I found this video featuring Jay Abraham — a top-notch marketing expert — on the web and thought it had some really good, relevant information on how to use Amazon.com to write good copy. The images of the search results he’s sharing are hard to see, but the audio is the most important part anyway.

If you’re looking for some keywords to help you do the searches he suggests, you might check out these tools:

Google Trends
This website helps you find the most searched for words and phrases on the Internet. On the landing page, it provides the “Hot Trends” of the day.

Google Insights for Search
This is another useful way to see what the most popular search terms and phrases are. You just enter your search term, and it will show you a list of related terms that people have been using in their searches.

Google Trends for Websites
Interested in seeing how the competition is doing for different search terms and phrases? This is the tool to use!

Armed with the keywords you get from the above tools, and the technique that Jay explains in the video and you’re on your way to pretty darn good copy that speaks to your target market, without a great outlay of cash.

As I mentioned on the call with Adam Urbanski (call #4), when I did the research for this project, I found it very difficult to find information on how to market to pleasure vs. how to market to pain. These are key concepts in your marketing tool box. So why is it so difficult to find information on the topic?

I’ve asked around and nobody seems to have an answer. It seems that marketing to pleasure and pain has become instinctual to most marketers so they don’t think about it much. They just know to do it. I guess that’s why I decided to devote two calls to different aspects of the topic.

But even after two calls, there are still a lot of questions. So, I did some more thorough research and found a few articles on the web I’d like to share with you. It was still hard, though. I took me a good 30 minutes just to find these:

The Pleasure Principle and How it Applies to Marketing and Advertising
By Lahle Wolfe, About.com

Pain vs. Pleasure-the Key to Unlock Your Motivation
By Javelin Marketing

Seeking Pleasure? Or Avoiding Pain?
Based on the Research of Jennifer L. Aaker And Angela Y. Lee

NeuroMarketing – Top 7 Insights To Unlocking Your Customer’s Brain For Instant Sales
By Denise Corcoran

Regardless of what others might say, purchasing is an emotional decision. People buy because they believe the product or service will help them achieve their most cherished desire or avoid what scares them the most. O.K. Maybe not all that dramatic, but most purchases do have a pleasure or pain factor to them.

For example, I’m at the grocery store and I just happen to walk down the cookie isle. I see the package of Oreos is on sale. Thinking of how much I love Oreos my hand goes out to grab a package. But then I pause. I remember how the last time I purchased a package of Oreos I gained five pounds. You see, I have both pleasure and pain associated with purchasing a package of Oreos. Which emotion wins out? Do I buy the package on sale or not?

This is just a simple example of how pleasure and pain can affect a purchasing decision. And, these same emotions can play a role in whether or not prospects purchase your products or services and become clients.

So, when you’re thinking about how to market your product, consider what frame of mind your prospects might be in. Are they looking for a way to increase the pleasure in their life through a product or service like yours? Or, are they trying to avoid a pain?

In her article, “Should You Market to Pleasure … Or Pain,” Ali Brown wrote, “What state of mind are they in when they are considering hiring you or buying your product? Are they more likely to take action to gain pleasure? Or to make the pain they’re in go away?”

Your answer will depend on two things:

1. What benefits your product or service imparts, and
2. How you define your target market.

On Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008, Adam Urbanski will be my guest on Turbo-Charge Your Marketing and will discuss when you should market to your prospects pleasure or when to market to their pain. I hope to “see” you there!