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Seducing Strangers

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Seducing Strangers

How to Get People to Buy What You’re Selling (The Little Black Book of Advertising Secrets)

Workman Publishing,

15 min read
10 take-aways
Audio & text

What's inside?

To persuade through advertising, you must seduce. That requires understanding consumers and creating ads that make them feel good about themselves.

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Editorial Rating

8

Recommendation

Mad Men, the drama about New York’s advertising industry during the 1960s, drew raves for its authenticity. Advertising veteran Josh Weltman, a consultant to the show, helped make Mad Men realistic. Weltman shares his expertise about the processes of persuasion and motivation that are crucial to effective advertising. In today’s information-centric economy, everyone must have a bit of Don Draper – Mad Men’s lead character – on the inside. getAbstract recommends Weltman’s charming, amusing tales of advertising to those who must persuade others, and especially to advertising clients seeking to understand the online advertising world.

Summary

Mad Men

The advertising professionals who worked on Madison Avenue, home of New York City’s major ad agencies, during the 1960s were called “Mad men.” They concocted enticing text, images, stories and melodies to get people to buy the products they promoted. In today’s information economy, where social media dominate and persuasion is critical, everyone does the same thing pretty much every day, either for themselves or for clients.

The heart of advertising is persuasion, no matter what the media or the decade. Consider CEOs who showcase themselves on Facebook or teenagers who use Twitter to evangelize the latest fad in jeans. They succeed only to the degree that they are able to persuade. Most people don’t have the capabilities and expertise of Mad Men’s Don Draper. Often, the wide availability of online media options confuses people, including experts, since even experts don’t always know how to choose among them.

Fortunately, you can rely on some clear principles and techniques to persuade others effectively. You’re seeking ways to set expectations for your products or services that excite the customers you want and then motivate them to ...

About the Author

An adviser to Mad Men, Josh Weltman has held multiple positions in the advertising world, including writer, artist, co-producer and creative director.

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