Best books on PERSUASION (not copywriting per se)

Hi there,

I did extensive research on this topic for the Recommended Reading section of my own book, Persuading People to Buy (paperback, Kindle, audiobook editions). Here are the best of the best that I listed there:

· Cialdini, Robert, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Revised edition. New York: Harper Paperbacks, 2006. A classic, known and quoted by every prominent copywriter I know.

· Feig, Barry, Hot Button Marketing: Push the Emotional Buttons That Get People to Buy. Avon, MA: Adams Media, 2006. Excellent primer on types of contemporary consumer values.

· Goldstein, Noah et al, Yes! 50 Scientifically Proven Ways to Be Persuasive. New York: Free Press, 2008. Lively discussion of interesting research studies on marketing persuasion.

· Hogan, Kevin, The Psychology of Persuasion: How to Persuade Others to Your Way of Thinking. Gretna, LA: Pelican Publishing Company, 1996. Persuasion using Neuro-Linguistic Programming principles on how the mind works.

· Hall, Doug with Jeffrey Stamp, Meaningful Marketing: 100 Data-Proven Truths and 402 Practical Ideas for Selling More with Less Effort. Cincinnati: Brain Brew Books, 2003. Outstanding compendium of research-backed marketing principles and their business implications.

· Heath, Chip and Heath, Dan, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die. New York: Random House, 2007. Journalistic discussion of simplicity, surprise, concreteness, credibility, emotion and stories in marketing.

· Sugarman, Joseph, Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use to Control the Mind of Your Prospect to Motivate, Influence and Persuade. Las Vegas, DelStar Books, 1999. Great anecdotes illustrating sound principles.

· Whitman, Drew Eric, Ca$hvertising: How to Use More Than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone. Franklin Lakes, NJ: Career Press, 2009. Extremely practical and reader-friendly.

· Zaltman, Gerald, How Customers Think: Essential Insights into the Mind of the Market. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2003. Insights on getting at what customers don't realize about themselves.

Enjoy!

Marcia Yudkin

The Art of Seduction by Robert Greene.

EPIC

Great answers, thanks a lot!

Marcia Yudkin: Now I have a lot of books to sink my teeth into. I'm gonna check out yours as well, looks very promising!

Kroncept: I read that one a couple of years ago. Great book.
48 Laws of Power and the 50th Law (from the same author) however, I think were better.

Not necessarily a podcast on persuasion per se, but it's definitely powerful, possibly more so because it helps you build a business through relationships - which is really the way humans are wired to buy things.

David J Soler.com | Building An Enriching Business and Life

Another great resource is:

Amazon.com: The Referral Engine: Teaching Your...

Spend a couple of hours watching movies and taking notes.

First up...learn the AIDCAS formula from Professor Harold Hill (the Robert Preston version) of The Music Man

Then learn Hypnosis from Burt Lancaster as Elmer Gantry and if you like Sinclair, the book is great.

On your notepad, write down the AIDCAS...Attention-Interest-Desire-Conclusion-Action-SATISFACTION and maybe the Six Cialdini principles too...which are:

Reciprocity - Commitment and Consistency - Social Proof - Authority - Liking and Scarcity

Then tune in an hour of Joel Olsteen...

And in one afternoon, you have a complete course on INFLUENCE AND PERSUASION

gjabiz

PS. Consider Prof Hill's introduction of TROUBLE...with a Capital T ... right there in River City. And his winning over of the Mayor while winning the heart of the librarian.