogilvy. As a young executive, Ogilvy was prone to wearing capes and bow ties while everyone else was in grey flannel suits.)

奥格威说，他关于眼罩的想法来自一张照片，照片中的路易斯·道格拉斯大使在英格兰钓鱼时不慎弄伤了眼睛。但是，这个想法本身——这个贵族男子拥有浪漫生活的想法——则来自詹姆斯·瑟鲁伯的故事《沃尔特·米蒂的隐秘生活》（实际上，在《麦迪逊大道之王》一书中，肯尼斯·罗曼指出，这个想法可能来自大卫·奥格威的隐秘生活。作为一名年轻的行政人员，奥格威总喜欢在其他人穿灰色法兰绒西装时佩戴斗篷和蝴蝶结。）

Of course, it wasn’t just the eye patch that made the ads work. It was the combination of the model, the situation he was in, and the copy itself.

当然，让广告成功的不仅仅是眼罩。是模特、他所处的情境以及文案本身的结合。

And the copy was brilliant. Here’s the first line of the first ad:

而且文案非常精彩。第一则广告的第一行是这样的：

“The melancholy disciples of Thorstein Veblen would have despised this shirt.”

Most readers of the ad had no idea who Thorstein Veblen was. But, they got the idea. Veblen was some sort of snobby aristocratic. By posing a handsome, silver-haired model with an eye patch in a Hathaway shirt and putting that line underneath the photo, Ogilvy struck a chord in the American imagination. We all hate aristocrats, but we’d like to be one.

There was another brilliant thing about the ad. Putting the model in a romantic location gave the pitch a fictional element. It had “story appeal,” as Ogilvy put it.

Ogilvy said he discovered the concept of story appeal in a book by Harold Rudolph, a former ad agency research director. This was the first time, Roman says in his book, “that shirt advertising focused as much on the man wearing the shirt as on the shirt itself.”

And now, back to The Most Interesting Man in the World …

现在，回到《世界上最有趣的男人》……

I am a fan of these Dos Equis commercials. I like them because they are a salute to David Ogilvy and because they successfully replicate the key elements in Ogilvy’s ads for the Hathaway shirt. They have the handsome, silver-haired model. They have the eye patch. And, they have the anti-aristocrat touch. (The product is beer, after all.)

我喜欢这些 Dos Equis 的广告。我喜欢它们，因为它们是对大卫·奥格威的致敬，并且成功复制了奥格威为哈特威衬衫广告中的关键元素。它们有英俊的、银发的模特。它们有眼罩。而且，它们有反贵族的触点。（毕竟产品是啤酒嘛。）

They also have the romance and the story. Each new edition of the commercial is another episode in this most interesting man’s life.

它们也有浪漫和故事。每个新的广告版本都是这位最有趣男人生活中的另一集。

They fall short only in one respect. They don’t do a great job of equating the product with the concept.

它们只有一个方面做得不够好。它们没有很好地将产品与概念等同起来。

When I remember a Dos Equis ad, I remember the actor’s face. I remember the pretty girls in the background. I’m aware that he is a man that women find irresistible. And, that when he drinks, he drinks … Wait a minute. What does he drink?

每当我想起一个 Dos Equis 广告，我就会想起演员的脸。我记得背景里那些漂亮的女孩。我知道他是个让女人无法抗拒的男人。而且，当他喝酒时，他喝……等等。他喝的是什么？

There’s the rub.

问题就在这里。

We find out that The Most Interesting Man in the World drinks Dos Equis. But, he could just as well drink Pabst Blue Ribbon. The creative people behind this very good ad campaign get a big demerit for that. Ogilvy, on the other hand, put the product’s name in the headline. The fact that his man was wearing a Hathaway shirt was integral to the story.

我们发现世界上最有趣的男人喝 Dos Equis。但他也可以喝 Pabst Blue Ribbon。这个非常成功的广告活动背后的创意人员因此受到了重大扣分。另一方面，奥格威把产品的名字放在了标题中。他的男人穿着 Hathaway 衬衫这一事实是故事的重要组成部分。

Grabbing the prospect’s attention with an entertaining story or idea or photo is essential for any sort of advertising campaign. But, you have to do more than that. You have to sell the product. And to do that, you must link the initial sentiment created in the headline with the final emotion needed to close the sale at the end. (But, beware. This does not mean you should put the name of the product in your headline and lead. This is often a mistake to do.)

用有趣的故事、想法或照片吸引潜在客户的注意力是任何广告活动的基础。但，你必须做得更多。你必须推销产品。要做到这一点，你必须将标题中创造的初始情感与最终促成销售的情绪联系起来。（但，要小心。这并不意味着你应该把产品的名字放在你的标题和开头。这通常是一个错误的做法。）

In AWAI’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, I call this “The Golden Thread.” It’s pretty simple. The product is at one end of the thread. The prospect’s heart is at the other end. Every element of the copy must be connected to the product as well as to the prospect. And, the connection must be taut. If the thread goes slack, even for a second, you lose the sale.

在 AWAI 的六位数文案加速计划中，我称之为“黄金线索”。这很简单。产品是线索的一端，潜在客户的内心是另一端。文案的每个元素都必须与产品以及潜在客户相连。而且，这种连接必须是紧绷的。如果线索松弛，哪怕只有一秒钟，你都会失去销售。

The Power of a Story

故事的力量

Of the six archetypal lead types discussed in this book, there is none more powerful than the story.

在本书讨论的六种原型引言类型中，没有比故事更强大的了。

Stories work because they allow the listener/reader to experience some event in a very visceral way. You hear a story about a shirtmaker who dreams of creating a national brand. You identify with him and his challenge. You feel his frustration. You comprehend the audacity of his goal. And, then you live through — in your imagination — his efforts and his eventual success.

故事之所以有效，是因为它们让听众/读者以非常直观的方式体验某些事件。你听到一个关于制衣匠的梦想，他梦想打造一个全国性品牌。你与他和他的挑战产生共鸣。你感受到他的挫败感。你理解他目标的雄心壮志。然后，你通过——在你的想象中——经历他的努力和最终的成功。

Before you have even finished the story, you have internalized some basic ideas. These ideas “feel” compelling to you because you “lived” through them. They are not simply statements you have been asked to accept.

在你讲完故事之前，你已经内化了某些基本观点。这些观点让你感觉很有说服力，因为你仿佛亲身经历了它们。它们不是你被要求接受的简单陈述。

Every Master Copywriter understands the fundamental ambivalence of the prospect: He wants to buy, but he doesn’t want to be sold.

每个优秀的文案大师都理解潜在客户的根本矛盾：他想购买，但他不想被推销。

When you employ a direct lead such as an Offer or Invitation, Promise, or Problem-Solution, the prospect recognizes you are trying to sell him something. Since he doesn’t want to be sold, he will emotionally resist the sale, even as he feels it tugging at his heartstrings.

当你使用直接的引言方式，如报价、邀请、承诺或问题-解决方案时，潜在客户会意识到你正试图向他推销某物。由于他不想被推销，他会在情感上抵制销售，即使他感觉销售在触动他的心弦。

With indirect leads, the prospect is not so aware of the selling. When he reads a Secret Lead, he’s compelled to read on because he wants to discover the secret. The same is true with the compelling statement or prediction of the Proclamation Lead. And it is true, most of all, with the Story Lead.

使用间接引言时，潜在客户不太意识到销售行为。当他读到秘密引言时，他会情不自禁地继续阅读，因为他想发现这个秘密。同样的情况也适用于引人入胜的声明或宣告引言的预测。最重要的是，故事引言也是如此。

If the story is told well, the prospect forgets — almost immediately — that he’s reading an advertisement. And thus he forgets, at least for the moment, that he is being sold. His emotions are tied up in the story itself. There is a problem and he wants to know how it will be resolved. He will read it with the same emotional openness he has when he reads a novel or watches a movie. His “advertising” defenses are down. Way down. This is a huge advantage for the copywriter.

如果故事讲得好，潜在客户会忘记——几乎是立刻——他正在阅读一则广告。因此，他至少暂时会忘记自己正在被推销。他的情感完全被故事本身所吸引。那里有一个问题，他想知道如何解决。他会带着与阅读小说或看电影时同样的情感开放度去阅读。他的“广告”防御机制完全放松。彻底放松。这对文案撰稿人来说是一个巨大的优势。

As John Forde has to say about it:

正如约翰·福特对此所说：

“I can think of a lot of people who balk at big promises. I can think of plenty more who couldn’t care less about a bulleted list of shocking statistics. But, I can’t think of a single person who can resist a good story. Can you? “Everybody loves a good story.

“我能想到很多人对宏大的承诺嗤之以鼻。我还能想到更多人对一列惊人的统计数据漠不关心。但是，我无法想到有一个人能抵挡一个好故事。你能吗？‘人人都爱好故事。

“As a way to communicate, nothing feels more natural.

‘作为沟通方式，没有什么比这更自然了。’”

“So, doesn’t it make sense that when someone says, ‘Let me tell you a story …’ you perk up and listen?

所以，当有人说“让我给你讲个故事……”时，你不应该竖起耳朵认真听吗？

“There’s no better way to melt resistance. Of course, if you don’t tell the story well, you can still lose the reader. And, telling the right stories well isn’t always easy.

没有什么比讲故事更能化解抵触情绪的了。当然，如果你讲不好故事，仍然可能失去听众。而且，讲好合适的故事并不总是容易的事。

“But get it right, and a Story Lead lets you sneak into the psyche sideways, like no other lead can, delivering anecdotal proof and promises … and a setup for the rest of your pitch … long before the reader even realizes what you’re doing.”

但如果讲对了，故事式开场白能让你巧妙地绕过心理防线，这是其他任何开场白都无法做到的，它能提供轶事证据和承诺……并为你的整个推销铺垫……在读者甚至意识到你在做什么之前很久。

Caples’ piano ad was an instant hit, selling thousands of correspondence courses. Many call it the most successful ad of the 20th century.

卡普尔斯的钢琴广告立刻成为热门，销售了数千门函授课程。许多人称它是 20 世纪最成功的广告。

And, the structure of his classic headline has been “borrowed” time and again by other copywriters. You may have seen these (thanks to Don Hauptman for these examples):

而且，他经典的标题结构被其他文案撰稿人一次次“借鉴”。你可能在其他地方见过这些（感谢 Don Hauptman 提供这些例子）：

They grinned when the waiter spoke to me in French …

当服务员用法语和我说话时，他们露出了微笑……

But their laughter changed to amazement at my reply.

但在我回答后，他们的笑声变成了惊讶。

They laughed when I sent away for free color film …

当我订购免费彩色胶卷时，他们笑了。

But now my friends are all sending away, too.

但现在我的朋友们也都纷纷离开了。

They laughed when I sat down at the computer —

我坐在电脑前时，他们嘲笑我—

But when I started to use it!

但当我开始使用它时！

So, what can the modern marketer/copywriter learn about headline writing from Caples’ classic example?

那么，现代营销人员/文案撰稿人能从卡普尔斯的经典案例中学到哪些关于标题写作的知识？

First, the Rule of One: One strong idea/emotion/benefit is better than half a dozen mediocre ones.

首先，单一法则：一个强有力的观点/情感/利益比五六个平庸的更好。

Second, the power of the story: There is no stronger way to engage your prospect than with a simple story.

其次，故事的力量：没有比简单的故事更能吸引潜在客户的方式了。

Third, that adhering to the “rules” of good storytelling will produce the greatest effect. That means beginning in the middle with a conflict — expressed or implicit — that affects a protagonist the reader can identify with. And, offering an emotionally-satisfying solution.

第三，遵循优秀故事讲述的“规则”会产生最大的效果。这意味着从中间开始，用一个冲突——明示或暗示的——来影响读者可以认同的主角。并且，提供一个情感上令人满意的解决方案。

You don’t have to use Caples’ words. Just borrow the deeper structure of his headline:

你不必使用卡普尔斯的话。只需借鉴他标题的深层结构：

The hero, an ordinary person like your prospect, attempts to do something extraordinary.

这位英雄，和你潜在客户一样是普通人，试图做些不平凡的事。

People doubt him.

人们怀疑他。

He proves them wrong.

他证明了他们错了。

There are countless ways to apply this structure.

应用这种结构的方法数不胜数。

If you are selling an investment advisory, for example, you could tell a story about the secret behind how all the wealthiest families in Europe made their fortunes. Like Mike Palmer did in his control promotion for True Wealth.

如果你在销售投资咨询服务，例如，你可以讲述一个关于欧洲所有最富有的家族如何积累财富的秘密故事。就像迈克·帕默尔在他的 True Wealth 控制推广中所做的那样。

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

Many of the world’s wealthiest families have used this “secret currency” for generations to grow dynasties.

世界上许多最富有的家族已经几代人都使用这种“秘密货币”来壮大家族。

Let me show you just one example ...

让我给你举一个例子...

Mayer Amschel Rothschild used his knowledge of this investment to launch the largest family fortune the world has ever seen.

梅耶·阿姆谢尔·罗特希尔德利用他对这项投资的了解，创立了世界上有史以来最庞大的家族财富。

Mayer was born in Germany in the middle of the 18th century, and was raised in Frankfurt’s ghetto, where the average house held 15 people.

梅耶出生于 18 世纪中期德国，在法兰克福的犹太区长大，那里平均每户人家住着 15 个人。

When the boy was 11, a smallpox epidemic swept through the ghetto. It killed both of his parents. This tragedy set up young Mayer to learn the greatest secret of his life.

当这个男孩 11 岁时，天花疫情席卷了犹太区。他的父母都因此去世。这场悲剧让年轻的梅耶开始学习他一生中最伟大的秘密。

Or, if you are selling cigars, you could create a story about the perils and excitement of finding the best tobacco.

或者，如果你在卖雪茄，你可以创造一个关于寻找最佳烟草的冒险和刺激的故事。

15 Rivers to Cross ... and only 7 bridges

要跨越 15 条河流...而只有 7 座桥梁

Here’s how we were able to bring you ...

我们是如何做到带给你...

THE GRANADA

格兰 ada

In spite of bandits, jaguars, baby dinosaurs, and high water ... at a price that will make a happy bandit out of YOU!

尽管有强盗、美洲豹、小恐龙和洪水...但价格会让你成为快乐的强盗！

I used to think that the only way to have a real adventure was to be an astronaut or something. But that was before my recent trip to the Hidden Valley in Honduras, where the alluvial soil is six feet deep and everybody and his brother carries a six-shooter for bandit insurance.

我以前认为，真正冒险的唯一方式就是成为宇航员之类的。但在最近去洪都拉斯的隐秘山谷旅行之前，我从未想过。那里的冲积土深达六英尺，而且每个人都带着六发手枪，以防万一成为强盗。

Maybe you thought I just sit around writing letters to my good customers and wrapping cigar boxes to take to the Post Office. Not so. You don’t get the best tobacco settin’ at home on your resources. And believe me, you don’t always find the comforts of home elsewhere.

也许你以为我整天只是给好客户写信，或者包装 cigar 盒子送到邮局。不是这样的。你不会在家里就能得到最好的烟草资源。而且，相信我，你到别处也未必总能找到家的舒适。

Sometimes I wonder why I’m in this business at all — and why I go an over Hell’s half-acre to insure my supply of good tobacco. Yet if I didn’t go right down to the tobacco farms and check the crops for myself, I’d never be able to offer you the cigars I do. And I certainly would never have found the priceless bales of wrapper I brought back from my last trip to Central America.

有时我会想，我为什么要做这个生意——为什么要跑遍地狱半英里去确保我的好烟草供应。然而，如果我不亲自去烟草农场检查作物，我就永远不可能提供给你我现在拥有的雪茄。而且，我当然也永远不会发现我在上次去中美洲旅行时带回的那些无价的包装卷。

Or, if you’re trying to get your prospect to donate money to provide shelter for homeless teens, few leads are as powerful as a well-told story such as this Covenant House appeal …

或者，如果你正试图让你的潜在客户捐款来为无家可归的青少年提供住所，很少有比这样一个讲述得好的故事更有力的开场白，比如这个 Covenant House 的呼吁……

I’m writing to you from our shelter tonight …

我今晚从我们的收容所写信给您……

Dear Friends,

亲爱的朋友们，

I’m writing to you from our shelter tonight. From the corner, I can see James, just 16, sleeping on a fresh cot we set up in the chapel. Covenant House is full. Every bed is taken. I don’t always know how we make room for all these kids, but by the grace of God, tonight we found a way again.

我今晚从我们的收容所写信给您。从角落里，我能看到詹姆斯，年仅 16 岁，睡在我们设在教堂的新铺位上。收容所已满员。每张床位都被占用了。我并不总是知道我们是如何为这么多孩子腾出空间的，但凭上帝的恩典，今晚我们又找到了办法。

James came to us tonight, exhausted, his eyelids barely able to stay open. He’d been trying to sleep near the restaurant dumpsters, in the bus station, on park benches. He’d rested his head on tables at 24-hour donut shops, under the fluorescent lights, desperate for a safe, quiet place to sleep.

詹姆斯今晚来到我们这里，筋疲力尽，眼皮几乎睁不开了。他试图在餐馆的垃圾箱附近、汽车站、公园长椅上睡觉。他在 24 小时甜甜圈店的桌子上靠着头，在荧光灯下，迫切地想要一个安全、安静的地方睡觉。

We set up the cot, put on fresh linens, and gave him a new blanket. He was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

我们搭好了帐篷，铺上了新床单，还给了他一条新毯子。在他头碰到枕头之前，他就睡着了。

James is safe tonight because of people like you who care about kids.

詹姆斯今晚是安全的，多亏了像你这样关心孩子的人。

I will end this essay by saying this: You have just read about half a dozen of the most powerful marketing secrets I know. If you put this essay down and forget about it, you will be making a terrible mistake. Read it at least half a dozen times and think about it. If it doesn’t make you a multimillionaire, I’ll eat my shirt. Hathaway, of course.

我要用这句话来结束这篇文章：你刚刚读到了我所知道的最强大的营销秘诀的一半。如果你放下这篇文章就忘记了它，那将是一个可怕的错误。至少读它五六次，并思考一下。如果它没有让你成为亿万富翁，我就吃我的衬衫。哈特威。

Is that really the end?

这真的是结局吗？

Not quite, I forgot to tell you the ending of the story I began with. I used The Wall Street Journal ad to create a story of my own. I was selling a product called Executive Productivity. It was a newsletter that told executives how to — well, you know — be more productive.

不太对，我忘了告诉你我开头讲的故事结局。我利用《华尔街日报》的广告创造了自己的故事。我正在销售一种名为《高管生产力》的产品。它是一份向高管们讲述如何——嗯，你知道的——提高生产力的简报。

The prior control used a very direct headline: How to Double Your Productivity or something like that. My lead was very different. I wrote a story about my own experience coming to work with my boss. I had taken a job as executive editor of his publications but I simply wasn’t up to the job. I was too young and inexperienced. Most of the writers I was editing were twice my age and better writers than I.

之前的控制使用了一个非常直接的标题：如何将你的生产力翻倍之类的。我的开头截然不同。我写了一个关于我和老板一起上班的亲身经历的故事。我担任了他出版物的高级编辑职位，但我根本无法胜任这份工作。我太年轻、经验不足。我编辑的大多数作家年龄比我大两岁，而且写作能力比我强。

I knew that to do a good job I would have to work 24 hours a day. I had a wife and two small babies. How could I get the productivity I needed from myself? I had no idea until I came across an old book at a secondhand store …

我知道要做好工作，我必须一天工作 24 小时。我有一个妻子和两个年幼的孩子。我该如何从自己身上获得所需的生产力？直到我在一家二手书店偶然发现了一本旧书……

You get the picture. How did my sales letter work? It tripled the response rate of the control and became an unbeatable control for more than five years. Most importantly, it made my boss believe in me … which later resulted in my becoming his partner.

你明白情况了。我的销售信效果如何？它的回复率是对照组的两倍，并在五年多时间里成为无与伦比的对照案例。最重要的是，它让我的老板相信了我……这后来促使我成为了他的合伙人。

And, it all began by learning how to tell a story.

而这一切，都始于学会讲故事。

10

How to Make This System Work for You

如何让这个系统为您服务

___________________________

“Play by the rules, but be ferocious.”

“遵守规则，但要凶猛。”

— Phil Knight

— 菲尔·奈特

___________________________

Since we first started putting together this system of lead archetypes, we’ve seen it implemented by our own colleagues.

自从我们最初开始构建这个潜在客户原型系统以来，我们已经看到我们的同事将其付诸实践。

How well has it worked for them?

他们做得怎么样？

If their real-world results are any indication — and we’re convinced they are — it’s worked out pretty well.

如果他们的实际成果是任何迹象——而且我们确信是——它进行得相当好。

Copywriter Angela Salerno, for example, had a chance to test two of the six lead types you’ve read about in this book. Not just for the same product, but on the same marketing promotion. And, with an unusual and impressive result.

例如，文案作家 Angela Salerno 有机会测试你在本书中读到的六种引言类型中的两种。不仅针对同一种产品，而且针对同一个营销推广。而且，以一种不寻常且令人印象深刻的结果。

The product was an investment research service that identified momentum-driven stock trades.

产品是一种投资研究服务，可以识别动量驱动的股票交易。

It was a natural, Angela figured, for the kind of Offer Lead type you read about in Chapter 4.

这很自然，安吉拉认为，对于你在第四章读到的那种优惠引导类型来说。

After all, not only did potential subscribers know the trading pro behind the service well, he had an excellent track record. And, the deal available to subscribers couldn’t be beat. So, Angela went with something very direct.

毕竟，潜在的订阅者不仅很了解这个服务背后的交易专家，而且他的业绩记录非常出色。此外，提供给订阅者的交易条件无可匹敌。因此，安吉拉选择了非常直接的方式。

This was her simple headline:

这是她的简单标题：

Why We’re Giving You 12 FREE Months of Alexander Green’s Momentum Alert

为什么我们要为您提供亚历山大·格林的动量警报 12 个月免费

In just the past year, this red-hot service has generated a mind-boggling 3,183% gains.

就在过去一年中，这项炙手可热的服务创造了令人难以置信的 3,183%增长。

But according to Alex, that’s nothing compared to the next 12 months. And if you respond today, you can access this research at no charge. No strings attached. Read on for details …

但据亚历克斯所说，这还不及未来 12 个月的一半。如果你今天回应，你可以免费获取这项研究。没有任何附加条件。继续阅读以获取详细信息……

It did well enough. Sales topped $1 million. But, here’s where this got interesting. When it came time to update the promotion, a new format was making it possible to reach a much wider audience with the same offer.

它做得相当不错。销售额突破了 100 万美元。但，这就是有趣的地方。当更新促销活动时，一种新的格式使得能用同样的优惠触达更广泛的受众成为可能。

Angela realized not all of the new prospects would know the editor or have reason to trust him yet as a resource. So, she revised the same copy into a less direct Problem-Solution Lead, like those you saw in Chapter 6.

安吉拉意识到并非所有新潜在客户都认识这位编辑，或者有理由信任他作为资源。因此，她将同样的文案改写成了不那么直接的"问题-解决方案"引言，就像你在第六章看到的那样。

She also moved the offer and mention of the product deeper into her copy and focused instead on the “horrible mistake most investors are making right now” by overlooking these momentum-based trends.

她还将优惠和产品提及移至文案更深处，转而专注于“大多数投资者正在犯的可怕错误”——忽视了这些基于动量的趋势。

The result?

结果呢？

The new approach combined with the new format turned what was already a million-dollar sales letter into a $3 million letter. Says Angela, “It was by far our bestselling product of the year.”

新的方法结合新的格式，将原本价值百万美元的销售信变成了价值三百万美元的信件。安吉拉说：“这绝对是我们今年最畅销的产品。”

Karen Reddel, who heads up a nutritional supplement company we work with closely, tells a similar tale.

我们紧密合作的营养补充品公司负责人凯伦·雷德尔讲述了类似的故事。

One of Karen’s products was a heart-healthy supplement that offered a basket of benefits — including healthier blood pressure, better cholesterol levels, a stronger immune system, and healthy overall circulation — that might appeal to her customers.

Karen 的一款产品是一款有益心脏健康的补充剂，它提供了一系列好处——包括更健康的血压、更好的胆固醇水平、更强的免疫系统以及健康的整体循环——这些可能对她的客户有吸引力。

If you remember Chapter 1, you already know that according to the principle of the Rule of One, you can usually get better results by focusing on one big benefit rather than a collection of small ones.

如果你还记得第一章，你就已经知道，根据“单一法则”的原则，专注于一个主要好处通常比关注一系列小好处能获得更好的结果。

However, Karen points out, the multiple-benefits of the supplement were a key part of the story. “There’s more to heart health,” the sales letter pointed out, “than cholesterol alone.”

然而，Karen 指出，补充剂的多种好处是故事的关键部分。“心脏健康不仅仅在于胆固醇。”销售信中这样指出。

So, the first thing Karen did was fit the multiple benefits of her product into a single, simple message.

因此，Karen 首先做的是将产品的多种好处融入一个简单明了的信息中。

Here’s how it read:

这是它的阅读方式：

Karen ran an identical headline on the carrier envelope. The rest of the lead stressed this same core idea, that you could “replace every other pill on your shelf” with this one versatile supplement. It was a clear and simple big Promise Lead like those you’ve already seen in Chapter 5 of this book.

卡伦在递送信封上使用了相同的标题。其余的引言都强调了同样的核心思想，即你可以用这种多功能的补充剂“替换你架子上每两颗药丸中的一颗”。这是一个清晰简单的巨大承诺引言，就像你在本书第 5 章已经看到的那样。

As a test, Karen also ran another version. “The test was a bit muddier,” says Karen, “more of an ‘idea lead’ if I had to call it something.” We might call it more of a Proclamation Lead, like those you saw in Chapter 8.

作为测试，卡伦还运行了另一个版本。“测试有点混乱，”卡伦说，“如果非要说的话，更像是一个‘观点引言’。”我们可能称之为宣言引言，就像你在第 8 章看到的那样。

Instead of focusing on the supplement benefits, its headline and sub-headline copy read: “The medical mainstream may buy into the ‘cholesterol myth,’ but I know ... a lifetime of heart health does not begin and end with cholesterol alone. Keep reading to discover the full story ... plus an easy way to help keep your ticker ticking starting today.”

它没有专注于补充剂的好处，其标题和副标题文案读道：“医疗主流可能会相信‘胆固醇神话’，但我知道……一生的心脏健康并不始于也不终于胆固醇。继续阅读，发现完整的故事……以及一个简单的方法，从今天开始帮助你的心脏保持跳动。”

Like other Proclamation Leads, it was bold. And, it might make you curious.

像其他宣告式开场白一样，它很大胆。而且，它可能会让你感到好奇。

But, we might also agree that it was “muddy.” The test version had to work too hard to close the open “cholesterol myth” question and then connect it to the multiple benefits of the supplement Karen and her team were trying to sell. What’s more, they knew that supplement readers are often very aware. They know roughly what they’re looking for and often respond best to more direct offers and promises.

但是，我们或许也同意它很“模糊”。测试版本必须费很大力气来关闭“胆固醇迷思”这个开放性问题，然后将其与 Karen 和她的团队试图销售的补充剂的多种益处联系起来。更重要的是，他们知道补充剂读者通常非常了解情况。他们大致知道自己在寻找什么，并且通常对更直接的提议和承诺反应最好。

That proved to be the case here, too. The straight Promise Lead out-pulled the test by a 50% margin. Naturally, you never know until you test. But, says Karen, once you know how aware your readers are, you can make a pretty good guess. “We learned a long time ago that big promises work to our file and so most of our tests have been straight big promise versus big promise or problem-solution versus problem-solution.”

这一点在这里也得到了证明。直接的承诺式开场白比测试版本多吸引了 50%的点击率。当然，除非你进行测试，否则你永远不知道结果。但是，Karen 表示，一旦你知道你的读者有多了解情况，你就可以做出相当好的猜测。“我们很早就学会了，大承诺对我们的读者有效，所以我们的大多数测试都是直接的大承诺与大承诺，或者问题-解决方案与问题-解决方案的对比。”

Not long after we first came up with the six lead archetypes for this book, financial copywriter Aaron Gentzler started work on sales copy for a service that researched fast-moving but little-known opportunities in technology stocks.

在我们为这本书首次提出这六种开场白原型后不久，金融文案作家 Aaron Gentzler 开始为一项研究快速变化但鲜为人知的技术股票机会的服务撰写销售文案。

His lead mixed some of the types you’ve seen in this book — as some letters sometimes do — but if we could fit it into any one category, it might be closest to a cleverly-nuanced version of the Problem-Solution Lead samples you saw in Chapter 6.

他的开场白混合了一些你在本书中见过的类型——就像有些信件有时会做的那样——但如果我们要将其归入任何一个类别，它可能最接近于第 6 章中你看到的“问题-解决方案”开场白的巧妙变体。

Particularly, Aaron focused on something he already knew had strong emotional pull for the audience he was targeting, the fear of missed opportunity. Here’s how Aaron’s lead began ...

特别是，亚伦专注于他已知对目标受众有强烈情感吸引力的东西，即错失机会的恐惧。亚伦的开场白是这样开始的...

Your Great-Grandfather Saw The Railroad Come to Town,But Did He Profit From It?

你的曾祖父看到了铁路进入城镇，但他从中获利了吗？

Your Grandfather Watched The First Model T’s Roll Down the Street. Did He Get Rich?

你的祖父看着第一辆 T 型车在街上行驶。他发财了吗？

Your Father’s Generation Witnessed the Rise of Computers. How Much Did He Make On Them?

你们父辈见证了计算机的崛起。他在这些计算机上赚了多少？

The Next Massive Wealth Creation Starts NOW. Here’s how YOU Could Give Millions to Your Family’s Next 3 Generations.

下一轮巨额财富创造即将开始。你如何能让你的家族未来三代人获得数百万。

The World Will Learn of What Could Be A Historic Breakthrough on Nov. 19 — and You Can Get in Before the News Breaks …

世界将在 11 月 19 日了解到可能是一项历史性突破——而你可以在消息发布前参与……

His letter went on to compare the potential opportunity he was touting to the big wealth-creating events of the 20th century. We call this technique transubstantiation, where you add richness to an idea by elevating the context.

他的信件继续将他所推销的潜在机会与 20 世纪的重大财富创造事件进行了比较。我们称这种技巧为变质，即通过提升背景来为想法增添丰富性。

Big, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities are more than just a chance to do well with your money, his copy reasoned; they’re a chance to “build a generations-wide stream of wealth for you and your family.”

一次性的巨大机遇不仅仅是一个能让你钱袋鼓起来的机会，他的文案这样论证；它们是一个“为你和你的家庭建立跨越几代人的财富流”的机会。

And then, of course, he went on to prove that the “next great advance” really could be large enough to see these kinds of destiny-altering gains. It was a big promise and needed some big proof. By adding the date — November 19 — he showed the promise was even more real. And, he also increased the urgency.

然后，当然，他接着证明“下一次重大突破”确实有可能大到足以带来这些改变命运的利益。这是一个巨大的承诺，需要一些有力的证据。通过加上日期——11 月 19 日，他表明这个承诺更加真实可信。同时，他也增加了紧迫感。

It worked.

这奏效了。

In the first week, Aaron’s Problem-Solution pitch took in $500,000 in new sales. And, those results kept on piling up over the weeks that followed. Since then, he says he’s been able to go back to the same formula successfully over and over again.

在第一周，Aaron 的问题-解决方案推销带来了 500,000 美元的新销售额。而且，这些成果在随后的几周里不断累积。从那时起，他说他一直能够成功地反复使用同一个公式。

Copywriter Colm O’Dwyer also claims big success with our six-lead system. One of his most recent projects was a sales letter for a small cap stock research letter. “Small caps” are generally inexpensive, off-radar stocks without many shareholders.

文案作者科姆·奥德怀尔也声称我们的六线索系统取得了巨大成功。他最近的一个项目是为一家小型市值股票研究信件撰写销售信。"小型市值"通常指那些价格低廉、不被关注且股东数量不多的股票。

Many of the big companies you know today started out as small cap stocks or even what the market calls “micro-caps.” Those who follow them like them because they have the potential to move quickly and, historically, they tend to beat bigger stocks.

如今许多你熟悉的大公司最初都起步于小型市值股票，甚至市场称之为“微型市值”的股票。关注它们的人喜欢它们，因为它们有快速增长的潜力，而且从历史上看，它们往往能超越更大的股票。

That can make them an easy sell.

这使得它们很容易销售。

But Colm had a challenge. The letter’s publisher already had a very strong sales letter that had mailed successfully for years. Colm knew he’d have to do something special to beat it.

但科姆面临挑战。该信件的出版商已经有一封非常成功的销售信，多年来一直成功发送。科姆知道他必须做些特别的事情才能超越它。

Says Colm, “Looking at your six lead types, I knew that for the best chance at success, I should use a Story, Proclamation, or Secret Lead. But, finding a good, original story can be hard work and this product just didn’t fit a Proclamation Lead, so I decided to use a Secret Lead.”

科姆说：“看着你的六种引导类型，我知道要想有最大的成功机会，我应该使用故事、宣言或秘密引导。但是，找到一个好的、原创的故事可能很费劲，而这个产品并不适合使用宣言引导，所以我决定使用秘密引导。”

You’ll remember, from Chapter 7, that Secret Leads work best when they promise to unlock a mystery that offers a big benefit to the reader. But, they also tend to withhold the most valuable piece of information until after the prospect has agreed to buy.

你会记得，在第七章中，秘密引导在承诺解开一个能给读者带来巨大利益的谜团时效果最好。但是，它们也倾向于在潜在客户同意购买之后才透露最有价值的信息。

“After I had my direction,” says Colm, “I simply studied other secret-driven sales letters working right now, selling a similar product. Taking the best ideas from each … and adding a few ideas of my own … I was able to write a blockbuster package.”

科姆说：“在我明确方向后，我简单地研究了目前正在销售类似产品的其他以秘密驱动的销售信。从每个中提取最好的想法……再加上我自己的几个想法……我能够写出一个重磅级的包装。”

Colm’s letter went ahead and revealed the kinds of investments the product would follow. What it withheld was the details of the special process used to pick long strings of winning plays. Colm’s headline featured a “Secret $200 Retirement Blueprint.” And, his letter went on to promise readers a “step-by-step” approach that could turn even a small amount of money — say $200 — into a much bigger cash pile, by rolling gains from one trade into another.

科姆的信件继续揭示了产品将跟随的投资类型。但它保留的是用于挑选连续获胜投注的特殊流程的细节。科姆的信件标题突出显示了一个“秘密 200 美元退休蓝图”。信件继续向读者承诺一种“逐步”的方法，即使是一小笔钱——比如说 200 美元——也能通过将一交易的收益滚动到另一交易中，变成一大笔现金。

In the end, says Colm, “It was the most successful sales letter I’ve ever written. It not only thumped a long-standing control, but it’s still generating a lot of royalties for me. It also happens to be the easiest sales letter I’ve ever written, too.”

科姆说，最终，“这是我写过的最成功的销售信。它不仅打破了长期的控制，而且仍在为我产生大量的版税。它碰巧也是我写过的最简单的销售信。”

So far, Colm’s “blueprint” has brought in over 55,000 new customers.

到目前为止，科姆的“蓝图”已经带来了超过 55,000 名新客户。

Master Copywriter Mike Palmer also has countless sales letter breakthroughs under his belt. But, as we mentioned in Chapter 8, one of the biggest by far has to be the Proclamation Lead he recently wrote for another of our publishing colleagues. The product was a newsletter that had taken up a strong and pessimistic position on where the U.S. is headed, given its soaring national debt.

首席文案作家迈克·帕默尔也有无数销售信的成功案例。但正如我们在第 8 章中提到的，其中最大的一次突破是他最近为另一位我们出版界的同事撰写的一篇宣言式引言。该产品是一份时事通讯，它在考虑到美国飙升的国家债务的情况下，对美国未来的走向持强烈的悲观立场。

Here’s the online space ad that lead to the video link:

这是导致视频链接的在线广告：

For the promotion itself, Mike took advantage of the video format and had his design team craft it in the same style of a “red band” movie trailer. This underscored the controversy of the message, made it feel even more urgent, and no doubt piqued the curiosity of viewers. This is what you would have seen after clicking the link:

对于这次促销活动本身，迈克利用了视频格式，并让他的设计团队以“红色封条”电影预告片的形式制作它。这突出了信息的争议性，使其感觉更加紧迫，无疑激发了观众的兴趣。点击链接后你会看到以下内容：

Because it was such a bold prediction, Mike spent the first few moments establishing credibility. He quickly gave the background of the analyst behind the prediction that would follow; another, bigger breakdown of the U.S. financial system and even some social and political structures that depend on it; and then dug into the deep and dramatic forecast.

由于这是一个大胆的预测，迈克在最初的几分钟里建立了信誉。他迅速介绍了做出后续预测的分析家的背景；对美国金融体系的大规模分析，甚至是一些依赖它的社会和政治结构；然后深入挖掘了深刻而戏剧性的预测。

Said the letter ...

信中写道...

“I reference our success and experience with Wall Street’s latest crisis because we believe there is an even bigger crisis lurking — something that will shake the very foundation of America.

“我引用我们与华尔街最新危机的成功和经验，因为我们相信有一个更大的危机正在潜伏——某种将撼动美国根基的事物。

“That is why I’ve spent a significant amount of time and money in the past few months preparing this letter.

“这就是为什么我在过去几个月里投入了大量时间和金钱来准备这封信。

“In short, I want to talk about a specific event that will take place in America’s very near future ... which could actually bring our country and our way of life to a grinding halt ... ”

“简而言之，我想谈论一个即将在美国发生的特定事件……这实际上可能使我们的国家和我们的生活方式陷入停滞……”

Bold words. And, of course, the Proclamation Leads that work need to hit on the right emotions at the right time, as you saw in our earlier samples. When this particular promotion was released, worries about rising U.S. debt ran especially deep (as of this writing, they still do). And that helped this message touch a nerve with target readers.

大胆的言辞。当然，有效的宣告性开场白需要在正确的时间触动正确的情感，就像你早先看到的样本一样。当这个特定的促销活动发布时，人们对美国债务上升的担忧尤为严重（截至本文写作时，情况依然如此）。这帮助这条信息触动了目标读者的神经。”

In the first three months after this mailed, it brought in over 200,000 new subscribers. Sales topped $10.5 million, making it one of the bestselling sales letters in the industry. Certainly it’s made a fortune for Mike and cemented what’s already been a stellar career.

在寄出后的前三个月，它吸引了超过 20 万新订阅者。销售额突破 1050 万美元，成为业内最畅销的销售信之一。无疑，它为迈克带来了巨额财富，也巩固了他已经辉煌的职业生涯。

Publisher Mike Ward and copywriter Jim Amrhein also wrote to us with a big Proclamation Lead success. They were also selling a financial research service, but for an analyst with an incredible back-story. Not only was their editor a top oil expert, but he used to work as a spy for the State Department. His list of industry contacts alone was almost unbelievable.

出版商迈克·沃德和文案作家吉姆·阿姆赖恩也向我们发来了一封关于巨大成功宣言的开场信。他们也在销售一项金融研究服务，但对象是一位拥有不可思议背景的分析师。不仅他们的编辑是顶尖的石油专家，而且他曾经为国务院担任间谍。仅他的人脉名单就令人难以置信。

Here’s what they finally came up with ...

他们最终想出了这个...

Just 50 People Control 90% of the World’s Energy Markets

只有 50 人控制着世界 90%的能源市场

...And They All Have Me on Speed Dial …

...而且他们都将我设为快速拨号 ...

I’m helping these Big Dogs set up three global energy “super shifts” right now — here’s how you could play them for up to 2,505% gains in 13 months

我现在正在帮助这些大客户建立三个全球能源“超级轮班”——这是如何在 13 个月内通过这些机会获得高达 2,505%的收益的方法

Dear Reader,

亲爱的读者，

Forget Blue Chips … microchips … biotech … gourmet coffee chains … smartphones … iPads … iPods … and i-Don’t-know-whats ...

忘掉蓝筹股……微型芯片……生物技术……高档咖啡连锁店……智能手机……iPad……iPod……以及 i-不知道是什么...

The biggest money in this world will ALWAYS be made by those who know how to play the energy markets.

这个世界最大的财富将永远属于那些懂得如何玩转能源市场的人。

The problem is that 99.9% of media pundits, market analysts, money managers, and investment advisors will never be able to help you win at this game.

问题在于，99.9%的媒体评论员、市场分析师、资金经理和投资顾问永远无法帮助你在这场游戏中获胜。

That’s because, unlike me, THEY don’t have access to the small “Inner Circle” of power-players who control 90% of the world’s energy.

那是因为，与我不同，他们无法接触到控制着全球 90%能源的小型“核心圈”中的权力玩家。

So, they’re always late getting into the real, fast-moving money plays that only a handful of people in the world can see coming.

因此，他们总是晚于时机进入真正的、快速变化的资金游戏，而这些游戏只有世界上少数人才能预见。

I’m one of these people. And in this letter, I’ll prove it to you ...

我是其中之一。在这封信中，我会向你证明这一点……

You can see that the bold statement, about an inner circle of “50 people” controlling most of the world’s energy market, isn’t really a promise outright, though it’s certainly implied. And, the rest of the copy had to go on to prove that not only did this “Inner Circle” exist, but that they really do have a connection to the analyst behind the service.

你可以看到，那个加粗的声明——关于一个由“50 人”组成的内圈控制着世界大部分能源市场——虽然确实有所暗示，但并不是直接的承诺。而且，接下来的文案必须继续证明，这个“内圈”不仅存在，而且他们确实与提供这项服务的分析师有联系。

Says Mike, “It was very challenging … [because we wanted to feature his credentials] in a way that’s credible, without bragging. We did about three rewrites. At one point, I just said, ‘Why don’t we just say that 20 or so people control 90% of the energy market, and our guy knows them all.’ That was all Jim needed. He just ran with it and created the ‘speed dial’ thing and when we saw, everyone on the staff just went: ‘Oh, yeah.’ It was immediately cool and arresting.” The target readers thought so, too.

迈克说：“这非常具有挑战性……[因为我们想要突出他的资历]以一种可信的方式，而不自夸。我们修改了大约三次。有一次，我只是说，‘我们为什么不直接说有 20 来个人控制着 90%的能源市场，而我们的人认识他们所有人。’这正好是吉姆需要的。他只是接手并创造了‘速拨’这个概念，当我们看到时，整个团队都惊叹：‘哦，是的。’这立刻变得酷炫且引人注目。”目标读者也这么认为。

This promotion, as of this writing, has racked up around $6 million in sales in four months.

截至本文写作时，这项促销活动在四个月内销售额已达到约 600 万美元。

Copywriter Jennifer Stevens writes regularly for travel products. Story Leads, says Jen, are a staple in the travel industry, because they let you capture the romance of travel in a way the other lead types can’t. She sent us this example. Notice how the story starts in the sub-headline copy and carries into the lead ...

文案撰稿人詹妮弗·史蒂文斯经常为旅游产品撰稿。詹妮弗说，故事性开头是旅游行业的必备元素，因为它们能以其他类型开头无法做到的方式捕捉旅行的浪漫。她给我们发来这个例子。注意故事是如何从副标题文案开始，并延续到开头的...

What if You Had a Simple Blueprint to Take You from Where You Are Now ... to Your Perfect Place Overseas?

如果你有一个简单的蓝图，能带你从现在的位置...到海外完美的目的地？

It took our editors, Dan and Suzan, a full decade to uncover the best secrets to the good life abroad ...

我们的编辑丹和苏珊，花了整整十年时间，发掘了海外美好生活的最佳秘诀...

But now you can do it easily. With their step-by-step blueprint, you save money ... avoid the pitfalls ... and find your perfect “sweet spot” overseas fast ...

但现在你可以轻松做到。凭借他们的分步蓝图，你节省金钱...避开陷阱...并快速找到海外完美的“甜蜜点”...

So you can start living better (and for less), right away ...

所以你可以立刻开始更美好的生活（而且花费更少），对吗...

Dear International Living Reader,

亲爱的国际生活读者，

They started out in Ecuador ... tried on three places in Mexico for size ... moved to Panama ... did a stint in Nicaragua ... went back to Mexico ... and now they’re spending part of the year in Ecuador again ...

他们最初在厄瓜多尔开始...试着在墨西哥的三个地方找感觉...搬到巴拿马...在尼加拉瓜短暂居住过...又回到墨西哥...现在他们再次在厄瓜多尔度过部分年份...

They’ve rented ... renovated ... traveled with pets ... learned a new language ... had teeth fixed ... been operated on ... bought homes ... sold homes ... rented homes out ...

他们租过房...翻新过房...带着宠物旅行过...学会了一种新语言...修过牙...动过手术...买过房子...卖过房子...出租过房子...

For the last decade, our editors Dan Prescher and Suzan Haskins have capitalized on many of the best opportunities on the planet ...

在过去十年里，我们的编辑丹·普雷舍和苏珊·哈金斯抓住了地球上许多最好的机会……

They’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars in day-to-day expenses ... but live much better than they ever did back in Omaha, Nebraska. (And no more snow to shovel, either.)

他们节省了数万美元的日常开支……但他们现在的生活比在内布拉斯加奥马哈的日子好得多。（而且再也不用铲雪了。）

Today they have a gorgeous colonial home in Merida, Mexico — a city full of sunlight and music. And when it gets too hot there, they decamp to their penthouse apartment in Ecuador’s highlands, in a place where the air is clear and crisp all year round.

如今他们在墨西哥梅里达拥有一座漂亮的殖民风格住宅——一个阳光明媚、充满音乐的城市。当那里天气太热时，他们会搬到厄瓜多尔高原上的顶层公寓，那里全年空气清新宜人。

If they were still Stateside, they’d be living in a middle-class neighborhood, working 50-plus hours a week, driving in the ice, saving up for the day when they could — hopefully — retire.

如果他们还在美国本土，就会住在中产阶级的社区里，每周工作 50 多个小时，在冰雪中开车，为有朝一日——希望如此——能够退休而存钱。

Instead, for the past ten years, they’ve been enjoying life. Traveling lots. Living well. Free from the money pressures and stress of life in the States, there’s time to relax, enjoy themselves, appreciate the comforts ...

相反，过去十年里，他们享受着生活。经常旅行。生活优渥。摆脱了在美国生活所面临的经济压力和压力，有时间放松，享受生活，欣赏舒适的环境……

The letter goes on to tell you how they did it, mistakes they made, and what they wish they’d known up front. The copy even includes a tempting photo of Dan and Suzan’s gorgeous courtyard pool at their affordable home in Mexico. Notice how the letter doesn’t just make a promise, but demonstrates it with the narrative.

信件接着告诉你他们是如何做到的，他们犯过的错误，以及他们一开始就希望知道的事情。这封邮件甚至包含了一张他们在墨西哥经济实惠的家中迷人的庭院游泳池的照片。注意这封信不仅做出了承诺，还通过叙述来证明它。

That’s the strength of the Story Lead.

这就是故事引言的力量。

Says Jen, they almost didn’t go this way. “Here we had this ‘retire overseas kit’ that should sell but just never did. So, we reinvented it. We added videos and sliced up content to put into little reports. Then, we tried selling it as ‘90 days to your new life overseas.’ That didn’t work either. So, then I redid the lead again to position the kit as Dan and Suzan’s blueprint for their new overseas life — and that worked great.” In just five days, this sales letter brought in $75,636 in new sales and it continues to work.

詹妮说，他们几乎没走这条路。“我们这里有一个‘海外退休套件’，应该能卖但就是卖不出去。所以我们重新设计了它。我们增加了视频，把内容切成小块放在小报告里。然后，我们尝试以‘90 天拥有你的海外新生活’来销售它。那也没成功。所以，然后我重新设计了引言，把套件定位为丹和苏珊海外新生活的蓝图——那效果很好。”在短短五天内，这封销售信带来了 75,636 美元的新销售额，并且它仍然有效。

Why This Is Really All You Need

为什么这真的就是你需要的全部

One of the challenges we faced in writing this book was finding perfect examples for our six lead types. Why was it difficult? Because much current advertising is a mix of one, two, or more of these true “archetypes” rather than any one in particular. And, our desire was to use examples that were as “pure” to one type as possible, to make the message that much easier to get across.

在撰写这本书的过程中，我们面临的一个挑战是找到适合我们六种开场方式的完美案例。为什么有难度呢？因为目前的许多广告是多种这些真正的“原型”的混合，而不是特定的某一种。而且，我们的愿望是使用尽可能“纯净”于某一类型的案例，以便让信息传递更加清晰。

In fact, maybe you noticed, just to make our message clear, we wrote each of these chapters about a lead type so they would start with the kind of lead in question. So, even there, we took pains to show you — rather than just tell you — how to best open with each kind of lead.

事实上，也许你注意到了，为了使我们的信息更明确，我们为每种开场方式写了一章，以便它们以所讨论的开场方式开始。所以，即使在那里，我们也费心向你展示——而不仅仅是告诉你——如何最好地以每种开场方式开始。

In the end, what we can tell you is this: Between us, we have looked at hundreds of successful packages over the years. Easily over 80% of the winners do indeed lead predominantly with one of these six pure lead types, if not a blend of two or more similar types.

最后，我们可以告诉你的是：多年来，我们共同研究了数百个成功的案例。超过 80%的获胜者确实主要使用这六种纯净的开场方式，或者混合了两种或更多类似的类型。

Does this mixing dilute the effectiveness of the lead or counter what we said early in this book about the Rule of One? It can. But in the best leads, the effectiveness is maintained as long as the copywriter uses the different tools to stick to one core message.

这种混合是否削弱了线索的有效性，或者与我们在这本书早期所说的“单一法则”相悖？是的，但它可以。在最好的线索中，只要文案人员使用不同的工具坚持一个核心信息，有效性就能得到保持。

Bottom line: When in doubt, stick to the six pure types you’ve learned here. Enjoy the success understanding each will bring. Then, when you’ve mastered each lead type and you’ve isolated a single sales message to focus on, you can slowly branch out to hybrid lead types.

总之：当你不确定时，坚持这里学到的六种纯类型。享受理解每种类型将带来的成功。然后，当你掌握了每种线索类型，并确定了一个要专注的销售信息时，你可以逐渐扩展到混合型线索。

But, do just what you’ve seen here, and you’ll already find yourself leagues ahead of other persuasive writers. You’ll find your advertising leads are much stronger, more successful, and more profitable for both you and your clients.

但是，只要做到这里所展示的，你将发现自己已经远远领先于其他有说服力的写作者。你会发现你的广告线索更加有力、更成功，对你和你的客户来说都更有利可图。

What’s more, here’s a bonus: Apply these same lead-writing rules throughout the rest of your persuasive copy and you’ll see huge benefits there, too. Use the Rule of One, for instance, to focus your sales messages. Use the idea of message directness to make sure you’re speaking the right way to the right kind of customer, right through to your offer reply page.

此外，这里还有一个额外的好处：将同样的线索写作规则应用于你其余的有说服力文案的其余部分，你也会在那里看到巨大的好处。例如，使用“单一法则”来聚焦你的销售信息。使用信息直接性的概念，确保你以正确的方式对正确类型的客户说话，一直延伸到你的报价回复页。

And so on.

等等。

You’ll find you write stronger offers, make more irresistible promises, identify more relevant solutions for your buyers, tease better opportunities, tell stronger and more persuasive stories, and more.

你会发现你写的报价更强大，做出的承诺更有吸引力，为你的买家找到更多相关的解决方案，挖掘更好的机会，讲述更强有力且更有说服力的故事，等等。

Of course, there’s only one way for you to be sure that we’re right about this final claim. And, that’s to try what we’re suggesting for yourself. Once you do, we’re sure you’ll agree.

当然，只有一个方法能让你确定我们关于这个最终主张是正确的。那就是亲自尝试我们建议的方法。一旦你这样做，我们相信你会同意的。