Screw the rebate, I'm holding out for a "bonus" check

What's in a name? Or any word, for that matter? A lot, it seems.

Take those rebate checks Uncle Sam will soon start mailing out. If the government really wants us to stimulate the economy by encouraging us to SPEND that money, they need a better name than "rebate."

Like "bonus."

In a recent experiment, social psychologist Nicholas Epley of the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business discovered that by calling a rebate a "bonus" recipients spent twice as much. That's a 100% increase!

Reason: A "rebate" was perceived as getting your own money back, so you were less likely to splurge. But a bonus -- hey, that's new money -- found money! Source: Marketplace.org

Wait a minute, you're thinking. You mean you can DOUBLE someone's spending -- just by substituting one word for another? Yes!

Finding and using exactly the right word(s) to stimulate spending is precisely what makes a good copywriter worth the money.