This is an opinion editorial by SV, the editor of BitcoinMaxiNews.com and a former professional copywriter.
After getting serious about bitcoin some time ago, I decided to approach the subject of orange-pilling – which basically means “selling” newbies on bitcoin – like I would anyone. what a editorial gig.
The first thing a professional copywriter will identify is the prospect’s main conscious and unconscious “objections” and fears. In other words, whatever is most likely to prevent that person from being converted.
So let’s start with the main obstacles to orange-pilling, before presenting a solution.
Why “selling” something as good as Bitcoin is so hard
The orange looting newbie challenge comes down to three things, and the three reinforce each other to make it even harder:
1. The Blindness of the Fiat Paradigm Mixed with Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD)
When I prompted it, OpenAI defined “paradigm blindness” as “the inability to fully recognize or understand the assumptions and frameworks that shape one’s beliefs, values, and actions.”
Bitcoin is a game-changing innovation, so it’s hard to truly grasp its value without stepping out of the “comfort zone” of the indoctrinated fiat paradigm.
Much of FUD is generated by this “fear of the unknown”, in addition to the fear of losing money.
2. Skeptical “position of power” compensation (resistance to being “lectured”).
No one likes to be in the “submissive” position of being “lectured”, and few are humble enough to admit they “don’t know” something.
Any attempt at orange-pilling therefore creates an equal and opposite force of resistance within them, and this is especially true if you are trying to convince them in person.
Staying “skeptical” gives them the perceived “position of power” and “advantage”, which is why people like to proclaim how “skeptical” they are.
3. Blind people and the elephant’s dilemma (the “holistic understanding killer”).
If you try to capture Bitcoin’s “full elephant” in your orange pilling attempt, you’ll most likely come across the guy in the meme below:
As any sales rep knows, logic and arguments are there to retrospectively rationalize decisions (or reinforce entrenched positions). A real change of heart is always a paradigm shift (small or big), and leaving the comfort zone of the old entrenched paradigm is always a “leap of faith”.
Logic alone is rarely a powerful enough catalyst and motivator for this to happen. This is why the purely educational approach is rarely enough to break the self-reinforcing, fiat-paradigm-blindness, FUD loop of a beginner.
Also, the pedagogical approach is too time consuming and too boring/technical for the fiat “instant gratification” mindset.
What is needed is another semi-conscious force that is as powerful as FUD; namely the fear of missing something (FOMO). If the level of FOMO eclipses and exceeds the level of FUD, people will convert. As simple as that.
Making Bitcoin Irresistible for the Fiat-Minded Nocoiner
This was always the first question I asked myself when starting a new sales page writing gig:
“How can I present this offer in a way that is absolutely, enticing and irresistible to the target audience?”
The example below clearly illustrates the difference between feature-focused “education” and benefit-focused “sexy” persuasion:
Do you see the huge difference in perceived value?
Boring, educational, focusing on features is a classic “rookie mistake” in the world of copywriting, and it’s epidemic in the world of orange pilling.
It’s easy to believe that people need to “understand” Bitcoin before they “invest” their hard-earned fiat in it.
The truth however is that Mr. Normie Nocoiner is less likely to “get invested” the more you try to get them to understand Bitcoin.
It’s hard to “sell” people on Bitcoin when you focus on features.
Paradoxically, Bitcoin sells itself to anyone do get it, and the reason is simple: Bitcoin is the best deal in town. This is an absolutely 100% irresistible offer.
This is why every bitcoiner does everything they can to get their hands on as many bitcoins as humanly possible. The key to remember here is the “irresistible offer” part.
There is a huge difference between trying to “educate” the standards on Bitcoin and presenting Bitcoin as the irresistible offer that it is.
With that in mind, let’s forget about peer-to-peer, permissionless, and decentralized for a moment. Instead, let’s dive into:
Bitcoin: the irresistible offer
Normies need not be fazed by the technical behemoth that is Bitcoin (repeat this sentence several times to yourself, and feel the sigh of relief it gives you).
They also don’t need to understand the history of money, what “sound money” is, or why proof of work is so important.
Mr. Normie Nocoiner only needs one thing to “click” in his mind to be stung on the spot, and that is to see an irresistible deal.
Essentially: What will drive Mr. Normie Nocoiner to take the “leap of faith” into Bitcoin comes down to three things:
- A clear view of the deal that a Bitcoin “investment” represents (not what Bitcoin “is” or even what it “does”).
- A justified sense of urgency and FOMO.
- A clear understanding of why the deal is so irresistibly good (and why holding zero bitcoin is a much bigger risk than getting out of zero).
Without further ado, here is my ultra-simple orange-pilling formula. It opens with the following question:
“So what do you think will happen to bitcoin’s price once a critical mass realizes that bitcoin mining not only solves global warming, but also the global energy crisis?”
It goes against what they’ve most likely been programmed by the media to believe, so it’s sure to grab their attention and make them curious.
I then go on to remind them that bitcoin has an absolute shortage and most of the supply is already in the hands of long-term holders who already understand where this is going.
You will most likely get tons of resistance when you make the above claim about Bitcoin mining, which is a good thing. It frees up the space for you to present compelling supporting evidence.
You should have this evidence ready ahead of time, of course, and it’s a good idea to store it on your phone. You’ll find lots of ammo in the orange rabbit hole I created at Bitcoin Maxi News.
Once they saw the evidence of how Bitcoin mining is already being used to mitigate methane emissions (which is far worse than CO2 when it comes to the ‘greenhouse effect’ ), and how it balances the grid and encourages the development of renewable energy, Well, at the very least, you gave them food for thought.
You can then repeat the original question and remind them that this early bird opportunity won’t last forever. This starts a “running FOMO clock” in their minds, because no one wants to miss much.
Explain to them that they don’t have to go “all in” and that owning as little as 0.2-0.5 BTC can turn into generational wealth for their family when this all goes mainstream.
Close by saying that owning zero BTC is the biggest financial risk they can take, and knowing these things is akin to having fully legal “insider knowledge” that 98% of the population doesn’t know about – for the moment.
With this approach, you avoid all the technical, confusing, and boring stuff, and present Bitcoin as the sexy, irresistible offer that it is, all within minutes.
This is a guest post by SV. The opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.