Sometimes we feel in two minds about things. The brain sends you these eat-more signals by releasing neurochemicals, like oxytocin and dopamine. These are the chemicals that make us feel good in anticipation of doing something pleasurable, like eating cake. The primitive part of our brain really wants us to eat that dessert. Dangerous things like tigers can fire up the amygdala, stimulate the release of cortisol, and make us want to run. It turns out that words alone can make us feel threatened and fire up the amygdala. We are feeling machines that think.” In other words, forget about appealing to the rational, thinking side of your readers. Instead, appeal to their feeling side, via the more primitive part of their brains. As copywriters, we understand that we should be appealing to our readers’ emotions. Make your readers feel safe.
Sometimes we feel in two minds about things.
For example, imagine you’re out for dinner. Fabulous meal. Wonderful company.
And then your waiter comes by with the dessert tray.
Oh my … those desserts look amazing.
At this point, many of us find ourselves in two minds.
One part of our mind urgently, desperately wants to grab a slice of that triple-chocolate mousse cake.
Another part is reminding us of the calorie count and the huge amount of sugar in that dessert.
And it turns out … we are, literally, in two minds.
Welcome to your conflicted brain, and the world of neuromarketing
When you look at that dessert tray, your primitive brain lights up.
It’s the part of the brain that kept us alive when we were hunter-gatherers.
Back then, there were a few essential nutrients that were hard to come by. Specifically … fat, sugar, and salt.
Our brains are hard-wired to say “yes” to food that is sweet, fatty, or salty. It’s a survival thing. That’s why we find it so hard to resist the impulse to reach for that dessert, that burger, or that bag of salty chips.
Yes, this is why McDonald’s does so well, right down to the milkshakes.
Yes, this is why Lay’s boasts, “Bet you can’t eat just one!”
And yes, this is why it’s so easy to put on weight, and so hard to lose it.
Messages that come from this primitive part of our brain tend to dominate, simply because they’re all about survival.
The brain sends you these eat-more signals by releasing neurochemicals, like oxytocin and dopamine.
These are the chemicals that make us feel good in anticipation of doing something pleasurable, like eating cake.
Oxytocin is known as the “bonding” hormone. It stimulates feelings of trust, openness, and togetherness.
And dopamine is the “gimme more” neurotransmitter. It’s all about our feelings of wanting, craving, and anticipating.
In other words, these are feelgood chemicals that copywriters can harness.
Everyone likes to feel good.
And what about that other “mind” of ours?
The primitive part of our brain really wants us to eat that dessert.
But there’s another voice in our brain that’s whispering to us about the number of calories in the cake. And the amount of sugar.
Where’s that voice coming from?
That’s our prefrontal cortex at…
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