Have you heard of the spirit of business? It’s a concept that Robert Collier described in his book “Secret of the Ages”. Basically, it means that the success of a business – and anything within in it – is determined not by one’s wealth, one’s resources or even one’s product. Instead, the driver of success is the energy and mindset from which a business was founded.
That mindset – of course – also distinguishes a successful sales letter from the many mediocre articles we see online.
You see, there are hundreds of bored content creators, churning out article after article, optimising keywords, meeting word count targets and doing what they can to impress their clients. But many are chasing vanity metrics like page views, clicks and the position of their website in search. And now, with generative AI, they can create content that no one wants to read, but will keep advertisers happy in a matter of minutes.
These writers and editors will get paid as long as soulless content is accepted by advertisers. But when the success of your business depends not on the number of people (and bots) you reach – but on real sales figures – then the real value comes from the spirit and energy of your writing.
It is the spirit that we see in all great works of literature – from Shakespeare’s Hamlet to Goethe’s poems.
Robert Collier was one of the few copywriters to include this spirit in his sales letters. We find it not just in his letter “Secret of the Ages” but also in the “Special Dresses” letter that promoted a newly founded business selling odd lots of dresses. (Note: You can find the “Special Dresses” letter here). Let’s look at the spiritual copywriting principles in that letter, starting with the opening line:
“Every season when the rush of order taking is over, the big dress manufacturers ….”
Robert Collier opens his letter by describing the seasonality of the dress business. Seasonality (or the law of rhythm) helps him explain why the business has stock for sale.
And not only that – as he continues the letter, Collier uses seasonality as a compelling reason why the dresses can be sold at such low prices. See how he builds up to that idea in the following line?
“And they always find dresses set to one side during the rush for one season or another – reserved on some salesman’s request for a particularly good customer and then cancelled, or …”
Here, Collier explains the inner workings of the dress business. He shows how dress manufacturers create merchandise for the next season, and how some fine dresses end up being set aside. This subtle use of the law of karma allows Collier to give a reason for availability of the dresses, and pre-empt questions about the origin and quality of the clothes.
In doing so, Collier builds trust with the reader and increases the perceived legitimacy his offer. He also set the stage for a quick presentation of the value of the dresses, which he develops in the next line:
“These dresses are generally the very best of the stock, but they have to be disposed of quickly without regard for cost, to make room for the coming season’s stock; for space is more valuable than clothing.”
Can you spot the law of karma – yet again – in this line?
At first glance, it helps Collier imprint on the mind of the reader that the dresses are available. But the real reason it works so well is that it is tied in with the law of rhythm and relativity. Triple power in one line.
Let’s unpack the sentence carefully:
- As we said earlier, the seasonality of the dress business is a natural example of the law of rhythm.
- Collier uses rhythm to justify the availability of the goods – using the law of karma to explain that [for the upcoming season] ‘space is more valuable than clothing’.
- That explanation in an of itself is a comparison of value between space and clothing – and thereby a clever way to use the law of relativity.
- Collier also threw in a subtle hint that the dresses are of fine quality. In describing them as “the very best of the stock”, he again used the law of relativity.
This comparison (of good vs. best) will come in handy later in the letter, when Collier presents the dresses are a bargain. For a bargain is nothing but a good price relative to the quality of the product (and thus a smart way to apply the law of relativity in sales and advertising).
But before we consider how Collier conveys the price of the offer, let’s look at another application o the relativity:
“If there were more of them and if they ran a complete line of sizes, the big department stores would snatch them up like lightning”
Using this line, Collier suggests that the demand for the dresses would be high, if only there were more of them.
Classical economists might challenge this statement, as prices usually fall when supply increases. As such, Collier’s claim runs counter to the traditional wisdom on pricing.
But while scarcity usually increases the price a retailer can charge, the limited availability increases friction (and cost) for large department stores, thereby reducing the dresses’ perceived value.
Now why would Collier admit that the demand for these dresses is low?
Well, if you read the line carefully, you will see that Collier has actually implied demand (and thereby increased the perceived value of the dresses) through his clever phrasing. The words “the big department stores would snatch them up like lightning”, in particular, let Collier plant an unconscious image of scarcity in the mind of the prospect.
Why would he do that? The simple answer is that scarcity sells. We believe that what is rare, must be sought after.
And according to Collier, our subconscious mind doesn’t question – it just responds to the image it receives. Thus – even though this phrase logically suggests the opposite – it actually helps Collier justify the value and price of the dresses.
With the image of scarcity already in the mind of the prospect, Collier then prepares the reader for the low price of his offer. He does this by comparing the bargains of department stores to the imagined discounts provided by manufacturers:
“And the prices – you know yourself what bargains you can pick up in regular stores by shopping around. Imagine then what prices we get on these “close out” lots from manufacturers.”
Using the law of the relativity, he suggests that the dresses are a bargain – and eases them into the discounted prices. In doing so, Collier avoids scaring prospects away who might otherwise think that the offers are too good to be true. See how completes that thought in the next line:
“… so that we can pass these dresses on to you at half or less than half what you’d pay for the same models in any retail store”
Here, the idea of comparison is extended to the price of the dresses in retail stores vs. from the seller. This allows Collier to position the shop selling odd lots of dresses as a favourable alternative to the normal shopping venues frequented by the reader.
With the main benefits explained, Collier uses the law of attraction to inch towards the sale in the final lines of the letter:
“Come and see for yourself … There is no obligation to buy.”
Notice that Collier did not directly ask for a sale. That would be one step too far. Instead, he invited the reader to come to the store, where they can see all the dresses.
Viewing the dresses is a much smaller commitment than buying – and therefore much easier to ask for in the run up to a sale. With this in mind, Collier will have also added “There is no obligation to buy” to the latter half of this call to action.
You can see how this reduces the perceived effort and risk for potential customers – but what you may not considered is the dual nature (and spiritual effect) of those words.
“There is no obligation to buy” signals to the rational mind that a purchase is not necessary, but the image to the subconscious is different. This is because our subconscious brain does not process negations.
For example, when I tell you not to think of a pink elephant – what do you do? You picture a pink elephant.
And so, when Collier tells the reader “There is no obligation to buy” – the subconscious mind understands “There is an obligation to buy.”
This messaging works well in combination with the phrase “come and see for yourself”, because it invites people to the store, and once they have expended energy and effort to get there – they are likely to continue on the same path that they started on (based on the law of momentum).
This is why Collier finishes the letter with a reminder to just “come to the store to look” – knowing that once a prospect is there, chances for a sale multiply.
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