Using Shock And Scare Tactics In Business

THE "SHOCK" TACTIC : I'm sure you've heard the term "shock value" before. Well that's what this tactic is all about. Shocking your readers or customers. Some folks will use foul language to shock their readers. Some will use incredible stories. And still others will tell them how they have made huge mistakes. How many times have you heard or seen these:

o WARNING
o DON'T BE AN IDIOT LIKE ME
o I WAS A LOSER UNTIL I. . .
o YOUR METHODS OF MAKING MONEY SUCK!
o IF YOU DON'T WANT TO DO X-Y-Z THEN LEAVE THIS PAGE NOW
o STOP BEING AN ASSHOLE AND COMMAND MORE RESPECT
o 20 TIME MORON FINALLY GETS IT RIGHT
o DUMB-ASS MAKES SIX FIGURES A YEAR

Or something similar. Those get your attention don't they? Sure they do! And that's why they get used. They suck you in and make you want to keep reading. Let's be honest here. If you can't do a simple thing like generate more interest in what you're selling, then you won't make any money. Simple as that. People, despite what they might say, want to be successful at one thing or another in life.

And they want to be the best at it. If they feel they can better their own lives through your tragedy all the better. That's one less person they have to compete with! Plus, they won't feel stupid by making that same mistake. Even better. Use this tactic sparingly though. Too much can turn off your prospects and have them hunting for their answers some where else. Now let's turn to THE "SCARE" TACTIC.

Yes, it's possible to scare your potential customers into taking action. This is particularly useful if your topic relates to health, money, or love. I mean really, who wants to be sick, poor, and alone? Hmm. . .I don't see any hands raised. EXACTLY! Fear can be your greatest salesman. Truly. Think about it. When the 9/11 tragedy rocked the nation, how many jerks do you think made money from it? A LOT.

It's sad, but true. They scared the crap out of people and sold them gas masks in case of a toxic gas epidemic. I think it's disgusting myself, but like people say, someone has to shovel the :"'; And shovel it they did. Not only them, how about all the other people out there that made money by selling t-shirts, bumper stickers, and all that other useless stuff?

Yeah, maybe they gave a portion of their profits to the families affected, but I can almost bet it was a very tiny fraction of their overall take. Am I saying take such a devastating event and work it to your advantage? GOOD LORD NO! That IS completely unethical. What I'm saying is that you CAN use the fear factor to make people take action.

Say, for instance, you're trying to make some money by selling an ebook about how to protect your computer from malicious viruses. Wouldn't you want it more, if you were selling it to yourself, if you knew what kind of catastrophe could occur to your computer if you ignored such useful information?

What if you ran your business from your computer and it went kaput on you? Wouldn't you want to save yourself thousands of dollars just by spending twenty? That's the idea behind this dirty trick. Use your customers fears, ethically of course, and you can generate more profits.

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