You've heard of the masochist, the person who likes to feel pain. You've heard of the sadist, the person who likes to inflict pain.

Most folks think these terms are pretty ugly and would never consider themselves to be either.

However, as human beings, we all have pain. We all have our worries, our woes and our problems. And though we may not enjoy them as the masochist does, they are in fact motivating.

Our pain and worry motivate us to act. We act to relieve our pain, to eradicate our worries.

How does this relate to selling? To sadism?

Well, as nasty as it may sound, being a bit sadistic will increase your sales tremendously.

Want to grab someone's attention? Stick a finger in someone's eye and that person is going to stop whatever he is doing and give you his undivided attention, guaranteed.

Nothing grabs our attention more than our pain. We are designed to pay attention to pain. Our natural drive to survive demands it.

Now I'm not suggesting you go around actually harming anyone. But I am suggesting that if you show people their pain, you will get their attention.

To further illustrate this point, think about the evening news. You'll never see a broadcast that doesn't include human suffering of some kind. Why? Because pain captures our attention.

And your first job as a marketer is to capture attention.

Show someone her pain, and you have accomplished that first step.

How can you apply this principal?

Think of the opening line of your articles, the title of your web pages, the beginning of your Squidoo lenses. Do they point out your potential customer's pain?

We've all heard about selling benefits, not features. It's a tried and true principal of copywriting. But don't make the mistake of believing that a benefit is going to capture your visitor's attention.

Benefit-oriented openings will never be able to compete with pain-focused openings.

Stick your finger in your visitor's eye first! Then show her how the product you're promoting is going to benefit her by making that pain go away.

Oh, and if you see me walking toward you, be smart - cover your eyes!! 

- Iggy, The Sexy Iguana

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