Persuasion

There are only 2 parts to a sale: opening the sale, and closing it.

It really is that simple.

Yet most people solely focus on the closing part while completely disregarding the opening.

There are, as with anything, many ways to open a sale, or more specifically in our case, an email. Anyone who claims there’s only one way to do something is full of shyte and undoubtedly trying to sell you something (often something subpar, if not straight trash).

But that doesn’t mean some ways aren’t better than others.

They are.

You could learn a few evergreen ways of opening an email (which I do teach in Email Valhalla) and solely rely on those. But that does keep your options limited and runs the danger of boring you out when writing emails (and if you don’t enjoy writing them, your readers won’t enjoy reading them).

So where does that leave you?

Well, in my case, there’s a simple litmus test I use every single time I write an email to determine if an email opener is worth using or not.

Now, remember, I’m a simple man.

I like to do business in a simple way. I despise everything complex—complexity is often a smokescreen for incapableness—and never want anything to do with it.

So beware that when I tell you my litmus test you’ll almost undoubtedly reply by saying that it’s super obvious, that everyone knows this, and that this couldn’t possibly be helpful or worth teaching people.

But to that, I’ll have to ask you to remind yourself that knowing and doing are 2 very different things.

Many people will know this, yes.

Almost nobody will think this is something new or revolutionary, really, it’s the most old and obvious thing there is. But then again, almost nobody actively reminds themselves of this litmus test, this simple question, when writing emails.

And it shows because so many people fail at writing actual good, engaging, valuable emails that can sell.

Anyway.

If you’d like to learn my simple litmus test (and how to actually implement it instead of merely “knowing” it), get your hands on the 7 evergreen ways to open an email or anything else related to building an absolute beast of an email (business) empire.

Then check out Email Valhalla today: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

So says musical genius Jacob Collier.

“Every note can be played with every chord, as long as you find the right ideas and consequences to support it with.” (paraphrased)

He’s not just spouting BS either.

He proves the statement to be true time and time again.

Which goes against almost everything most people have ever been taught about music (if they’ve even been taught anything to begin with).

But this isn’t just for music. This goes for almost everything you do, every product you build, every service you launch, every art piece you create, every story you write, and even personal flaws you might have as a person or a business.

Nothing is ever “wrong”.

You just haven’t found the right ideas or scenarios to apply them to.

List all of your so-called “flaws” and find a way to turn them into a strength. Take away all of the ammunition your opposition might have, remove potential buyer’s objections, and better specify your target market (which includes repelling non-suitable buyers).

As for an example.

My flagship course, Email Valhalla, is an all-text, no video, no audio, no nothing other than plain-text course.

Some might call this a flaw.

I don’t agree.

I made the deliberate choice to keep it all text.

First, I simply don’t enjoy creating video or audio content. Writing is my bread and butter. And if I enjoy writing more, then you’ll enjoy reading it more as well (not to mention the fact that the content will simply be more valuable, more thought-true, better put together, and of a much higher quality than it would be if it were in any other format).

Secondly, I find it hard and difficult to learn from video courses. They take too long to go through, it’s hard to stay focused since you’re easily deceived into believing you’re listening and studying while you’re mind is drifting off and not really focusing on the true meaning of what is being said.

Whereas text requires you to actively read (and think about) what is written.

This leads to me getting better results out of books and written courses than out of video courses or webinars.

And, assuming I do a good job of attracting like-minded and similar people, I’m guessing that’s the case for most of my readers, including you, as well (not to mention that my main form of communication, email, is a written medium).

So that’s that.

The flaw of it being only a written course isn’t so much of a flaw anymore, now is it?

Anyway, if you liked what I said, you might want to check out Email Valhalla and get it for yourself here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

A few days ago I saw a video that went somewhat viral on social media.

In that video, someone was recording a young woman in the gym, who, at first, was doing wrist curls with a 1kg weight. After a few reps of normal wrist curls the woman turned her hand 90 degrees and started doing similar curls, except this time with the 1kg dumbell held vertically instead of horizontally.

That video was then shared with the caption “What’s she training for?” (talk about entertainment huh)

This, naturally, seemed to appeal to the “incel red pill sigma manosphere chronically online, never having touched a woman in their life, living in their mom’s basement, and projecting their own failures and insecurities onto everyone else to cope with their sad reality of a life” community who could think of nothing else but to sexualize a young woman doing wrist exercises that seemed similar in movement to what one might do with a cylindrical shape often attached to a person of a certain gender famous for growing beards (go figure).

There are many things to be said about this.

Firstly, that exercise is an extremely common and effective exercise prescribed by physiotherapists around the globe for all types of wrist injuries—something I’m no stranger to myself. In fact, I’ve had to do these very exercises myself (with equally “embarrassing” weights).

But even then.

It shouldn’t matter whether it’s an effective exercise or not. You shouldn’t be recording strangers in the gym (or anywhere else for that matter) and putting them on the internet to begin with.

How hard can it be not to record people without their permission?

But people will do everything to get some “social media street cred” and get their daily dose of dopamine when they see their likes coming in it seems (nobody’s safe from the addictiveness of social media—another great reason to get as far away from it as you possibly can).

There is, however, one exception where it’s ok, even recommended, to record people without their permission.

That’s if they’re actively committing a crime… and no, hurting your feelings isn’t a crime so stop recording people whenever you’re having an argument, Karen.

More.

Hurting people’s feelings is actually a tremendously effective method to 1) get attention 2) get people thinking about you (also called "living in their head rent free” as the young’uns call it nowadays) and 3) potentially making a positive impact in someone’s life.

The amount of times people have been “bullied” into bettering their lives is unbelievable.

As an example, I know many people, under- and overweight alike, who have been bullied into the gym and are eternally grateful for it (even though most of them will never admit it like that).

Now, don’t go around saying I told you to bully everyone about everything just because you can. No, definitely don’t do that. But do learn how to effectively utilize bullying when and only when done for a right and just cause (such as getting people to dramatically improve their health and quality of life).

With that said.

I also know from talking to people, that so many people out their dream of writing for a living. Even going as far as having made plans about what they’ll be writing about, how they’ll market their work, and how they’ll monetize everything.

Even more specifically.

The amount of emails I’ve received from people telling me they “will create an email list sometime soon” but never actually get around to doing so is staggering to say the least.

I can only conclude those people are failures at life, probably will never amount to anything, and should better give up sooner rather than later and accept the fact walk of life simply isn’t meant for them.

You simply won’t get anywhere without the discipline to follow through with the plans you made.

If, however, you don’t want to identify with someone like that, I can only suggest you start writing and building your email list today (your email list will make your marketing and monetization process so much easier it’s unbelievable).

And if you’re finally motivated and disciplined enough to start, then be sure to check out my flagship email course Email Valhalla which will teach you how to write simple entertaining emails that get you paid and keep your readers reading day after day.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

The 2024 American elections are over.

Trump got elected—even going as far as winning the popular vote (the last Republican who won the popular vote was George W. Bush back in 2004).

But you’ve probably been bombarded with all of this information already.

So I won’t bother you with it.

What I will mention is how, earlier this week, I was thinking of writing a “my 2024 election prediction” email where I would’ve predicted Trump to be the winner (yes, yes, easily said after the fact I know, but that isn’t the point here).

Ultimately I decided not to write such an email.

I don’t have any specific reasons as to why I didn’t write one, but neither did I have a good reason why I shouldn’t have written one.

Frankly said, I simply couldn’t care less to share my prediction with the world (neither did I actually pay a lot of attention to the election itself, in fact). But this did remind me of an incredibly useful insight (something which could potentially earn you a lot of money—or help you in many different non-monetary ways).

In fact, it’s something I recently got reminded of (again) after reading Lawrence Bernstein’s newsletter about writing copy in financial markets.

The insight in question?

It's better to be wrong than wishy-washy.

Everyone likes predictions, it’s in our human nature. Also in our human nature is the need to want to follow and listen to people who dare to speak their minds (yes, even people who say they don’t like following others, do still have people they enjoy reading or listening to because of this very reason).

So it pays to be bold and make predictions.

At the same time, nobody remembers, much less cares about, you if you get something wrong. People simply move on with their life and act as if your predictions never happened.

The result?

An almost unlimited upside to making bold predictions without almost any downside whatsoever.

Don’t believe me?

Look at the most well-known analysts in their fields, whether it’s finance, politics, or sports, and check out their track records.

On the flip side, if you try to sound educated, explain the pros and cons or probabilities of each option, and ultimately conclude that “it depends” or “it can go either way,” then simply nobody would give you a single sliver of attention.

So to repeat: It's better to be wrong than wishy-washy.

And the best way to make such predictions and share them with your readers, as you should probably know by now if you’ve been following me for any length of time, is by writing simple entertaining emails people love to read (while also getting you paid).

For more information on how to write emails just like that, check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

Back in early 2021, a couple of buddies and I went on a city trip.

Nothing fancy, just discovering a “medieval” style city in-country which was close by and easily accessible by train.

I still have a bunch of pictures from that specific trip.

Pictures of the old cathedral, the food we ate, some funny street names, ducks, and a particular weird monument or art piece that I still, to this day, have no idea what it’s supposed to resemble.

But none of those pictures compare to a particular picture I took of a simple shop we happened to stroll past.

More specifically.

It’s a picture of a Valentine’s store all dressed up in pink, decorated with hearts, teddy bears, swans, and glitter everywhere. But that’s not all. Not by a long shot.

See, right next to our lovey-dovey pink little store was the entrance to the torture museum, all in black, decorated with human skulls, spider webs, and some other wooden contraptions which I don’t wish anyone to be trapped in.

Either of these storefronts might catch the attention of the occasional passer-by.

But put both of those together? And, well, I doubt anyone could resist the urge to see what’s going on, or at least to do a double take to check whether their eyes weren’t deceiving themselves.

This, truly, was one of the best examples I’ve ever seen of how the power of contrast can be used to its full potential when it comes to catching attention and building interest.

It wasn’t until just recently that I got reminded of this example when I learned about how extremely powerful contrast can be when used correctly. Just think of all the possibilities when it comes to writing, advertising, or even the names of popular books, TV shows, or video games for that matter (I very much doubt the classic hit video game Little Big Planet would’ve become as popular as it did if it wasn’t for it’s extremely obvious and effective use of contrast).

So with this, I challenge you.

The next time you sit down to create something, regardless of what it is, focus on adding more contrast to it than you would otherwise. See what the results are.

I’ve got an entire module dedicated to the usage of contrast in my upcoming course about running profitable paid ads to consistently and reliably grow your email list—including real-life examples of the tremendous results it has gotten me—and for a good reason.

In the meantime, you might want to check out Email Valhalla where I also show you some tips and tricks of how to add more contrast to your writing to make it demand instant attention and actually help you get paid.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

What's a writer's favorite dinosaur?

A thesaurus.

Now, this silly little joke won’t land me a Netflix special together with Dave Chappelle. But it more than fulfilled its purpose.

What was the purpose of my silly little joke, you ask?

To continue reading this email.

See, whereas the subject line of the email serves the one and only purpose of making people open the email (unless you’ve already established a relationship with your reader—at that point, the subject line matters a lot less than the “from” line), the opening line instead serves the one and only purpose of getting people to read the second line, and then the third, the fourth, the fifth, and so on.

Now, there are many ways to write great opening lines that make people continue reading.

One of which is to be different than every other email in your reader’s inbox, to say something unique, to be entertaining even and make them smile—or at least chuckle internally.

Of course, the story doesn’t end there.

You’ll want to follow up your email with something education, informative, inspirational, or anything that gives your reader the feeling of being worth their time—simple entertainment won’t have people coming back for more every single day after all.

The simplest way to do so is by tying the topic of the opening line to a useful lesson or insightful anecdote.

After that it’s simply a matter of connecting everything together and packaging it up into an enticing and simple-to-follow call to action.

So if you enjoyed this mini-masterclass in grabbing attention (and keeping it) when it comes to email writing, then you’ll want to check out my flagship course Email Valhalla which will teach you all about how to write emails that get you paid while keeping your readers reading day after day.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

In the year 2000, two French researchers wanted to know if they could influence the likeness of someone agreeing to your request using just a few specially encoded words.

The exact experiment went as follows:

They would go around to random people on the street and ask for bus fare, telling them they didn’t have any. Remind you, they were total strangers. But there’s a twist. They thought they could increase how much money people received by using a few words at the end of their ask.

And they succeeded.

They discovered a technique so simple and effective that it doubled the amount of bus fare people would give them.

From then on, this technique has been used—with an incredible success rate—by salesmen, charities, voluntary surveys, and many more over the last 2 decades.

Let me repeat this.

There is a set of simple words, no more than 4 words actually, that can literally double the likeliness of people saying yes to whatever you ask them.

I don’t know about you, but that’s insane.

And what’s more insane? All of us can use it immediately. Today even.

You could start using it directly after reading this email and get double the amount of clients you would otherwise. I’m not even joking about this. This is absolute fact, something that’s been recorded in over 42 studies with over 22,000(!) participants. And it turned out to be true every single time.

Hell you could even stop reading any of my emails right after I tell you those 4 simple words, you don’t have to read another email in your life, and you’ll be on your way to double the amount of yesses you’ll get for life.

(Please do keep reading my emails, I enjoy you being on my list. But you are free to leave or to keep reading of course.)

You’re probably interested in knowing those magic—trust, me, they’re magical, 4 words by now, right?

Well ok. I won’t keep teasing you anymore.

Here are the magic words these researchers used in their own experiment, “But you are free to accept or refuse.”

That’s it. So simple.

This is called the “but you are free” technique. And you can use it however you want, whenever you want, and wherever you want. It’s that powerful.

Why does this work?

Well, it’s because people are more likely to be persuaded to give when your ability to choose is reaffirmed. People like to be in control. And they always are. But it doesn’t always feel that way. So show them, tell them, make sure they realize they really are free to choose whether to accept or decline, they are the ones in control.

You’ll quickly notice that when people realize this, they’ll gladly say yes to your requests.

There’s even something more crazy.

The “but you are free” technique doesn’t just apply to face-to-face conversations. No, no. It even works on the phone, via text messages, and yes, even through email.

And talking about email.

Maybe this is the perfect time for you to start building your list. To start sending more emails, to build more products and sell them through your emails, or even just to get more clients for your service business.

Whatever it is. Email will help you achieve more and get you paid more reliably and consistently.

In that case, you should check out my course Email Valhalla. But of course, you are free to accept or refuse.

Here’s the link: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

The average 12-year-old boy is 356% more likely to ask his parents to buy ice cream at the store than a 15-year-old girl.

How crazy is that?

Not only because that’s an enormous difference in the likelihood of a kid asking for ice cream. I mean, it’s not as if ice cream is this extremely gender-specific interest as opposed to playing with dolls or reading your average superhero comic book.

And neither is that 3-year difference that much when you think about the general age range of people who enjoy eating ice cream.

But no, that’s not all. There’s a lot more that makes it a crazy statement.

More specifically…

It’s also crazy because I made up that fact just now. Entirely made up. Total bollocks. I didn’t even do a sliver of research to make it feel more possible.

And yet…

I’m certain there’s a high chance you read that first sentence and simply believed it.

In fact, I know many people did.

Coincidentally, it’s also something Claude C. Hopkins wrote about in Scientific Advertising when he said the following:

===

“The weight of an argument may often be multiplied by making it specific. Say that a tungsten lamp gives more light than a carbon and you leave some doubt. Say that it gives three and one-third times the light and people realize that you have made tests and comparisons.”

===

Now, admittedly, he didn’t say anything about lying and or making up facts.

Probably because that’s not a good business practice.

But it does work just as well—which clearly shows you the power of being specific.

Now, I’m sure you’re not planning on making up random specific, and believable, facts as a party trick wherever you go.

But you might be interested to know that you’d make, on average, a total of $42 for every $1 you spent on email marketing.

Not a bad trade, eh?

And if you’d like to start learning how to write better emails so you can make more sales while keeping your readers reading day after day, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla

Have you ever read or seen Game Of Thrones?

Well, if you’re anything like me (or unlike me I should say) you probably have. The show has been around for 13 years already, and George R.R. Martin published the series' first book over 28 years ago.

Now, I proclaim myself to be a lover of the genre (with my current favorite author being Brandon Sanderson), but I hadn’t seen nor read any of the entries that make up Game of Thrones (or ASOIAF for the book lovers).

It’s only recently that I’ve picked up the books and started reading them.

So recently, in fact, that I’m currently only on book 2, A Clash of Kings.

And it’s been an absolute blast reading through the pages. I don’t know why I never picked up on this series earlier.

Aside from the writing, the story, the worldbuilding, and the depth of each of the characters being immaculate, there’s another reason why I like it so much.

More specifically.

It’s because of how the book displays who’s in charge. And I’m not merely talking about who’s wearing the crown or who’s got the most muscle. No, I’m talking about the people who actually make things happen. They who get shit done—the people behind the scenes pulling the strings.

They all have one thing in common—something highly valuable and practical for us marketers as well.

They all know how to persuade people. They know what each and every person wants most. And even if they don’t, they’ll soon figure it out…

Armed with this information they’re able to create the best and most favorable of deals.

No one in the series—not anyone with true power at least—tries to convince other people to do something they want or tries to talk other people into why what they have is something valuable.

And so it is in the real world.

Don’t try to get people to buy what you want to sell. Sell what people want to buy instead.

This, and many other highly crucial principles and lessons, can be found in my highly regarded course Product Creation Made Easy to help you create more products faster, better, and more profitable than ever before.

Click here for more information: https://alexvandromme.com/product

This Sunday was election day for every Belgian adult with a right to vote.

Three different elections took place actually. A local vote, a vote deciding the national government, as well as a vote deciding who will be elected to the European parliament.

And before you click off, let me warn you that I won’t get all boring or political in this email.

Quite the contrary, in fact.

There’s something extremely interesting and valuable that took place in our national election. Something I doubt many people would even think twice about, but yet it happened right there, under everyone’s noses, plain and simple for everyone to see. And it’s one of the most valuable and practical persuasion lessons I’ve seen in a long time.

To give some context:

Here in Belgium, we have the option to vote on one of the 7 different parties (there are a few other smaller parties to vote on, but these are the major ones), depending on their agendas and whichever we like most. As in most first-world countries, gender and sexuality have become quite the popular topic and one of the major points of discussion among the people. So naturally every political party had to take a stand on it and voice their opinion and how they’ll act on this whole shebang.

Naturally, the people who care about this are the loudest group in society.

Resulting in something an overrepresentation of that group in society, leading to the fact that, one by one, every single political party shared how much they care about gender and sexuality, how much they’re going to aid and support the LGBTQ…+ community, even going as far as stating they’ll reform education plans as early as kindergarten to teach kids all about it.

Well, all political parties except one, that is.

Out of the seven (7!) there’s only one party that dared to voice their distaste of what society has become with the gender-and-sexuality movement, saying there should be no place for “gender propaganda” in kindergarten, or any other level of education for that matter (and rightly so).

Even more.

The better part of our entire media landscape is against that particular political party, actively trying to undermine them, make them look bad, digging up dirt wherever (and however) they can, going as far as almost boycotting other people or parties to support them, in short, doing whatever they can to make them as weak and tiny as possible.

And yet.

After the results of the election came in, they secured a tied first place in the national election.

Regardless of what your takes are on the gender discussion, there’s a lesson to take away from this story.

And that’s not to be afraid to voice your opinions, stand up for what you think is right, and dare to fight the crowd.

Who knows, maybe you might just end up winning an election.

Even if you’re not planning on running in any election. Voicing your opinions, and daring to fight the crowd is an immensely powerful way to strengthen your bond with your fans and repel everyone you don’t want, nor care about—leading to a much healthier and higher quality audience (as well as a lot more profits for your business).

If you’d like to learn other persuasion principles to increase your business’s profits, especially through (email) writing, then check out Email Valhalla here: https://alexvandromme.com/valhalla