Writing to Personality Types
In getting ready to write a series of ads, I try to get as much data on the characteristics of a TYPICAL prospect. If it’s a market I’m familiar with, this is fairly easy. I can look at what worked for them in the past and use the same ideas.
If it’s a market I don’t know much about, I need to dig into their psyche a little bit. One way I do this is by knowing a little bit about human nature and different personality types. I like the system that breaks the different types into colors because it’s easier for me to remember.
For instance, GOLD personalities are organized, neat and tidy. They tend to think in spreadsheets and flowcharts. Sell to them using logic and reason. Appeal to their need for order in the world.
The complete opposites are the ORANGE personalities. Totally emotion driven, they pursue fun first. Use emotional appeals and they will respond.
Many people have BLUE personalities. These are the social people who are relationship driven. Empathy is big with these folks. They tend to buy on emotion, but look more to have a relationship with the marketer, or buy products that enhance their relationships.
The final type we look at are the GREEN personalities. These are the analytical types. They gather a lot of information before making a decision. Once they do decide, they are extremely loyal.
How do we write to all these different personality types in one little 95 character ad?
Here is a little thing I learned from Daniel Levis:
To sell to John Q. Public, sell to the pessimistic, externally driven closed-minded victim mentality. As H.L. Mencken once said, “No one in this world has ever lost money underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.”