What's going on! Jay here.

I hope you had a wonderful thanksgiving break (to my American friends).

Today, I'd like to talk to you about your brain.

More specifically, how we make decisions...

You ready? Let's do this!

Inside each of us, there are 3 dimensions that play a role in how we make decisions.

These 3 dimensions are:

• Desires

• Identifications

• Beliefs

And the best way to persuade your audience is to talk to all 3 in your writing.

Here’s how:

Desires - What your audience wants

Desires are things your audience wants. You can’t create, diminish, or battle them - but you can expand, sharpen, channel, and give them a goal.

How?

By letting them see, feel, touch, and visualize your product fulfilling their desire.

This is called Future Pacing.

Future Pacing is taking your audience to a particular event in the future where they are using or applying what you are sharing with them.

The goal is to make them feel the emotion they want to feel.

A basketball ex:“You’ll become so good your teammates will ask you what you’re doing outside of practice to get better.” —> Status & Respect

A weightlifting ex:“Imagine what your friends will say when you come back to school this summer and your arms are shredded like The Rock.” —> Status & Respect

A bubble machine ex:“Picture your kids’ grinning faces as you show them this amazing machine that will make endless bubbles for them - imagine all the happy memories they’ll make.” —> Joy & Pride

You see what I’m talking about? You do? Great. Onward.

Identifications - The roles your audience wants to play in life

Everyone and their grandma wants to feel a part of something bigger than themselves.

They want to identify with a specific group… they want to feel “on the in.”

"I'm a Republican."“I’m a Democrat.”“I’m an athlete.”“I’m a creator.”

We stamp ourselves with all these labels because we want to feel part of a prestigious group of people.

Identifications are the personality traits your audience wants your product to help them build to make them feel the prestige when they join your group and become a user of your product.

The key is to identify:

• WHO you’re talking to• WHAT it is they truly want• HOW your product will help them get there

And the best way to identify what your audience might want is to:

1. Ask them (take polls, hop on calls, etc.)

2. Ask your former self (What did YOU want 2 years ago?)

3. Look at who your competitors are targeting (What are they promising?)

Okay, I know that was a lot. You still with me? Great. Last one, here we go.

Beliefs - What your audience truly believes

“Marketing, like science, must accept reality as it exists, not as it might wish it to exist.” — Eugene Schwartz

A common mistake creators make is they assume their audience wants one thing when in reality they want a completely different thing.

They spend months building the product without first validating the product to see if there’s any demand.

I can’t stress this enough: Take a gosh darn poll!!!

Hop on Twitter and write up a quick poll.Or get on Instagram stories and make a quick poll.Or create a Google form and link to it in your emails.

It’s crucial that you get market feedback from your audience.

• WHO really is your audience? Are they male? Female? Young? Old?

• WHAT do they really want? Wealth? Status? Fame? Power? Happiness?

• WHY do they follow you? For education? Inspiration? Entertainment?

Once you have that hard data - then you can work your way backward to building out your product.

Make sense? Sweet.

I have some mashed potatoes from last night in the fridge, so I'll go smash them real quick.

Talk soon,Jay

P.S. Speaking of surveys, would you do me a solid and fill this quick 20-second survey out for me? Thanks!

Jay's Picks:

🧵 Twitter Thread: 7 Online Side-Hustles that can Cash-Flow You $20k/month🎙 Podcast: Neil Parischa on the Simple Rules for Happiness🎥 Video: The Deadliest of All Skills by Jordan Peterson💻 Free Course: Copywriting 101: by Copyblogger