Power of Subliminal Messaging in Marketing: An Interview with Cory Molloy

Today, we are thrilled to have the opportunity to interview Cory Molloy, a Creative Director, and Effective Advertising expert with a passion for creative content and persuasive copywriting.

Cory is known for his expertise in subliminal messaging, conversational hypnosis, and persuasion, which he learned and further developed from a stage hypnotist.

In this interview, we’ll learn how Cory got into marketing, the challenges he faced in his career, and the tools and software he uses to help him excel at his job.

Can you tell us about your background and how you got started in marketing?

My father was an intelligence officer for the US government in Germany, and he brought me along for many of his work trips (even though I was young).

As a result, I read many books and comics and would often draw the nearby castles to keep myself entertained.

I was nine, when I first thought of being an advertising professional.

Looking at a comic book cover with ads for different gadgets and toys…

I imagined how fun it would be to create ads like that.

It fascinated me that illustrators and writers could create images and stories to make the simplest things interesting.

A few years after moving to America – I enrolled in commercial art, where I got

my first taste of making ads, cereal boxes, and posters.

While some in the class struggled, I seemed to have a gift for it…

Like I got an extra scoop of creativity in my cereal box.

I enjoyed the innovation and the challenge of it all.

After high school, I spent two years as a volunteer Christian missionary, where I designed cards and mailers that became popular with my audience.

When I began my career in the 1990s, my classmates and I were super excited about the marketing potential of the Internet.

I teamed up with two instructors at a top trade school (Alpha Computer Solutions) to build websites with interactive videos for our clients.

(Because it looked like a great way to promote products online).

Yet, some were skeptical…

When we pitched a car dealership about building them a website where potential clients could test drive their cars online with an interactive video…

The owner declined by saying, “The Internet’s just a fad.”

Yet like the rest of us – I bet he’s using that fad now for his current advertising.

What are some of the biggest challenges you faced in your career?

The most significant learning curve in this industry is understanding the psychology of how people think and choose to buy.

While I had already written successful ads for years – the greatest upgrade in my career came when I became friends with a stage hypnotist.

He once got a woman in her 80s who looked like she could barely walk to do 20 push-ups on stage.

He was also persuasive off-stage as well…

He used subtle body language and word patterns to charm his way into any conversation.

So, I paid him $20,000 to mentor me.

When I applied his subtle, subliminal skills to my ads…

The results I got were game-changing for me and my clients.

How do you stay current with the latest marketing trends and techniques?

I read stacks of books, magazines, and articles every year…

Because there is much to know to be truly good in this industry…

And I want to be the expert everyone comes to when they need effective advertising.

I’m also in several paid and free groups with other top professionals in my field – who share their best money-making marketing strategies.

These relationships are absolute gold… because we all have more to learn.

It’s also important to remember: Marketing trends, strategies, and the algorithms on social media may change…

But human nature stays the same.

We feel the same emotions as our ancestors.

We have the same instincts to survive.

We make choices in similar patterns.

And we even fall for the same logical fallacies.

When you understand psychology and how to motivate others to buy from you, business owners always see you as a valuable marketer.

Can you walk us through your process for developing a creative content strategy?

In-depth research is the key…

1. First, understand what you offer…

2. Then understand your competition…

3. Then understand your audience…

When you understand all 3 well – success will come.

Last week I wrote 5 Facebook ads for a Mild Hyperbaric Oxygen Clinic.

First, I had to understand the benefits of being in a pressurized oxygen chamber.

And how the pressure squeezes extra oxygen right into your blood plasma, which can get past any blocked arteries or injured tissue – right to your oxygen-starved cells (when your red blood cells can’t reach them).

So I spent a week reviewing articles to cherry-pick the most persuasive studies and messages.

I discovered that Lebron James has his hyperbaric chamber to “Stay in the Game Longer….”

And how it was “First Tested with Success on Elite Navy SEAL Teams to Reduce Pain and Inflammation.”

I’m a fast reader, yet if I didn’t keep reading for five straight days, I wouldn’t have found these fascinating facts and stories to share in my ads.

What is your approach to persuasive copywriting?

I started in the industry before the Internet was popular when your advertising price was related to the number of words you’d write.

I still write my ads in as few words as possible by looking for a single word to explain the result and outcome my clients provide.

So, what do your clients get in ONE word from your product or service?

When I began re-writing the website for an injury attorney…

And while I knew I could help him when he first hired me, I didn’t understand why anyone would ever hire an accident attorney.

Yet the more I researched, the more apparent it became.

When you’ve been in an accident, your greedy insurance company will try to get you to settle for less than you deserve.

You’ll get 4x more on average when an attorney negotiates your settlement.

So the word I came up with was – Compensation.

From there, I penned his slogan:

“Everyone Gets Injured! When it happens to you, I’m here for you.”

Can you share any tips or advice for creating effective subliminal messaging in advertising?

Because our brains are designed to compare things …

One of my favorite subliminal strategies is to create the illusion of choice.

Or by making a comparison in your favor.

Studies show you can prepare your client for a higher price just by mentioning a larger number – before they see your price.

Here’s an example of how I did this for a recent client:

“My private one-on-one clients paid over $3,500 for this.”

And – “Get complete access to the same method that has changed the lives of over 50,000 drinkers….”

(Before I mention the price of $997).

How do you incorporate conversational hypnosis into your marketing strategies?

While there is much more to this topic…

The way I do this for my clients…

It is to write their message in the most Powerful, Positive, Present, and Personal Way Possible.

1) The Positive

Because your brain can’t PICTURE the negative (it’s too abstract).

For example, if I say:

“Don’t think of a pink elephant!”

You can’t help but do exactly what I said not to do – by picturing a pink elephant.

The slogan, “Don’t Do Drugs,” makes us think about doing drugs.

When you tell your children or employees not to do something, you are programming them to think of what you don’t want them to do.

So I write my ads in the most Positive (tangible) way possible to avoid these abstract negatives.

2) The Present

Because your brain is designed to give preference to what’s urgent…

Anything in the past or the future is never as urgent as what’s RIGHT in Front of Us NOW!

So, I write in the Present tense, as if you’re standing next to me since your mind pays more attention to the current moment.

3) The Personal

It is simply about speaking and writing in an intimate first-person conversation – instead of with distancing language like public speakers often do when they talk to a group and address the audience as ladies and gentlemen instead of being in a Personal conversation with one person.

This approach gets your audience’s ears to perk up instantly because it’s talking right to you – it automatically builds more trust… even if they don’t know you yet.

What are some common mistakes you see marketers make when it comes to persuasion?

It’s become wildly popular for copywriters to write their headlines and stories as sensationally and negatively as possible, like your children will cry, and your puppies will die unless you buy my product today…

Why drag your audience through the mud like that to get a sale?

This misconception comes from studies that say our brains give 2.5x more attention to negative things.

While this is true (because it’s the brain’s main job to keep you alive)…

Getting someone’s attention with a negative approach doesn’t move the sale forward, because if they feel negative, they won’t buy from you.

Sales come when your audience feels positive and empowered and then sees your product/service as a helpful solution (not the other way around).

I tell my clients and other marketers that our brains pay attention to the NEW, the NOW, and what we already value…

If you already have a unique offer, you only need a clear and positive message.

Can you tell us about a particularly successful campaign you’ve worked on and what made it successful?

I wrote a Sales Letter to Get Referrals for an Accountant…

He got 86 NEW Clients for every 100 letters we sent!

(And it saved his accounting business)

All because I heard what happened and helped him write a letter…

His laptop and contacts had been stolen out of his car.

I introduced myself as an advertising professional and said…

“If you gather up all the client addresses you find at your office….”

“I can write a letter to them and get you some new clients.”

He agreed and only paid for the stamps…

And that letter was the best-performing ad I’ve ever written.

Because he got 172 new clients – by mailing 200 letters!

He went from panic to prosperity (making over 200k) in a month.

What are some tools and software you use regularly in your job?

I use Adobe software for print, web, and video projects.

There are other tools to make your website and landing pages more effective…

One helpful tool is Hotjar. Hotjar creates a heatmap for your landing pages to see exactly when and where your audience scrolls, hovers, and clicks…

And even more importantly – when they walk away from your offer.

This tool can also show you the weak spots to fix in your sales letters.

Vidalytics will give you similar analytics for your video sales letters…

So you know exactly where your sales copy needs to be optimized.

AI tools, like Chat GPT4 and Midjourney5, are helping me produce quality content faster, cheaper, and better.

There are other AI tools for emails, landing pages, and SEO that I’m looking into as well. It’s an exciting time to be in advertising.