𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗧𝗼 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗔𝘂𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗨𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀

Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

Hi,

It’s a cliche. Everyone in the copywriting game says “research is everything,” yet few are doing it. Most people operate on assumptions, not facts about their audience, and their copy reflects this.

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

In truth, the reason why most copy fails is because we want people to be a certain way as opposed to how they really are.

We bring an idealized version of human nature to our writing, ignoring their selfish, greedy, self-centered selves that are usually the true versions.

Human nature is… tricky.

We believe we are entitled to everything. Even if we say otherwise, even if we act differently, deep down inside we “deserve” peace, money, happiness, love, and so on.

So in my humble opinion, it’s not really a matter of “my audience loves this Netflix movie so I’ll make a reference to it.” This moves the needle just a little and, more often than not, doesn’t matter. It’s more a matter of “my audience is subject to their darkest, most selfish impulses in the buying process and that’s what I need to bring to the surface in order to make the sale.”

In other words…

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They don’t want a fair deal. They want the best possible deal for themselves.

They don’t want to put in any work. They want the result right away.

They don’t want a small advantage. They want to dominate the competition.

There are some books out there which can help you understand your audience. Lord of the Flies is a good example of what happens when social order fails and people are subject to what they really want.

Or generally speaking, all those cynical things about human nature that cynics like to say, well, they tend to be true in marketing. Or at least, you’re better off assuming they’re true and covering your bases than going for the easy way to persuasion.

That being said, where does this leave you?

Don’t try to sell to how you wish people were. Sell to how people are. This requires a deep understanding of human nature.

A good book to start with for this is The Laws of Human Nature by Robert Greene. Or get a job as a salesman, you’ll get a crash course in human motivation ASAP.

So what do you think — are people driven by noble reasons or are we all selfish and self-centered? Or is it somewhere in the middle?

Let me know below.

Best regards,

Razvan Rogoz