Interesting post you guys just made.

But when I think about it I ask myself a question... Ok...

"Do I really want to convince men to take some sort of pill, that they think will make their 'kajanga' bigger, so I can make lots of money... fly around in jets... and live the good life?"

Well, that's kinda disgusting... so no, not really. On the other hand...

"Would I BUY a pill, if I knew for sure, absolutely positively, without a doubt, that I could have the biggest 'kajanga' I could get and that my woman would scream with wild anticipation and gushing pleasure each and every time that she looked at me as I got off the jet?"

Well... now that you put it that way... by gawd, YES!

YES I say! and YES AGAIN!

So from what I see it's all a matter of positioning and perception. One mans trash is another mans treasure.

How in the hell do you reconcile that?

Wanting something or having a desire for it is a lot different from having a weakness.

I think it's easy to rationalize when you want to sell something that you know is wrong for a person or demographic.

For example, selling online affiliate businesses to old ladies who heard that some people make money online and thought they'd like to give it a shot (even though they know nothing about business or the internet) is preying on someone's weakness (their weakness being ignorance). Sure, if you don't sell it, someone else will. But that don't make it right. Come to think of it, it's the same argument drug pushers use.

Really good copy is emotional copy.

If you really want to 'break through' and go for the kill in a promotion, you're going to hit on soft spots or 'weaknesses'. Basically, really good copy leverages emotions dormant in people to help make sales.

Is that good? bad?

I don't know

What I do know is that how you'll feel about it depends on your intention - the more you're motivated by helping the other, the less of a predator you'll feel.

So, yes persuasion leverages weaknesses, but what are you persuading them to? Are you persuading someone to use drugs or persuading someone to a better, healthier and happier life?

(By the way, if you don't think desires are weaknesses, go ask any addict - the subject of the addiction doesn't even matter. ALL desire stems from a perceived lack of something. Wants are the same, combined with a perceived NEED for that lack)

I'd say that desires can become weaknesses. And awakening a desire just isn't the same as exploiting a weakness.

Desires are something we need for our own survival. Weaknesses are...

We're pretty far off the point here. And I think it's a matter of semantics. The fact is, the mortgage sales teams knew they were beating their customers into a corner. Perhaps the customers knew as well, who could say.

But the whole industry revolved around people's self destruction, and I think it was wrong.

There we go! That's the one Eric.

You aren't going to sell anything to anyone unless there is some desire on the recipients part to "want it".

The fact is there was no "beating" done here.

These folks (the homeowners) were very much "greedy" at some level and wanted a house that they could not afford-- under normal circumstances. There was no cat-o-nine tails used... or the rack... just simple marketing to an extreme hot button in many people-- "Something for nothing".

Eric,
most of the major industries in this country. revolve around the promotion of self destruction. I just don't think society can pick up that tab. When masses of people self destruct. Doing that leave the impression that it is ok to self destruct.

Ken

From the US Constitution...

"No State shall .....pass any Bill of Attainder, ex post facto Law, or Law impairing the Obligation of Contracts..."

Yes, but the mortgage industry knew the outcome...in fact they encouraged it.

When a loan officer was training my wife, he told her, "You have to hold on to the leads when you make a sale. You call them back in another year or two. By that time, they will have run up all the debt on their CCs again, and you run through the same routine."

Sure they encourage it. That's what marketers, copywriters and salespeople do.

And I'll say it again... the people that bought these mortgages were-- and let's not mince words here-- greedy. They wanted "something for nothing". Instead of getting a house they could afford they wanted to "keep up with the Jones". And if the "Keeping up with the Jones" mentality wasn't enough they figured they could escape their mess by relying on the price of real estate continuing to skyrocket. And the mortgage companies were there to "prime the pump".

Hell it's no different than most information marketers. They'll sell stuff to whomever no matter if the recipient is down to their last buck and will never use the product-- no one cares, as long as the person has room on their credit card. Heck you folks in the copier business could care less if you're selling a copier to a business that has been "in the red" for three years. As long as they can make that monthly lease payment-- everything is golden.

That's how sales, marketing and copywriting work. The person "buying" is the one that has to know when to tap the brakes.

eh? One of the reasons I won't write for MOST info products. Someone has to really impress me if they want me to write for theirs.

Copiers (or the payment for them) don't directly contribute to a company's demise. As a matter of fact, they're a necessary part of doing business.

I think you're confusing greed with vanity. The weakness of these people was vanity. The mortgage brokers were the greedy ones.