The “Aristotle Throttle” copywriting technique
Published: Fri, 10/30/20
I touched on this very briefly twice this year:
First, in the June 2020 “Email Players” issue when I talked about combining Aristotle’s rhetoric with dialectic. And then again a few months ago on a call when “Email Players” subscriber Troy Broussard and I launched our Pirates of the Learniceum coaching program we sell exclusively to our Learnistic mobile app members only.
For context, Aristotle taught 2 forms of persuasive communication:
Rhetoric & dialectic.
Rhetoric is by far the most popular and persuasive, which is why most ads are full of it. It appeals purely to the emotional side. Think political stump speeches, online shyt talking, memes, and great motivational talks.
They do not “teach” you anything.
Nor do they usually provide anything more than superficial intellectual sustenance.
Instead it’s lots of teasing, curiosity, stories, excitement, benefits, big claims, and emotional appeals. Think Donald Trump, for example, who is an absolute master at rhetoric — especially his tweets: short image & emotional based lines not backed up by anything but words, that get people worked up, and ready to take action.
Dialectic, on the other hand, is appealing to the intellect.
It’s where you use logic to argue a point or persuade someone to do something.
This is where you use proof, credibility, stats, facts, figures, etc. Think Ron Paul, for example. He absolutely sucks at rhetoric but is extremely adept at dialectic, in my opinion. That’s why his following is passionate, but small, while Trump’s is passionate but big.
Now for the lesson:
In advertising, you will get the biggest bang for your schmuck by combining them both.
But merely using and combining them ain't enough.
I have found after much experimentation in both my emails and sales letter copy, there is a precise ratio of each that is required. Too much of one or the other or not enough of one or the other and it not only doesn’t always work that well, but could even potentially work against you.
Which brings me to the November “Email Players” issue.
It goes into great detail about all this.
Including showing you an example of one of the highest-grossing ads I ever wrote.
However, it’s admittedly too advanced for the copywriting newbie.
But, I suspect the copywriting pro will find it shedding light on some things that did not make sense or that they did not notice at all before. Especially if it is practiced, honed, and drilled over and over — with every piece of copy, in any media you use, that you write or create.
Okay, enough mental strip-teasing for the soul.
To get the full scoop simply subscribe “Email Players” before tomorrow’s deadline.
Then, when it arrives casually read the issue in one sitting.
Then, after that, read it again.
And again.
And again…
Each time after the first reading taking notes, stopping to apply what you are learning to a work you have in progress, and thinking deeply about the material.
That’s how you get copywriting mastery.
But it all starts with the November issue.
To subscriber before I sent it to the printer and it’s too late, go here:
https://www.EmailPlayers.com
Ben Settle