The One Hypnotic Command That Always Works
by Joe Vitale

I learned about the one hypnotic command that always
works from hypnotists. A good hypnotist will never give
a subject a choice or offer a list of "reasons why you
should fall asleep right now." 

Instead, a good hypnotist will simply issue a command,
"When I count to three, you will close your eyes," or,
"When I snap my fingers, you will bark like a dog." The
subject responds because they want to please the
hypnotist and because they don't have much of a choice.

Your prospects are nearly the same. Give them too many
"reasons why you should buy" and you risk boring them,
overwhelming them, or irking them. Give them the "one
hypnotic command that always works" and they will do
your bidding.

Want proof? Okay. Answer me this: Why are you reading
this article?

I'm betting the title for this article promised you
something you felt would be worth your reading to get.
You want to know the one hypnotic command that always
works so you can use it to increase sales, get more
dates, or in some way get more of what you want from
people. Right?

But note that I didn't have to tell you all those
reasons to read this article. I gave you *one*
sentence---the title to this piece---and you decided to
read it based on it alone. Any further reasons for
reading this were supplied by you, not me.

What you just did was illustrate the very point of this
article. You are reading this for *one* reason. There
may be subcategorizes to that one reason, but the
bottom-line is that you are here, absorbing these words,
because I've promised you one main benefit: The
hypnotic command that always works.

The trend with the best copywriters today is to pile on
the reasons people should buy the product being
offered, and to give an avalanche of testimonials to
prove others love the product. There is nothing wrong
with this approach to creating sales letters that work
as long as it ALSO contains the one hypnotic command
that works. 

And what I want to suggest here is that the hypnotic
command alone---when done right---is so powerful that
you may not even need that long list of reasons to buy.

You could feasibly write a hypnotic headline and follow
it with a story and end up with some terrific sales.

(Believe me, I've done it!) I know this may be a
radical thought, but stick with me.

Just what is this "one hypnotic command that always
works"? 

It depends on your audience. When I was considering
writing this article, I asked myself, "What is the one
thing my readers will want to know?" Since I know many
of you have read my two e-books on "Hypnotic Writing,"
and you consider me a "Hypnotic Writer," that some deep
insights into those subjects might intrigue you. 

 I further speculated that if I titled this piece "the ONE"
command that always works, you would subliminally
know there is one very powerful thing to learn here.

And of course, the "one" in the headline refers to the
one thing I am trying to get across here. Follow?

Okay, okay. Here's my one point in a nutshell: Know the
exact one thing your prospects want and tie everything
you say to it.

Let me explain: If you are selling laundry soap, you
might list numerous benefits and features, everything
from "smells good" to "protects colors" to "gets out
stains" to "cheaper than the other brands" to "works in
cold or hot water" to who knows what. But what you want
to focus on is the ONE thing that your laundry soap
buyers want the most. Whatever that is, create your
hypnotic command based on it.

 In other words, if the one thing laundry soap buyers
want is "allergy free soap," then pack all your
hypnotic writing power into one line that says THAT is
what they will get from your soap. Even "Allergy Free
Soap Here" would work as a hypnotic line in that
scenario. Anything else you say may be weak and even
annoying compared to telling your prospects the one
thing they want to hear. 

 Here's another example: Say you are selling a magic
trick of some sort. You can list everything from "easy"
to "new" to "inexpensive" to "amaze your friends" to
"add it to your collection" to any number of possible
selling statements. 

But what is the ONE thing your audience of budding
magicians want? Whatever it is, focus on it. That will
be the one hypnotic command that will explode sales.

Since I am a magician, I know "Easily Amaze Your
Friends" would be a great single hypnotic command for
the magic audience. In fact, I know of one magic
supplier who uses the slogan "Working hard to make you
amazing." He's on the right track. He knows magicians
want to be amazing, and he's got a hypnotic command to
convey that message. He'll capture the right audience
and get them itching to buy from that one line alone.

Right about now you should be asking yourself, "But how
do I find out what the one thing is that my prospects
want?" 

Good question. The answer is to first ask them, and
second, test them. In short, call, email, and visit
some people from your audience of prospects. Talk to
them. Find out what the one thing is they want from
your business. Too many bad copywriters just trust
their hunches on what their audience wants. Don't do
it. As much as I believe in intuition---after all, I
wrote a book called "Spiritual Marketing"---the only
way to know with any certainty what your prospects want
is to question them.

But even that isn't good enough. After you question
them, test them. Write ads, letters, and email
campaigns with your prospects revealed "one desire"
dominate. If you've truly hit on the one thing they
want, sales will roll in. If you miss, try another "one
desire" and see if that pulls better. Again, what you
are looking for is the one hypnotic command that will
make your prospects buy buy buy.

Now let me assure you that you might still give a long
list of reasons why people should buy from you, BUT be
sure that long list stems from your key "one hypnotic
command." If you don't use the key command that
activates the buying impulse in your prospects, your
long list will be a grab bag of odds and ends that may
confuse people. You need the one command to grab their
attention and maybe even close the deal right there,
yet you may still need your list of benefits to help
convince them to buy. Don't dismiss your list. Just
don't rely on it.

Finally, how do you write a hypnotic command?

That would take a book to explain. In short, write it
the same way you do a good headline: Short, engaging,
relevant to your audience. Think of what your prospects
want and give them one tight line that suggests you
have it for them. 

Look at the titles for articles in "Reader's Digest"
magazine, for example. They are intriguing, short, and
vibrant. Write your "command" the same way. And for
motivation to get yourself to work at writing a
hypnotic suggestion, remind yourself that it only takes
one good line to make someone buy.

After all, my one hypnotic command got you to read this
entire article, didn't it?