Human nature can tend to be a little dark – which is probably why I (generally a very peaceable and non-cruel person) spent a lot of time in highschool researching ancient torture methods, from the ritual sacrifice of the Aztecs in South America to the infamous Chinese Water Torture.
However, in modern times, those torture techniques are frowned upon. Or are they?
It actually quite surprised me to find that, as a marketer, I was being encouraged to engage in the so-called Chinese Water Torture!
Chinese Water Torture
There’s some controversy around the whole history of the Chinese Water Torture.
- Was it actually a Chinese invention, or was it started in Italy?
- Was it for show, or for use?
- Was it designed to extract information, or was it a punishment designed solely to destroy the human mind?
Wherever and however it started, the so-called Chinese Water Torture remains an unbeatable technique for breaking sanity.
Or, in other words, of breaking through the barriers of human psychology.
Drip Content Marketing
If you’ve been doing any marketing for any amount of time, you’ll have come across this advice somewhere. Content Marketing Success runs on a very simple formula:
Quality Content X Time = Success
And the easiest way to be consistent is to drip it. Every month, week, and day (if you can manage it), you should be dripping something else into the “captive minds” of your audience.
- A newsletter issue
- A new article
- A video
- A social media post
- A meme
And more. All of these things are like little drips in your constant stream of content marketing. Unlike the traditional Chinese Water Torture, you don’t want to drive your audience to the point of insanity (because they can always un-captivate themselves by unsubscribing/blocking you!)
But you do want to break through their natural psychological barriers to your message.
Using “Torture” Techniques to Organically Grow Your Business
Actually using the drip content marketing strategy successfully is a little bit harder than picturing your ideal prospect held captive, waiting helplessly for the next drip.
In reality, your intended prospect is living a busy and full life without you.
Their kid just got braces, the dog stole the ketchup bottle, the person next to them on the bus is snoring, and their secretary just lost the number for the case file. Those problems existed before you, they continue competing with you, and they’ll continue after you’re long gone.
Your job as a drip marketer is to drown out those distractions and encourage your prospect to focus on your content.
I always thought the Chinese Water Torture was particularly ingenious – as opposed to the heart-ripping approach of the Aztecs – because it was a very subtle way of getting someone to focus every fiber of their being on an otherwise insignificant piece of the world.
Anyone can get your attention if they stand over you with a hooked knife. It takes real talent to get complete concentration on a non-lethal drop of water.
Content is now abridged! The following tips are explained, in detail, in my newsletter. If you want to become an insider with access to this knowledge, please subscribe! Once you get your first newsletter, you can view it in your browser, and then view archives of old issues – and voila! There is the full explanation.
- Hijack a Water Drop by Solving a Problem
- Offer a More Attractive Drip
- Just Keep Dripping!