Are you selling a want or a need?

A want is a desire. Wants are generally driven my emotion. I want another ice cream sandwich. I want to lose 50 pounds so I look better. I want a high traffic site.

A need is a necessity. This is usually driven by logic. I need to have celery. I need to lose 50 pounds or I'm going to die. I need to get my conversion rate up.

If you are trying to sell to a need, you're going to have a hard time. As it's been shown time and time again, people buy based on emotional wants and generally justify their actions later with logic. So you need to find a way to make your product a want.

The easiest way is by targeting a product at a definite want. But if that isn't an option for you anymore, you can usually find wants in most needs. Just look at the weight loss example above. The end result is the same, you don't die, but it's easier to make a connection with people by stroking their egos than it is by threatening them with their own demise.

Usually the best products are the ones that sell you what you want, but also give you what you need. Take Perry Marshall's book 'The Ultimate Guide to Google AdWords'. It gives people what they want - more traffic - (most everyone wants to know how to get more traffic) but also gives them what they need - better conversion of the traffic they get.

So if you're having trouble selling a product, find out if you're selling a want or a need. If you have a need based product, then you will have to find a definite want and write your copy for that want instead.

Otherwise, you'll be doomed to having a needy product - it will constantly need your attention and care. And the bottom line is a needy product isn't good for business.

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