Emotional Marketing: The Biggest Secret of The Most Persuasive People

Join Alex’s global Copy Posse on YouTube, now 338,000 strong. To get the last word in the world of copywriting – delivered straight to your smartphone – join my email list or connect with me on Instagram.

Did you know that 95% of purchasing decisions are completely subconscious??

Yup, humans buy emotionally and justify logically.

We make a decision to buy based on how we FEEL… THEN we look at facts, features and benefits to JUSTIFY our decision.?

This means you absolutely have to understand your buyer and their core emotional motivators to sell them anything at all.

How?

You’re about to find out.?

In this article, I’m going to talk about what I call The Emotional Buyers Journey…

AKA the 5 core emotions your customers MUST feel before they can say “yes” and buy something from you.

But just knowing WHAT these emotions are won’t necessarily help you sell more products or services…

You also need to know how to appeal to those emotions in a cool and empathetic way, of course – through your messaging and marketing.

As the saying goes… Don’t sell the steak, sell the sizzle. Yup, I used to work at a steakhouse.

But before we get into it, make sure to join my newsletter so you’re first to know when my next tutorial goes out.?

Alright now… what exactly is the Emotional Buyer’s Journey?

The Emotional Buyer’s Journey

Good sales can’t just be about creating hype, slashing prices, presenting some juicy benefits, and slapping on a countdown timer…

Good sales FIRST elicit an emotional response.

Ask yourself:

• How do you want your audience to FEEL when they buy from you?
• How do they want to feel?
• And what is their core desire?

Well, to help you answer those questions, I’m going to share with you 5 core emotions your audience MUST feel before they can say yes to you…

And yes, you want to make them feel these things in this order…

So pay close attention.

Emotion #1: Understood

The first emotion your audience must feel is: understood.?

They want to feel like you GET them.?

Like you truly understand the pain, trouble, frustration or confusion they’re going through…

And that you WANT to help them get through it.?

If they don’t get the feeling that you actually understand them…

They aren’t going to waste a single second on you.?

I always think about this quote by Blair Warren:

“People will do anything for those who encourage their dreams, justify their failures, allay their fears, confirm their suspicions, and help them throw rocks at their enemies.”

So ask yourself: how can I make my people feel UNDERSTOOD??

Here are some ideas…

• Share your personal experiences overcoming the same problems, issues, or desires…
• Talk about why you created your product or service in the first place…
• And showcase empathy + compassion for what they are going through.

For example, in my marketing, I frequently share the story of how I quit my job and started from scratch with no clients, no income and no clue what to do…

Stories are a powerful way to make your audience feel understood.

Next, you want your customers to feel…

Emotion #2: Safe

Yes, a buyer needs to feel safe with you before they’ll hand over their hard-earned money.

Crazy concept, right?!

They want to feel like if they move forward with you, you will deliver on your promises.?

You’ll be there for them to help them overcome their obstacles and get closer to their dreams.?

To accomplish this, you need to focus on showcasing your AUTHORITY and WHY they should trust you.

Trust is the second most valuable currency in marketing, only coming second to ATTENTION so you must know how to build trust with your customers…

Here are some ways you can do that…

• Talk about what makes you different from your competition.
• What are your qualifications? What makes you legit?
• Share your origin story – how did you get to where you are today and how does that make YOU the one who can help them?
• How many people have you helped get similar results?
• Feature authority elements like testimonials, media appearances, press coverage, or any notable brands you’ve worked with.??

The goal here is to prove to your audience that you know what you’re doing and you’re the one who can help them.

For example, I often share how I was crowned 2022 Marketer of the Year by DigitalMarketer, was voted #1 most popular copywriter in 2023, and received the Game Changer Award at the Women of Inspiration Awards in 2024.

These credentials and qualifications build trust! If you don’t have awards or credentials like this to feature, focus on telling stories to create trust in other ways.

Next, you want your customers to feel…

Emotion #3: Empowered

Yup –?your audience NEEDS to feel empowered before they’ll take the next step.?

Especially if you’re selling any sort of transformation aka taking people from A: aggravating status quo to B: big dream.

Because here’s the thing…

Many people will experience some level of imposter syndrome, fear, or self-doubt at some point in their lives…

And these feelings are most likely to rear their ugly head when we’re about to try something new.

Or spend a lot of money on something.?

This college admissions survey from the University of Tennessee was super interesting…?

They state that many promising students never make it through the college admissions process — not because they lack the qualifications or motivation. But because self-doubt gets in the way.

They go on to say that self-doubt is an even greater admissions barrier than COST.?

And nearly half of the survey’s respondents admitted they don’t want to pursue secondary education because they are afraid of FAILURE.?

Sounds like these students need to feel empowered.?

They need to believe that they can do this.?

And the same is true with your customers.?

You need to increase believability and show them that they can do it, have it, create it, or achieve it.?

One of the best ways to do this is by sharing testimonials, transformations, wins, and success stories from previous customers…

BUT THERE’S A CATCH.?

You need to share before/after stories that your audience can relate to.?

You want them to see themselves in the “before” because that will help them to believe their own “after” is possible.?

Alright, now the next emotion you want your ideal customer to feel is…?

Emotion #4: Excited

There is a REASON marketers hype up their latest releases, products, services, and offers.?

They are trying to create a feeling of excitement.?

Because excited customers are easy to sell to.?

Excitement means quick decision-making…

Which means less time to rationalize, self-doubt, or talk yourself out of something.?

And that’s a very good thing in marketing.

The problem is – a lot of marketing focuses ONLY on this emotion – trying to create excitement with BIG BOLD LETTERS, exclamation points and hype without first focusing on the 3 foundational emotions I just discussed…

Then they wonder why no one buys. Hmmmmmm…

Now… you might not have the mega marketing budget Barbie Movie used to hype up their movie and collaborate with brands for YEARS before it was released…

And you might not have the brand awareness needed to generate thousands of trending videos and user-generated content from excited fans…?

But there is something you CAN do to create a sense of excitement in your customers…

And it’s one of my all-time favorite persuasion principles.?

Future-pacing.?

This is when you paint a very clear picture of the customer’s POTENTIAL FUTURE after they use your product, buy your service, sign up for your subscription, work with you, etc.

Ask yourself…

What is the big transformation they are seeking?

And how can you showcase that possibility to get them excited?

But remember…

Overhyping, exaggerating, and empty promises are NOT COOL.?

Always be honest and stay in integrity with your messaging.?

Alright, the final, and most important emotion you need to get your audience to feel is…

Emotion #5: Committed

Someone can feel understood, safe, empowered and excited, but if they are not committed to taking action, they are just fans… not customers.

So you always want to give a strong and compelling reason for someone to buy RIGHT NOW…

Not later.?

And how do you do that?

By creating real urgency.?

You’ve seen this done a million times…

• There is a 50% flash sale going on for 24 hours only…
• Doors to that program you’ve been eyeing are finally open – but only for the next 3 days…
• You attended a masterclass and got a special offer if you act now…
• Fast action bonuses…?
• Countdown timers…
• Future price increases…
• And many more things like this.?

And they work!!!

The truth is, humans are hardwired to wait until later… yup we are inherent procrastinators and if we are giving more time to do something to receive the same benefit, we will do it.

Getting people to act now, take action now and make a decision NOW is what makes powerful marketing…

BUT then why do limited-time offers and scarcity sometimes feel icky in marketing?

Well chances are, it’s because these businesses are only ever just focusing on THAT and not the 4 emotions we talked about earlier.

And that feels annoying right?

But if a brand you love and trust and are excited about offers you something that can REALLY help you… and they give you a reason to buy NOW and not later, we’re totally cool with it.?

In fact, we LOVE it when our favorite brands have a sale or special offer.

So if you can manage to make the audience feel:

? Understood

? Safe

? Empowered

? Excited

? committed

You are winning the emotional marketing game and you’ll be 5 steps ahead of everyone else.

This is how you build a successful business of life-long loyal customers.?

So how did this article make you feel? Comment below and let me know.

I’ll see you next week with a brand new tutorial.

Thank you for reading and subscribing,

Alex

Alex Cattoni is the Founder of the Copy Posse Agency and Academy. Since 2011, she has launched several successful brands and has proudly partnered with many of the hottest transformational brands and businesses on the planet, writing high-converting sales copy, scaling multi-million dollar brands, and crafting iconic promotional campaigns.

Today, she’s on a mission to mobilize the raddest, baddest crew of authentic copywriters with a passion for creating community, credibility and conversions with nothing but powerful and precise wording.

Through her weekly YouTube videos, Alex helps copywriters, aspiring copywriters and entrepreneurs learn, write and ignite their businesses with words that work.