Are women more persuasive than men?

[Raydal]

Everyone knows that women are smarter than men
by a mile so I'm not talking about who can outsmart
the other.

But with the popularity of ads about "Moms" who
lost weight, are making money from home, found
a cure for acne and another for cancer ...

Do people find a "Mom" more believable than a "Dad"
because I don't see any ads about "Dads" accomplishing
anything.

And if Moms are more persuasive should copy do better
if written from "Moms" perspective?

Am all ears ...

-Ray Edwards

[Patrice Le Vexier]

More persuasive, I don't know, more believable, no doubt about it.

Patrice

[mikestenger]

I think it all comes down to the image and personality. In people's eyes, women tend to be more comfortable people to listen to and pay attention to and aren't as in your face as men are. Lots of cases it's not always true but that's the immediate perception.

About copy doing better written from a woman's perspective, I'm not sure. Sounds like it would be something that might be worth testing out.

[Patrice Le Vexier]

Originally Posted by Raydal

Everyone knows that women are smarter than men...

-Ray Edwards

Who everyone Ray?

They have a different kind of intelligence but smarter? I don't know...

They live longer, that's the only thing that is proven as far as I know.

Patrice

[Raydal]

I'm wondering also if just he word "Mom" seems more comforting
to people and this builds instant trust? I mean, whose mother
ever lied to them?

"Mom" may also mean "easy to do" and "an ordinary person".

What does the word "Mom" instill in you?

-Ray Edwards

[misterwrecker]

The bottom line is it is better to use women in some niches and men in others.



-John

[Vijay M]

I agree..there is probably a softening of stance when I read a "mom" story/testimonial rather than a dad.

But then again, it might be perception about the product.

If the product was about fixing a flat tire, a testimonial from a dad might gel better, coz, in real life, 9/10 a man will have to fix that flat.

[George Wright]

Hi,

In my past I've worked for many different kinds of organizations who's life blood was the sales force.

From Insurance to Pre Need Cemetery to Encyclopedias. One of the first things I was always told by the sales trainers, "Women do better at this than men." It almost seemed that it's part of the script to teach.

George Wright

[Raydal]

Originally Posted by Vijay M

I agree..there is probably a softening of stance when I read a "mom" story/testimonial rather than a dad.

But then again, it might be perception about the product.

If the product was about fixing a flat tire, a testimonial from a dad might gel better, coz, in real life, 9/10 a man will have to fix that flat.

On the contrary most tools are shown with women using them even if
the tools are traditionally mostly used by men. On the same note I
can't remember seeing a woman doctor in a commercial, even though
there are many women doctors. People still think instinctively of
a doctor as a man and a nurse as a woman.

-Ray Edwards

[Rich Creal]

There is a very simple marketing tenant --- when you do not know, test.

There will be certain markets it would be obvious which is more effective. A "dad" testimonial for a tampon would not be appropriate.

So unless you are marketing tampons test.

[TheRichLife]

My wife says they are. She convinced me.

[timmelanson]

Well... of course this is only my opinion...

I think it depends on the prospect. I think that if the man and woman were to have the same background, credentials and knowledge, then it would depend on who they were pitching.

I say that because some women prefer buying from women, a "woman power" thing. Same goes for men. Also, some men can't say no to a pretty smile and some women can't either. It would all depend.

As for "Moms"... I think it's because it's a big deal when a woman can balance a household and accomplish some type of business aspirations. I think it is slightly unfair though because it would be just as impressive if a stay-at-home dad were to accomplish the same.

Again... Just my opinion.
Cheers,
Tim

[Jhf14]

Personally, I think it depends on who your main audience is... I would argue there are more males than females looking to make money online (even if by a slight margin)... so the "mom" story may not be as successful...

I wonder if the same can be said about the race of the person giving the sales letter. Does one race convert more than others?

[grumpyjacksa]

with women being emotional beings, my guess is that emotional persuasion would come more naturally to them....

just my 0.02c

PJ

[J Elizabeth Dize]

I think that might be true, in some cases. I'd think it would depend on what's being promoted. There are a lot of stereotypes still out there (whether we consciously have them or not!), and when people in certain niche markets want help or advice they want/expect "mom" and not "dad." I wonder if medical type sites or "official" niches do better with professional looking men than women.

The word "mom" did not mean a whole lot to me growing up, but I'm a mom myself now, and I get it

[mekadon009]

i agree with you raydal on that one

[Bill Farnham]

Well Ray, the flip side does include strings that are attatched to the male ego.

There is that certain portion of the male population that believes if a woman can do it, it will be even easier for a man. So to frame that in marketing terms, if you can show somone that "It's so easy a child could do it" you can get the crossover advantage when you show that "It's so easy a woman can do it".

Now in all reality we know there are a lot of things woman can do better than men. That's indisputable, unless you have a caveman mentality.

Which begs the question...Why aren't we seeing a bunch of advertising featuring cavewomen...

KJ

[The IM Prodigy]

Depends on who your audience is, the person and if she is hot

[Online Bliss]

Male or Female the consumer wants someone they can trust.
The Black gentleman who does the Allstate Insurance adverts comes
off like a person anyone can trust. Women who do extendz or male enhancement
ads are just added for flavor.
I trust women when they appear to be honest and not sex symbols.
Trusting a spokesperson It isn't as easy online as television.
In conclusion I agree with misterwreker on this one.

[jrmnlitt]

I believe it comes down to the person and their personality.

[Tom Goodwin]

Originally Posted by timmelanson

Also, some men can't say no to a pretty smile and some women can't either.

The amount that I tip in certain circumstances certainly backs this up

[Alminc]

Originally Posted by Raydal

Everyone knows that women are smarter than men
by a mile so I'm not talking about who can outsmart
the other.


-Ray Edwards

Everyone knows that women must be given a lot of compliments,
including even those about their intellectual superiority, in order to
get them to...well, whatever .

But is it true?

Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, Sigismund Freud, Sokrates, Aristoteles, Leonardo Da Vinci, Archimedes, Pythagoras, Bill Gates, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, etc., etc., ... etc.

[Andy W]

What your dealing with here is psychology. Who dosen't trust their Mother? lol
-Andy

[Matt Maiden]

I don't think the persuader's role is as important as the persuaded.

Have you ever looked at some of the crap that impulsive people buy without being sold at all?

You can take the worst salesperson out there and have them put the right product in front of the right crowd and that person will look like a genius.

Find extremely hungry people and you don't even have to cook the food.

Matt

[Bev Clement]

Ray, men and women talk a different language, and it is noticable in their sales copy. Men are more agreesive, and like to talk about how wonderful they are, their ego is everything. It is seem when they pretend to be a woman in their sales pages as well.

Not every niche wants a Mom, it depends on it. Would I trust a Mom? it depends.

Get a man and a woman to write copy for the same product, and test to see the difference.

[mayapearl]

Originally Posted by Raydal

I'm wondering also if just he word "Mom" seems more comforting
to people and this builds instant trust? I mean, whose mother
ever lied to them?

"Mom" may also mean "easy to do" and "an ordinary person".

What does the word "Mom" instill in you?

-Ray Edwards

Everyone has a "Mom", Moms are trustworthy, how could anyone imagine [God forbid] a "Mom" ripping anyone off? I mean they have children to feed and look after, husbands to keep in check, school lunches, shopping etc...

Now also blogging! Moms rule!

Next they will run the country.
Now trawling through the net I have wondered how many of those "Moms" could be "Dads"? Hummmm....

[NightWriter]

I think women seem more trustworthy. I relax when I'm dealing with a woman professionally.

As far as writing. I can tell you this, without a doubt, the greatest writers, in general, have been women. Women forced their way out of the shadows because of their greatness at writing as early as the late 17th century - they did it because their work was too good for the publishers and the public to resist. They had to hide the fact that they were women to get published. Examples are George Eliot and, of course, Mary Shelley would probably never have been published if it hadn't been for her husband, who would become a lesser known (although still great) writer.

The great men writers had to learn to write like women to keep up - and there were some men who mastered it - they became great.

Virginia Wolfe had another opinion about this, however, and she wrote about it in The Mad Woman in the Attic. She said that for either men or women to be great at writing (and I'm sure this includes copywriting - because it is writing and it is an art) they had to lose their sense of gender. They had to become neutral beings.

I definitely think that Wolfe's philosophy applies to copywriting.

What made women's writing more powerful than men's (generally speaking) in literature, anyway, has been the emotional power of their words. And, we all know that it is emotion that stimulates buyers.

But, I was just thinking about this earlier today... that's why I have a little to say on the subject. A lot of the copy I see on-line that presumably converts appeals to certain very low emotions. I seriously think if you want to sell to men, you have to deal with their lower energy centers. They really do operate from the lower half of their bodies (metaphysically speaking). They want to be the first, be ahead of the pack, don't want to be made fools of and if it has anything to do with getting laid... well, there's the crux of the whole thing, really - that's what it all comes back to. It doesn't matter if you're selling a hot rod or "turbo-charging" your computer somehow. If you're selling a cheap disposable razor it's a Mach 5 - because it's all about that lower part of their bodies.

I think women come from a different place, entirely... I think they have a lot of lower emotions, but they are different. Fear is a big one! For example, fear of a break in! - in those commercial, who is always home alone - the wife and kids when the psycho in the back mask is trying to get into the house - which are real fears, unfortunately. One of the easiest ways to manipulate and brainwash anyone is through fear. I can think of so many truly unfortunate examples where fear is used to manipulate women and mothers into things.

So, I think it is important for a copywriter to have a neutral mind - one that is able to incorporate both masculine and feminine qualities and see things from different perspectives. But, clearly, you have to keep your target market in mind the whole time you're doing that.

Just random thoughts....

[NightWriter]

Oh, and something else, Rayadal...

When you see a mom, frequently, that pic is there so that the target will resonate with that person. Frequently, the target in marketing is women. Women buy more stuff than men.

A famous example of this is the automobile industry which had to change some of its marketing tactics and change the autombiles to make them more suitable for women. And the reason for this simply was that thats where the largest segment of the market was - even when a man and woman jointly make a decision on the purchase of a car, it is usually the woman who decides which car it will be.

So, in a nutshell, I think the reason we're seeing this is demographics.

[sbucciarel]

Obviously the Mom thing reaches a certain audience, but it never has for me. When I see Mom testimonials or Mom flogs, it screams scam to me, but then so do the Men testimonials and Men sites that have flashy cars and yachts on the page, so basically, anything but honesty is a turnoff to me, personally.

[Jay Truman]

generally speaking women are more persuasive then men.

a women with British accent would be best.

women get more attention (one of the first steps in sales)

they are trusted more.

Also, women are on the cover of Mens and Womens magazines more so then men.

Because they get more attention.

Originally Posted by Raydal

I'm wondering also if just he word "Mom" seems more comforting
to people and this builds instant trust?

Yes, the word mom may seem more comforting.

Churches uses "father" so you feel more comfortable around a priest. So mom should work too?

[bhopkins]

I've studied this a lot and females in general are better at making conversions. The main reason according to my research is because females tend to tell stories in their copy. Other women respond better to the telling of stories.

Of course the niche targeted does matter as others have said, but in some niches then a female persona as long as you do it correctly can increase conversions. I've found this to be true in a lot of niches and is why I only hire female writers for my article marketing and CPA content.

[LegitBlogger]

Just answer this and I think you have the answer to
the question as well...

Here goes...

Whether you are a male or female, who CAN persuade
you more?

Your dad or mom?