A friend (let’s say) of an ex-girlfriend was recently arrested for a string of high-profile robberies here in Los Angeles.
My ex was stunned when she found out. She had no idea how this person she’d known for so long could do such a thing. But when she explained a bit more about the situation to me, it was clear what had happened.
His girlfriend was a Russian escort…
He’d all of a sudden been pal-ing around with Russians who seemed unsavory…
He was a “real estate broker” who hadn’t sold a house in a year, yet somehow spent money extravagantly…
He was given $20K cash to place bets for someone else at an illegal gambling ring...
So I explained to her how organized crime works, and how her friend was likely used by some shady people to launder money (the 32 counts of money laundering brought on by the District Attorney would agree).
She didn’t believe me.
Why?
Because she didn’t want to, it was too hard for her to see what was right in front of her.
This is confirmation bias at work, which is:
“The tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that affirms one's prior beliefs.”
As a marketer and copywriter who’s helped to make my clients hundreds of thousands of dollars, I know that confirming someone’s biases is one of the most useful tools in the book when it comes to persuading them to do something.
It can be used for evil, and it can be used for good.
I choose the latter.
How I use copy to help my clients is simple: I help them communicate what they sell, in a way that inspires customers to buy it.
How? By uncovering what stories people tell themselves that relate back to their biases.
Because what I really do is this:
> Figure out what story someone is telling themselves about where they want to go
> Figure out what story they need to be told to believe they can get to where they want to go
> Tell them that story at the right time
> Offer them the solution when they’re ready
This process changes lives.
I've watched health practitioners use it to help children with mental disabilities live happy and healthy lives, by delivering the right story to moms in need.
Financial institutions who help people live out their dream retirement have used it to educate those who would otherwise be subject to a market saturated with terrible advice.
I’ve helped entrepreneurs grow their “baby”—aka their dream business—so they can enjoy a better quality of life, by sharing the right story with their customers.
The list
But the wrong information in the wrong hands can be deadly; greed, self-loathing, and sloth can be used against someone to get them to do very bad things.
That’s why YOU as an entrepreneur have a duty to do the right thing.
To help more people by telling them the stories they need to hear in order to change their lives.
Every single day that passes when you’re not actively sharing your message, or telling your story of pain and struggle in hopes that it might help someone currently caught in the trap you worked your way out of…
Is a day that gives a bad person a chance at giving them the wrong information, and sending them down the wrong road.
Be the good one.