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 subcategories to that one reason, but the bottomline 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" dominant. 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?

About The Author
Joe Vitale is recognized by many to be one of the greatest living copywriters. His latest project, the Hypnotic Writer's Swipe File is a collection of over 1,550 copywriting gems that took him years to compile. This is his personal swipe file that he uses to create world famous sales letters responsible for generating millions and millions of dollars of revenue.