This is an op-ed by SV, Editor-in-Chief of BitcoinMaxiNews.com and former professional copywriter.
After getting seriously involved with bitcoins a while ago, I decided to take on the subject of orange bleaching – which basically means “selling” newbies on Bitcoin – as I would with any given scriptwriting gig.
The first thing a professional copywriter will identify is the potential client’s conscious and unconscious “objections” and fears. In other words, whatever likely stands in the way of that person’s transformation.
So let’s start with the main hurdles that make up the orange pill before offering a solution.
Why is “selling” something as big as bitcoin so difficult?
The challenge of eating orange pellets for a beginner boils down to three things, and all three reinforce each other to make it more challenging:
1. Fiat Model Blindness Mixed with Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FOOD)
When asked, OpenAI defined “typical blindness” as “the inability to fully recognize or understand the assumptions and frameworks that shape an individual’s beliefs, values, and actions.”
Bitcoin is a breakthrough innovation of the paradigm, and as such it is difficult to truly understand its value without stepping out of the “comfort zone” of the fiat paradigm.
A lot of FUD is created by this “fear of the unknown,” as well as the fear of losing money.
2. Offsetting the skeptic’s “position of strength” (resistance to “lecturing”).
No one likes to be in the “surrender” mode of being “lectured,” and few are humble enough to admit that they “don’t know” something.
Thus, any attempt to whiten oranges creates an equal and opposite force of resistance in them, and this is especially true if you try to persuade them personally.
Remaining “skeptical” gives them a perceived “position of power” and “upper hand,” which is why people like to make public how “sceptical” they are.
3. The dilemma of the blind men and the elephants (“The killer of totalitarian understanding”).
If you try to catch the “full elephant” of Bitcoin in your attempt at the buff, you will most likely come across as the guy in the meme below:
As all salespeople know, logic and arguments are there to justify decisions ex post facto (or reinforce established positions). A true change of mind is always a paradigm shift (small or large), and leaving the comfort zone of the old, ingrained paradigm is always a “leap of faith.”
Logic alone is rarely a strong motivator for this to happen. This is why a purely didactic approach is rarely enough to break the cycle of self-reinforcing FUD and typical beginner blindness.
In addition, the educational approach is time consuming, and too boring/technical for the “instant gratification” mentality.
What we need is another equally powerful semi-conscious force of FUD; It is the fear of missing out (FOMO). If it exceeds the level of FOMO and it exceeds the level of FUD, people will convert. Easy like that.
Make Bitcoin irresistible Fiat-minded Nocoiner
This was always the first question I asked myself when starting to offer to edit a new sales page:
“How do I present this show in a way that is absolutely irresistible to the target audience?”
The example below clearly illustrates the difference between trait-oriented “education” and utility-oriented “exciting” persuasion:
Do you see a significant difference in perceived value?
Boring, didactic, and over-focused is a classic “rookie mistake” in the world of copywriting, and an epidemic in the world of pilling orange.
It’s easy to believe that people need to “understand” Bitcoin before they “invest” their hard-earned money in it.
However, the fact is that Mr. Normie Knokwener less He is more likely to get “invested” whenever you try to get him to understand bitcoin.
It’s hard to “sell” people on Bitcoin when you focus on the features.
Ironically, Bitcoin sells itself to anyone Do Get it, and the reason is simple: Bitcoin is the best deal in town. It’s an absolutely 100% irresistible offer.
This is why every Bitcoiner does his best to get as much bitcoin as possible. The main takeaway here is the “irresistible offer” part.
There is a big difference between trying to “educate” the bases about Bitcoin and presenting Bitcoin as the irresistible offer.
With that in mind, let’s forget for a moment about “peer-to-peer”, “no permission”, and “decentralized”. Let’s instead dive into:
Bitcoin: the irresistible offer
Tradition need not be confused by the technical beast that is Bitcoin (repeat this sentence several times to yourself, and feel the sigh of relief it gives you).
Nor do they need to understand the history of money, what “sound money” is, or why proof-of-work is such a big deal.
Mr. Normie Nokoener only needs one thing to “click” in his mind to be instantly orange, and that is to see an irresistible deal.
In essence: What would prompt Mr. Normie Neukoener to take a “leap of faith” in Bitcoin boils down to three things:
- A clear view of the deal that “investing” Bitcoin is (not what “Bitcoin” is or even what it “does”).
- A justified sense of urgency and panic.
- A clear understanding of why the deal was so good (and why holding zero bitcoins is much more risky than going out with zero).
Without further ado, here’s the super-simple Peeling Orange formula. It opens with the following question:
“So, what do you think will happen to the price of bitcoin once Critical Mass realizes that bitcoin mining solves not only global warming, but also the global energy crisis?”
This is completely opposite of what the media has probably been programmed to believe, so it will definitely grab their attention and make them curious.
Then I follow up by reminding them that bitcoin has an absolute scarcity, and most of the supply is already in the hands of long-term holders who already understand where this is going.
You’ll likely get a lot of resistance when making the above claim about bitcoin mining, which is fine. It lends itself to you to provide irrefutable elements of evidence to support it.
You should have the proof items ready in advance, of course, it’s a good idea to store them on your phone. You’ll find plenty of ammo in the orange rabbit hole you created there Bitcoin Maxi News.
Once they see the proof stuff for how bitcoin mining is actually used to mitigate methane emissions (which is much worse than carbon dioxide when it comes to the “greenhouse effect”), and how it balances the grid and incentivizes renewable energy construction, well, at the very least, you’ve given them something to think about. in it.
You can then repeat the initial question and remind them that this early opportunity won’t last forever. This starts a “fomo clock ticking” in their mind, as no one wants to miss out on a big opportunity.
Explain to them that they don’t have to go all in, and that having at least 0.2 to 0.5 BTC can turn into generational wealth for their family when all of this goes mainstream.
I close by saying that owning zero BTC is the biggest financial risk they can take, and knowing this stuff is like having fully legal “inside knowledge” that 98% of the population doesn’t know about – yet.
With this approach, you avoid all the technical, confusing, and boring stuff, and present Bitcoin as the irresistible exciting proposition, all within a few minutes.
This is a guest post by SV. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.