The 4 Types of Readers You Must Speak To In Your Copy

Ever wonder why some people buy immediately while others need 47 testimonials first and wait until the last minute before the cart closes? It’s because they make decisions differently — so even when you have your target audience defined down to the tiniest detail, the different types of readers within that target audience will make a huge difference in their choice.

Let’s say you have Kaitlyn from Texas and Sarah from New York. They may both live in big cities, be creative service providers, want their digital presence to be fun and bold, and have the time and budget to spend on high-quality website design templates.

The difference between them? Kaitlyn wants to hear more about your journey to creating the website templates and what other creative service providers think about you.

Sarah wants to know that the website templates have a proven track record for a high ROI and are easy to use. They will make her look impressive to site visitors and help her rank at the top of Google’s search engine results pages.

Why Decision-Making Styles Matter for Sales

Knowing the different types of readers within your target audience will make or break how they receive your copywriting, and how well you convert. When you take their decision-making styles into account, you’ll be able to personalize the experience and make them feel seen and heard — which 71% of people want.

When you have more personalized interactions, your revenue can grow 40% more than when you have generic interactions.

As a result, your marketing will pay off more — so investing in that copywriter, ad manager, and designer will feel less like a loss and more like a worthwhile investment!

And the first step to knowing how to speak to your readers’ different decision-making styles is knowing that there are 4 types of readers. Let’s get into it ⬇️

4 Types of Readers

1. Methodical Decision Maker
2. Competitive Decision Maker
3. Humanistic Decision Maker
4. Spontaneous Decision Maker

The Methodical Decision Maker

The methodical decision maker — let’s call her Sarah — takes their time to make a decision, and wants to get all the information to answer every question they might have. They’re data-driven and super process-oriented.

Before they make a purchase they will research like crazy to learn everything about not just your product, but other available products out there. They’ll compare and contrast, and look at all the dirty details like they’re Inspector Gadget.

So, to speak to Sarah the Methodical Decision Maker, you’ll want to use a lot of statistics and data, have detailed specifications about your product, and have comprehensive comparison charts to show how your product measures up to not only your other products but the alternative products they would’ve found on their research binge.

The Competitive Decision Maker

Similar to Sarah the Methodical, Saraia (haha, see what I did there) the Competitive Decision Maker is also results-focused and stats-conscious. But, they’re quick to act.

Before they do, though, they’ll look for the best products to solve their problem. They’ll look for status symbols like credentials, the press you’ve been featured in, or how many high star ratings the product has. And they want to get a good deal because — again — they’re competitive and love to win, so they’ll be looking for exclusive offers.

So, make sure to shower them with social proof and exclusivity, and showcase performance metrics for your product.

The Humanistic Decision Maker

Our humanistic decision maker — Lana, if you will — is a bleeding heart. They’re emotion-driven, relationship-focused, and values-oriented.

So they’ll look for any proof that they can trust you, will often ask their friends and family for recommendations, and always want to make sure whatever they buy has a positive impact on the world and society.

So make sure to show them success stories, glowing testimonials from people like them, your mission and vision, your brand values, any personal connections that would appeal to them, and make impactful statements that show your positive effect.

The Spontaneous Decision Maker

Spontaneous decision-makers are skimmers and make decisions quickly. They rely on gut feelings and focus on the experience they’ll feel — kind of like a Sharona, huh?

They tend to make impulse purchases, checkout quickly and want immediate gratification.

To sell to them, you’ll want to deliver limited-time offers they have to act on now. Make the buying process easy. And show them the quick wins they’ll achieve after using your product.

How to Identify Each Type of Reader

There are a few giveaways that help you identify the type of reader someone might be.

The phrases they use

You’ll hear methodical decision-makers saying things like “I need to do more research”, “What are the specs on this?”, and “Can you send me detailed information?”.

With a competitive decision maker, they tend to say “Is this your best option?” and “What results can I expect?” or “Who else uses this?” and most definitely “What makes this better than [competitor]?”

Because humanistic decision makers are bleeding hearts, you’ll often hear them say things like “How will this help my team?”, “What do other people say about working with you?”, “Tell me about your experience with…”, and “How did you develop this?”

And since spontaneous decision makers are so impulsive, you’ll hear “Let’s do this!” and “Sounds good to me” or “When can we start?” and, hopefully, “I’ve got a good feeling about this”

Their patterns of behaviour

For methodical decision makers, they:

• Read every product detail
• Compare multiple options
• Take notes during calls
• Request case studies
• Often return to pages multiple times

Competitive decision makers will:

• Jump straight to pricing
• Look for premium options
• Check credentials first
• Reference competitor offerings
• Want to know about “exclusive” features

With humanistic decision makers, they:

• Read all testimonials
• Will want to hear your story
• Value personal connection
• Take time building rapport
• Are interested in company values

And when it comes to spontaneous decision-makers, they’ll:

• Make quick decisions
• Skim rather than reads
• Want immediate access
• Go with gut feeling
• Value quick checkout processes

Questions they ask

Methodical decision makers will want to know “What’s your process?”, “Do you have any data on results?”, “Can you break down how this works?”, and “What’s your success rate?”

Competitive decision-makers will ask “How fast can I see results?”, “Who are your biggest clients?”, “What makes you different?”, and “Is there a VIP option?”

When it comes to methodical decision makers, they’re wondering “What inspired you to create this?” and “How do you support your clients?” as well as “Can I talk to previous customers?” and even “What’s your company culture like?”

Whereas spontaneous decision-makers mostly want to know “How soon can I get started?”, “What’s the quickest way to begin?”, “Can you handle everything for me?”, and “Is there a fast-track option?”

Creating Content for the 4 Types of Readers

Website Copy Strategy

A good general rule of thumb is to leave your hero section, the middle of your web page, and the bottom of the web page for spontaneous and competitive decision-makers.

Client Example: Podcast Media Agency Atabey & Co.

All your quantitative social proof like success data and statistics will be a huge gift to the competitive and methodical decision maker, and any qualitative social proof like success stories, client testimonials, and your unique process will be fodder for humanistic and methodical decision makers.

Client Example: Career Strategy Team 6 Figure Chick Consulting

Using big bold headlines and mixed media graphics like video, GIFs, and animations will appeal to the competitive and spontaneous decision-maker. While your humanistic and methodical decision-maker will read every word on your website.

Client Example: Post Partum Coach She Found Power

And having an equal mix of strong call-to-actions like “Buy Now” and “Start the Process” with calls-to-value like “Let’s Do This” and “I’m Convinced. Do You Take Visa?” peppered across your website will help you appeal to each decision maker in each section of your web pages — so you never miss an opportunity to talk directly to them.

Email Marketing Approach

You can apply some of the same website copy strategies to your email newsletters when it comes to speaking to the 4 types of readers. Having big bold headlines and CTAs, mixed media, social proof — all that jazz — will appeal to each decision-making style. But you can take it further!

Beta test your emails with different subject lines catered to each decision making style to see which performs better. Send emails catered to each decision maker depending on what they do and what they look for at different stages of the marketing funnel.

And use different personalization tactics — like putting their first name in the email and subject line, putting the phrases they use and frequently asked questions they have in your email content, and pulling relevant references from their lives.

I have an entire email marketing bundle with 32 customizable templates you can send for every stage of the marketing funnel, that already has personalization and other sales psychology tactics embedded in each email. You can grab it here!

Sales Page Structure

Your sales page is just one super-long web page dedicated to selling one product (more on that in this post). So it’ll also use many of the website copy strategies I mentioned before.

Beyond that, you should use universal elements that hook everyone, like:

• A clear headline stating the offer
• Above-the-fold value proposition
• Easy-to-find pricing
• Mobile-friendly design
• Clear CTAs throughout
• Fast loading speed

You’ll also want to make sure you use conversion tactics and type-specific sections that work for each decision-maker.

For Methodical Decision Makers

What They Need:

• Detailed specifications
• Process breakdowns
• Comparison charts
• Technical details
• Research data

Page Elements:

• FAQ section
• Step-by-step process maps
• Detailed features list
• ROI calculators
• Case studies with specific metrics

For Competitive Decision Makers

What They Need:

• Status indicators
• Industry leadership proof
• Exclusive benefits
• Performance metrics
• Premium options

Page Elements:

• “As featured in” media logos
• Industry awards
• High-profile client logos
• Premium package tiers
• Limited-time or exclusive offers

For Humanistic Decision Makers

What They Need:

• Story-based content
• Personal connections
• Values alignment
• Social proof
• Community aspects

Page Elements:

• Your origin story
• Client success stories
• Behind-the-scenes content
• Values statement
• Social impact information
• Video testimonials

For Spontaneous Decision Makers

What They Need:

• Quick wins
• Easy access
• Immediate benefits
• Clear next steps
• Fast checkout

Page Elements:

• “Quick start” guides
• Instant access promises
• One-click purchase options
• Clear, immediate benefits
• Urgency triggers (timers, limited spots)

Strategic Content Flow For Your Sales Page

1. Top of Page:

• Clear offer (Spontaneous)
• Key benefits (Competitive)
• Quick overview (Methodical)
• Connection points (Humanistic)

Client Example: Operations Agency Day to Day Assist

2. Middle Sections:

• Detailed breakdown (Methodical)
• Status indicators (Competitive)
• Stories & testimonials (Humanistic)
• Quick-win highlights (Spontaneous)

Client Example: Operations Agency Day to Day Assist

3. Bottom of Page:

• Technical details (Methodical)
• Premium options (Competitive)
• Community proof (Humanistic)
• Easy purchase process (Spontaneous)

Client Example: Operations Agency Day to Day Assist

So, What Next?

Analyze the insights you have from your target audience to see the decision-makers you’ve marketed and sold to. Do a content audit to see your highest-performing content, and even refresh old content to see if you can make it new and better for different types of readers.

The goal isn’t to speak to everybody — because, as we all know, that means you end up speaking to nobody — but you do want to make sure the 4 types of readers within the small niche you’ve set aside for yourself is being seen, heard, and spoken to.

You can use my Top to Bottom Funnel Sales Email Sequence Template Bundle to speak to every decision-maker at every stage of the marketing funnel in your next email campaign.

And you can book a 90-minute intensive call to see if your current copy passes the test.