Sometimes failure feels like the safest option. Our present might suck and our pain might be unpleasant, but it's familiar.

As marketers, we default to convincing others of how great our products or services might make their life or work.

In consumer marketing, we might talk about how great someone will look, or how many dates they'll get, or how easy their chores will become. In business marketing, we might mention how much time someone could save on repetitive tasks, how much more money their company would make, or how easily they could integrate all of their tools. Regardless of what's being marketed, campaigns often focus on the promise of a better tomorrow.

But what happens when that better future feels... terrifying?

Shallow psychology leads to shallow marketing
I believe that good marketers are experts in human psychology. We can't convince someone to pay attention, share content, or buy a product if we don't understand how they act and feel. If we want to influence behavior, we have to know where behaviors come from.