The 8 Psychological Keys of Copywriting

A copywriter understands that to get their target market to do what they want; they have to get inside their mind and understand what makes them tick.

Psychology is therefore vital to the copywriting process.

Understanding how your market thinks, discovering what they are looking for in life and what problems they are trying to solve is the real key to powerful copywriting.

It appears rather daunting, but it is something that can be easily achieved.

Put yourself in the mind of your reader - why would they want the product you are selling? What will they get out of it? What problem would it solve?

OK, that may seem too much like a stab in the dark, so how about doing a bit of research. I am sure you know people from all walks of life, many of whom could be prospective buyers. Talk to them; ask them their opinion on the product. Tell them about it and see how they react. Ask them:

• What would make them part with their money?
• Why they would buy it?
• What they would want to get from buying them?

Armed with your newfound information in to why they would buy, you now need to add into your copy some psychological keys that will encourage them to get out their credit cards:

1. People love surprises - tell them they'll get a surprise free bonus when ordering.
2. People want an easier life - make ordering easy and give easy product instructions.
3. People like security - tell them you provide a secure buying process and privacy policy.
4. People like compliments - praise them for considering your product.
5. People are curious about how it will change their lifestyle - use ‘Secret' and ‘Confidential' to pick their curiosity.
6. People like to invest in their future - use the phrase ‘invest in your product' instead of ‘buy'.
7. People like to have the newest or latest things - use words such as ‘new', ‘just released'.
8. People want their problems solved - tell them what problems they have and how your product will resolve them.

For many people buying is an emotional action rather than a rational one. By using these psychological keys triggers you can convince them to buy your product.

The outcome? Happy customers and a regular copywriting client.