It’s important to understand the beliefs and attitudes that your audience holds about themselves and the world around them. By tapping into these deeply held convictions, you can create emails that truly resonate with your audience and position your course as a natural fit for their needs.
In this blog post, I’ll identify 10 common beliefs and attitudes that consumers have and provide examples of how course creators can use them to create compelling email campaigns that drive sales.
Belief: “I want to succeed in life”
Example: A course creator could write an email highlighting the success stories of previous students who have completed the course and gone on to achieve great things. Same goes for individual case-studies.
A more product-unaware approach would be talking about how successful people were able to achieve “success” (like x habits of successful people OR even X misconceptions about success).
Briefly mention the course as one of those options for achieving success and what it actually means beyond simply completing the course. Remember it’s not about the course, but about what they can achieve with the course and how it can lead them to success.
Belief: “I’m not living up to my potential”
The context is that most people believe they are not living up their potential. There’s a lot of pain in this area and it’s often a dissatisfaction that isn’t normally communicated by consumers in the public. So if you take this approach, be empathetic and show them how they can break through that false limitation.
Example: A course creator could write an email detailing how their course can help individuals unlock their full potential and achieve their goals. That would be an email for a logical decision-maker.
You can also write an email that walks them through the possible transformation that could come from using the course. Focus on emotions to help your audience relate. Use phrases that describe the transformation. Try to use as many senses in explaining the transformation.
This makes it more realistic and it could help show them how it’s possible to live up to their potential. This is a personal false belief that can be difficult to break.
Attitude: “I want to learn new things”
This is a sign of an early-adopter, someone who is curious and wants to be ahead of the curve. Which is good news for you.
Example: A course creator could write an email showcasing the variety of topics and subjects covered in the course, emphasizing that there is always something new to learn.
Go beyond the features and lessons and show them what they can achieve when they know those things.
Focus on new lessons added into the course, if your course will be updated.
And make sure you explain how your framework or course is different from everything else.
Attitude: “I want to be better than my peers”
This is common for professionals and people who are very competitive. They are driven by emotion and the potential to make progress fast.
Example: A course creator could write an email emphasizing the competitive advantages that come with taking the course, such as exclusive knowledge and skills.
A product-unaware email could talk about common ways to create a competitive advantage. You can use case studies and your personal story to lead your reader into the course. This email would be curiosity-based, meaning you will not yet mention the course name, instead you would ask them to click the button which would lead them to the sales page. Something like click the button below to learn more.
Belief: “I want to improve my quality of life”
This is a sign of a consumer who is problem aware. Meaning you have permission to show them what can happen in their life if they learn a new skill, the skill you’re teaching in your course, OR improve their health goals. Whatever it might be, position it in a way that adds to their life. Focus on painting the picture.
Example: A course creator could write an email highlighting how the course can improve students’ personal and professional lives, leading to greater happiness and fulfillment.
A specific example is writing the future-based email. This asks the reader to imagine the future. You’ll paint the picture for them.
Belief: “I want to make a difference in the world”
This is a fabulous state for your consumer. But this means you need to go beyond features and common benefits. You need to explain the benefit of the benefit and how that helps your consumer achieve their desire: to make a difference in the world.
This is where the Before-and-After framework comes in handy, you can learn more about it here.
Example: A course creator could write an email showcasing how the course can help students develop the skills and knowledge necessary to make a positive impact in their communities and beyond.
Another example would be to talk about your personal story and how through teaching your course are helping thousands of people all over the world make a difference.
Attitude: “I’m looking for a challenge”
This audience can get bored fast. They can also be overachievers. That seems similar, but it is not, so make sure you test your messaging over time.
Example: A course creator could write an email detailing how the course will push students out of their comfort zones and challenge them to grow and develop.
A product-unaware email would talk about “Why you’re getting bored so fast” and then link it to your course, something like “If you’re still looking for a challenge, you’ll definitely find one here. X people agree. They can’t be wrong, can they?”.
Attitude: “I want to be part of a community”
Many audiences have this desire to belong to a group of peers. To some this is more important than others. For instance, a struggling or beginner entrepreneur is going to thrive in a group of peers because they feel understood and accepted without being judged. This is a common struggle they have in their every day life as their family might not be supportive of their decision to start a business.
Same goes for an audience of parents. Facebook group for moms are amazing resources for information, finding support and empathy as well.
Example: A course creator could write an email highlighting the community aspects of the course, such as access to a network of like-minded individuals.
Belief: “I’m not too old to learn”
There is a major misconception about this belief, and that is that only a certain age segment would struggle with this. Well, check this out:
Example: A course creator could write an email emphasizing how the course is suitable for individuals of all ages and that it’s never too late to learn something new. Use case studies to help your reader identify and relate to the problem at hand.
A product-unaware email could talk about: Reasons Why You Are Never Too Old To Learn New Things or At what age is it too late to learn something new?
Belief: “I want to invest in myself”
This is amazing. It’s the point where consumers are actively considering options for achieving their desire: personal growth of any kind. It’s time to show them HOW your course can be a justified investment NOT financially but for consumer’s personal, professional, emotional etc development.
Example: A course creator could write an email showcasing different ways of investing in personal or professional growth. One of those ways would be their course and explain how that’s possible. Back it up with testimonials.
By tapping into the beliefs and attitudes that consumers hold dear, course creators can create email campaigns that resonate with their audience on a deep level.
By doing so, they can build stronger relationships with their subscribers, drive more sales, and position themselves as a partner on their students’ journeys of personal and professional growth.
If you want to learn more about how to create compelling email campaigns that tap into your audience’s beliefs and attitudes, check out our other blog posts on consumer behavior and psychology.