Does Your Copy Have Personality?

Some people like hypey copy, while others prefer newsy copy. Some people like long, others prefer short. Some people drama, stories and testimonials… Others data, statistics and facts.

Does it all matter? Absolutely.

What makes one style of copy more favorable than another? Why does one person buy from one type of copy and not from another? It really comes down to the buying behavior of your market. And in fact, there are four major personality types.

The style you choose will not appeal to everyone. It never will. Even some of the best ads miss the mark with at least half of their target audience.

You may have heard me say this before, and I’ll say it again: Trying to be all things to all people is a death knell for your business.

By trying to be all things to all people, you must paint your copy with broad brushstrokes in order to appeal to everyone. Thus, when your target market reads your copy, it will often shrug it off because they feel you are not catering to them specifically — even if what you’re selling does.

Similarly, ads crafted so as not to offend anyone will be counterproductive. It may even backfire.

Why? Because the more you try not to offend anyone, the more generic you become with your copy. And the more generic you are, the more your copy will be disconnected from your audience.

In other words, to your prospect, you appear as if you DON’T understand them, and that your copy DOESN’T cater to their specific, individual needs, goals, concerns, budget and unique set of circumstances.

As a result, you alienate most of your market that way.

Sure, you may avoid offending a minority. But now you inadvertently offend the majority — perhaps in a subtle, indirect or unconscious way — because you appear as if you simply don’t care.

You see, ads are distinctive. They’re alive. They’re like pieces of art.

Each one has a certain personality. And no matter what you do, that personality may attract some people and repulse others at the same time.

Try to be too general (or better said, “too generic”) with your copy, and the result will be copy that’s bland, anemic and unproductive.

Instead, appeal to the majority, even to the detriment of the minority. It’s not just because it will be conducive to the greatest results but also because your copy offers more than just information. It also presents that information in a way that is favored by the majority of your target audience.

Said differently, it’s best to cater to one predominant market, i.e., one predominant buyer personality. That way, your information is presented in a way that your market feels the copy is centered on them. And them alone.

Over the years, many psychologists and behavioral scientists have categorized personality styles. They may have labeled them differently, but the result is essentially the same.

Is this some kind of new science? Not at all.

Around 400 BC, Hippocrates, in “Air, Water And Places,” dubbed these 4 personality types as Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic. In more recent years, behavioral scientist and sales psychologist Dr. Tony Alessandra labels them Directors, Socializers, Relaters and Thinkers. Same thing.

(If you want to know what kind of personality style you have, you can take Dr. Alessandra’s quiz on his website “The Platinum Rule,” which Tony defines as “Do unto others as they would want to have done unto them.”)

But the most common labels given to them (and the ones Dan Kennedy, Brian Tracy, even marketing textbooks use) are: Driver, Expressive, Analytical and Amiable.

A personality style is defined by a person’s level of assertiveness and responsiveness. Responsiveness is how well they respond to other people. It is outwardly. Assertiveness, on the other hand, is inwardly. It’s how well they are willing to take a stand.

On one side of the scale, some people are ego-driven while others are known “people-pleasers.” Some care less about the people around them (or the relastionships they hold), while others focus much on how they get along with others — often, to their own detriment.

Some people are task-driven, others results-driven. Some dramatic, others factual.

Each level can be high or low, in varying degrees. The combination of the two is what defines a particular personality style. For example, a person can be:

1. High assertive, low responsive
2. High assertive, high responsive
3. Low assertive, low responsive
4. Low assertive, high responsive

But to explain it visually, and one of the more popular models (and perhaps the best one for copywriting purposes), is by looking at these styles in the form of a quadrant:

Screenshot from a DVD video at BreakthroughCopywriting.com.

Your market will predominantly fall into 1 or 2 personality styles. Of course, with all things being equal. (Unless you’re a large, brand-name retailer, department store or business.)

Your audience may not necessarily and precisely fit into a single, neat personality category, and your entire market may not fit one specific style. Keep in mind that the keyword here is “predominant.”

But depending on your product, your industry, and both demographics and psychographics of your target audience, it is safe to say that the majority of them will likely demonstrate one particular style more than any other.

To give you an idea, here’s a brief look at them:

Drivers are concerned with RESULTS.

They are practical, impatient and time-sensitive. A Driver is a person who usually is more concerned with the bottom-line. For example, they want to know how long will it take to get your product, what kind of results they can expect and, of course, how much does it cost.

Bankers, sales managers, purchasing agents, businesspeople, corporate executives and so on are typically Drivers. They don’t care how to get from point “A” to point “B.” They just want to know if you can get to point “B.”

Everything else is irrelevant. So be pithy and give them the bottom line.

Analyticals are preoccupied with DETAILS.

They don’t care much about results. They’re driven by facts and far more interested in the inner workings of your product. They might want to know what is its exact size, where and of what is it made, what are the ingredients, what features does it possess, what kind of guarantees do you offer with it, and what, precisely, makes it work.

Scientists, developers, mathematicians, engineers, computer programmers, doctors and so on are mainly Analyticals. They want specifications. They want facts. They want statistics. They want data. The more, the merrier.

They prefer cold, hard information rather than hyperbole and stories.

Expressives care most about FEELINGS.

Status and approval are important to Expressives. How they perceive things and how other people perceive them take precedence. They are mostly impulsive, colorful, ego-centric, undisciplined and spontaneous. They prefer to talk than to listen.

Actors, teachers, musicians, artists, art lovers, graphic designers, movie directors, comedians, etc fall in the Expressive category. As an example, they’re the ones who buy mostly for the sake of prestige of ownership, or to boost their standing in their communities, their organizations or their peer groups.

(For instance, Expressives are the types who intentionally park their brand new luxury car on the street so that the neighbors can see them.)

Ultimately, tell them how your product will make them look good.

Amiables are interested in RELATIONSHIPS.

They are emotional, caring and humanistic. They are normally those who deal with the public and care deeply about the relationships they hold. How your product will help others and strengthen the relationships they maintain with them will be of utmost importance to Amiables.

It’s not uncommon for Amiables to hold careers as salespeople, consultants, home-based business owners, entrepreneurs, social workers, human resource personnel and so on. If your product can solve a problem, that’s good. But if it can help your prospect help others to solve a problem, that’s even better.

With Amiables, use testimonials, stories and analogies. A lot.

The important question is:

How do you appeal to your buyer’s personality?

For instance, avoid lacing your copy with feelings and emotions when your audience, comprised mostly of Analyticals, wants specifics. Be objective and factual, and refrain from hyperbole or drama. Sure, you can — and must — be emotional. All humans are. But don’t do so at the expense of logic and facts.

While an Analytical will never have enough information, don’t drown your visitors with needless details when they consist of Drivers. Be quick, pithy and straight to the point when dealing with these practical buyers. If you use long copy, make sure it makes a point. Consistently.

However, be sensitive and friendly when pitching to Amiables. Use stories, case studies and testimonials. Take your time with them. Be warm and interactive. In fact, your relationship with them is just as important as the benefits of your product.

For Expressives, talk about how the product will make them feel, help their status and gain recognition, and how it will get others to notice and compliment them. Or focus on how the product will make others around them cringe in horror, turn green with envy or even be humiliated.

Here’s a real-life scenario.

A patient visits a dentist for an initial consultation.

During the meeting, the Analytical will be preoccupied mostly with the details of dental work. Knowing precisely how much freezing will be applied, which specific teeth (and parts thereof) will be repaired and what kind of filling will be used are of enormous interest to him.

On the other hand, a Driver will want to know how long the procedure takes, how fast can he return to work after the procedure and how much it costs. Everything else is unimportant and irrelevant.

But for the Amiable, they are mostly concerned with their ability to please their spouse, friends or boss with their improved appearance. They want to know if going ahead will make others happy, as well as secure others’ approval.

The Expressive, however, will be mostly interested with how good do their new teeth look, how much pain that such a procedure might incur, how their teeth changes their appearance, how natural-looking the result will be and how attractive the procedure is going to make them.

But what if your market consists of more than one?

Again, your market, if you target your market (or at least segment your market into groups), will fall into one (and sometimes two) categories. In other words, your market will fit into one predominant category, and one more than any other.

Depending on your type of industry and product, the style of your message should chiefly appeal to that one specific style. For example, if your product caters to expectant mothers, you will definitely speak to them differently than if you were to cater to entrepreneurs.

But what if your market consists of strong, identifiably different groups? In other words, what if you have more than one predominant personality type in your target audience? If so, I submit that you can have a different ad or salesletter directed at each different market.

It’s market segmentation, pure and simple. Even if it’s the same product.

Market segementation means that you split your target market into groups, and cater to each one individually. Large corporations and retailers have been doing this for years. Take Coke versus Diet Coke, or Levis’ Red Tabs sold in high-end stores, versus Wal-Mart’s Orange Tabs Levis.

Here’s an example: a clever entrepreneur can take a product, package it, price it and sell it in 2 different ways to 2 different audiences on 2 different websites — and thus maximize sales from all potential market segments. Oftentimes, even creating her own competition.

(Take, for instance, AudioGenerator.com versus InstantAudio.com. The former is geared for the individual, small business person, while the other is more corporate, B2B-oriented.)

The bottom line is, give your copy personality, and make sure it speaks to your audience at an intimate level, and your response will shoot through the roof.

Sure, you will aleniate a few. But what would you rather have: generic copy that pleases more but sells less? Or targeted copy that pleases less but sells more?

Last 5 Posts by Michel Fortin

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