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Curiosity killed the cat, but it also increased sales

If I asked you what is the only reason most people buy, what would that reason be?

Now, if you’ve ever studied sales, you probably answer self-interest.

And I would have to tell you … you are probably wrong.

Now, while self-interest is EXTREMELY important, if it’s not one of the most important things, there is something that goes beyond it.

Curiosity.

If an ad can make you scratch your head wondering what the secret is, then you’ve done an amazing job.

Curiosity is not only important for the ad in general, it is absolutely essential for headlines and bullets.

There always has to be an element of curiosity in them for them to work and produce winners.

Did you know that during a conversation with one of his students (Scott Haines), Gary Halbert told him that curiosity was the number one copy lure that made people buy?

But Gary Halbert wasn’t the only one who used curiosity in his sales letters.

Mel Martin, the best copywriter no one ever heard of, also used curiosity in his sales letters.

In fact, the ads he wrote for Boardroom that propelled them to become a 9-figure company were ALL curious. The ads he wrote were bullets full of curiosity.

But does this mean that your entire ad should be just curiosity upon curiosity?

Not at all.

You can definitely overdo it to the point of annoying your reader.

There are two things you can do to prevent this from happening:

1) Combine curiosity with self-interest. This is the ultimate combo when it comes to bullet points and headlines. If you could wrap a buff out of curiosity, you’ve already won. Example: “How a one-legged golfer can help you carry the ball further.” That headline makes you curious because it involves a one-legged golfer and it has a benefit. You can use this technique not just in your headline, but throughout your ad.

2) Give away good information throughout your ad. If you let everything in your ad be a joke, eventually you are going to upset some people. You can give some information in your body text or even in your bullets. Make 2-3 bullets a complete taunt and then toss a full bullet to give away. Not only does this establish reciprocity, proof, and authority, but it also keeps them on their toes and makes them actually read your ad.

So there you have it. Keep this in mind the next time you write an ad.