Over the past five or so years, I’ve noticed that I:
1. Am listening to the same music, mostly stuff I’ve listened to for decades
2. No longer enjoy going to restaurants
3. Prefer really simple food, prepared simply
4. (If I watch anything at all) watch TV shows I already know, like Arrested Development or Twin Peaks
5. Watch movies that were made up to the year 2000 but not beyond
6. Am no longer interested in traveling
7. Am in particular not interested in traveling to poor places where I can’t have the comforts I’m already used to at home
8. Have a very routinized life — work, gym, reading, walk
9. Am getting more politically conservative
10. Feel I have an explanation for everything — just ask me.
I’m telling you these 10 highly personal things to illustrate a valuable marketing and copywriting tip:
People in your market will often describe their situation with a statement like, “I am getting closed-minded.” I know I’ve been saying this lately as I’ve noticed myself getting older.
Trouble is, “getting closed-minded” is abstract. It’s fuzzy. It can mean lots of different things to different people.
And even to people who might actually agree such a statement describes them, it doesn’t really spark a very strong emotional self-identification.
The fix for this are four simple words:
“How do you know?”
Ask your market these four words.
These four words get to the specifics, the scenes people can truly see, hear, and touch.
This leads to emails and sales copy that hypnotize people.
And if you want to know why that is, just write in and ask. I have an explanation for it — and for everything else you might ever want to know.