1S17-16: David’s Psalms Of Persuasion – Copywriting Lessons From Scripture

“Sha’ul said to David, ‘You can’t go to fight this P’lishti — you’re just a boy, and he has been a warrior from his youth!‘  David answered Sha’ul, ‘Your servant used to guard his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear would come and grab a lamb from the flock, I would go after it, hit it, and snatch the lamb from its mouth; and if it turned on me, I would catch it by the jaw, smack it and kill it.  Your servant has defeated both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised P’lishti will be like one of them, because he has challenged the armies of the living God.'”-1 Samuel 17:33-36

I work as a professional copywriter.

I’ve written sales letters, email sequences, landing pages, and Facebook ads for a variety of clients in the entertainment, legal, coaching, and recruiting industries.

That’s why I’m always tremendously excited when I can apply Scripture to my profession.

See, I consider David to be one of the greatest copywriters or persuasion masters to ever have lived.

For instance, the Psalms he wrote didn’t just speak to the emotions of his audience, they spoke to the very soul of his market.

Anyone in any profession can benefit by learning David’s persuasion skills, especially as they’re laid out here in Chapter 17.

Let me show you what I mean.

A common mistake amateur copywriters or sales professionals make is they’ll make an exciting claim but they won’t back it up with proof.

They’ll say something like “Make a million dollars in 6 months!”

And their message will fall flat.

Why?

Because for the average person, it’s too freaking unbelievable.

Whenever you make a bombastic claim, you have to back it up with proof, or your message won’t convert.

I was once tasked with having to create a sales email for a coaching program that promised to take your business from zero dollars to a million within one year.

That was a hefty promise.

So what did I do?

To amp up the believability factor, I provided real-life examples of people doing that very same thing in an even shorter time.

I shared how Tony Robbins earns millions in one day every time he launches one of his new products.

And I shared how a copywriter I mentored under pulled in a whopping $775,000 in one week for one of his coaching programs.

Not exactly a million dollars, but pretty close.

I know that’s a true story, and I was one of the customers who paid six grand for that course.

And by the way, it was worth every penny, I mean this guy was a master at his craft, and I’ve long since earned back my investment.

Anyways, can you see how what initially seemed unbelievable suddenly becomes much more believable when you provide proof?

Well, that’s exactly what David did with King Saul.

King Saul was staring at this young shepherd who had never fought a battle in his entire life, and was thinking there wasn’t a snowball’s chance in hell he could win against Goliath.

So how did David persuade him after making his incredulous claim he could defeat Goliath?

He provided proof by sharing the many times he had defeated lions and bears out on the field…

That as a shepherd it was his job to sacrifice his life for his sheep whenever some ferocious beast attacked his flock (another messianic reference here by the way).

So that’s the first persuasion lesson we learn from David.

Provide PROOF to back up your promise.

Onward.

The next lesson we learn from David is that what you’re offering has to solve a HUGE problem your target market is suffering from.

I can’t count the number of idiot business owners and coaches I’ve encountered in my career who wake up with some crazy idea and then go ahead and create their product or launch their service WITHOUT verifying whether there’s any need or demand for what they offered.

The result?

Zero sales.

See, David’s product or service was “Be rid of that nuisance Goliath in one day or your money back”.

Was there a demand for that product?

You betcha!

Things weren’t going well for Saul.

He was caught between a rock and a hard place and he knew it.

Saul had called up the militia to fight the Philistines, and for a good month and a half, nothing had happened.

Things were at a standstill.

Not even one arrow had been shot to kickstart the battle.

The Philistine soldiers, being a well-funded and professional army, had everything they needed and could stay out on the battlefield indefinitely.

Saul’s men could not.

Eventually, they would grow tired and would have to go back to working their fields and tending to their animals.

Just sitting on the hills and listening to Goliath yelling insults was getting old.

Saul knew the men he had called out to fight weren’t up for risking their lives for the King and Kingdom.

After seeing Goliath, they figured they didn’t stand a chance at victory anyway.

So although seeming close to impossible, David’s crazy offer, if it worked, would solve a HUGE problem Saul was facing.

That’s your second persuasion lesson.

Make sure there’s a need for your product or service BEFORE you launch the darn thing.

Ya feel me?

Onward.

The third and final persuasion lesson is to wrap things up by speaking to the “heart” and “soul” of your audience.

At this stage in your message, forget about logic and throwing a bunch of boring facts at your target market.

Speak to their heart…

Speak to their soul…

David had already provided logical proof by explaining how he had countless times slain bears and lions during his work as a shepherd.

It was time to speak to Saul’s emotions.

David reminded Saul this wasn’t some insignificant skirmish between two big kids on the block.

This was a battle for the very soul of Israel.

This was a war for the land their God had promised them centuries ago.

Was he going to allow some pagan, uncircumcised, and unclean gentile bastards with their false gods to challenge the Lord’s chosen people?

The answer to that question had to be an unequivocal “HELL NO!”

This situation could NOT be allowed to continue any longer…

Something had to be done…

“King Saul, if you’ll just give me a chance, this could be over by sunset”…

In the online marketing world, this is kinda like saying…

“Simply click the button below to get rid of that Goliath in your life now”.

Actually, here David is referring to Israel’s army as the hosts of ELOHIM CHAYYIM or “the hosts of the Living God”.

Whenever we hear that phrase, we think it’s some poetic or pious title for the Lord.

But for the Hebrews, it had a much more important meaning.

It meant that compared to the heathen gods of the gentile nations, the God of Israel actively participated in the lives of men.

In His sovereignty, He directs the affairs of men, and He determines their outcomes according to His perfect justice.

So that’s your third persuasion tip from David.

After you’ve provided the proof for your promise, and after you’ve made darn sure there’s a need for what you’re offering, then go for the emotional jugular baby!

Speak to the emotions, heart, and soul of your audience.

Forget logic and facts at this point.

Saul could hear a voice of strength coming from that young shepherd standing before him.

It was a voice based on a simple faith in the living God.

This was quite contrary to the cynical pragmatism connected to Saul’s failed leadership and being abandoned by the God of Israel (whom he appeared to never really trust anyway).

For the first time in a very long while, through David’s words, Saul was hearing and feeling an emotion he had long since forgotten.

He was feeling HOPE.

It was an emotion he had not experienced in a long time.

So that’s your little sales copy lesson from David.

Here’s a quick summary.

FIRST, back up your bold and ballsy claims with convincing proof, or no one will believe you.

The more bombastic and unbelievable your claims, the more proof you’ve gotta provide…

Whether it’s through case studies, testimonials, or well-reasoned arguments (like what David provided to Saul)…

SECOND, make sure there’s a need for what you’re offering.

You’ll be amazed at how many business owners screw this the hell up!

Just because you’re excited about your product doesn’t mean the world is gonna be.

THIRD, after you’ve provided proof of your big promise, and verified market demand, then go for the emotional jugular.

Tickle the emotions…

Speak to those burning pains that keep them up all night…

Write to the very SOUL of your market like King David did when he composed his psalms.

Finally, lemme give you two other tips.

Notice how David was talking ONLY to Saul when he made his appeal?

He wasn’t talking to a huge audience…

He was speaking to ONE man…

That’s how you should think when you’re creating your sales message.

Speak to only ONE person…

Write to your market like you’re having a one-to-one heartfelt conversation with ONE prospect over a glass of wine at the bar or something.

The last and final tip is to write conversationally.

Kinda like how I create these blog posts.

Use slang, the occasional curse word (heck, Yeshua cursed all the frickin’ time), incomplete sentences, and bold and capitalize some words to emphasize your points…

Srew proper grammar, just write naturally.

Ya feel me?

There’s a reason why this blog attracts between 15,000 to 30,000 readers every month and growing…

Yeah, I know those numbers are nothing to brag about in internet land especially when compared to all the porno and celebrity sites out there…

But for this particularly narrow Biblical studies niche, and especially for “Old” Testament studies, that’s a HUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGE achievement…

Much, much better than the boring stuff a lot of scholars and academic types put out…

Are ya feeling me homies?

The reason why my stuff attracts readers is that I try to make sure my articles are fun and conversational…

In other words, EASY.TO. READ.

Check out the wall of testimonials on my About page if you think I’m giving you a bunch of bs.