Constant positivity can be negative

When you create any kind of message targeting your audience, 100% positivity can have a negative impact. Here's why nudging your audience outside their zone works.

Author

Anthony Gaenzle
April 07, 2025

In partnership with

When you craft a message intended for your audience, you don't always want them to feel that positive vibe.

Sometimes, we need to push people out of their comfort zone to get them to take action and buy our solution to get them back in the zone.

Appeal to Emotions

Think about it.

If your messaging is always, “Everything is great,” what reason does your audience have to take action and work with you?

Instead of pretending everything is ok, try appealing to your audience’s need for security and their aversion to challenges and stress.

  • Determine what challenges and issues your audience faces

  • Paint a picture of what can happen if they don’t follow your advice or buy your product

  • Get those emotions flowing (a little fear goes a long way)

  • Then reel them back in by detailing how you and what you offer has helps people like them avoid the negative situations you described

No Wild Conspiracies

A word of caution. This advice is not intended to encourage you to become a doomsayer or promote wild conspiracy theories.

For example, if you’re a digital advertising consultant, promoting articles like “SEO is Dead” is wrong. SEO is changing, but it’s still at the top of traffic drivers and lead generators, so be ethical about what you post.

As you drop a little negativity in your marketing message, be responsible. Focus on real issues your target audience faces. Show them how not dealing with the issues can harm their lives and how hard it would be to fix them retroactively.

Then, show them the power of your proactive solution to encourage them to run and knock on your door.

Not All Doom and Gloom

Psychology has always played a role in marketing, and it continues to do so today. Work negativity into your message, but not at the expense of the positives.

If you work that fear factor into your market just 15-25% of the time, it can have a major impact on your business growth.

The rest of the time, focus on showing the benefits and making the audience members the hero of your brand’s story.

Let’s connect!

If you have any questions, or you are ready to start working on your personal brand, email me at [email protected] or visit gaenzlemarketing.com.

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