What motivates us to act? What touches our emotional buttons to give us the inspiration to move?
There are 7 great motivators behind every sale. These 7 motivators are what drive us to act, to buy, to jump, to run, to cry; Whenever we make a purchase or a choice that impacts our lives, one of these motivators is behind each and every decision.
The thing to keep in mind when writing copy for your marketing campaigns is that you MUST use one of these motivators to see success.
We will begin our discussion with the most obvious motive, greed.
Greed has been around since the beginning of time. Economist Walter Williams says, “If pursuing profit is greed, then greed is good, because it drives us to do a lot of good things. Greed makes people cooperate. If you want to benefit from other greedy people, you have to make sure they benefit. As You can see, Greed can be beneficial to you and your client.
Use the old WIFM, “What’s in this for me?” formula. Think like your prospect when writing. Be sure to paint the picture of earnings on them and make that picture perfectly clear so your potential customer can see it in their mind.
Greedy Headline Example: “Turn Your Computer Into Your Own Personal ATM”
The second most powerful motive is fear.
Fear as a motivation drives a person to act against their will. It’s instant and gets the job done quickly. It is useful in the short term.
Fear stimulates the struggle of a person vs. flight response, and it may be the most powerful motivator of all. When using fear as a motivator in your writing or prayers in public, be sure to paint a clear picture of exactly what they should fear to spur your potential client to action.
Scary Headline Example: “Protect Your Family So You Don’t Lose All Your Personal Wealth”
Our third motivator is guilt.
Guilt as a motivator plays a very unusual role in our psychology. If you use guilt as a motivator in your sales copy, be careful. You must put yourself in the shoes of your prospects. And ask the question of what do I feel guilty and what can I do to stop feeling guilty.
A friend of mine, who was a very successful direct mail marketer, was the victim of an online ponzy scheme. He lost everything. When I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING. In fact, he had to move back in with his parents and began working as a high school math teacher and basketball coach.
This gentleman went from earning six figures each year to bankruptcy. She felt so guilty about losing all her money and having to move an hour away from her son that she fell into a deep depression. Guilt plundered his soul, but provided the motivation for this man to write the ultimate sales letter. That letter, motivated by guilt, made nearly $ 2 million in its first year and has helped hundreds of people break out of the rut they have found themselves in.
Then you can see how powerful and profitable guilt can be as a motivator. Never underestimate the impact of this powerful emotion.
Guilt Title Example: “No More Sleepless Nights Worrying About Your Family’s Financial Security”
The next big motivator is anger.
Anger can be an incredibly effective motivator for some. In fact, I have used anger as a personal motivator on many occasions to boost my drive to achieve my desired goal.
Anger when writing a sales copy is very effective, but it should be tempered. Your goal in writing using anger as a motivator is to get your prospect to act on taking advantage of their anger about their current life situation.
Anger Headline Example: “Unleash Your Own Personal Tax Revolt!”
The fifth great motivator is exclusivity.
Exclusivity as a motivator plays to the vanity of prospects. A person’s vanity revolves around how he looks in the outside world. So when you write using Exclusivity as a motivator, remember to put yourself in the shoes of your prospects and play on their vanity.
Exclusivity Title Example: “Join the 1% Club and Watch Your Profits Soar – Only 100 Accepted”
The second to the Ultimate Great Motivator is Salvation.
Salvation as a motivator influences the spirituality of your prospects. Always be very careful if you use salvation as a motivator because you don’t want to insult anyone’s religious beliefs.
Salvation title example: “Every time you reach out to help another human being, you will be rewarded forever!”
The last great motivator is flattery.
Flattery, honesty, and sincerity Flattery can be a very powerful motivator. I say Honest and Sincere because otherwise your compliment will seem to suck or kiss a **, and you don’t want to find yourself that way. So be careful when writing using Flattery as a motivator.
Example of a flattering title: “Your friend recommended you as a qualified person for this incredible business opportunity!”
I hope these tips help you structure your writing using one or two of these motivators as an underlying tone, allowing you to further forge your unique marketing niche.
My two favorites are fear and greed. If I am selling a nutritional product, I will play with the Fear prospects. The fear of dying young or the fear of contracting a disease would be my focus if I were writing about a nutritional product.
If I am selling a business opportunity, I will take advantage of a person’s greed. A person’s good greed can create a win-win situation for both parties.
The next time you sit down to write, remember that writing using these motivators will increase your conversion rate and make more money.
Joe greenfield