What Makes People Buy?

February 11^th 2010 Sally Ormond copywriter, copywriting tips, freelance copywriter, Suffolk copywriter, UK copywriter

One of the hardest parts of my job as a freelance copywriter is working out exactly what to say to make someone buy. Everyone is different, every product is different.

Wouldn’t it be great if you inherently knew exactly what to say to make someone buy from you?

Well, that is pretty much what I hope this article will do. You see, people have to justify their buying decisions, so all you need to know is how they go about it - simple!

How many times have you bought something you didn’t really need but you wanted? Come on, own up - I know I have one or two pairs of shoes I managed to convince myself I needed even though I didn’t?

To help you solve this particular problem, here is a list of 10 reasons why people buy products – see how many you recognise.

1. To make money – more money makes them feel more successful

2. To save money – maybe investing for the future to make them feel more secure

3. To save time – hands up who wants to work less and have more leisure time to help them gain a better quality of life ( I know I do)

4. To look better – perhaps lose a bit of weight or a nip and tuck to make them feel more attractive

5. To learn something new – a new skill will make them feel more intelligent

6. To live longer – by getting in shape and changing their diet they will feel healthier

7. To feel better – finally getting shot of niggling aches will bring relief

8. To be loved – no one wants to be lonely, everyone wants to feel wanted

9. To be popular – whether it is to the degree of wanting to be famous or just to be liked it will make them feel admired by others

10. For pleasure – by satisfying their inner most desires they will feel more fulfilled

Sound familiar?

Who doesn’t want to be more successful, more secure, have a better quality of life, feel more attractive, feel more intelligent, feel healthier, feel wanted, be admired or feel fulfilled? Isn’t that what we are all striving for?

Now you know what makes people buy all you have to do is convince your readers that buying your product will result in at least one of these ‘wants’.