You have to meet people where they are in terms of what they believe and how they see the world. Otherwise your marketing not only fails, it backfires against you.
Welcome to Longevity Gains, the newsletter for marketers and entrepreneurs who want to succeed in the longevity economy, the largest and fastest-growing market in the world. It’s the $22 trillion opportunity you can’t afford to ignore.
Hey there! First off, last week’s feature article inadvertently had a paywall on it. Fixed that, so read this article first before reading this week’s feature:
The Role of Belief When Marketing to Older Consumers (Longevity Gains)
Okay, on to this week, as we further explore how failing to understand our ideal prospect’s belief system can backfire when marketing in the longevity economy.
And that’s because our beliefs make us. As playwright Anton Chekhov said:
Man is what he believes.
When we think about our beliefs, they’re usually of the kind with a capital B: religion, spirituality, patriotism, and philosophy. These are no doubt important.
But the truth is, our sense of self is essentially a bundle of beliefs about everything. In fact, it’s more accurate to say that “we are belief” rather than “we believe.”
You need to not only understand your prospects’ convictions make up their worldview, but you also need to mirror that worldview back at them. But first, you might wonder, where does our bundle of beliefs come from?
Well, they’re generated and maintained through a complex and generally automatic process in our brains. James Alcock, Professor of Psychology at York University, calls it “the belief engine,” which he describes like this:
The belief engine chugs away in the background, taking in information from the world outside, scrutinizing its source, checking its compatibility with existing beliefs (that’s important), subjecting it at times to logical analysis, and then effortlessly generating new beliefs and maintaining or modifying old ones. Most often this occurs without the awareness of the operator, and that means you and me.
So, yes, we generate new beliefs, but it’s in the context of our existing convictions and perspectives, not in direct contravention of those beliefs. And that’s true except for in the rarest of cases.
In other words, trying to change minds can absolutely crush your marketing efforts. Fortunately, social psychology tells you which cognitive mechanisms to avoid with your messages.
This is not to say that older people are especially “set in their ways” or “can’t learn new things.” It means all people see the world in a particular way, and if you operate outside of that you’ll find it incredibly difficult to persuade them, even if it’s to their benefit.
To continue reading, hit the link:
Belief Bubbles: How to Avoid the Worldview Backfire Effect (Longevity Gains)
The Rise of “Long Life” Learning
I’ve been teaching writers and content creators how to create paid training and coaching programs as both products and services since 2007. While the opportunities in the longevity economy are across that board, there’s going to be a massive need for online education that is tailored to the needs of older people.
I’ve just kicked off the Creating a Training Business for Long Life Learning exclusively for Longevity Gains Premium members. We’ll explore both the fundamentals and the unique aspects of the longevity market in these in-depth lessons.
This segment alone is worth the investment in Premium, but of course you also get instant access to the full the entire Premium archive. And if you sign up in the next week with this special link, you’ll save 20%.
Check out the introductory lesson for more:
An Introduction to “Long Life” Learning (Longevity Gains)
Until next time…
Keep going-