People are tired of being sold to. They scroll past ads without a second thought, delete marketing emails without opening them, and have developed an almost supernatural ability to spot manipulative tactics from a mile away. Yet some brands consistently break through this resistance, creating content that stops the scroll, opens the inbox, and drives real business results. What’s their secret? It’s not clever headlines or psychological tricks—it’s something far more powerful and infinitely more sustainable.
They understand that in today’s hyper-connected, over-marketed world, value isn’t just nice to have; it’s the only currency that truly converts. If you’re ready to stop chasing clicks and start building genuine relationships that drive real revenue, you need to understand the psychology behind what makes people take action.
Why most copy fails before it even starts
The copywriting industry currently stands at a crossroads. With nearly two out of three marketers reporting that their average landing page conversion rate is less than 10%, and the average conversion rate across all e-commerce sites sitting under 2%, it’s clear that most copy isn’t connecting with audiences the way it should.
There’s something to be said for bulk content—having as many touch points as possible for a brand is often considered a good strategy. If content isn’t offering value, it can be… well, just noise. People see the same recycled information, and they keep scrolling, keep searching, and might even go to page two on Google to find what they actually need.
But when you provide value, even if it’s less frequent but more meaningful, something changes. People stop to look. They stop to read. And eventually, people start actively seeking out the value you’ve given them previously.
The human experience imperative
What constitutes real value?
“Anything you do needs to be more about the person than the product,
the service, or anything else you’re offering.”
This approach aligns with current market research. More than three-quarters of business-to-business (B2B) ecommerce buyers consider site design the number one factor in deciding to make a purchase, but beneath that surface preference lies a deeper psychological need: people want to feel understood and valued as individuals, not just targets for a sale.
The key principle to remember: start with them, make the middle about them, and end with them. When content consistently centres on the reader’s experience, needs, and outcomes, it creates the foundation for genuine connection.
How truly valuable content spreads
The mark of truly valuable content reveals itself through one unmistakable behaviour: sharing. When content gets forwarded to friends, shared on social media, or referenced in conversations, you’ve achieved the highest mark of success possible.
The ultimate validation comes when someone contacts your business saying, “My friend shared this article with me and I thought it was amazing, so I wanted to get in touch.” This means your content is working—you’re hitting the mark of providing genuine value.
Research using just under 20,000 articles from 27 leading online publishers found that clickbait articles elicit far fewer shares than non-clickbait articles. Manipulation tactics might generate initial clicks, but they don’t create the lasting engagement that drives real business results.
Testing your content before launch
Before content goes live, smart businesses use methods to gauge its potential effectiveness. A/B testing provides one approach—sending content to small audience segments with different headlines, then using the better-performing version for the full launch.
“Get somebody who doesn’t know your industry to give feedback on your content first, because if you’ve spoken any kind of jargon from your industry, it’s really gonna put off somebody who’s learning about it.”
This external perspective proves invaluable because truly understanding the needs and psychology of your readers allows you to create content that caters directly to them, building more trust and making it more likely they’ll reach out to your company.
Why choosing between brand building and sales is wrong
Most business leaders view copy through a limiting lens: either it’s brand building (helping your brand be seen more and rank higher) or it’s sales driving (educating prospects to generate immediate revenue).
The most effective approach combines both elements within the same piece of content. It’s simultaneously brand-building and sales-focused because the value you provide in that content becomes what seals the deal.
When you give someone free, valuable information, you create trust without requiring immediate payment. The next time you offer something for sale, there’s already an established relationship based on proven value delivery. Here are some examples;
1. So when you have a form on your website that collects information, you have to say what you do with it. I found this law firm on LinkedIn, which provides free Privacy Policy templates for your website.
2. When the electrician came to provide a free quote, he changed a light bulb for me during his visit and didn’t charge me anything for it. He said it was just in his van as a spare.
3. A photographer came to give us a quote, and while he was there, he took a photo of the outside of the building and suggested we use it on our contact page.
4. This copywriting company wrote an article that had some tips on how to spot AI copy a mile away, and now my copy is getting more attention than before.
“When you provide value first, that person’s going to look at you and think,
‘They were really good with what they provided, so I’m going to use them again.’”
This eliminates the need to compete purely on price because the prospect already has confidence in your capabilities. Even if your pricing is higher than alternatives, they’re choosing between an unknown, cheaper option and a trusted adviser who has already demonstrated value.
The electrician who gave me a quote the other day was really nice; he even changed a lightbulb for me while he was there, without charging me! He’s a bit more expensive than the other guy, but that was so generous I want to use him.
This changes the entire sales dynamic, moving from transactional interactions to relationship-based business development that compounds over time.
Building communities through consistent value
Community building online presents unique challenges. You need to identify what makes you different in ways that other people want to hear about or learn from. This discovery process often involves several iterations as you determine who your community is and what creates truly passionate advocates for your business.
A person once asked me why, of all things, was a company posting all about soccer (or football for those who aren’t using British slang) when their business had nothing to do with soccer? I explained that when you find your people, you’ll likely find common interests – this particular business had found that their most loyal customers just so happened to be soccer fans. So in their social media strategy, they included soccer videos like ‘greatest goals’ and ‘best victory dances’. This kept their audience engaged with their channel.
Social media algorithms prioritise engagement, so the more people interact with your content through likes, comments, and shares, the more visibility your posts receive. By posting content that resonates with your audience’s interests (even if unrelated to your product or service), you keep them coming back to your channel and interacting regularly. This consistent engagement signals to the algorithm that your content is valuable, which means when you do post about your actual products or services, those posts are more likely to be seen by your followers. Essentially, the soccer content serves as a bridge that builds community and keeps the conversation going between promotional posts, creating a more authentic, less sales-focused presence that audiences appreciate and trust.
The foundation always returns to value. Whether you communicate through storytelling or facts, both approaches must converge on building trust. If you can develop a community of passionate advocates, it helps your business survive even during difficult times.
The education component remains crucial, regardless of delivery method. People engage with content that makes them smarter, more effective, or more successful in their own endeavours.
The clickbait versus truth dilemma
When grabbing attention, some marketers resort to clickbait tactics, but this creates serious trust issues that can take years to repair.
There’s still room for shock and surprise within truthful content. Clickbait typically involves selling something false to generate clicks; promising information that doesn’t exist in the content, or creating headlines that the actual content can’t support.
The problem compounds when readers search through content for the promised information and can’t find it. Clickbait tactics may be perceived by readers as a manipulative attempt, leading to source criticism where the publisher may be perceived as less competent and trustworthy.
This causes people to disengage from anything that appears sensationalised, even when it’s truthful. The solution involves simple honesty.
“You’ll always find something within a truthful story that is endearing, emotional, factual or educational. There’ll be something in there, so don’t lie about it.”
Research shows that while clickbait can generate high levels of engagement initially, it carries the risk of eroding trust, leading to high bounce rates, and negatively impacting SEO and brand reputation. It can take ten times longer to rebuild trust than the seconds it took to lose it through misleading tactics.
Cognitive biases and ethical persuasion
Cognitive biases in marketing—like “limited time only” or “buy now get one free”—become problematic when they’re built on lies. The issue isn’t using urgency or scarcity; it’s when these claims are false.
If your website always shows “only 10 left in stock” regardless of actual inventory, or if your “exclusive discount code” is available to everyone, you’re using deceptive tactics that will backfire.
When these techniques are truthful, they can be effective. If there really are only 10 spots left in a webinar, make sure the system accurately reflects this—that when someone purchases a ticket, the count genuinely decreases to 9 remaining spots.
The psychology behind these approaches creates anxiety in customers, and anxious customers tend to be high-maintenance and low-value. They might purchase once but rarely return, and they often fill your communication channels with excessive questions and demands.
The reciprocity principle in action
Instead of creating anxiety through false scarcity, focus on reciprocity—a more sustainable psychological approach.
There’s something called the “giver’s gain” principle, where providing value creates a natural desire in recipients to reciprocate. When you offer education, free information, thought leadership, or valuable advice genuinely designed to help people without immediate cost, it creates a psychological pull for reciprocity.
Whether that reciprocity manifests as referrals, purchases, or enthusiastic recommendations, people feel compelled to respond to genuine value with some form of positive action.
54% of consumers who engaged with services via free trials ultimately chose to continue with their subscriptions beyond the trial period, demonstrating the power of providing genuine value upfront.
This reciprocal relationship starts when you provide authentic, high-quality education, product information, or insights. The response feels natural rather than forced, creating sustainable business relationships built on mutual value exchange.
The authenticity imperative
If you must use traditional urgency language like “limited time offer,” acknowledge the cliché directly. Say something like, “We know everybody says it’s limited time, but this one really is—buy before the end of October.” Use transparent language that acknowledges what other companies do while differentiating your genuine offer.
However, this approach walks a fine line. If you have to explicitly state that you’re being authentic, it might signal the opposite. The most effective strategy focuses on thinking about your customer first. Transparency about your communication style, while risky, can work when done thoughtfully and genuinely.
It always comes back to considering the customer’s experience and perspective. How will they receive your message? What serves their best interests? This customer-centric approach to messaging creates more sustainable relationships than any psychological trick ever could.
The metrics that matter
The most successful content strategies focus on connection over traditional metrics. While businesses often obsess over clicks, views, and immediate conversions, these surface-level numbers don’t tell the full story of content effectiveness.
The businesses seeing sustained success measure engagement quality: email responses, meaningful conversations, referrals, and long-term customer relationships. Sure, it’s a lower number, but it has so much more meaning!
The path forward
The psychology behind high-converting copy isn’t complicated: people respond to content that makes their lives better. Whether that improvement comes through education, entertainment, inspiration, or practical solutions, value remains the common denominator.
Consumers are increasingly sophisticated about marketing tactics, so authenticity and genuine value are essential for sustainable business growth.
The choice is yours: you can keep chasing the next psychological trick, or you can commit to the harder but more rewarding path of creating content that genuinely improves people’s lives. The latter approach takes more effort upfront, but it builds the kind of business relationships that sustain growth for years to come.
Ready to switch from pushy sales tactics to value-driven relationship building? Lisa on LinkedIn or subscribe to MasterJack’s newsletter for more insights on crafting words that turn businesses into brands people connect with.