What Zig Ziglar Can Teach You About Using Quotes

“People don’t buy for logical reasons. They buy for emotional reasons.” – Zig Ziglar

A handful of my Twitter contacts are a pleasure to follow. I am not saying that I do not value each of my Twitter connections, but there are some who make reading their tweets fun.

What are my favorite tweets? That’s easy: those which offer helpful quotes from famous folks including inspiring sayings from Zig Ziglar, a motivational speaker whom I admire.

Ziglar hails from a humble background, the tenth of twelve children in a family whose father died as a result of a stroke when he was just six years old. Ziglar later served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, meeting his wife, Jeane, in 1944 and marrying her two years later. The happy couple, now in their 80s, recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary.

But the most important thing about Ziglar is that he is a godly man—someone who walks the talk and uses his life to motivate others.

That fact hasn’t been lost on @treypennington, @Angel4Tweet, @HeatherO, and others who frequently share tidbits of Zig inspiration or retweet the same. When I see these tweets and other inspirational quotes attributed to Mother Teresa, Benjamin Disraeli, Rudyard Kipling, and others, I like to stop what I’m doing, reflect on what is being said, and see how I might apply these nuggets of wisdom to my life.

And that is exactly what you can do when you are writing a strategy article, selling a product, telling your story, and more.

Every article offers readers a hook, something that the writer offers in order to motivate the reader to take action. That action can include making a sale, winning a new subscriber, making a new connection, and more.

You want people to read your entire article or blog post instead of wandering away, but that is only possible if what you write is interesting, engaging, relevant, and enjoyable.

That means as you write, you may want to consider including a quote which can be tied in with your writing. This can be especially effectual if the person you are referencing is well known with the authority to back up your point even if they lived hundreds of years ago.

Wisdom is not constrained by time, so dig for quotes from some of history’s most famous individuals – even William Shakespeare can help you sell your e-book if the quote is relevant to your pitch.

Allow me to illustrate — if you are helping a client sell her time management services the following quote from William Penn, can resonate with your readers: Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.

By quoting Penn, readers are offered a reminder that many of us can and should manage our time better. That quote, which identifies a problem, should be followed immediately by a solution – in this case your time management services. Your reader knows that time management is an issue for them, so ride in as a white knight and offer them your solution.

Writing winning copy isn’t easy and sometimes we bomb in our delivery. But as Ziglar said, “if you learn from defeat, you haven’t really lost.” That, my friends, is a good enough reason why giving up should never be an option!

Photo Credit: Ivan Petrov

Tell More To Sell More!

When reading any “how to” about blogging, we often come across instructions urging us to make our writing concise. Use fewer words because people’s attention span online is limited. Make use of bullets or numbered lists to help your information stand out.

While these ideas certainly come in handy for many blog posts, brevity may not work if you’re trying to sell something.

Charles Edwards

In fact, Dr. Charles Edwards who once served as commissioner for the US Food and Drug Administration offered these words of wisdom pertaining to effective advertising copy:

“The more facts you tell, the more you sell. An advertisement’s chance for success invariably increases as the number of pertinent merchandise facts included in the advertisement increases.”

I would say that the words “pertinent merchandise facts” should be placed in bold, as you don’t want your “telling more” to include irrelevant and therefore distracting information.

Ad Copy

Admittedly, advertising copy isn’t my area of expertise. However, when I write a review of a new luxury car, I weave in certain highlights noted by advertisers to gain my reader’s attention.

French-stitched leather seating. Bluetooth connectivity. 12-way heated/cooled power seats. 60/40 split fold down rear seats. All sorts of interesting information that might appeal to my readers.

Of course, if I know that I’m writing for more of a Mommy audience, I’ll generally emphasize important attributes such as built in child booster seating, expandable storage area with luggage nets, twelve cup holders, optional refrigeration unit, side impact curtain airbags, front crumple zones and more. Big on emphasizing convenience and safety, but less so on horsepower, towing capacity and handling. Then again, I add these facts in to reach a wider audience.

Strong Headlines

When I am personally shopping for a product, I’m attracted to a strong headline. That makes sense because as writers we know that headlines are the key to pulling in our readers.

After the headline, I want to see some facts. If the top facts are listed with bullets, that’s okay provided that as I scan down the page I find the “pertinent merchandise facts” which tell me more about the product.

Sell It!

The beauty of featuring content this way is that you have more than one chance for selling your product. The first chance is through the highlights; the second and subsequent chances can be found in the details which follow. Using this method people who don’t like to read much can get the gist of what you’re pitching quickly while those people who don’t mind reading on will find more information which can persuade them to buy your product.

That means your readers will look closely at pricing, payment options, shipping information, product warranty, return policy, and certain other minutiae to help them make their decision. Leave something that you don’t think is important out and you could lose the sale. Include it and you’ll find someone who appreciates your thoroughness.

Tell more to sell more, but start off easy on your readers while saving the fine details for later on.