Author: Bob McClain, Web Copywriting Expert

Before you try to sell something to someone, it’s better to get them to agree with you on something. Once you’ve done that, once you’ve created a level playing field where you’ve established a relationship with someone, then it’s much easier to sell them something.

Emotion is a great way to create a bond or relationship with your reader. You’ve all heard the saying, “the enemy of my enemy is my friend”. This is an age old saying dating back to the barbaric times when the judgment of a friend was simply based on whether or not you had a common enemy.

Unfortunately, humans at their most basic, often still think this way…

Another factor that plays into this is the desire to belong to a group. This is how evil people unify a country, a city or a gang. Pick a group or people who are different from you or who are considered “outsiders” and blame them for all your group’s problems. We call it “unification through hatred”.

A milder form of this can be used to get people to buy from you…

Let’s look at an example. There’s one group that many middle-class people love to hate. The wealthy; the rich and powerful; the thin stratum of upper-class who seem to have everything and never want for anything.

Selling to the middle-class…

If you’re trying to appeal to or sell something to the middle-class, a great way to establish a relationship with them and get them to agree with you so you can get them to agree to buy your product or service is to point a finger at the rich and get them to agree “we hate them”.

A great way to do this is to use derisive names to refer to the wealthy such as “fat-cats” and “robber-barons”. “They” get all the breaks. “They” have all the gold and “we” get the shaft. Once you’ve gotten your website visitor’s emotions stirred up and created an “us” against “them” feeling, suddenly your visitor is going to be a lot more amenable to hearing about your offer. They feel like you understand them and are on their side. You’re on the same team.

Of course, if you use this method, what you’re selling better be something that will make “the little guy” feel like he’s gotten something over on the rich and powerful. Like he or she is beating them at their own game.

This method is popular amongst website copywriters for selling financial newsletters, insurance, banking and other services of a financial nature. Perhaps you can think of other products or services that you can use the “us against them” scenario for.