What Motivates People To Buy?

To create great copy it helps to understand what motivates people to buy.

In this section we will take a look at the psychological reasons that your customers will by from you, some words and phrases that you could include in your copy as well as those you want to avoid, and a successful introduction for your copywriting.

We’ll also discuss how to hook your reader from the get go.

Psychology of buying

1. Will it make them happier?

Your customers need to believe your product is going to add value to their lives in some way.  Copywriting outlines how the product will:

- Make or save money

- Save time

- Make life or work easier

- Entertain

- Make customers more attractive

2. Put on a different pair of shoes.

Successful copywriters really get into the mindset of their target audience and understand what customers want from their product.

If your readers relate to your sales copy your conversion rate will be much higher. One good strategy is to describe something your audience is likely to be doing already, and then suggest how your product could help them to do it better.

3. Fear is a powerful motivator.

It can be powerful to concentrate on the idea of loss rather than just the idea of gain in your sales writing.  If buying your product will prevent your customers from losing something, you can appeal to their fear of loss and use this as an effective selling point.

4. Let others sell it for you.

Seeing real life examples of how your product has benefited someone else will make your customers feel more comfortable about buying from you.

There are two ways to achieve this:

a. Case studies that describe in detail how one of your customers has used and benefited from your product.

b. High quality testimonials detailing how your product has made money, saved time, or generally improved the life of one of your customers.

5. Appeal to their emotions.

We have already seen that people buy with their hearts rather than their heads, so copywriting is often designed to appeal to customers’ emotions.

Identify possible emotions in your target audience such as the need to feel more attractive, or the desire for more money, and aim your writing at these.

6. Make it conversational.

Ask questions.  Get your reader involved.  People are more likely to buy from you if they trust you and feel they have a personal relationship with you.

Using a relaxed personal style in your writing can create this sense of trust, and you might want to include a photo of yourself.

Business Planning Exercise:  What will motivate your customers to buy from you?  What benefits does your product or service offer?