{"id":5259,"date":"2022-07-26T11:02:00","date_gmt":"2022-07-26T11:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/"},"modified":"2022-07-26T11:02:00","modified_gmt":"2022-07-26T11:02:00","slug":"content-creation-a-psychological-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Content creation: A psychological approach"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Are you able to develop a relationship with your current clients and make your future prospects like you?\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The best way to do this is to <strong>understand<\/strong> the personality of your customers. This can help you <strong>predict<\/strong> their motives.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Approach content by developing it for the psychology of the user, rather than the psychology of the writer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example, for me (who has the attention span of a gnat), what if a content writer knew that she only had 30 seconds to answer \u201cwhat are the best running shoes I can wear as a beginner?\u201d Or what if she knew that for my friend (who can overthink how a garage door opener works for hours), she had a good 30 minutes to inundate him with as much information about \u201cwhat are the best running shoes?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Taylor Hartman wrote the book on understanding motives in psychology. I was fortunate to have met him and to learn about how \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/taylorhartman.com\/books\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The People Code<\/a>\u201d could be transformed into developing deep psychological trait-based content for better performance.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I\u2019ve taken these ideas and tested them. Not only the behaviors of individuals, but all the way up to entire countries and cultures.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>I was astonished by what I found, from the improved ROI to the more efficient buyer journeys.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_81 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Who_are_you\" >Who are you?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#What_Am_I\" >What Am I?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Dominant_Reds\" >Dominant Reds<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Compliant_Blues\" >Compliant Blues<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Steady_Greens\" >Steady Greens<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Influential_Yellows\" >Influential Yellows<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#How_to_create_content_around_these_psychological_traits\" >How to create content around these psychological traits<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Dominant_Red_content\" >Dominant Red content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Compliance_Blue_content\" >Compliance Blue content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Steady_Green_content\" >Steady Green content<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#Influential_Yellow_content\" >Influential Yellow content<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/2022\/07\/26\/content-creation-a-psychological-approach\/#More_to_come\" >More to come<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Who_are_you\"><\/span><strong>Who are you?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The best way to start writing ads or content based on psychological behaviors is to first understand yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There are many different systems and tools you can use for personality assessments. However, for this article, I\u2019m going to use Hartman\u2019s tests and methodology. It starts with an honest quiz you give yourself of about 50 questions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>For example:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What ONE word of Phrase describes what you are like most of the time?\u00a0<br \/>a\/ Opinionated<br \/>b\/ Nurturing<br \/>c\/ Inventive<br \/>d\/ Outgoing.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<p>As a child, I was:<br \/>a\/ Stubborn, bright, and\/or aggressive.<br \/>B\/ Well-behaved, caring, and\/or depressed<br \/>C\/ Quiet, easygoing, and\/or shy<br \/>D\/ Talkative, happy, and \/or playful.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>When you are done with the self-assessment questions in the book, you tally up your answers on how many As, Bs, Cs, and Ds to determine where you stand on the psychological trait spectrum, with:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>As being Red (Dominant).<\/li>\n<li>Bs being Blue (Compliant).<\/li>\n<li>Cs being Yellow (Influential).<\/li>\n<li>Ds Being Green (Steady).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_Am_I\"><\/span><strong>What Am I?<\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"755\" height=\"547\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/4-psychological-traits.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386720\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>All of our behaviors will fall into a personality classification on this spectrum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Sometimes they will fall in between two color behaviors as well. For example, you can be evenly split between a Red Dominant and Blue Compliant or a Steady Green and an Influential Yellow.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dominant_Reds\"><\/span>Dominant Reds<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Most of these traits are people who have type-A personalities. Direct, decisive, doers and workaholics.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They may come across as too confident, demanding and domineering. Often they thrive and appreciate admiration, they have a specific need to look good to others and can also be a bit on the selfish side.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The patience of this trait is usually at a minimum, which means content absorption is also at a minimum.\u00a0<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Compliant_Blues\"><\/span>Compliant Blues<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>Very much the intimate ones. Usually cautious about how they go about things and as a consequence, they tend to have anxiety and be very worry-prone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>There is a need to connect with others and to be understood and appreciated. They are dependable, loyal and expect honesty from others.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They can also come across as moody, self-righteous, condescending and sometimes even a little too empathetic.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Most Compliant Blues love other Compliant Blues. They tend to get each other so very well.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>That being said, content absorption is usually done when you can touch their heart and their soul.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Steady_Greens\"><\/span>Steady Greens<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>These are the slow, peaceful yet independent people.\u00a0 Typically quiet by nature, they resist and hate confrontation.\u00a0 They are great listeners yet they thrive and need their alone time.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even-tempered and supportive, but also silently stubborn and over-sensitive. Sometimes it\u2019s harder for this group to embrace or even understand empathy, yet they are diplomatic.\u00a0 T<\/p>\n<p>hey are the polar opposites of dominant reds and tend to do a lot of research and take their time making decisions. The more content, the better.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Influential_Yellows\"><\/span>Influential Yellows<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<p>These are the fun-loving, extremely social, playful influencers.\u00a0 The ones that are likely to be interesting, interactive, happy and spontaneous.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>They thrive on adventure and need to be adored and praised. Friendships are the highest priority for them yet they can turn off others easily by their impulsive and sometimes irritating loud nature.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Always need to look good socially and it seems like nothing can go wrong, except for their attention span.\u00a0 Your content better not be boring or this group will be off with their mind wandering around the next palm tree vacation.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"How_to_create_content_around_these_psychological_traits\"><\/span>How to create content around these psychological traits<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>As you can see from the four different personality types, we are all pretty different and what we absorb in terms of content and creative is also different.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>What may resonate well with one group, may fall short with another. Using the \u201cRunning Shoes\u201d topic, take a look at how each content reverberates with each group differently.<\/p>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Dominant_Red_content\"><\/span>Dominant Red content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"416\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/men-vs-women-416x600.jpg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386721\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>This group is the dominant power type-A personalities. They will make quick decisions if you can feed their ego and not bury them with too much information.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples that this group would enjoy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/apps.bostonglobe.com\/sports\/graphics\/2017\/04\/elite-shoes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">What the Elite Runners are Wearing<\/a> \u2013 The runners at the front of the pack talk about what shoes they wear and why. <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hypebeast.com\/2017\/5\/sneakers-worn-by-tech-ceos\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Best Sneakers Worn by the Biggest Tech CEOs<\/a> \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Compliance_Blue_content\"><\/span>Compliance Blue content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/find-your-greatness-800x450.jpg\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386722\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>This group (of which I consider myself a member) is motivated by the heart and feelings. Considering they are so trusting, they can easily be taken advantage of.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This group does have an analytical side and can be brutally honest if need be. They tend to over-read into everything. But throw in a horse with a hurt leg that\u2019s been patched up and is walking again, you\u2019ll have already won them over.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some examples that this group would enjoy:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/best-nike-running-shoes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Best Nike Running Shoes Make You Feel Like an Olympian at Every Turn<\/a> <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sustainablejungle.com\/sustainable-fashion\/ethical-sustainable-running-shoes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">7 Ethical &amp; Sustainable Running Shoes \u2013 Run Like the World Depends on It<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Steady_Green_content\"><\/span>Steady Green content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"449\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/running-shoes-800x449.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386723\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>This group is the peace-lovers. The ones who take life in the slow lane.<\/p>\n<p>This group is often what we all need in order to slow down, take a deep breath, pretend we do Tai Chi and then go with them on their journey of never-ending research. Stretching the period of decisiveness from what you thought would be two hours to three weeks.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/strengthrunning.com\/running-for-weight-loss\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Running for Weight Loss, The Ultimate Guide for Runners Who Want to Lose Weight<\/a>. (Eventually, they will research every cited blog in the article to start to come to terms of which shoes to buy.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.runnersworld.com\/gear\/g38506439\/best-arch-support-shoes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Best Running Shoes With Arch Support<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Influential_Yellow_content\"><\/span>Influential Yellow content<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"400\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/wp-content\/seloads\/2022\/07\/womens-running-shoes-400x600.png\" alt=\"| Craig Hordlow\" class=\"wp-image-386724\" title=\"| Craig Hordlow\"><\/figure>\n<p>This group is made up of little rays of sunshine \u2013 the influencers who not only make me smile but make me want to pick up a good self-help book so I can be just like them.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Content-wise, you\u2019ve got to make sure you style your content as much as possible. Just about anything colorful and fun can get them going. Because they lack the patience for deep research, I will need to write content that\u2019s fun, useful and clear.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Frustrating an influencer is like death. They can go from the funniest clown to the meanest Karen in a heartbeat.\u00a0<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holabirdsports.com\/blogs\/news\/4-stylish-women-s-running-shoes-comfy-enough-for-a-marathon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">4 Stylish Women\u2019s Running Shoes Comfy Enough for a Marathon<\/a>\u00a0 <\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/runnerclick.com\/10-best-colorful-running-shoes-reviewed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">10 Best Colorful Running Shoes Reviewed<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_to_come\"><\/span>More to come<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>In my next article, I plan to do a deeper dive into other forms of psychological profiling, how to tag classifications to personas, how culture, country and language also have their own psychological traits, and how to survey your customers to get insight into what types are attracted to your brand.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Even if you feel you have perfected your writing, re-developing what works based on behaviors is the next step in really enhancing your reader base and ultimately, developing that bond with your current clients and future customers.<\/p>\n<p>Because, <strong>finally<\/strong>, you understand them and they get you.<\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/content-creation-psychological-approach-386719\" target=\"_blank\">Content creation: A psychological approach<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/searchengineland.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Search Engine Land<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Are you able to develop a relationship with your current clients and make your future prospects like you?\u00a0 The best way to do this is to understand the personality of your customers. This can help you predict their motives.\u00a0\u00a0 Approach content by developing it for the psychology of the user, rather than the psychology of the writer.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 For example, for me (who has the attention span of a gnat), what if a content writer knew that she only had 30 seconds to answer \u201cwhat are the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"h5ap_radio_sources":[],"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5259","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-best-seo-blogs"],"featured_image_src":null,"featured_image_src_square":null,"author_info":{"display_name":false,"author_link":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/author\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5259","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5259"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5259\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5259"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5259"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craighordlow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5259"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}