Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Rainmaker.FM

The Digital Commerce and Content Marketing Podcast Network

  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Home
  • Shows
  • Hosts
  • About
  • Member Area
  • Log In
Menu
  • Log In
  • Free Training
7-Figure Small with Brian Clark
Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing
Get More Clients With Smarter Email Marketing
Hack the Entrepreneur
Members Only
Rainmaker.FM Elsewhere
Site Success: Tips for Building Better WordPress Websites
StudioPress FM
Technology Translated
The Digital Entrepreneur
The Missing Link
The Showrunner
The Writer Files: Writing, Productivity, Creativity, and Neuroscience
Youpreneur with Chris Ducker
Zero to Book
Rough Draft
hosted by Demian Farnworth

056 How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic Demonstration

  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmaker.fm/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rough-056.mp3
Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes
Previous Episode:055 Meet the Tragic Poster Boy for the Emotional Brain More Episodes Next Episode:057 The Doomsday Cult School of Specificity

All Episodes:

October 21, 2015

102 The Beautiful Message Joseph Campbell Was Really Trying to Tell Us

October 8, 2015

101 The Greatest Storytelling Guide This Side of Saturn

September 1, 2015

100 The Episode That Explains the Future of Rough Draft

August 31, 2015

099 A Better Way to Find Big Ideas (That Make You Stand Out)

August 27, 2015

098 How to Grab Great Ideas (Without Using Your Hands)

August 26, 2015

097 The Problem with the ‘Hell-For-Leather’ Writing Movement

August 25, 2015

096 Why These Famous Time-Management Techniques Are Ruining Your Productivity

August 24, 2015

095 Freaking Out Over the Thought of Writing a First Draft? Try Scaffolding

August 20, 2015

094 How to Avoid Obscurity by Misusing Language

August 19, 2015

093 A Creative Email Trick for Becoming a Plain Spoken Writer

August 18, 2015

092 Let This Stupid Machine Read Your Copy Out Loud

August 17, 2015

091 This Free App Will Help You Write Bold and Clear Copy

August 13, 2015

090 Four Writing Lessons I Learned from This Depressing Music Project

August 12, 2015

089 The Clear-Copy Rule of Writing for the Web

August 11, 2015

088 Three Ways Writers Must Adjust in a World Dominated by Social Media

August 10, 2015

087 How This Social Media Thing Kicked Web Writing Right in the Feels

August 6, 2015

086 An Elegant Story on Outsmarting Career Obsolescence

August 5, 2015

085 Raise the Stakes! 13 Writing Ideas That Really Work

August 4, 2015

084 The Two Things That Make a Dull Product Irresistible

August 3, 2015

083 Proof That Stories Can Increase the Value of Even ‘Worthless’ Items

July 30, 2015

082 Could Podcasting Make You a Better Writer?

July 29, 2015

081 When Do You Abandon the Editing Process?

July 28, 2015

080 Four Ways to Get Attention by Rocking the Boat

July 27, 2015

079 A Brief Introduction to the Art of Catching Hell

July 23, 2015

078 Six Storytelling Lessons from a Famous Urban Legend

July 22, 2015

077 Vexed by Your Bankrupt Vocabulary? Listen to This

July 21, 2015

076 Why Writers Need to Develop a Sense of Humor

July 20, 2015

075 Listener Challenge: Could You Read 100 Books in a Year?

July 16, 2015

074 How to Get Massive Attention with a ‘High-Concept Pitch’

July 15, 2015

073 A Lesson in Swagger from a Wooden-Legged Civil War Soldier

July 14, 2015

072 Six Ways to Becoming a Completely Original Writer

July 13, 2015

071 The Oldest Writing Trick in The Book

July 9, 2015

070 Eight Things Every Writer Should Know about Landing Pages

July 8, 2015

069 The Fascinating Truth about Boring Topics

July 7, 2015

068 How to Craft an About Page That People Actually Read and Share

July 6, 2015

067 The Psychology Behind Winning Email Subject Lines

July 2, 2015

066 All Great Writing Boils Down to These Four Emotional Appeals

July 1, 2015

065 A Mildly Spooky Illustration of “Reason Why” Copy

June 30, 2015

064 A Mild Warning for All Headline Writers

June 29, 2015

063 How Every Creative Must Think about Marketing and Advertising

June 25, 2015

062 Do Millennials (Really) Hate Long Copy?

June 24, 2015

061 These 4 Sales Principles Can Improve Anyone’s Writing

June 23, 2015

060 How to Use the 5 Stages of Audience Awareness to Dominate Online

June 22, 2015

059 Why The Most Hated Headline Structures Work So Well

June 18, 2015

058 This is the Most Fun You’ll Ever Have “Explaining the Mechanism” …

June 17, 2015

057 The Doomsday Cult School of Specificity

June 16, 2015

056 How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic Demonstration

June 15, 2015

055 Meet the Tragic Poster Boy for the Emotional Brain

June 11, 2015

054 A Straightforward Research Method for Finding a Potent Hook

June 10, 2015

053 What You Don’t Know about Your Product Can Kill Your Copy

June 9, 2015

052 Three New Ways to Write a Headline (and When to Use Each)

June 8, 2015

051 Want Copy That Actually Works? Start with Mass Desire

June 4, 2015

050 The Curious Secret to Building Trust and Credibility

June 3, 2015

049 My Second Most Favorite Copywriting Formula in the World!

June 2, 2015

048 How to Get Lazy People to Care about Your Ideas

June 1, 2015

047 My Favorite Copywriting Formula … Ever!

May 29, 2015

046 How to (Rapidly) Build an Audience with Content Syndication

May 28, 2015

045 Solve Your Online Proofreading Problems With This Simple Trick

May 27, 2015

044 The Profanity Princess on Finding Your Voice

May 26, 2015

043 The Oddest Story About Overcoming Obscurity You’ll Ever Hear

May 21, 2015

042 10 Odd Books That Will Improve Your Writing

May 20, 2015

041 How to Read a Book in 2 Hours

May 19, 2015

040 The Shocking Way to Master Any Book

May 18, 2015

039 Nine Copywriting Books for Web Writers

May 14, 2015

038 The 8 Rules of Ruthless Editing from David Mamet

May 13, 2015

037 Revealed: The Perfect Blog Post Length

May 12, 2015

036 The Aggressive Work Ethic of Highly Creative People

May 11, 2015

035 The 10 Rules of Rough Drafts

May 7, 2015

034 5 Ways to Create the Perfect Ending that Your Content Deserves

May 6, 2015

033 6 Simple Rules For Writing Effective Dialogue

May 5, 2015

032 Use Internal Cliffhangers So People Never Stop Reading

May 4, 2015

031 226 Transitional Words and Phrases Every Writer Should Know

April 30, 2015

030 The Great Paragraph Hoax

April 29, 2015

029 5 Ways to Write a Seductive Sentence

April 28, 2015

028 How to Be Smart in a World of Dumb Verbs

April 27, 2015

027 How the Perfect Article Is Framed by White Space

April 23, 2015

026 The Best Articles Always Have This (and a Great Headline)

April 22, 2015

025 The Anatomy of a Hyperlink That Woos Readers

April 21, 2015

024 The Beginner’s Guide to Writing Bullet Points That Work

April 20, 2015

023 How to Create Exquisite Subheadlines

April 16, 2015

022 Four Safe Ways to Find Your Writing Voice (and One Dangerous One)

April 15, 2015

021 The Two Kinds of Knowledge Every Writer Needs

April 14, 2015

020 The Crazy Thing Writers Do to Become Exceptional

April 13, 2015

019 How to Answer the Most Important Question About Becoming an Exceptional Writer

April 9, 2015

018 Four Things That Can Make Writers Famous

April 8, 2015

017 A Small Gift for Your Dark Days as an Obscure Writer

April 7, 2015

016 Steal This Episode

April 6, 2015

015 David Sedaris’ Guide to Writing Brilliant First Sentences

April 2, 2015

014 Six Proven Ways to Open an Article With a Bang

April 1, 2015

013 How I’ll Make You Read Every Single Line of This Article

March 31, 2015

012 The Ugly Truth About How People Read Online

March 30, 2015

011 The 3 Pillars of Great Web Writing

March 26, 2015

010 How to Use RSS to Write Better Headlines

March 25, 2015

009 How to Write Headlines that Get Results

March 24, 2015

008 Where Headlines Have Gone Horribly Wrong

March 23, 2015

007 A 12-Minute Crash Course on Link Building (Ugh)

March 19, 2015

006 An Idiot-Proof Guide to Writing Blog Posts That Google Loves

March 18, 2015

005 Keywords: Your Love Affair With the Language Your Audience Uses

March 17, 2015

004 How Search Engines Work, Part Two

March 16, 2015

003 How Search Engines Work, Part One

March 3, 2015

002 The Unbreakable Law of the Web

March 2, 2015

001 Two Challenges All Digital Content Must Conquer

June 16, 2015

056 How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic Demonstration

If you want people to believe in something that’s true-but-hard-to-believe — you simply demonstrate that your product does what you say it does. Show them how it works. Here’s one famous example …

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

The history of the elevator is long and rich. But the first elevators weren’t installed until the mid 18th century.

While these elevators were convenient, there was just one potentially fatal problem. If the lift cable broke, the cab dropped — wounding or killing everyone inside.

One enterprising type, a man by the name of Elisha Otis, decided it was time to change that. So, in 1852, he introduced his safety elevator.

But he didn’t just simply run around town nailing posters of his invention on doors and horse posts and saloon walls.

No.

He introduced his safety elevator with a very dramatic demonstration.

In 1853, in front of a crowd of onlookers at the Crystal Palace, Otis raised his safety elevator three stories high, and then cut the cable — while he was still inside.

In this 8-minute episode you’ll discover:

  • The fate of Elisha Otis
  • How the founder of Dropbox demonstrated his product (before it even existed)
  • Which group of professionals know instinctively to demonstrate their product to make more sales
  • The very first item that was blended on Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” show
  • The simplest way to demonstrate a product (think chronology)

Listen to Rough Draft below ...

056 How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic DemonstrationDemian Farnworth
  • Social:
  • Link:
  • Embed:
https://rainmaker.fm/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/rough-056.mp3
Download MP3 Subscribe by RSS Subscribe in iTunes

The Transcript

How to Sweep Away Skepticism with a Dramatic Demonstration

Voiceover: This is Rainmaker.FM, the digital marketing podcast network. It’s built on the Rainmaker Platform, which empowers you to build your own digital marketing and sales platform. Start your free 14-day trial at RainmakerPlatform.com.

Demian Farnworth: Howdy, this is Rough Draft, your daily dose of essential web writing advice. I am Demian Farnworth, your host, your muse, your digital recluse, and the Chief Content Writer for Copyblogger Media.

And thank you for sharing the next few minutes of your life with me.

Where I live, in the rural part of Southern Illinois, in the land of apple orchards and cornfields, what I like to call the Poor Man’s Tuscany, there aren’t many elevators out here.

At least not the kind that move busy men and women up and down inside a building.

The tallest structures out here — the ones that tower over the horizon like a silver rocket aimed at the moon — are grain silos. And instead of people elevators, you have bucket elevators, scooping up grain, elevating the bucket to the top of the silo, and dumping it.

During harvest time everything is covered in dust.

Now, this might surprise you, but elevators have a rich history. A long rich history.

The first mention of an elevator is thought to be around 236 A.D., where a gentleman named Vitruvius … says something about Archimedes, building an elevator around 236 BC.

And just to give you some context on how long ago this was, a few decades earlier Hannibal made his famous Alpine crossing to invade Italy, and Qin Shi Huang of the Chinese Qin Dynasty ordered construction of the Great Wall of China.

That probably didn’t help you at all.

Strangely enough, talk of elevators goes quiet for a number of centuries. In fact, it was nearly seventeen hundred years later before the first working models were actually installed — and they were installed in English and French palaces, no less.

The people with the big money.

While these elevators were convenient, there was just one problem. One potentially fatal problem. If the lift cable broke, the cab dropped – wounding or killing everyone inside.

Naturally, your enterprising types, your Richard Branson’s and PT Barnum’s of the day saw the opportunity to make some serious cash. To save lives, yes, but also to make some serious cash.

The Fate of Elisha Otis

One enterprising type, a man by the name of Elisha Otis, did just that. In 1852, he introduced his safety elevator. But he didn’t just simply run around town nailing posters of his invention on doors, horse posts and saloon walls. No. He introduced his safety elevator with a very dramatic demonstration.

In 1853, in front of a crowd of onlookers at the Crystal Palace — which was this gigantic structure made out of iron and glass, nearly one million square feet, rivalling any modern shopping mall — Otis raised his safety elevator three stories high, and then cut the cable – while he was still inside.

The crowd gasped.

But instead of plunging into the ground below and wounding or killing Otis, the elevator stopped when a pair of knurled rollers engaged. Otis was shaken up, but unhurt.

Shortly thereafter orders came in hot and heavy.

Here’s your lesson: Otis’ demonstration proves an important principle about belief: If you want people to believe in the hard to believe — then simply demonstrate what your product does.

Show them how it works.

The Very First Item that Was Blended On Blendtec’s “Will It Blend” Show

The blender company Blendtec’s “Will It Blend?” YouTube videos are examples of dramatic demonstrations.

To dismiss any skepticism about their claim that their blenders could grind anything and still remain sharp, Blendtec blends iPhones, camcorders, hearing aids, rakes, and so on. And it all started when the CEO Tom Dickson blended a box of matches.

Views of the videos blew through the roof – as did sales of the blenders.

In fact, these videos worked so well the YouTube channel has become somewhat of a cult fascination … people begging to see the latest tech gadgets ground into dust by the Blendtec blenders.

Which Group of Professionals Know Instinctively to Demonstrate Their Product to Make More Sales

No surprise that car salespeople rely heavily on this principle of dramatic demonstration. The good salesmen, instead of wasting hours talking about a car they simply hand the keys over.

And this is how, as a young couple with two small children, my wife and I ended up with a used Buick Regal instead of a mini van.

After driving the Regal, I simply could not see myself in anything else but those leather seats, with the sunroof open, the Monsoon stereo system booming, and that turbo charged V6 zooming us along to our children’s next play date at the Magic House.

That little drive the salesman offered snookered me.

And you friend, must do the same. You must find a way to demonstrate your product. Whether it is software or a service.

How the Founder of Dropbox Demonstrated His Product (Before It Even Existed)

You’ll have to be creative. Legend has it that Drew Houston, the guy behind Dropbox, demonstrated how his product would work with a short video — before the product was even created.

Before and after photos are simple, but dramatic demonstrations, too.

The Shamwow video was a dramatic demonstration. It had to be because the claim that it could hold 12 times it’s weight in liquid had to be seen. It was dramatic.

So, don’t forget: the more dramatic, the better. And next time you are in an elevator, say thanks to Elisha Otis and his knurled rollers. We no longer have to fear becoming pancakes every time we ride the elevator.

And until next time. Take care.

Never Miss New Shows and Episodes on Rainmaker.FM

Get the best of the Rainmaker.FM network in a single weekly email, along with two weeks
of free training that will change the way you think about online marketing ...

Free Registration

You might also like...

How Jay Baer’s Books Have Opened Doors to Keynote Speaking Gigs Around the World

Listen to episode
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

Are You Doing Content Marketing Wrong?

Listen to episode
Confessions of a Pink-Haired Marketer

Up All Night to Get Lucky: Sonia’s in a New Documentary!

Listen to episode
Hit Publish

SEO: How to Sweat the Right Stuff

Listen to episode
Rainmaker.FM Elsewhere

Demian Farnworth on Productive Insights

Listen to episode
Copyblogger FM: Content Marketing, Copywriting, Freelance Writing, and Social Media Marketing

3 Observations on Trends (but not Predictions) for 2018

Listen to episode

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rainmaker.FM is Brought to You ByWP Engine

Discover why more than 80,000 companies in 135 countries choose WP Engine for managed WordPress hosting.

Start getting more from your site today!

Copyright © 2023 Rainmaker Digital, LLC. Powered by the Rainmaker Platform.

Privacy Policy  ·  Refund Policy  ·  Cookie Policy  ·  Terms of Service  ·  Contact