Top Reasons Why People Buy

In order to sell your products and services, you have to know why your readers would want to buy them. Knowing the reasons why will help you write really great copy because you are tuning in to the emotions of your readers. Below are 51 reasons put forward as to why readers make their purchases. You can hit on any number of these or even several at once.

The first 50 were outlined in Geoff Ayling’s book, “Rapid Response Advertising.” The 51st one is provided by Jay Conrad Levinson, writer of “Guerilla Marketing.”Reasons Why People Buy

1. To make more money – even though it can’t buy happiness
2. To become more comfortable, even a bit more
3. To attract praise – because almost everybody loves it 
4. To increase enjoyment – of life, of business, of virtually anything 
5. To possess things of beauty – because they nourish the soul 
6. To avoid criticism – which nobody wants criticism – which nobody wants a constant need to many people 
7. To make their work easier – a constant need to many people
8. To speed up their work – because people know that time is precious 
9. To keep up with the Joneses – there are Joneses in everybody’s lives 
10. To feel opulent – a rare, but valid reason to make a purchase 
11. To look younger – due to the reverence placed upon youthfulness 
12. To become more efficient – because efficiency saves time 
13. To buy friendship – I didn’t know it’s for sale, but it often is 
14. To avoid effort – because nobody loves to work too hard 
15. To escape or avoid pain – which is an easy path to making a sale 
16. To protect their possessions – because they worked hard to get them 
17. To be in style – because few people enjoy being out of style 
18. To avoid trouble – because trouble is never a joy 
19. To access opportunities – because they open the doors to good things
20. To express love – one of the noblest reasons to make any purchase 
21. To be entertained – because entertainment is usually fun 
22. To be organized – because order makes lives simpler 
23. To feel safe – because security is a basic human need 
24. To conserve energy – their own or their planet’s sources of energy
25. To be accepted – because that means security as well as love 
26. To save time – because they know time is more valuable than money 
27. To become more fit and healthy – seems to me that’s an easy sale 
28. To attract the opposite sex – never undermine the power of love 
29. To protect their family – tapping into another basic human need 
30. To emulate others – because the world is teeming with role models 
31. To protect their reputation – because they worked hard to build it 
32. To feel superior – which is why status symbols are sought after 
33. To be trendy – because they know their friends will notice 
34. To be excited – because people need excitement in a humdrum life 
35. To communicate better – because they want to be understood 
36. To preserve the environment – giving rise to cause-related marketing 
37. To satisfy an impulse – a basic reason behind a multitude of purchases 
38. To save money – the most important reason to 14% of the population 
39. To be cleaner – because unclean often goes with unhealthy and unloved 
40. To be popular – because inclusion beats exclusion every time 
41. To gratify curiosity – it killed the cat but motivates the sale 
42. To satisfy their appetite – because hunger is not a good thing 
43. To be individual – because all of us are, and some of us need assurance 
44. To escape stress – need I explain? 
45. To gain convenience – because simplicity makes life easier 
46. To be informed – because it’s no joy to be perceived as ignorant 
47. To give to others – another way you can nourish your soul 
48. To feel younger – because that equates with vitality and energy 
49. To pursue a hobby – because all work and no play etc. etc. etc. 
50. To leave a legacy – because that’s a way to live forever
51. To avoid feeling pain – whether physical or emotional