Michel Fortin Sucks…

… Words out of thin air and assembles them into masterful sales pages that earn more money than you can even imagine.

Sorry about the title. I just wanted to see if I could get Michel to post that title on his own blog.

It does relate somewhat to what I want to talk about, though. And that’s the power of the law of reciprocity.

I was very honored when Michel asked me to be a guest poster on his blog. What do I know about copywriting, which is his forte? If I knew anything about copywriting, I wouldn’t have had to write Glyphius and MuVar to help me figure out if the words I had put on paper were profitable or not.

One thing that Michel and I do have in common is that we understand the law of reciprocity. He used it when he invited me and others to guest blog here.

The law of reciprocity is simply this:

When you do something for someone else, they feel a compelling urge to reciprocate.

Often, the reciprocation exceeds what was done for them. This is just basic human nature.

How many of you mix with others in this field at seminars or other events? Have you ever watched the personal interaction? There will be people running around trying to meet all of the speakers and will immediately ask something of them.

That is applying the opposite law to the law of reciprocation. The result is almost always a pushing away.

Do you want someone to mention your blog on their blog? Don’t ask them to do it. Use the law of reciprocation.

Mention their blog on your blog very prominently and with praise. That’s it. 90% of the time, the urge to reciprocate will kick in and they will automatically mention your blog.

In the other 10% of cases, it just can’t happen due to their other priorities. Perhaps they have decided to never mention any other blogs on their blog for strategic reasons. Perhaps they can’t say something good about your blog, so they are mercifully remaining silent.

Even in those cases, the law of reciprocation works. They will still feel that urge to return the favor somehow. You will see something coming from them in another direction that will benefit you… perhaps they will send you a product… or mention you on their list.

It is very difficult to avoid the urge to reciprocate when someone does something nice for you.

So how can you put this to you business advantage?

Simple. On my daily to-do list from Monday-Wednesday, I have an item that says “Do something nice for someone.” It’s that simple.

Sometimes, I send a product to someone with a note that says “I really appreciate how you ______.” Sometimes I promote a product without an affiliate link that I think my customers will appreciate.

It’s different every day, but I can’t finish my work day until I do something nice for someone without asking for anything in return.

It works. It builds a reservoir of reciprocation and starts to snowball. You start to learn that you simply can’t give too much.

Want more links to your site? Link to other sites without asking for anything in return. Many will link back to you automatically. Many others will repay you in some other unexpected way.

Want to get more copywriting referrals? Refer your clients that could be served better by the specialties of another copywriter to them.

Want to make more money? Help others make more money.

Want more free time? Help others free up their time.

Want more friends? Be a better friend to others.

That’s the law of reciprocity. You want stuff? Don’t try to suck it to yourself. Instead, give that thing that you most want and you will get more of it.

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