The headline on my website reads:

“Create irresistible content using basic principles of human nature.”

And over the next few days I want to cover some of the aspects of human nature that apply to content creation.

Yes, your market has its pain points, problems, and worldview. And these are important.

But we all have human nature in common.

Regardless of sex, religion, age, upbringing, or anything we experience in life, humans are going to gather in groups, we’re going to crave eye contact, and we’re going to struggle to imagine second and third order consequences.

There is far more that makes us similar than makes us different. But human nature causes us to focus on the differences... Because differences threaten our tribal nature.

Most marketing courses will say to attract your ideal client by calling them out and discussing their problems (i.e. focus on the differences). But this doesn’t attract your ideal client. It repels your non-ideal client.

If they don’t have the problem, they won’t read. But just because they have the problem… doesn’t mean that they will want what you're selling.

And that’s where human nature comes in. While the differences in experience and worldview repel non-ideal clients, the similarities in human nature attract ideal clients.

Here are some examples:

• Curiosity — I got you the best birthday present. Don’t you want to know what it is?
• Creativity — Since the beginning of time, humans have used, art, dance, and music, and invention to express themselves.
• Tribalism — “Us vs them” mindset.
• Short-sightedness — We overestimate what we can do in a month, (causing undue stress) and underestimate what we can do in 5 years (causing underachievement and failure).
• Self-sabotage — We all have stories and beliefs about who we are and what we’re capable of. These stories limit our ability to level up in life.
• Envy — We don’t want more (greed) we want more than someone else (envy).

A good rule of thumb is to look at what babies and little kids do. They are curious, putting everything in their mouth and/or nose. They make you smile when they dance to the beat of the music. And they don’t like watching other kids play with their toys.

There are countless other aspects of human nature we could discuss, but understanding these will give you an advantage in the content you create.

So over the next few days, we’ll go through these in more detail.

But there is one caveat to this.

It doesn’t apply to sociopaths…

And in the online business realm, you will encounter more than your fair share of sociopaths. Sociopaths do not feel these emotions. They don’t connect with other humans.

The reason for this is twofold:

1. Ambitious sociopaths are drawn to fields where they can achieve disproportionate success.
2. Ambitious sociopaths are persuasion experts, and quickly become business/marketing gurus. Persuasion is the name of the game. But while some value ethics, many believe that the ends always justify the means.

So another benefit of creating content based on human nature is that you’ll (hopefully) repel some of the sociopaths out there.

But it’s important to remain vigilant. Not everyone has good intentions like you and I do.

And they will use these aspects of human nature against you.

Either way, these next few lessons will be invaluable to your business.

Stay tuned for more.

Check,

Andrew Ryder