Beyond the “7 Deadly Sins”—What Really Motivates Your Prospect

by Joshua Aaron Stanley on July 21, 2009

People buy for emotional—not logical—reasons. And the key to making an emotional connection is through arousing desire.

But there’s much more to the spectrum of human desire than the “7 deadly sins” 99% of other marketers talk about.

Otherwise, how would you account for altruistic motivations like compassion, duty, honor, love, service, etc.? Or even the slightly “lower” motivations like approval, belonging, learning, or artistic expression?

I’ve been thinking a lot about desire lately. We are motivated by our desires, which is why tapping into desire is the KEY to creating a strong persuasive appeal.

“Spiritual Copy” is about inspiring people to respond… and not appealing strictly to “lower” desires. It is about recognizing the good (the divinity) in every single one of us.

When you appeal only to the “lower” motivations, it’s all too easy to come across as manipulative… and that puts up walls of skepticism and resistance. Just look at how most money-making opportunities are marketed, and you’ll see what I mean.

I’m going to propose a different model. I call it “The Holistic Model of Core Desires”.

Mystics tell us we are made up of body, soul, and spirit. The soul is that part of us which experiences individuality—our emotions and will (or to use the traditional terminology, the heart and mind). The spirit is that part of us that recognizes our unity with God and the Universe.

We are composed of all three: body, soul, and spirit. The “7 Deadly Sins” only appeal to our “lower” natures. But we are holistic beings. And humanity is much more evolved than most people–especially marketers–tend to give them credit for. (To illustrate, read this.)

Here is my new model of desire, based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, and chapter 5 of Chip & Dan Heath’s wonderful book, Made to Stick…

The Holistic Model of Core Desires

Physical Urges: (Body)

Flesh: The desire for food and drink… for bodily comfort and pleasure.

Security: The desire for safety, protection, & stability. The desire to be free from fear, pain, worry, danger, or hardship.

Emotional Yearnings: (Heart)

Esteem: The desire to be set apart… to be competent… to achieve… to gain approval. The desire for independence, status, fame, and glory.

Belonging: The desire for love & affection from family, friends, & mates.

Mental Pursuits: (Mind)

Aesthetic: The desire to experience symmetry, order, beauty, and balance.

Learning: The desire to satisfy curiosity… to know and understand… to discover.

Highest Aspirations: (Spirit)

Self-Actualization: The desire to have “peak experiences”… to realize our full potential… to become who we’re truly meant to be… to fulfill our destiny.

Transcendence: The desire to help others realize their potential… to be a force for good… to become one with God.

The key to creating a more persuasive message is in reaching across the entire spectrum of desire. It’s perfectly okay to appeal to “Body”, “Heart”, or “Mind” level desires… but for maximum persuasive impact… to inspire your prospect to respond… you must also appeal to desires born of the “Spirit”.

For example…

Say you’re offering a way for your prospect to make more money. You certainly need to communicate the extra security… the more comfortable life… the protection of loved ones…

But don’t neglect to point out how having financial freedom can allow them to become who they were truly meant to be… that it will allow them to realize their full potential—which can only happen with complete financial independence to experience those things that will help them learn and grow, and live a fulfilling life in every way—physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

That is the heart of Spiritual Copy.

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The #1 Marketing Sin… And How To Fix It.

by Joshua Aaron Stanley on July 16, 2009

I can’t help it, I LOVE what I do.

And if I weren’t writing copy, I’d be writing novels… or composing music… or something else that requires BOTH sides of the brain.

Sometimes I get a project I wouldn’t mind doing even if I didn’t get paid a dime. Like yesterday, for example, I picked up a sales letter project for the company where I used to work as Marketing Director.

They sell high output black lights to the entertainment industry, and they want to create a promotion to send out to all the equipment rental houses offering them a trade-up for their old fixtures.

They hand in their old, crappy fixtures (even if they don’t work) and get $300 credit toward a new one. Plus, their old fixtures are recycled.

The company president (my former boss) wanted to create a flyer to send in the mail. But here’s the thing:

Flyer = BORING.

The number #1 sin in marketing is boring your prospect. A flyer may be great for posting on a bulletin board (if done right), but it’s not for direct mail.

There is nothing personal about it… and nothing interesting, either. Plus, it’s the WORST way to use direct mail.

So I came up with some ideas:

  • First… let’s make it a sales letter, not a flyer. You can sell just about anything with a well-written sales letter.
  • Second… since they’ll be recycling the old fixtures (and the customer will save money doing it), let’s call it the “Easy Being Green” Promotion.
  • Third… let’s create a character named “Tree Frog Bob” to be the “spokesfrog” for this promotion.
  • Fourth… let’s include a toy stretchable flying frog as a “grabber”, which will make the envelope “lumpy” to add intrigue, and guarantee it gets opened.

The headline “ties in” the grabber…

“It’s Time To S-T-R-E-T-C-H Your Green With
Wildfire’s ‘Easy Being Green’ Promotion.”

Trade Up Any Old, Embarrassing Blacklight Fixture For
$300 Credit Toward A Brand-New Wildfire 400W Spot or Flood

Then, in the deck, there is a cartoon drawing of our spokesfrog, Tree Frog Bob.

Tree Frog Bob is here to tell us that even though he’s from the deep Amazon, he’s heard about the recession… and he thinks the best way out of it is to just focus on the green: saving it… and making it.

And being in the green just got a whole lot easier with Wildfire’s “Easy Being Green” Promotion.

The theme continues through the sales letter. Notice how it suddenly has more interest and appeal. I’ve even created some slightly humorous back-story elements for Tree Frog Bob that are woven throughout the sales letter…

Such as how his cousin’s mother-in-law’s brother’s son knew this guy whose girlfriend once dated this other guy who knew this agent up there in Hollywood. So when he heard about a call for a green spokesfrog… well… he knew it was his lucky break!

The point is… this WILL get opened. It WILL get read… and perhaps even passed around the office for its entertainment value. (Plus, it’s a pretty darn persuasive sales letter, too!)

Here’s the lesson: NEVER be boring. Be curious. Be interesting. Be personable. Be cheesy if you have to. But don’t be boring.

You can add interest to your marketing in several ways…

  • Tell your story.
  • Be personable.
  • Write like you talk.
  • Write about what your prospects are interested in.
  • Create “cartoon” characters to be your spokesperson.
  • Get rid of all corporate or legal-sounding B.S.
  • Use colorful language.
  • Use common metaphors and figures of speech.
  • Insert a “grabber” in your envelope to guarantee it gets opened.

That’s just off the top of my head.

If you’re ready to move beyond the same old boring drivel, and actually generate a response for a change, then visit my services page.

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Marketing Meditation: Let Your Copy “Flow”

by Joshua Aaron Stanley on June 23, 2009

“The highest good is like water.
Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.
It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao.”

-Tao Te Ching, Verse 8

Water always finds the path of least resistance. It never strives uphill… it doesn’t defy the law of gravity. It naturally finds the shortest, most direct path from A to B.

I’m fascinated by the spiritual concept of “flow”.

I try to live “in the flow” in my personal and business life… and even though I work on a daily basis to build my business, I’m always looking for the path of least resistance… and that path is usually in the form of “letting go” and letting the Universe take you where it wills.

Your marketing and sales copy should live in the “flow”, too. Your reader should never feel it is “work” to read your copy. The path should be easy… light… completely absorbing, such that nothing else matters but the present moment—what your prospect is currently reading.

Joe Sugarman called this concept the “greased slide.” Once your prospect gets on, there is no getting off until you reach the end.

That’s why flow is a critical element in your copy. The moment it starts feeling “clunky” or “awkward”, you’re in danger of losing your prospect.

Let there be nothing to interrupt the logical flow, emotional flow, rhythmic flow of the copy once your prospect “gets on”.

Edit, edit, edit for a natural, flowing “feel” to your copy. Keep your reader sliding down that greased slide all the way to the call to action.

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Marketing Meditation: How The “Still Small Voice” Creates A Deeper Bond Of Trust

by Joshua Aaron Stanley on June 10, 2009

“And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

-I Kings 19: 11-12 (KJV)

The prophet Elijah did not hear God in spectacular thunder, earthquake, or fire. He heard him—and connected with him—through the still small voice. The NIV refers to it as “a gentle whisper.”

It is an intimate voice—one full of love and unconditional acceptance. It is the ultimate expression of Empathy, Integrity, & Authenticity.

In the same way, you cannot connect with your prospects with bombastic hype, over-the-top claims, and a “screaming” tone.

You connect by being real, down to earth, and subtle in your sales approach… not by sounding “salesy”.

You connect by gently arousing core desires, which are naturally clothed in emotion… and not by “forcing” emotion with a forest of exclamation marks.

You connect by understanding what your prospect truly wants and showing him how to get it… not by “hammering” him with your sales pitch.

A good sales letter is more like Jiu Jitsu than Kung-Fu. It naturally diffuses skepticism with subtle trust-building elements… it persuades under-the-radar… it eliminates objections before they even come up…

The “still small voice” is infinitely more powerful and persuasive than “yelling and screaming”.

It is through an intimate tone—just as you would write to a dear friend—that helps create a deep bond of trust between you and your prospect. Use the “still small voice”… and watch your sales go up.

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The “Enlightened” Definition of Marketing

by Joshua Aaron Stanley on June 2, 2009

There is no simpler and more elegant definition of marketing than this:

Getting the right message to the right person.

I love this definition because it immediately reveals the process of marketing, and implies a 3-step action plan.

If you’re going to get the right message to the right person, what’s the first thing you need to know?

Who that person is! So…

Step #1: Identify Your Ideal Prospect

This is where most business owners make a HUGE mistake. They aren’t clear on who their Ideal Prospect is. They think they should “cast the net wide.” But when you try to appeal to everyone, your message becomes so general it appeals to no one.

I teach that marketing starts and ends with the prospect. It is NOT about what you sell. It’s about who you’re serving.

Step #2: Create Your Message

You cannot create a strong message without knowing who your Ideal Prospect is. The message must be specifically targeted toward this prospect and create deep resonance. It should promise to solve a problem, meet a need, or fulfill a desire… all while building that all-important know/like/trust bond.

Step #3: Get Your Message To Your Ideal Prospect

Many business owners make the mistake of starting here. They waste thousands of dollars on advertising, direct mail, traffic generation, etc., without first being clear on who they’re targeting and what their message is. Do Steps 1 & 2 first. Then invest your money in getting the message out there while testing and refining your message as you go along.

Yours in Spirit,

Joshua Aaron Stanley
“The Spiritual Copywriter”

P.S. Want to know the secret to creating resonance, eliciting emotion, and forging a connection while moving your prospect to action? My “Spiritual Copywriting in Practice” Training Program starts June 24…

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