Are We In Control Of Our Decisions?

Watch this video:

If you are not familiar with Dan Ariely's work, you ought to get a kick out of it. Excellent implications for devious marketers everywhere.

Guide to Build a Successful Business

'Systematizing' the online business process is an area I've been struggling with for a little while now. While novices to IM(Internet Marketing) tend to feel swamped by the range of tactics and techniques available, more experienced IMers are merely buried in the ideas and knowledge they've gained (which in my case just swirls around in my head all the time!). Neither feels especially 'free' of worry or stress! Whatever stage you're at, finding ways to simplify the process is a major step in creating personal freedom. It would make a good subject for the group to discuss and develop.

Many guru's split the process into four stages - IDENTIFY YOUR MARKET, DEVELOP YOUR PRODUCT, BUILD YOUR LIST, PROMOTE YOUR OFFER and although there are clearly alternative stages, and sub-stages within this model, it pretty much covers every types of business. Even a $100-a-day cashcow that's runs on autopilot requires each of these stages to some degree. If these stages could be broken down into a simple checklist along the lines 'go here, do this, check that, click this - and so on' it would help both novices and experienced entrepreneurs. People like Ed Dale have been making attempts to do this and there are countless WSOs and short reports that try to do so but I haven't found any programme yet that has got the process completely right.

I agree that a 'proper' business is the natural goal for most entrepreneurs, but people starting out should consider carefully what they define as 'proper'. I've started, built and run several businesses. I've also been involved or advised countless others. Believe me, if you're fed up with doing a 9-5 job for someone else with limited remuneration, lack of enjoyment and buckets of stress, then running a 10/20/30-person company won't be any different! In fact, it'll be worse. 

There are only three reasons for doing it:

1. You 'might' make a shitload of money (but don't bet on it - 95% of all startups fail in the first three years)
2. You 'might' be able to sell the business for a shitload of money (after 5/10/20/50 years of bloody hard work building it up)
3. You 'might' be able to take a back seat, hand the company to employees to run, and live comfortably off the profits

Most people starting in business have options 1 (and maybe 2) in mind. But it's option 3 that is most appealing. Creating a business which produces hands-free 'residual' income year after year with little or no effort is, in my opinion, the key to success, and something that could be achieved in a matter of months rather than taking years.

A $100-a-day cashcow isn't always the best starting point. It's surprising how much time you can spend tinkering with your cashcow - before you know it, months or years have slipped by, and you're still only earning $100 a day! So I would be wary of focussing too much on that.

Having said that, it's doesn't take a huge amount of effort to get a small ebay business going, or setting up an ezine, or creating a short report, or building a simple affiliate site. It's not rocket science - you just have to get on with it.

Joomla - The Simple Way To Incredible Web Sites

Before you get freaked out about having to do something that a geek would be paid to do, let me show you something: http://demo.yootheme.com/apr08/ Nice webpage, eh? Looks sophisticated, has fancy interaction such as those accordion things, and check it out!!! When you Mouse-over the Home Button, it lets you choose X-ray (my fav), Gold, Black, Desktop, etc.. these are all the same page, but you control how it looks! Wouldn't you like a cool website like this, for free, and without having to pay some geek (like me) to set it up and (more imporantly) maintain it for you? Ok... great, I knew you would! Let me tell you about Joomla.

Websites are intimidating for many non-geeks (I got my geek certification. In fact, I remember in college hearing "Wow, you're cute for a nerd!"). You might think "Golly gee! What software do I need to set it up? Do I need to learn how to use that software? How do I upload the site? What's an ISP? I bet it's expensive to own a site! I should just pay some company!" Well... I'm here to tell you that you can do a lot of it yourself! No software other than a web browser is needed! Ok... I semi-lied... it might help to use FTP software as well (http://filezilla-project.org/download.php), but perhaps not. 

Here's the thing... Joomla is a CMS: Content Management System, a website that you login to, and have a control panel in that allows you to add and remove pages, pictures, etc... Joomla is FREE. It is OpenSource software, so you can customize it if you want. You can grab it from www.joomla.org - and while you're at it, go to extensions.joomla.org and browse around.... that will wet your lips for some of the functionality that you can get for (usually) free! You can add guestbooks, chatrooms, calendars, and much more absolutely free-- and easily! Joomla has a "installer".. so, let's say I want to add a guestbook. 

I just download one from extensions.joomla.org, save it to my harddrive, go to my joomla site's administration, install extension, and browse for that zip file. Joomla is very powerful, and has massive support (online forums, books, and community). If you grab a YooTheme template, you can find tutorials on customizing it on yootheme.com.

So, now you know that it's simple, and powerful, and you can get it for free. You need a few things to "develop" it - I like to use Xampp (www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp.html) - which just runs on your computer, and lets you play with your files without having to upload them. 

You see, traditional websites consisted of HTML files and images (say JPG's for example). That made it easier to design a site, but that was web 1.0, we are in web 2.0... CSS is the way to control your look and feel (but that's all done for you with these templates!), and there are many other benefits. 

Let's say I have an About page, Contact Page, and Photo-Gallery page, and I now want to add a Stories page. In HTML I would have to practically gut my site and start over sometimes to add one page. In a CMS, I just log in and click "new page", and it's there... not only that, but now all the pages that referenced it are automatically updated. This saves massive quantities of time. CMS systems also allow you to create RSS feeds (which help to bring the search engine to you, as well as keeping your readers up to date), change the look and feel of the site, and add massive functionality. 

As I was saying, something like XAMPP is cool, because unlike HTML files, you need a server to process the PHP code. Xampp is free, doesn't take up many resources, and can even run off a USB key (portableapps.com). 

The great thing is that often times you don't even have to set it up. Many websites (I use Bluehost.com -- I'll save you the grief ahead of time... GoDaddy.com is incompetent, and will cause you grief) have Fantastico or EasyScripts setup... so you just push a button, and Joomla is setup (kind of like setup.exe on PC apps). 

IF you do have to install it yourself, it is still extremely easy. You just need to have a MySQL Database/user/password. Your ISP will have a Database section (by the way, you want a webhost that runs on Linux, not windows), so you just click new database, give it a name, and assign a user to your database. You can install sample data with Joomla, which will let you disect how to create and position content.

The way it works - basically- is you set up a template for the look and feel of the site.
There are "modules" which you control from the modules section. A module gets assigned to a position. What the heck am I talking about? Let me show you: http://demo.yootheme.com



This is a YooTheme theme called "Ambient" This link shows you the "available positions" that you can place modules in. If you click on "home" you can see a bunch of modules/content. The accordion functionality, the "drawers" -- just click around, look around, mouse over stuff... get a feel for it. Each item is a module, and goes somewhere... i.e. a position. You can have multiple things in the same position, and control (very easily) which comes 1st. So the "right" position is a column, the "left" position is a column. If you click on "home" you can see all the functionalities and where they've been placed. Sub Menu, Yooaccordion, Yoospotlight, Yoolightbox, Yoologin -- those are in "left" position. "home" Ambient "Ambient! The latest Yoo....." is in "main" "That nifty set of moving images for showing you the different theme variations (that are all part of "Ambient") is in "Top1" -- get it? Great! I knew you would!

A few concepts to understand are positions (which I sort of covered for you), articles, sections, and categories. Articles are controled from the article manager (duh!). Create a new article, you have a WYSIWYG editor (basically, you have something that resembles MS Word.. Press the Bold button to make things go bold... italics for italics... insert image to insert image... and so on) - which you can replace with a different one.. lots to choose from on extensions.joomla.org -- Write what you want, add pictures, insert columns / rows / tables, and even other modules in your content.

You hit save, and it's live. You can have it be live (published) or not (draft). You can have an article be a whole page (just choose article layout from the menu controller, and select that article. So.. new page "About" links to your "About article" with your "About slideshow" module embedded into it). Sections are parents of Categories.

I recently made a website for some clients... they have a lot of content that falls under "Babes" "Cars" and "Events" - So if they are trying to find an article they wrote, they can filter the list to just show them the ones from the "Babes" section.

To summarize, Joomla is a free and (mostly) simple software that you can easily set up and maintain. It allows you to add a lot of power to your site without being a programmer. It allows you to be search-engine friendly, and it allows you to change the look and feel at will. It is also such a prevalent platform, that you can easily find people on elance or rentacoder to outsource your Joomla site to if it becomes too difficult. Joomla is the future! In case you've heard of other CMS, or were wondering about them, let me throw in a quick addon paragraph:

A CMS is basically a self-controlling website that's expandable. There are a few major ones, for various uses. Wordpress is probably the easiest to use. Wordpress is great if you're a blogger. Drupal is extremely powerful, but requires you to make so much stuff from scratch... basically, you need to be a nerd to use this one. Joomla is powerful, and simple. It has the largest number of extensions/plugins. There's a bunch that are always coming and going... I've heard good things about ExpressionEngine... then there' s a powerful new one called Ruby On Rails... They all have their uses, but as I said... Joomla seems to be the most prevalant. You can check out a bunch of them side by side on: http://www.cmsreview.com/

Content or Links: What Drives a Higher PR?

You have probably read time and time again about the power of linking, whether they are from link trades or simple one-way back links. In addition, the phrase “Content is King” seems to pop its little head up all over the place in informational products dedicated to Internet Marketing. Both are very important to have, but which one has more of a driving force when it comes to Google PR? I decided to conduct an ongoing experiment with this almost one year ago, and my results are actually quite surprising. At this point, I would like to share my two-tier test with you.

Background:
I bought two brand new domains (Site A and Site B), both with an initial PR of 0. Site A would be dedicated to acquiring links, while Site B would just focus on daily unique content. Both sites consisted of a homepage and a blog, and both were in a relatively similar niche. The time difference of getting Site A and Site B live was two weeks. On both sites, the homepage remained static, and the blogs were updated twice a day every day for about 7 months, then I dropped it down to once a day. All of the blog posts were created by me, which focused on discussing recent articles as well as including information the articles may have missed about the niche. Both blogs used WordPress.

The site that went live two weeks earlier (Site A) was the one I used for acquiring links. There were three sites I used for establishing my links: www.linkmarket.net (the free version), www.linkalizer.com (the free version), and www.backlinks.com (once I acquired enough of a PR to sign up for free with them). Also, the links I received were not all related to my niche; I just simply created a link directory on my site (not on the homepage or blog) and threw all of the
links I traded for into it.

Tier 1 Test:
After about 7 months of doing this, I was interested to see what the Google PR was for both of these sites. Here were the results:

Site A:                                        Site B:
Homepage PR: 4                      Homepage PR: 1
Blog PR: 4                                 Blog PR: 0

I found this to be pretty interesting, particularly Site B. Since all of the linking I did with Site A was all directed to my homepage, I can understand the PR 4. Seeing all the unique content I inserted, I also wasn’t surprised to see that Site A’s blog PR was 4 as well.

In terms of the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages), Site A ranked number 1 for about 10 different 2 to 3-word phrases and ranked in the top 5 in about 15 other 2 to 3-word phrases. With all these phrases, the competition ranged from 2 to 212 million other pages for the affiliated search queries (don’t let that fool you though: just because I ranked in the top 5
for queries with 212 million other pages doesn’t mean they are all directly competing for the same phrase. This ‘competition’ also consists of things like random blogs, static websites, products that had the search phrase in them, etc).

Now Site B is still an enigma to me. I did no active linking with this site whatsoever, and even though the homepage remained static the entire time, it got a PR of 1. In addition, Site B’s blog, which provided all of the daily unique content, had a PR of 0!

In regards to the SERPs for Site B, I couldn’t find my website in the top 50, which is when I stopped looking. I wasn’t expecting to find this site in the SERPs anyways…

Tier 2 Test:
Seeing how much better the PR was for Site A compared to Site B, I decided to see how Site A’s PR would change once I stopped actively acquiring links. So, for about 4 months, I completely stopped getting links for Site A to see what would happen. Still providing daily unique content to both blogs, here are my present results (month 11):

Site A:                                   Site B:
Homepage PR: 2                 Homepage PR: 1
Blog PR: 3                            Blog PR: 0

So just from not actively getting any more links, Site A’s homepage and blog PR both dropped while Site B’s PR remained the same.

Keep in mind, the reason I stopped actively acquiring links wasn’t because I couldn’t get any more (those of you who are familiar with the above linking services will know what I mean); I just wanted to see how my PR would react to the changes in link activity.

Site A’s changes in the SERPs were pretty dramatic. It now doesn’t rank number 1 in anything, a few three word phrases are ranked 6-10, and some of the phrases I ranked for I couldn’t even find in the first 50 results. Site B’s phrases did not change in the SERPs.

Conclusion:
In the end, I was very surprised to see the lack of impact quality unique content had on Google’s PR algorithms. Granted, unique content is not designed for spiders and bots, but I really thought that writing daily unique content for over a year would have had more of an impact on Site B’s PR.

While there are many variables in this test that were out of my control (i.e. people naturally linking to my blog posts, people social bookmarking my sites, etc.), this should help explain how much of an impact linking can have on your site’s PR and the SERPs. Personally speaking, I know how much of a pain it can be to actively get links, even with semi- automated software solutions like Arelis (which is what I used). What’s even more of a pain is contacting people via
email in your niche and trying to give them free articles that have backlinks to your site (which I also did).

Just remember, if it’s a high Google PR you’re looking for, you have to be willing to go out of your comfort zone and start focusing on elements you don’t have complete control over; for these are the areas where you will be most rewarded.

Logical Concepts

We talked about recognizing arguments from non-arguments. Now I'll show you the tools used to distinguish good arguments from bad ones so you don't get sold bullshit any longer.

2 key questions are asked when evaluating arguments:
1. Are the premises true?
2. Do the premises provide good reason to accept the conclusion?

We'll discuss the first question in later lessons. Right now, we'll focus on the second question.
Before we can evaluate an argument, we need to understand clearly what kind of argument is being offered.
There are important differences between the two standard types of arguments:
1. Deductive arguments
2. Inductive arguments

All arguments claim to provide support - that is, evidence or reasons - for their conclusions. But arguments differ in the amount of support they claim to provide.

DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS try to prove their conclusions with rigorous, inescapable logic.
INDUCTIVE ARGUMENTS try to show that their conclusions are plausible or likely or probable give the premise(s).

Some example of deductive arguments:
All humans are mortal
Socrates is human
Therefore, socrates is mortal

(Later, I'll show you patterns of reasoning that slip by the concious mind...such as the above...often whether it is indeed true or not:
A is B
C is A
therefore, C is B

or

A is B
B is C
therefore, A is C.

This is literally the 'pattern of thought' or put another way...'how people think and reason in everyday life if you were to put it onto paper'.

This is why people tend to be easily manipulated.

Because people use these patterns of thought (already ingrained in us) to bypass your 'radar' so to speak. This is incredibly persuasive for those who want to persuade you, and can be harmful for those who do not know how to reason logically and evaluate arguments.)

Another example:
If the president lives in the White House, then he lives in Washington, D.C.
The president does live in the White House.
So, the president lives in Washington D.C.

Notice how the conclusions of the arguments flow from the premises with a kind of inescapable logic. Each conclusion follows necessarily from the premises; this means that, given the premises, the conclusion could not possibly be false. Arguments are deductive when their premises are intended to provide this kind of rigorous, airtight logical support for their conclusions.

Understanding and Recognizing Arguments Part 3 of 3

How to tell an argument from a nonargument. In one part, you will see how copywriters use IF-THEN statement to sell you, and why they work so well. Plus, you'll learn how marketers misuse illustrations to appear more sincere then they are.

Something counts as an argument when it is a group of two or more statements and one of those statements (the conclusion) is claimed or intended to be supported by the others (the premises).

5 type of nonarguments, that are sometimes confused with arguments are:

1. Reports - The purpose of a report is simply to convey information about a subject. It narrates and informs versus offering reasons why one statement should be accepted over the basis of others. This is one reason marketers use 'disguised reports'. However, the logical person is able to decipher a report from an argument and then evaluate the argument if need be. Real tricky. You need caution when you have reports about arguments. These reports are NOT arguments because the author is merely reporting another person's argument, not endorsing it or putting it forward as his own. THIS IS USED BY MARKETERS FOR PRECISELY THAT REASON...and it is VERY persuasive since you don't recognize it.

2. Unsupported assertions - These are statements about what a speaker or writer happens to believe. They can be true, false, rational or irrational but they are only parts of arguments if the writer or speaker claims that they follow from, or support, other claims. If there is no claim any of the statements follow from, or imply, any other statements, this is not an argument.

3. Conditional statements - A conditional statement is an if-then statement. The first part of the statement(s) following the words if, is called the antecedent. The second part of the statement(s) following the word then, is called the consequent. A conditional statement does not need to be in 'if-then' format. Often times, the word 'then' is dropped (i.e. 'In the event of rain, the picnic will be cancelled' versus 'If it rains, then the picnic will be cancelled.') Conditional statements are not arguments because there is no claim that any statement follows from any part of a conditional statement. In other words, we're simply stating that if the first statement is true, the second statement will also be true. Using this, you are not claiming any of the statements are true. Thus, you have not put forward any premises or reasoned to any conclusions. In fact, you've only asserted a single claim: that one statement is true on the condition that the other statement(s) are/is true. As we've stated before, no single claim by itself is ever an argument. Conditional statements, accordingly, are not arguments. They can be PARTS of arguments however. (i.e. "If you fail to think critically, you'll be taken advantage of. You'll fail to think critically. So, you'll be taken advantage of.") Arguments can even be composed entirely of conditional statements. (i.e. If you succeed at getting him to buy, you'll have money. If you have money, you'll be rich. So if you succeed at getting him to buy, you'll be rich!) THESE ARE SOMETIMES CALLED CHAIN ARGUMENTS because the antecedent (the if part) of the first statement is linked to the consequent (the then part) of the last statement by a chain of intervening conditional statements.

4. Illustrations - These are intended to provide examples of a claim, rather than prove or support the claim. (i.e. Many animals are edible. For example, hog and beef are delicious between bread) The second statement does provide some evidence for the first, however the aformentioned passage is an illustration rather than an argument. It's purpose is not to provide convincing evidence for a conclusion bu merely to provide a few notable or representative examples of a claim. It can be tricky deciphering arguments from illustrations because phrases like 'for example' and 'for instance' sometimes occur in arguments rather than illustrations. You can use the 'principle of charity' when you are not sure what the intention of the author was. In other words, if the illustration used does not provide sufficient evidence for the claim being made, it is most often an illustration rather than an argument. IN MARKETING, however, the author is most likely using the illustration as an argument.

5. Explanations - Consider these two statements...
Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg.
Copywriting should be abolished because innocent people may be mistakenly led into harmful situations.
The first statement is an explanation. The second statement is an argument. An 'explanation' tries to show [/i] [i]why something is the case, not to prove that it is the case. The speaker isn't trying to argue that Titanic sank - everybody knows it sank. Instead, he's explaining why it sank. Of course, you can argue about whether a given explanation is or is not correct. For instance:
'Dinosaurs became extinct because of the impact of a large steroid'
The fact that this explanation is controversial (i.e. can be argued about) doesn't mean that it is an argument.
The purpose of the passage is not to argue that dinosaurs became extinct but to explain why they became extinct.
Explanations have two parts:
Explanandum - the statement that is explained
Explanans - the statement that does the explaining
i.e. 'I fell down because I tripped'
Explanandum - 'I fell down''
Explanans - 'I tripped'
In every day life, we use explanations and arguments interchangeably, thus why there is such confusion in this area. It is important to be able to distinguish arguments from explanations because the standards for evaluating them are quite different.

How do you distinguish arguments from explanations? There are four basic tests I'll explain in the next section.

How to recognize an argument from an explanation. This is extremely useful in breaking apart sales letters and getting ready to evaluate whether a sales letter is put together with strong form or weak form.

The common knowledge test - First, is the statement that the passage seeks to prove or explain a matter of common knowledge? If it is, the passage is probably an explanation rather than an argument. There's usually little point in trying to prove something that is already a well-known fact...unless you're a marketer of course.

The past event test - Second, is the statement that the passage is seeking to prove or explain an event that occured in the past? If so, the passage is probably an explanation rather than an argument because it is much more common to explain why past events have occured rather than to prove that they occured.

The author's intent test - Third, is it the speaker's or writer's intent to prove or establish that something is the case - that is, to provide reasons or evidence for accepting a claim as true? Or is it his intent to explain why something is the case - that is, to offer an account of why some event has occured or why something is the way it is? If the former, the passage is an argument; if the latter, the passage is an explanation.

The principle of charity test - We've previously explained this test.

None of these four test are full proof and none of these tests work ALL the time.

In the next section, I'll give you the basic logical concepts needed to distinguish good arguments from bad ones, so you can distinguish when someone is trying to persuade you negatively - and why copywriters use this all the time...usually in wrong way.

Understanding and Recognizing Arguments Part 2 of 3

You will learn how to identify premises and conclusions. Right now we are not EVALUATING arguments. We are simply breaking them apart so you can identify what you must evaluate and use to think for yourself. Then, you can do the opposite and persuade with unmatched skill. LATER ON you'll learn how to make your 'reason why' so strong and potent, it's unfair. As always, BE. ETHICAL.

In some cases (not all) premises and conclusions are identified with 'indicator words'.
Premise Indicators indicate that premises are being offered.
Conclusion Indicators indicate that conclusions are being offered.

Some common premise indicators include:
since
for
because
seeing that
given that
considering that
as
as indicated by
that being the case
judging from
inasmuch as
in view of the fact that

Examples...
'Having fun can be the spice of life but not it's main course because when it is over, nothing of lasting value remains.'

'Since copywriting requires reliable information, it's important to be able to distinguish good sources from less useful ones.'

'Women are not to blame when they reject the rules of life, which have been introduced into the world, seeing that it is men who have made them without their consent'

'To know that God exists in a general and confused way is implanted in us by nature, inasmuch as God is man's beatitude.'

'I think that, as copywriting is so vital to success, it is required of a man that he should study it no less than 5 hours a day.'

Here are some conclusion indicators:
therefor
thus
consequently
hence
so
it follows that
accordingly
for this reason
which shows that
implies that
this suggests that
that is why
wherefor
as a result
this being so

Examples...
'You want people to be honest, so be honest with them'

'Sorrow is a state of mind. Hence whether or not you feel sad over something is all in the mind.'
'Copywriting is the only skill on earth that can make you a million dollars a day, and that is why we must study it 15 hours a day.'

It's, again, important to consider context when determining meaning of expressions since the examples below, the italicized words do not function as indicator words.
i.e
I haven't seen you since high school
It was so cold out the ski resort closed
I wouldn't mind seeing that movie again.
etc.

Many arguments contain no indicator words at all. So how do we find the conclusion of an argument that
contains no indicator words?

Here are some hints:
* Find the main issue and ask yourself what position the reader or speaker is taking on that issue
* Look at the beginning or end of the passage; the conclusion is sometimes in one of those places
* Ask yourself, "What si the writer trying to prove?" That will be the conclusion
* Try putting the word therefor before one of the statements. If it fits, that statement may be the conclusion.
* Try the "because trick". That is, try to find the most appropriate way to fill in the blanks in the following statement: The writer or speaker believes _________ (conclusion) because _________ (premise). The conclusion will naturally come before the word because.

Understanding and Recognizing Arguments Part 1 of 3

You will start to notice how people use certain phrasing and ideas to persuade you by slipping under your critical radar...and why it works so effectively.

So far, we've seen thinking is concerned with REASONS; identifying reasons, evaluating reasons, and giving reasons.

Passages that present reasons for a claim are called 'arguments'.
An argument is simply a claim defended with reasons. A CLAIM...DEFENDED WITH REASONS. (Promises and proof, anyone?)

Arguments are composed of one or more premises and a conclusion.

'Premises' are statements in an argument offered as evidence or reasons why we should accept another statement, the conclusion.
The 'conclusion' is the statement in an argument that the premises are intended to prove or support.
An 'argument', is a group of statements, one or more of which (called the premises) are intended to prove or support another statement (called the conclusion).
A 'statement' is a sentence that can be viewed as either true or false. (i.e. Red is a color, God does not exist, Abortion is morally wrong, Canada is in South America...etc.)

Some 'statements' are true, some are false, and some are controversial. Each of them is a statement, because each can be prefaced with the phrase 'It is true that' or 'It is false that'.

Four things should be noted about statements...

1. A sentence may be used to express more than one statement (i.e. 'Roses are red and violets are blue' = statement 1 'roses are red', statement 2 'violets are blue)

2. Statements can sometimes be expressed as a phrase, or incomplete clause rather than a complete declarative sentence. (i.e. "With mortagage interest rates at thirty year lows, you owe it to yourself to consider refinancing your home" = 1 'you owe it to yourself to consider refinancing your home', 2 'mortgage interest rates at thirty year lows')

3. Not all sentences are statements, that is, sentences that either assert or deny something is the case. (sentences that are not statements ie.
'what time is it?' (question)
'Hi mom' (greeting)
'close the window! (command)
'Please send me a card' (request)
'Let's go to florida this year' (proposal)
'Insert A into slot B' (instruction)
'Oh my god!' (exclamation))
None of these is a statement because none of them asserts or denies that anything is the case. None say 'This is a fact. Accept this; it is true'. Consequently, sentences like these are not parts of arguments.

4. Statements can be about subjective matters of personal experience as well as objectively verifiable matters of fact.
'I feel a slight pain in my arm' is a statement cause it's true or false (you could be lying too) even though people have no way of verifying whether you're telling the truth.

Some sentences that looks like nonstatements are actually statements and can be used in arguments.
I.e.
1. You should quit smoking. Don't you realize how bad that is for your health?
2. Do not read beauty magazines. They will only make you feel ugly.

1. is a 'Rhetorical Question'. A rhetorical question is a sentence that has grammatical form of a question but is meant to be understood as a statement. You're not looking for information, you're making an assertion: that smoking is very bad for one's health. This assertion is offered as a reason (premise) to support the conclusion that you should quit smoking.

2. is an 'Ought Imperative', which is a sentence that has the form of a command or imperative but is intended to assert a value or ought judgement about what is good or bad or right or wrong. Gramatically "do not read beauty magazines" looks like a command or suggestion. In this context, the speaker is making an assertion: that you shouldn't read beauty magazines. 

The statement that reading such magazines will only make you feel ugly is offered as a reason to support this value judgement. The key question to ask, in order to recognize whether a
sentence that looks like a command or suggestion is an ought imperative, is: Can we accurately rephrase the sentence so that it refers to what somebody should or ought to do? If we can, the sentence should be regarded as a statement.
'Close the window! It's freezing in here!' is an order, not an ought judgement.
'Don't blow-dry your hair in the tub! You could electrocute yourself!' is an ought judgement rather than an order or suggestion.

Remember to consider the context in which the expression is used. 'Eat your vegetables' might be a command (nonstatement) in one context and an ought imperative (statement) in another.

In summary of Part 1 of 3 of this section...imperative sentences are not statements if they are intended as orders, suggestions, proposals or exhortations. They are statements if they are intended as pieces of advice or value judgements about what someone ought or ought not to do.

Real Copywriting (Part 2)

These are the tools world class salesmen use on consumers - and that you personally must recognize in yourself since they are barriers to you becoming incredibly persuasive - and instead you become persuaded. But always remember... Be ethical.

Some include:

* lack of relevant background information
* poor reading skills
* bias
* prejudice
* superstition
* egocentrism (self-centrered thinking)
* sociocentrism (group-centered thinking)
* peer pressure
* conformism
* narrow-mindedness
* close-mindedness
* provincialism
* distrust in reason
* relativistic thinking (the view that truth is a matter of opinion)
* stereotyping
* scapegoating
* unwarranted assumptions
* rationalization
* wishful thinking
* short-term thinking
* selective perception
* selective memory
* overpowering emotions
* self-deception
* face-saving
* fear of change

The following are differences between those who are the persuaders, and those who tend to be persuaded. Those who sell with incredible proof and persuasion sometimes understand the following.

They have a passionate drive for clarity, precision, accuracy and other standards. They are sensitive to the way thinking can be skewed by egocentrism, sociocentrism, wishful thinking, and other impediments. They are honest with themselves intellectually, and acknowledge what they don't know and recognize their limitations.
They listen open-mindedly to opposing views and welcome criticisms of beliefs and assumptions. They base their belief on facts and evidence rather than on personal preference or self-interest. They are aware of biases and preconceptions that shape the way we perceive the world. They think independently and are not afraid to disagree with group opinion. They are able to get to the heart of an issue or problem without being distracted by detail. They assess fairly ideas that challenge even their most basic beliefs, pursue truth and are curious about a wide range of issues.

On the other hand, the non-thinker:
See very little value in critical thinking. They often think in ways unclear, imprecise and inaccurate. They often fall prey to egocentrism, unwarranted assumptions, wishful thinking etc. They pretend to know more than they do and ignore limitations. They can be close-minded and resist criticisms of beliefs and assumptions. Often they base their beliefs on mere personal preference or self interest. They lack awareness of their own biases and preconceptions, and tend to engage in groupthink, uncritically following the beliefs and values of the crowd.
They are easily distracted and lack the ability to zero in on the essence of an issue or problem. They fear and resist ideas that challenge their basic beliefs. They are often relatively indifferent to truth and lack curiosity.

IN THE NEXT SECTION, I'll explain what an Argument is, and what it is not.

Real Copywriting (Part 1)

Imagine if you could persuade anybody using emotional logic?

Over the coming days, I will share with you what I have learned about logic, and how you can use it to win arguments almost every time.

This will help your copywriting in a BIG way. Because copywriting is 'salesmanship in print'. It is selling, on paper. Selling in person. It's all SELLING. Getting the other person hot and bothered for your product, and then having him BELIEVE it will do the things you say it will. If you can read the words that I will type over the coming months, you will become almost unbeatable in arguments and be able to persuade anyone to your side.

That's a huge claim, but I'll prove it to you over the coming months. Simply using what I share cannot help but make you more successful in selling.

You cannot even begin imagine how it will help other parts of your life as well. Relationships. Ideas. Social skills. Deciphering people who are trying to persuade YOU to THEIR side of things, bullshit that is trying to be sold to you, being taken advantage of, etc.

But maybe most importantly, what I'll share with you will teach you to think logically and...to think for yourself.

Over the coming days I want to do something special for you.

I'm going to teach you how to become a Real Copywriter. Nothing to pay. No catch.

Real Copywriting is when you adhere to logic. In other words, you make emotional arguments with such logical grace, that your arguments cannot be beaten.

Gary Bencivenga is the greatest copywriter in the world. And the one suggestion he gives, above all else, is that you ingest your copy with more PROOF.

But what is PROOF?

As far as the lessons that follow are concerned, 'proof' is using logic in a way that makes people believe you - without question.

Imagine if you could persuade anybody using emotional logic?

Over the coming months, I will share with you what I have learned about logic - and how you can use it to win arguments almost every time.

This will help your copywriting in a BIG way. Because copywriting is 'salesmanship in print'. It is selling, on paper. Selling in person. It's all SELLING. Getting the other person hot and bothered for your product, and then having him BELIEVE it will do the things you say it will. If you can read the words that I will type over the coming months, you will become almost unbeatable in arguments and be able to persuade anyone to your side.

That's a huge claim, but I'll prove it to you over the coming months. Simply using what I share cannot help but make you more successful in selling.

You cannot even begin imagine how it will help other parts of your life as well. Relationships. Ideas. Social skills. Deciphering people who are trying to persuade YOU to THEIR side of things, bullshit that is trying to be sold to you, being taken advantage of, etc.

But maybe most importantly, what I'll share with you will teach you to think logically and...to think for yourself.
Let's begin...

This course is about learning to think for yourself and being your own person.

From here on, we'll refer to 'copywriting' as selling - because that's ALL it is. And selling is assembling ideas in the most persuasive order possible in order to get the response you desire from the people you desire it from.

In copywriting, you must learn to evaluate ideas and information.

The main goal here is not to teach you 'what to think'. That's what the gurus want for you. To teach you their way. After all, that's what they're selling. They teach you 'what to think'.

My goal is to teach you HOW TO THINK. How to become an independent and self-directed thinker and learner.

This will improve your selling skills in so many ways. You'll be able to counter arguments and understand when somebody is trying to persuade you unethically or without logical reasons...but rather for their own good.

 
What I'm going to share with you are the tools needed to effectively identify, analyze, and evaluate arguments and truth claims; to discover and overcome personal prejudices and biases; to formulate and present convincing reasons in support of conclusions; and to make reasonable, intelligent decisions about what to believe and what to do.

Anyone can make a huge claim. Far fewer can prove them.

Your selling will become SO potent when you learn to prove your claims and the proof is absolutely unquestionably rock solid.

The following are ideas to keep in mind. The best persuaders and sellers in the world know about these ideas - and then they use them to sell...because the consumer rarely exercises any of these. Is it any wonder people who know how to sell and write world class copy yield such power?

There are some beginning idea you must begin to understand, and they are as follows... 

CLARITY: In copywriting your words must be extremely clear. You must be clear about exactly what you intend to accomplish. You are seeking maximum clarity of language and maximum clarity of thought. Remember, it's not always the words - but the IDEA BEHIND the copy that sells the product.

PRECISION: To cut through confusion and uncertainties that surround problems and issues, it is necessary to insist on precise answers to precise questions. What exact problem are your clients facing? What exactly are the alternatives? What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Only when you seek this type of precision can you be incredibly persuasive.

ACCURACY: You are guaranteed to make bad decisions if your decisions are based on false information. Garbage in, garbage out. Don't simply value 'truth'; have a passion for accurate, timely information.

RELEVANCE: People try and distract you by raising irrelevant issues all the time. If someone is selling a great course on selling and competitor X says, 'It's no doubt his selling course is probably good, however I remember when he was in Miami for a seminar and they cancelled his speaking spot because someone more important came. It's true. Just ask anybody who was there.'' - it changes your viewpoint. It grabs the frame and shifts it.
How many times has this happened to us in all sorts of not so dramatic situations? A logical person realizes that the Course Sellers booking being cancelled has nothing to do with how good his course is.

CONSISTENCY: There are two kinds of inconsistencies. One involves saying or believing inconsistent things - things that cannot all be true or cannot both be true) about something. Second is practical inconsistency, which involves saying one thing and doing another. Humans often display an amazing capacity for self-deception when they aren't even aware they commit these inconsistent acts. In fact, many people claim morality is 'relative' while holding views that imply it's not relative. After this course, you'll be able to recognize such logical inconsistencies and, better, avoid them altogether.

LOGICAL CORRECTNESS: To think logically is to reason correctly. To draw well founded conclusions from the beliefs we hold. We need well supported and accurate beliefs. And we need to be able to reason from those beliefs to conclusions that logically follow from them. Here's an example of this illogical thinking. Nuns were asked why they take a bath with a bathrobe on - and they replied that God can see all and it is for that sake. I wonder if God can see through that bathrobe? Evidently not. Their reasoning was: 'God sees everything', 'God
sees through bathroom walls', but they failed to acknowledge that 'God sees through bathrobes'. This is a curious example, but not uncommon. Think of how many times this type of thinking pervades your life.

COMPLETENESS: Thorough and deep thinking, rather than superficial and shallow. This is how you learn to persuade.

FAIRNESS: Our thinking must be open minded, impartial and free of distorting biases and preconceptions. This is incredibly hard to achieve as we're shaped by our individual life experiences. However, basic fair-mindedness is an essential attribute of a logical persuader.