I bet you thought you were going to be blown away by some super-secret, S.H.I.E.L.D. level 10-access info, huh?
You probably saw the title and thought “Oh, wow, now I’m going to get the real scoop!”
Or, perhaps you just clicked on the link because it looked really important with the uppercase font showcasing the “biggest secret” that would be revealed.
Well here it is….
You are gullible, and everyone knows it!
Why, you ask?
There are no secrets to tax deductions.
For that matter, there are no secrets to losing weight or making money either.
There are no secrets to anything at all!
It’s just a ploy marketers use to grab people’s attention.
[Actually I told you all once before that you’re all suckers for marketing tactics but maybe this will drive that point home.]
Whether it’s an ad for makeup, a new magical boner pill, a car, or a simple article on taxes, marketers always target your emotional sense rather than your analytic sense.
They want you to make snap decisions.
And that is where tactics like manipulative headlines comes in.
There are no secret tax deductions that only a select few know about.
Just like there isn’t a truly healthy way to lose weight and inches that only the most wealthy people have access to.
Don’t believe me?
Check out this article by Pat Flynn of Smart Passive Income, this other article by Jerod Morris at Copyblogger.
[And, I am NOT saying anything about abut those guys, not like I can since they’re both awesome, but just hilighting the point that headlines are used to grab attention and nothing more]
Hey, if you’re not gonna listen to me, at least you’ll believe those two when they tell you it’s just a ploy and not indicative of what will be contained in the article itself.
Look, everything about the tax code is public knowledge; it’s available for anyone to look up.
There are Master Tax Guides and Quick Finders. The IRS uploads its Publications and Letters for free public access.
No one is telling you anything new and earth-rattling about tax deductions these days.
Now, someone like me may tell you the whole story about tax deduction articles, but I’ll never make it seem like anything is breaking news.
Someone like me will tell you things in different ways and from different viewpoints, but I’ll never sit there and try to mislead with a headline (well, just this one time maybe).
Just think about it for a sec. Go on, I’ll go grab a drink.
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Finished? Good.
Now tell me–how many times did you fall for anything like the “headline game” only to be disappointed by what the article failed to deliver? How often do you even stop and think about the headline, or do you just naturally react by clicking based on the wording?
Oh, and FYI, even when the tax law is changed, it won’t be a secret, as millions of reporters and bloggers will be covering it. The only thing you need to worry about it how accurate and complete the information they give you is.
SOURCE: DollarVersity – Read entire story here.
