Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation Hardcover – February 9, 2010

I've always said that the greatest power anyone could desire is the power of persuasion. After reading Fascinate by Sally Hogshead, I'm convinced fascination is even more powerful. Sally Hogshead is one of the more successful copywriters and creative directors in recent advertising history. Her considerable talents are on full display in Fascinate. Hogshead presents seven triggers to fascination - power, trust, mystique, prestige, vice, alarm, and lust. By communicating in a way that hits one or more of these triggers, people will be more drawn to your message.The first part of the book talks about the meaning of fascination, and why it is a necessary skill for success. The second part explains how and why each trigger has an effect. And the third part offers concrete strategies on how to develop, measure, and execute your strategy to fascinate. Here's why I liked this book:100% Platitude-Free:We've all read happy-go-lucky cliche marketing books and online articles that sound like a recruiting drive for a self-improvement cult. This is not one of those books. Hogshead does an excellent job in finding provocative and surprising ways to make her points. Her insights are deep, intuitive, and often counter-intuitive. Even some of the case studies and analogies she chooses are quite off-the-wall, but they still hit the mark. This is a refreshing experience for those of us who have read a lot of books on branding, marketing, and social media.It Gets You Thinking:Hogshead's writing style and the book's format inspires the reader to creatively engage the material being presented. This is not a book that just relays information like a professor giving a lecture. As I read about each of the seven triggers, I immediately started to identify where I had seen that trigger used, and how I could use it for myself or clients. There are also several easy-to-follow exercises offered in the third section of the book that help you start putting the theory into practice.The Process Will Lead To Great Ideas:In the advertising world, there is a constant conflict between "creativity" and "process." Ad agencies market their services based on proprietary theories, and often do research before creative gets the project. But once a creative project is underway, ideas come in all forms and, often we're stuck finding ways to rationalize how a great idea fits the theory we previously sold the client. Fascinate is a flexible framework that will help ad professionals bridge the gap between bold ideas and a coherent strategy, without compromising either.Applicable to Everyday Life:Fascinate is not just for building brands. The seven triggers of fascination are applicable in one's home life and social life as well. In fact, many of the analogies and case studies given come from other sources than brands, products, and services.Conclusion:Sally Hogshead has blessed her audience with a big book of insights on how to create more fascinating brands and a more fascinating you.

I have been reading quite a bit lately and always seem to be on the prowl for a new title, generally in the business category. Knowing this, my wife forwarded me a link to "Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation". We have an inside joke at our house involving my youngest son and the word "fascinating", but that's a whole other story. Suffice to say, the title fascinated my wife so she forwarded it along.I'm actually very glad she did. In Fascinate: Your 7 Triggers to Persuasion and Captivation, Sally Hogshead explores why you're captivated by some people but not others. Why you recall some brands and forget the rest. Why you hear some messages, but are deaf to others.As it states in the books inside jacket cover, "to explore and explain fascination's irresistible influence, Sally goes beyond marketing and delves into behavioral and social studies, evolutionary anthropology and a national study of thousands of consumers to emerge with deeply rooted patterns for why, and how we become captivated."The seven triggers are:* Lust - We're seduced by the anticipation of pleasure.* Mystique - We're intrigued by unanswered questions.* Alarm - We take action at the threat of negative consequences.* Prestige - We fixate on symbols of rank and respect.* Power - We focus on the people and things that control us.* Vice - We're tempted by "forbidden fruit".* Trust - We're loyal to reliable options.For personal interactions, each of the above triggers leads to a different style of communication, and a different type of relationship. The more accurately you identify your personality triggers, and the more intelligently you hone them, the more influential your message becomes.Brands apply these triggers, too. Volvo uses trust. Godiva uses lust. Fedex uses alarm. Apple Computers uses several triggers, most notably prestige and power. Triggers help companies sell products off shelves, persuade shareholders to invest, and convince key employees to stay.The gold hallmark of a fascinating message:* Provokes strong and immediate emotional reactions* Creates advocates* Becomes cultural shorthand for a specific set of actions or values* Incites conversation* Forces competitors to realign around it* Triggers social revolutionsThis book was a quick, interesting and informative read. Sally's conversational and no-nonsense writing style coupled with a bit of humor makes the book quite enjoyable. As a non-marketing type, I now find myself much more in tune with the brand "messages" that I'm exposed to. I understand why I must "CALL NOW" as there is a "LIMITED SUPPLY" of the new gizmo!! It all makes sense... Hurry, get the phone, Billy Mays has hit my alarm trigger!!This book would be excellent material for marketing folks, "C" level exec's or anyone that is interested in a deeper understanding of "why" people act and respond to certain messages. I will read this again at some point because the book really was fascinating. Also check out Sally's website and find out your own F-Score, you might be fascinated by your personal triggers.

I read this before Sally's current book 'How the world sees you'. I prefer the newer book, and certainly if you have that you don't need this too. It was still a good read though. Very interesting insights.

This is more for business people rather than any sort of self-help.I didn't find it helpful for my field of work.I found it repetitive and that it had too many historical references which seemed to be there to pad it out.

This is a very good book. An eye opener

I have read many books over the years which claimed to have the key secret to everything in life, and invariably they come up somewhat lacking. However, this book is perhaps the polar opposite in that it does not claim to be "the answer" and yet in many ways probably is. I bought the book because it came up in my Amazon recommendations, so in that sense I had no real bias as to whether it would be good or bad, but I was initially impressed when it arrived by the glowing recommendation from Seth Godin on the back. Whilst Seth might not be everyone's cup of tea, he doesn't dish out his praise for just anyone. Thankfully, the book itself lived up to such lofty expectations, and, although the sceptic in me hates to say so, this is probably one of the most interesting and useful books I have read. It doesn't have the answers to everything in life (not that it claims to), but it does provide a very solid foundation as to why a lot of the answers are what they are.The book itself is split into 3 parts, the first two of which are generalised theory of Sally's understanding of what fascination is as a concept, and her interpretation of its 7 facets. The final part is effectively an action plan for putting the theory into practice in your own life. I found it rather specific in this regard, and since I am not actively looking to promote a product or service, some of the exercises were a little academic. Others with a need to fascinate their wares might find it more useful. But for me, it was the first two parts which were the real gold dust.Sally explores her 7 'triggers' for fascination with excellent examples which are meaningful, relevant, and get you thinking. Her writing style is a good demonstration of her own understanding of what she is talking about, as she effortlessly seems to manage a balance between detail and intrigue. Nothing is skimmed over, but nothing is laboured either, and the writing feels fresh and welcoming. "Fascinating", if you will. There is some overlap between some of her triggers, but that she acknowledges is often part of their strength. I also pondered half-way through whereabouts "humour" would fit in, as this seemed to be a subject that didn't easy slot into one of her trigger categories and wasn't covered much, yet can be a real crowd-puller in itself. Maybe it is a mix of all the triggers?I would thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in what makes people tick, especially what makes groups of people tick. Even without the application of the third part, just the initial two parts are more than merit enough to buy the book in its own right. It will be invaluable to anyone who has a product, service, idea or philosophy to sell to a target audience, and is struggling to add the "wow factor". But even for those like me who are just reading for pleasure, it's an excellent book.Highly recommended.

I was quite surprised by this book. It appealed to me because i watch one of Marie Forleo's videos on Youtube where she interviewed the author about the book.I was expecting a completely different book. I thought it would be more on the personal fascination and not so much related to business. As I started reading, I soon discovered I had been misguided, but i did NOT for one second regret getting the book. It is very smartly written, it is based on rather interesting examples and it is very easy to extrapolate the message to any other realm of one's life (it needs't be read only business-wise)I was quite satisfied when I finish the book and I have been practicing some of the techniques I read in it.I was quite sad, though, that in the book the author talks about some fascination test which can be taken online. I got quite excited about it, but when I went to the website I discovered it was not free; it was actually quite expensive :(Well, to conclude with I just would like to emphasise that it is a great book, it did FASCINATE me even though I bought it for all the wrong reasons and I strongly recommend it even as a self-descovery journey.