Marketing Beyond The Lizard Brain
By: Krista Bauer, Online Presence Strategist
Tags: Copywriting, Conscious Business, Ethical Business, Copywriting Tips, Small Business Marketing

How can you avoid using lizard brain language in your sales copy?

1. Be clear about your intentions.

The intention behind the words you write is the biggest differentiator between conventional and heart-centred copywriting.

Don’t use hype, fear, FOMO, urgency or persuasion to sell your offers online.

It’s that simple.

Just know that if you do, your prospective clients will feel sold to. They’ll feel coerced or pushed into taking an action they weren’t ready to take, which is damaging in the long run for your relationships with good people.

If you’re trying to persuade people by hyping up your offer or making it sound more exciting than it is to drive sales, then you’re prioritizing conversions over connections.

When you write highly persuasive copy intending to convert as many browsers into buyers as you can handle (aka taking anyone’s money regardless of fit or feasibility) — you’ll attract the wrong people.

What’s worse is you’ll miss out on making genuine connections with the right people — and turn off the ones who are the BEST match for your work.

2. Accept that you’ll make fewer sales.

As I’ve said, reptilian brain language works. You’ll get more sign-ups, clients and course enrolments if you use language that fears people into working with you.

But remember, creating and growing a sustainable business that nourishes you spiritually and financially is a marathon, not a sprint.

When you market to your ideal client’s lizard brain, it works because you’re playing on their deepest fears and trying to strike an emotional cord that pushes them into action.

Unfortunately, simply using straightforward language to articulate what you do for the people who’d benefit most will result in less engagement — that’s the nature of the beast.

The benefit, however, is when someone chooses to work with you from a conscious, heart-centred place, they’re making a decision that aligns with a genuine desire versus rushing into a purchase because they’re afraid of missing out or seeing their worst-case scenario come to fruition.

If you make people feel doomed for failure or screwed if they miss your “limited, one-time offer “(we’ve all seen those), you’ll attract scared, manipulated people — not the kindred-clients you’re truly meant to serve.

3. Think about the person on the other end.

As online business owners, we forget we’re talking to real humans because of the lack of face-to-face interaction. This limitation makes it easier for people to play to others’ insecurities because we can’t see how our words affect them.

Bring that to the forefront of your mind and remain sensitive to the fact that you’re marketing to real people with real problems.

Ask yourself, is this how I’d speak to someone if they were here in front of me?

If you’re using fear-based language to make someone feel bad or pour salt on their wounds to agitate the problem — would you feel comfortable doing that to their face?

If not, then it’s a good indication that you’ve gone too far with your marketing copy, and it’s time to channel the in-person energy you’d have if you were sitting at a riverside cafe sippin’ a hot, lemon tea together. In other words, hone in on a relaxing, natural tone that puts your audience at ease without striving to activate their nervous system.