Back in 2006, or as I think of it, five “Fast and Furious” movies ago, Neil Strauss launched a dating course for men.
The launch made $1.4 million.
The sales page he used was different from most sales pages you see.
In it, he included 5 stories from customers. Stories that:
- Connected with different types of men
- Proved his product worked with those different types of men
- Overcame buying objections
This way, a wide range of guys would read his page and go “Oh this is perfect for me.” Then buy the course. Which they did.
Here’s a breakdown of how he weaved case studies into his sales page to make $1.4 million from a single launch.
Case Study #1
Here, Neil introduces how he held a workshop to teach his methods (which he calls “The Annihilation Method”) for picking up women.
He highlights how the men he taught came from different walks of life. And then, he proves it.
Neil shares background information on each man. He talks about their struggles, their desires, and the results they got from his method.
For example, the first case study, a guy they call “Outback,” was middle-aged and looking for a wife. So older men who want a long-term relationship immediately see “Oh, this isn’t just for guys in their 20’s trying to get laid. It’s for guys like me, too.”
In the second paragraph, they highlight the challenge he faced. They talk about how he had a lot of love to share but didn’t know how to do it. That “not knowing how to do it” is exactly what men say their struggle is. So these words resonate exactly with the reader.
But they also go a layer deeper. Neil talks about how Outback is a loving guy with lots of love to share. That reinforces how this isn’t just for one-night-stands but is for men who want something meaningful. And it does this by sharing a fact about this man that is the type of thing other men will resonate with but likely never say out loud. Verbalizing thoughts and beliefs your reader has but rarely tells anyone is a powerful way to connect. And that’s exactly what that line does.
The final paragraph shares the conclusion. It ties back to his desire to have a serious relationship and shows how, thanks to the Annihilation Method, he was able to start one within 3 days. So again, this proves these techniques aren’t just for one night stands but can also kickstart a serious relationship.
Case study #2:
Next, we hit another popular group in the men’s dating market: engineers.
I’ve spent a fair amount of time and men’s workshops and “the engineer who has trouble relating to people/getting in touch with his emotions” makes up a sizeable chunk of men’s dating workshops.
With this, engineers who struggle to relate with people can immediately see this is for them.
After sharing his external struggle — trouble relating to women — they share his internal struggle: he still sees himself as the unattractive, obese man he used to be.
So now, this story doesn’t just connect with engineers. It also connects with guys who have low self-esteem because they still see themselves the way they USED to be.
Not every guy may have this weight issue. But they may have some other version of this. They have some other past demon that keeps them from having confidence. For example, maybe they still see themselves as the awkward skinny high schooler they used to be.
That inner struggle of not having confidence even when it seems like you should that will connect with a ‘nother section of the audience.
Finally, they go on to say the results he got: making out with a hot Asain (gotta love men’s dating copy). This could have been stronger if they did more to paint a picture of his struggle. For example, if they mentioned how he hadn’t kissed a girl in a year or had never approached a girl in a club it would make that result a lot more impressive. And it would have done more to get the reader to think “well if that guy can do it so can I.”
Case Study #3:
Here, Neil hits the low self-esteem issue dead on.
Obviously, this is a big one pain point/obstacle. Especially when you add “balding and disheveled’ into the mix.
Now, note how Neil doesn’t just SAY this guy had low self-esteem. He proves it. He talks about how he spoke so quietly you could barely hear him. This makes the claim that he had low-self esteem more believable. Because now you see it. Neil turns this abstract concept into something tangible. He puts a picture of what low self-esteem looks like in your mind which makes you believe this man truly did have that problem.
Aside from connecting with men who have low self-esteem, this case study also connects with skeptics. It brings up the “I bet this is a scam” objection. Then destroys it by showing how someone who had that same skepticism ended up having great success with this product.
Case Study #4
“Short, pudgy, and goofy”. Here they are going after guys who are insecure about how they look.
That’s different from engineers who don’t know how to relate. Or middle-aged men who don’t know to attract women. Or even a guy with general low self-esteem. Because there are guys who will see all that and say “Yeah, but I’m short. And women don’t like short guys.”
So Neil hast to speak directly to that objection. Which he does here.
After touching on this man’s struggle, Neil talks about how quickly this student had success. Then, they go on to appeal to the reader’s ego. They talk about how he picks up more women than his better-looking friends — and how they worship him because of it.
That right there is a dream come true for someone who thinks his looks are keeping him from getting dates.
And notice how different the result in this story are from the others. It’s as much about impressing his friends as it is about getting women. For guys who get dating help, this is big. It’s not just about the dates. It’s about acceptance. It’s about ego. It’s about looking cool in front of others. The other case studies didn’t hit on this quiet desire but this one drives it home.
By sharing different stories they create space to hit on the different types of results you can get. Most men will want a little bit of all of them. But there will be one that each guy wants above all. For some, it’ll be lots of casual dating, for others a wife. By having these stories, Neil gives you a choice. He’s basically saying you CAN get any of these results but the one you settle on is up to you. Which is super powerful because now men who want different things can all see themselves getting exactly what they want.
Case Study #5
Aaaaaand here we are. The story to appeal to the young 20-something who just wants to sleep with as many women as possible.
My guess is they put this last for two reasons:
- If it was first, guys who wanted something more serious would just think the program was for young guys who want to get laid and stop reading. The first story is more surprising and hooks the most skeptical reader.
- This is a strong story. The results he got are massive (though sound exhausting). Anytime you tell stories or list off benefits, you want your most powerful ones first and last. Because we have a “primary and recency” biases that make the first and last things we hear in a list the ones we are most likely to remember.
So now, the most likely things guys will remember are: 1) you can use this to get into a serious relationships 2) You can use this to get 10 girlfriends at once. That demonstrates the range of the power this course can have.
Recap + How to make these even better
In this little section of copy, they proved this product is perfect for:
- Middle-aged men who want to get married but struggle to connect with women
- Engineers who struggle to relate to people
- Super shy, insecure guys
- Short, overweight men
- 20-somethings who want to date as many women as possible
They also overcome several objections. They overcome the “this is a scam” objection by showing men who felt that same way having big success. As well as the “This is just for guys who want to get laid” because they show how these methods lead to a long-term relationship as well. And they even overcome the “women only like rich, tall, good-looking guys” by showing how short, overweight, and average men began to attract beautiful women.
So their objections covered both the objections around why they think they can’t get women… and the objections around buying the course (thinking it’s a scam/it won’t work for them.)
For the results you can get, they show the range. They prove how this course can help you with everything from making out in a club to having 10 girlfriends to impressing your guy friends to potentially getting married.
They covered all this with very little copy.
Now, imagine you’re in one of those groups of men.
Say you’re the engineer looking to get better at talking to women. Or you’re the short guy who thinks women only like tall men.
You’d probably want to know more about how the guy in your situation did it.
You want to see how that transformation happened. So you can see more clearly how it’s possible for you to do the same.
There are 2 ways you could do this.
First, include videos in this sales page of the men sharing their journey in their words.
Second, create emails that share the full stories. Dive even deeper into the pain they had, their struggles, what they learned, how they transformed and how they feel about that transformation.
That’s going to hit on the specific pain each of those men have. It will ramp up the desire for the course. And it will make the promise that this can help them even more believable.
Showing multiple in-depth case studies can prove beyond a doubt that this product will work for the reader.
That’s exactly what I do in the Hero’s Journey Case Studies I create for clients.
If you want help using case studies in your marketing, so you can prove to a wide range of customers your product is perfect for them, shoot me an email at [email protected]