A research-backed way to ensure that your writing is more persuasive

Blame Maslow.

You've probably seen his "hierarchy of requirements". It's now a staple in marketing circles. The problem is, it's not founded upon any real study. Maslow just kinda made it up based on his own thoughts.

Fine. This is how many theories begin, but eventually they'll need to be examined. Maslow's have been but the results are inconsistent at best.

That's why psychologists like Henry Murray and David McClelland continued to push Maslow's ideas from the beginning.

McClelland specifically, has conducted numerous studies with McClelland's research using the Thematic Apperception Test (TAT). The TAT isn't a perfect test but, as ScienceDirect states, it "is effective in helping to identify the dominant motives of a person's emotions, and core personality issues".

McClelland employed it to refine Maslow's need theory.

What did he find?

That, in reality, it's really only three needs which drive our behaviour. Three needs that animate the vast majority of why we act the way we perform. It is useful for people (like me and you) attempting to motivate people to take actions?

Uh, yeah.

So, what do these "three requirements"?

1. The need for Power
2. The Need for Achievement
3. The Need for Affiliation

McClelland observed that of the diverse needs identified by Maslow and Murray, 86% of those who were dominant were on any of these three needs. The evidence, the data, that you can trust.

What exactly is all of these requirements?

The Need for Power

When they hear "power" people immediately envision controlling and evil dictators like Stalin or Hitler. It's possible that's an element however, it's really focused on impact. This is the power to impact your surroundings -things, people such as objects, people, etc. Imagine a child throwing a ball then giggles in uncontrollable ways. It's the ability of her to manage something beyond herself that lights her up. This is the reason why we need Power.

The phrases you could employ in your message in order to draw attention to this demand are things like:

• "more control..."
• "change the world ..."
• "have tremendous impact ..."
• "dominate..."
• "greater influence..."

It's about their desire to influence and impact the world around them because, for people with a high Need for Power, that's what motivates people to be powerful.

The necessity for Achievement

This need is more like what it sounds: an urge to accomplish things. Make a plan and work towards it and ultimately reach it. People high in the Need for Achievement want to perform that same process over and over again.

It's just a bit of nuance. If a goal is too easy, it won't bring the satisfaction they're after and won't inspire them. If the goal is too challenging, they'll conclude they can't achieve it and that's why it doesn't encourage them.

So, the goal has to be "just just" so as to inspire those who are high in this regard. However, set challenging yet feasible goals before their minds and they'll grind out one after the other like a machine.

A phrase you can use for your message to address this issue are things like:

• "mastery"
• "achieve your targets"
• "challenge yourself"
• "show what your made from"
• "be the best you can be."

The last requirement, after all, is...

The need for affiliation

As McClelland declares, it's "The desire to have an underlying sense of participation and being part of a group." This is more well-known. Social networks have illustrated people's desire to feel connected and part of a community.

Nowadays, a variety of offerings and services offer community-based services, Facebook groups, live events, virtual events, and many more.

It's still important to include in your messaging. Phrases you might use include:

• "join an organization of people who are similar to you"
• "connect with others"
• "we're one of you"
• "welcome to our family"

So, how do you make use of all this?

Think about it this way: nearly all (good) copywriting is "reason-why" based. It's about giving reasons to people why they should take your request to take (subscribe to your mailing list, buy your product, join your community, etc).

So, any basic argument could be broken down into two parts:

1. Take this action
2. Because reason why

The three requirements will tell you what the "reasons to" are. It is important to address the three requirements because this is what drives people to do something. This is what makes your speech, writing and whatever other kind of message you're doing... much more convincing.

It's true that you have to be able to demonstrate these claims, provide proof, draw attention and so on... but getting the appeal right in the first place is essential. Otherwise, people just shrug and say "Eh what's the point?" It doesn't animate the people.

The next time you're sitting down to write some copy or write a video script, do not think about Maslow and remember McClelland. Your work will be grateful for it.

That said, this is just one of the techniques we've learned in working with more than 100,000 online business owners just like you..

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