Read All About It! Seven timeless persuasion elements you can use today

Published: September 2024

There’s a saying: “The only thing new under the sun is the history you don’t know.” This is true of a lot of human events, and it’s often the case with copywriting and persuasion.

In this article, we’ll dissect a powerful newspaper ad for the American Advisors Group (AAG)—and extract seven useful concepts to use in your copy.

The ad

Here’s the full ad (originally written by copywriting legend Gene Schwartz). Feel free to just scan it… for now:

Full image of the newspaper ad. See the readable PDF version linked below.
Schwartz’s ad: See a full PDF version here

Seven persuasion elements you can use today

1. Use curiosity, but make it believable

“Why Haven’t Senior Homeowners Been Told These Facts?” is a clever way to use curiosity.

Headline: Why Haven’t Senior Homeowners Been Told These Facts?

Notice how it is a double claim: First, that there are facts, and second, that the facts should have been told to homeowners but have not been.

The headline doesn’t claim a conspiracy; just that some people know things that others do not. Everyone’s had that experience, so the headline rings true and buys an additional few seconds of visitor attention.

Compare that with headlines we’ve all seen in one form or another:

  • “The Weird Trick That Allows You to Feel Fine on One Hour of Sleep a Day.”
  • “The Anti-Aging Miracle That Big Pharma Doesn’t Want You to Know.”

Such claims appeal to magic (the trick) or conspiracies (Big Pharma). These approaches may still work with audiences that are into such things. However, they’re not only worn-out gimmicks, but are likely to put off more people than they convince.

The other benefit of the “Why Haven’t” headline is it asks a question. If you’ve not tested questions in headlines, it’s worth trying because they naturally prompt a thought or (mental) reply.

2. Call out your audience

What a great subhead:

Subhead: Better read this if you own a home in the U.S. and were born before 1954.

Why is it great? Because it’s focused on people who pass three tests:

  1. They own a home;
  2. It’s in the U.S., and
  3. They were born before 1954.

If you read this and answer Yes to all of them, you’re already thinking, This information is right up my alley! It’s more believable than claiming something is “revolutionary” or “game-changing” because those don’t qualify the audience.

The “deck” or subhead beneath the headline is also effective for its use of “Better read this if you…” It does not command and demand the way “Attention: Homeowners!” or “STOP!” attempt to do. Instead, it’s phrased like friendly advice.

3. Provide both reading and scanning paths

Visitors usually scan material until they decide it’s worth reading, and then they slow down and may go back to the beginning to read it. The best copy provides both paths, as this ad does. You can read it from top to bottom or let your eyes wander across it.

If you scan, there are plenty of elements designed to catch your eye. These include:

  • The headline and deck.
  • The subhead: “NO MONTHLY MORTGAGE.”
  • Bolded words: “5 trillion dollars” and “hidden wealth.”
  • PAYMENTS? EXTRA CASH?” (Again, we see questions used to elicit curiosity.)
  • “How the HECM ‘Growth Feature’ works.”
  • The caption beneath Ronald Reagan’s photo.

4. Use photographic proof

On one level, the image of Ronald Reagan signing a document is unnecessary: We can assume that presidents sign bills that become laws.

Full image of the newspaper ad. See the readable PDF version linked below.

On another level, it’s brilliant. The target audience remembers Ronald Reagan and may associate him with the “Good old days.” Also, having the smiling president sign something into law gives the ad legitimacy, as if he’s happy that this mortgage law is finally happening. It’s what a journalist might show in a news story about these mortgages.

What are things in your business that you might find images to support? For example, in our article “A tale of four pizzas”, we wrote about how 98 of the 77,000 pizza restaurants in the U.S. have a special Neapolitan certification recognized by the Italian Government. They could show that recognition being signed into law or even just the signed certificate itself.

What can you show and not just tell?

5. To make a process or thing more impressive, give it a name

The ad copywriter could have said: “How money compounds in an HECM,” but it feels more tangible to say: “How the HECM ‘Growth Feature’ works.”

Naming things or processes happens all the time in business. Which of the following sounds more exclusive or impressive?

  • Support team or Apple Genius Bar?
  • Motion smoothing technology or LG TruMotion Display?
  • Higher-efficiency engines or Ford EcoBoost?
  • Comprehensive car-inspection process or L/Certified by Lexus?
  • Flexible urethane midsoles filled with pressurized gas or Nike’s Air Max?
Full image of the newspaper ad. See the readable PDF version linked below.
A vintage Air Max ad from Nike, who’ve used this naming strategy for decades.

Businesses often have processes or projects whose internal names may be nothing more than the title of a Google Document. That can work internally, but to take advantage of how names take on a life of their own, it’s worth thinking about what processes you have that could use a solid name. The name can become part of your unique selling proposition—something your target audience truly cares about.

6. Blend objections and counter-objections in the same way people think

Many websites put all objections in a separate FAQ area (if they address them at all). Though FAQs can be useful, think about how you might address objections as they arise. Otherwise, it’s like a presenter asking for an audience to hold all questions until the end. If I have a burning objection at minute 3, it’s hard to concentrate on and believe the presenter until he addresses my objection at minute 33.

The AAG ad does a good job with in-line objection handling:

Some homeowners think HECM loans sound “too good to be true.” After all, you get the cash you need out of your home but you have no more monthly mortgage payments.

NO MONTHLY MORTGAGE PAYMENTS?2 EXTRA CASH?

It’s a fact: no monthly mortgage payments are required…”

Adding the superscript footnote in the subhead is clever because they’re associated with academic writing. Its very existence feels like a proof element.

Later, we read:

While these special loans are not for everyone, they can be a real lifesaver…

The very fact that the ad admits the loans are not for everyone is a trust builder. Even though the ad does not specify who the loans won’t help, the admission skewers the too-good-to-be-true objection and makes its claims seem more believable.

(For more on countering objections, see how you can use the steel man technique to persuade people who disagree with you.)

7. Put something useful at the end

Note how the very bottom of the ad is not just fine print but also includes the “BBB A+” rating.

People often try to get an overall sense of what they’re viewing by reading the first and last bullet points, and the top and bottom of ads and webpages.

By putting a proof element like a rating or testimonial at the end, you can strengthen the overall impression.

Look for handholds

Given how quickly our world changes, it’s easy to look at old ads and dismiss them. But human psychology hasn’t changed, and smart copywriters study classic ads in detail to see what works. These takeaways are like handholds that allow you to pull your copy up a little higher from where it was.

We’ve run thousands of experiments and can say with 100% confidence that sometimes, the slightest wording changes can make an enormous difference.

Mark Twain summed it up best:

“The difference between the almost right word and the right word is really a large matter—’tis the difference between the lightning bug and the lightning.”

By the way

The company that ran the ad—American Advisors Group—was a client of ours. Although we didn’t write the ad, you may be interested in hearing what they had to say about working with us.

‘… we’ve seen an overall lift of 50%+.”—Jeff Lawrence. Vice President of Digital Marketing at American Advisors Group.

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