Reverse psychology marketing won’t work for you, so you can just fuhgeddaboudit.

Do you get the feeling that you’re being bombarded with messages that are telling you to do one thing, but suggesting you do another?

Like a cat, who flounces her tail in typical cat-mode as she slinks away, as if to say, Don’t even bother trying to pet me, when you know she’s dying for a tummy rub.

This is reverse psychology marketing, when you desire something simply because it’s being touted as unavailable, unwelcome, or undesirable.

In an age where people are tired of having marketing spiels thrown in their faces, taking this back alley approach becomes more effective than traditional methods. The success of this strategy relies on having customers come to you, rather than you chasing after them.

Are You Special Enough?

Take Tom Sawyer, for example. He had his buddies begging to take over his fence painting job. The tedious task of whitewashing his aunt’s fence became appealing by doing two things. He appeared to enjoy it, and he acted as if it was a special privilege.

Cats have this down to a science. They behave as if they enjoy snubbing you, and when you finally chase them down, you’d think they bestowed you with the honor of petting royalty.

As Mark Twain wrote, Tom “had discovered a great law of human action, without knowing it —  namely, that in order to make a man or a boy covet a thing, it is only necessary to make the thing difficult to attain.”

This play into our innate desire to be included, to be in-the-know, leads people to drop their defenses and crave the suddenly indispensable object they never knew they desired. Reverse psychology hits home with the unsuspecting, resistant, and contrary individual – in other words, all of us at some time or another.

It’s All Over for Paper

One of the best reverse psychology marketing strategies is Domtar’s “Paper Because.” Office Guy #1 hands a thick paper report, “The Paperless Office,” to Office Guy #2, telling him it’s all over for paper. They quickly decide to make a copy, and another copy.

“Paper is dead,” after all, yet they remind you that “paper is sustainable, renewable, and recyclable.” Make me a copy too, while you’re at it.

Seth Godin’s Knock Knock book wasn’t free at one time, and the reverse psychology he employed to prompt sales and awareness of it before it became free came with the simple email, “Please don’t buy my new ebook.”

It’s hard not to love a guy who’s so straightforward and honest (and even encouraging you to donate to Red Cross while you’re checking out the free PDF file he’s so generously shared).

Don’t Push the Button!

The trick is not to appear manipulative. If your audience gets a whiff of this, then reverse reverse psychology will come into play, and they will do what you were asking them not to do, like not buy the book, or not push the button.

A cat can get away with this because she knows reverse reverse psychology means you don’t get to pet her highness. This is simply not an option.

Don’t pet the cat. I dare you to not pet the cat.

You’re ready to answer your customer’s questions. You’ve compiled a Q&A list with your employees’ help. Now what?

There’s a simple path to follow when writing a blog for your business. With this roadmap, make your journey to writing a blog a pleasant trip.

4 Steps to Writing a Blog for Your Business

1. Answer their questions with a destination in mind.

Figure out what your customer wants to know and how you intend to address this particular question. What do you want to achieve with this blog post? Begin with the end as your objective.

It could be simple transparency, such as the expected cost of your product or service, or how your business compares to the competition, or the secret ingredients in your prized item, like the special sauce for McDonald’s Big Mac.

Remember, as a teacher, you are educating your audience to make an informed decision. By answering their questions, you are removing a barrier to buying from you.

2. Plot your potential headline and subheads.

This step is like loosely outlining or marking your route. Create some bullet points to consider so you can keep an eye on where you’re going.

For the headline, think of the lesson you are teaching your customer. What’s in it for them? Why should they bother reading any further?

For the subheads, think of the specific questions you are answering. Each critical waypoint along your route becomes a subtitle to break down the content into reader-friendly chunks.

The headline and subheads begin as “potential” because this is meant to be a flexible exercise. Your headline is a destination, but it has the remarkable adaptability of thematic variation. In other words, you can change your mind and tweak it. And tweak it again.

3. Create interesting content.

“Wherever you go, there you are.” Be mindful of your audience and what they want to learn. That destination you’ve got in your GPS? No one’s going to join you for the ride unless you keep it to the point.

As you’re writing, expand on the bullet points you made in your outline. Decide what part of the question you’re answering, and place it beneath the right subhead.

Ask yourself, “What’s the payoff for the reader?” Pay attention to this so your content will continue to appeal to your audience.

Throw in a little fun as you go if that works for your brand. Add images to increase the visual appeal of your post. Don’t be afraid to use your unique voice.

4. Review your work.

At the end of your journey, you’re far from done. Your writing should be carefully edited and polished for publication. Removing the road dust from your travels requires a thorough once over.

Do you need to add or remove information? Are there areas that need to be revised for clarity or better word choices? Do your headline and subheads still work?

Sometimes you need another reader to check your work, or you could come back to it later with fresh eyes. Your readers will lose interest, and you might lose credibility, if your work is sloppy.

How’s the blogging going so far? Has the road trip into content marketing been fun? If you get lost, give us a call to see if we can help.