Good post. I'm not so sure the reality is as black and white as you present it, but there's definitely much food for thought here.

Great report! Thank you alot. It can be greatly implemented into the AIDA marketing model:

-Attention
-Interest
-Desire
-Action

I found this model to be a great source of sales pages and guided by it I can convert lots of products like crazy.

Once again good job on the report. Great info.

Thank,
Tsvetan Vetskov

I liked everything in your post except for this. I feel like you yourself are actually missing the most powerful implication of your system here. You don't pick ONE per niche. These desires are things that all people have, they're all like little sliders. Everyone has all of them, they're just differing levels of influence over a certain person's behavior. If you've ever played the Sims, think of the personality sliders and you'll get what I mean.

The trick to using this effectively in marketing is taking your offer and actually detailing all the ways it can be presented specifically to appeal to each and every type of desire. This is the function of long-form sales letters. I forget who said it, but I've read in some old-school copy book at some point that each bullet in the copy should be designed to catch that one additional person who is waiting for the thing that connects to HIM specifically.

Don't just pick one, use them ALL. Build squeeze pages that are designed to appeal to specific ones, and make multiple squeezes and promote them all separately. You can also use content/rapport emails to a generalized list which are written to focus on a certain desire structure.

By getting them to respond into sub-opt-in lists for various things, you can segregate them into more profitably organized channels this way. You don't need to give them a survey, you let their behavior define how you categorize them.

I do really like your post though, even though I'm being critical. It's a neat little desire identifying/labeling thought exercise, and I don't recall seeing it put this way before. Did you make it up, or is it cribbed from elsewhere? It reminds me quite a lot of a list from an old John Caples thing I have somewhere. I'll try and look it up and share here. Good post!

I believe with you 100% that emotional triggers are more powerful than logical decisions. We must look beyond what makes sense to find what works never lose sight Of what grows your business.

Interesting, which of these do you find is most commonly strongest?

I think the strongest form of desire is security, because it's part of the Id, at least according to Freud's structural model. Or something.

Great posts gents.

Thank you for the article. Nice when people share. I learned something here and am going to apply it in my next sales copy. I really cannot see how this can be harmful.

I would like to add to the comment Dennis made:

I agree with you about avoiding pain AND I also think that pain is more related to FEAR than desire. Fear will motivate us consciously and unconsciously.

It really can be simply explained like this:

In the big picture, these "emotions" MJ is suggesting we bring out to connect and gain rapport with our audience are really "strategies" of how we make decisions.

"Desires" as MJ describes are really a "move towards" strategy. Imagine reaching your hand out, "moving toward" something you desire.

"Avoidance of pain" as you describe is really a "move away from" strategy. Imagine you are "pushing" away from something (situation,person,hot stove...) that is or could cause you pain.

I believe that MJ was introducing a way to use the "desires" or (positive) "move toward" strategy in our sales copy.

I also believe that if you bring out the avoidance of "pain" in your sales copy, you are going down a wrong path. I think you are skating on the thin ice of the negative pond.

Why?

Because you are now bringing the "pain" (whatever it is...time spent, money spent, time and money wasted, another failure...) to their forefront CONSCIOUS mind....

And then...asking them to forget it because your product/service will solve this. This can be tricky, because you are triggering their mind to relate to the "pain" so they can forget it.

It is the old mind trick of asking someone to clear their mind, and then to NOT think of a pink elephant.
It can't be done, because for our mind to follow instruction and NOT think of something, we have to think of what it is first to then NOT think about it.

So in essence you are bringing that person, with sales copy of showing how to avoid certain "pain", into a negative state, filled with fear and negative emotion that will/could trigger a "move away" from strategy.

DISCLAIMER: These random thoughts are my own OPINION.

Just like a good bantering sometimes.

Again, really enjoyed this post and threads!

Greg

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Thank you again.

Great report indeed , thanks MJ Sterling

Thanks for a great post!

All I know is that if you provide the best value you possibility can in a niche. You can achieve great success. It about giving people what they want. And what do people want? Ask yourself the same question, but in reverse. If I where I the customer what would I want for my hard earned cash?I bet you I can come up with a complied list we can all agree on.

1. I want something for my money. Not just anything, but something I can sink my teeth into. Something that can last forever.

2 I Want honesty from you. Don't tell me a few affirmations will work, when my programming has took 67 years to get till this point. Be brutally honest and I will appreciate you for that. Don't just give me a sales page with a nice pics and some graphics. I want to know who you are and what you are about and how you can help me.

3. I want genuine sincerity.

4. I want to know you can help me with all my problems. If not all, just a few. And if not a few, make me feel at least a bit good about myself.

and

5th. I want to be exposed to something new, diverse, entertaining, and joyful. So as i read every page, or listen to every line you are feeding me. I want to be feed nutritional material that can get me where i need to go. Not just where you want me to be ( in your bank account).