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Copywriting Secret of the Masters:

The Power of the Foregone Conclusion

by: John Forde

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The Power of the Foregone Conclusion

I’m sure you’ve seen the Miller Lite beer commercials over the years.

From retired boxers to women in bikinis, wrestling in a fountain. And we join

the situation in the middle of an escalating argument. What are they fighting about? You know it, I know it, everybody knows it: ―TASTE’S GREAT!‖…

―LESS FILLING!‖

On the one side, a dedicated Miller Lite drinker loves the beer’s taste while he claims it goes down easy without filling up.

In one recent, much-forwarded version on YouTube, the Miller Lite fans doing

the fighting are wet women in tight shirts rolling in water fountains. You might think it’s only the latter detail that kept this age-old ad slogan afloat.

But is it possible that’s not the only reason? Absolutely.

See, what every version of those commercials does is more than just keep

us entertained while they flash images of the beer label. In each, the prospective customer is offered a choice.

And here’s the key – it’s NOT a choice about whether or not the beer is

good.

Rather, the commercial assumes the beer has more than one virtue, and asks you to think instead about WHY it’s good. The door to deciding whether

or not to buy the beer at all is already closed.

This is a classic way to coax a customer – or anybody – to move toward a desirable decision.

For instance, I’m sure you’ve seen the same technique work with children …

―Hey, Junior,‖ you say while trying to peel your 5-year-old’s eyes from the

television at bedtime, ―Do you want to brush your teeth with the striped toothpaste or the blue stuff?‖

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No option there for Junior to opt out of brushing his teeth entirely. ―The blue

stuff,‖ he shouts. And minutes later, Junior is tucked into bed, teeth brushed, staring at the ceiling and wondering what happened.

You can use the same technique in direct-response copy.

Especially in the sales close, where getting your prospect to commit to a decision is key. For instance, imagine a sales letter that says in the close…

You might choose a one-year trial supply of Sludge-O-Matic water filters, yours to try at no risk. For a full 12 months.

Or you might lean toward my ―Discounted Lifetime Offer‖… which will have

you guzzling crystal-clear water from now until judgment day. Really, it’s your choice. Either way, you win. Just let me know soon what you

decide… This is called a ―foregone conclusion‖ close. It’s assumed, in the copy above,

that the customer has already decided to buy the filters. And now the only

decision to make is whether to get it for one year or a lifetime.

Clever, eh?

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John Forde:A Master at Writing

More Controls More Often

"If you write copy … how many chances to sell your talents to the businesses you know and trust have you overlooked? Company websites … local sales

brochures … online ads and sales letters … print ads in local papers … even P.R. pieces or ezine editorial.

It might be the small gigs that get you started. It might be the big opportunities that let you smack the cover off the ball at your first at bat.

Either way, I’ve met plenty of people who had no grasp about what role copywriters play.

Masterson’s [Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting] offers the

most thorough and well-organized approach to the subject I’ve seen anywhere. There’s not a technique or secret in there that I haven’t found

helpful over the years. I owe a great deal of my own success to Mike

Masterson. And I tell him so regularly. As for the program, I’d recommend it to anybody – not just direct-mail copywriters, but anyone who’s trying to get

a grip on what makes marketing work."

— John Forde

JOHN FORDE has been writing winning controls for going on two decades now. He’s made untold millions for clients in the financial, health, and travel

industries. John also works as a copy coach, hosting intense seminars for

two or three hundred marketers and copywriters at a time.

John Forde also writes the successful and very useful eletter, The Copywriter’s Roundtable.