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ChangingMinds Blog! > Blog archive > 02-Nov-05

Wednesday 02-Nov-05

Persuasion blogs - blogs that persuade

On blogs that persuade

Blogging is a modern phenomenon that has gone from a few people writing diaries online to a new way of being, learning and persuading.

Blogs work at persuading you first by the eloquence of the author and their intuitive or deliberately cunning use of persuasive writing. But this is true for any writing. Blogs have a further reason for their effectiveness at changing minds..

Some blogs are deliberate jumps onto the blogging bandwagon in order to reach their audience. Thus you get speakers, consultants, authors, etc. doing blogs on their subject of expertise. These blogs vary greatly in quantity and quality. Some are generous, massive and informative, as blogs should be. Others are cynical attempts to snag blog browsers and peddle wares without offering much value in return for the reader's attention.

Blogs that work best are those that look like conversations with a friend or private musings. You read them because they entertain and inform you, not because they batter you with a thinly-concealed sales pitch. When listening to a friend, you implicitly trust what is said, as you believe that they care about you, or at least will do you no harm. When peering into someone's private diary, you believe that they are not trying to persuade you simply because they do not know you are there.

Many blogs are indeed like diaries: relatively unstructured rambling, where the author writes almost how he or she talks. And when I read them, I feel a little bit of the voyeur's delight at knowing another's secrets. And of course I trust that what they say is truthful, at least from their personal position. And so they are more able to change my mind.

Blogs on persuading

Here's a collection of other blogs on persuasion, based on a short search through Google.

How to persuade

http://howtopersuade.com/site/?cat=1

The blog of Dave Lakhani in Boise. Thoughtful notes about the subject. As well on the site, Dave promotes both his services as a speaker, particularly in sales and marketing, as well as his book, Persuasion: The Art of Getting What You Want.

Branding blog

http://www.brandingblog.com/

Dave Young's blog about all things branding. Includes a long archive.

Persuasion architect

http://persuasion.typepad.com/architect/

From Anthony, 'Senior Persuasion Architect' at Future Now, who help their clients create persuasive websites.

Micropersuasion

http://www.micropersuasion.com/

Steve Rubel explores how new technologies are transforming marketing, media and public relations. Many articles and links!

The Power of Influence

http://thepowerofinfluence.typepad.com/the_power_of_influence/

A blog about Word of Mouth Marketing by Ian McKee, CEO of Vocanic. Including a nice long archive, available from the front page.

Kinetic ideas

http://wendy.kinesisinc.com/

Ideas and more from Wendy, the Marketing Maven. Lots of articles, categorized for easy browsing.

Marketing ideas

http://www.marketing-101.info/

A good selection of articles on general marketing and sales.

New persuasion

http://newpersuasion.typepad.com/new_persuasion/

Dan McGinn, a communication professional's blog.

See also

Wednesday 01-Feb-06 

Funny adverts

There was a TV show on recently that aired advertisements from around the world that deliberately used humor to sell. It was entertaining, and it struck me that if you could put together a good show just made up of ads then the advertisers are clearly doing something right.

A basic component of much humor is that it is unexpected. You set up strange situations or add odd twists to the end of the ad that make viewers laugh and feel good. And good feelings are just what advertisers want when they show their products.

One ploy is gender exchange, such as where men are shown doing work that is generally associated with women, sometimes even dressed up as women. For example household cleaning goods are normally a bit bland and ads are in danger of making stereotypical sexist statements if shown being used by a housewife. Do a gender swap and the whole situation is parodied, leading to women smiling as they see men doing the cleaning for a change.

And even the laws help. Recent legislation here has banned alcohol producers from implying that alcoholic drinks make you more attractive. Many drinks manufacturers already use humor--this law will only increase this trend.

Yet amongst the laughter, we must also be cautious. Although I enjoy funny ads, I also know that their fundamental purpose is to sell. Armed with this knowledge, however, I can then admire the art and enjoy the fun.