|
Picture This: Is Your Marketing Message Turning Your Readers Away?
 A degree in psychology. What's it worth to a solopreneur setting out to craft the perfect marketing message?
Actually, you don't need a psychology degree to understand what the best marketers know about how the human mind works. With just a few little tricks, you can make your customers more responsive to your marketing messages.
Today I leave you with one small fact about the human brain that'll help you create sales copy that engages your prospects and clients. Are you using negative language in your marketing and sales pieces? If you are, you might want to reconsider.
How the Brain Processes Information
Studies at the University of Chicago have proven that the unconscious mind tends to dismiss negative words like "don't" and "no" as it receives information. Researchers found that inserting negative words into the message makes it more difficult for the human brain to visualize and process the information.
For instance, "Don't kick the dog."
I can't picture that, someone not doing something to a dog. But, "Pet the dog." "Feed the dog." Now that's something I can see.
Since all language is processed unconsciously, you may not even be aware that your brain is filtering out the negative words, leaving you with no image to focus on.
A True Story: The Power of Positive Messages
A sign on a farm said, "Please do not feed the horses." After the sign went up, the farmer noticed that even more people were feeding his horses. So he created a new sign: "We eat only apples and carrots." Sure enough, after the change, fewer people fed the horses.
What It Means for the Marketer
I learned in my first year of teaching that positive messages work best with kids. Take classroom rules. "Don't talk when someone is speaking." vs "Listen when someone is speaking." Listen gives them something to do. But "Don't talk"? It's harder to see the desired behavior.
Same thing with us "adults." By making a slight shift in your thinking, you can turn your message around to the positive. So:
"We never sell your e-mail address" becomes, "Your e-mail address is safe with us."
"Don't hesitate to call" becomes "Please feel free to call."
"We never..." becomes "We always..." or "We will..."
"We don't keep banker's hours" becomes "We're open when you are most available."
Take a look at your website, or any marketing piece you've created, and see if some small changes might make your message more engaging.
|
