What Drives Green Consumers? Probably Not What You Think.

As a green business owner, you're out to change the world. You're driven by passionate environmental concerns; you spend time educating yourself about the eco-issues of the day; you work to conserve energy and water to reduce your footprint on the planet.

But is your target audience buying from you for the same reasons? Probably not.

According to the latest national study by Shelton Group, most of the consumers who buy green are doing so for reasons that may have very little to do with environmental issues.

Specifically, the study debunked six cherished myths:

• The economy, not the environment, is #1 on the list of green consumers' concerns. The environment falls at #8.
• Nearly 75% of green consumers save energy to reduce their bills; only 26% are doing so to reduce their impact on the planet.
• Many green consumers are actually uninformed or ill-informed about basic environmental facts
• Rather than being a monolithic market segment, green consumers tend to fall into two mindsets - "engaged green" (optimistic, extroverted, and open to innovations) versus "mainstream green" (generally more pessimistic, introverted, and driven by familiarity and security)
• Most (roughly 75%) of green consumers are not influenced by their children in making green household decisions
• Even those consumers who know the facts about environmental issues do not always make greener decisions based on their knowledge.

Shelton Group Founder, President and CEO Suzanne Shelton uses the study outcome to emphasize the importance of knowing your clientele. Rather than marketing based on myths, she advises using sales figures as a way to judge your success in reaching your audience.

As a green copywriter based in a small, conservative community, I found the study mirroring my personal experience. In fact, I've spent much of my time fielding questions from local prospects who wanted to go green, with reasons that were more often economic than environmental.

So I expanded my business to include an eco-consulting sideline through the national company Green Irene. As an independent eco-consultant for Green Irene, my aim is to educate clients who are just starting to go green, through offering public and private workshops, green home and office makeovers, Green-Seal certified products, and referrals to local green professionals.

The viewpoint is pragmatic - rather than assuming that my clients are motivated by environmental knowledge, I focus on the immediate impact of environmental issues on their lives and budgets. And I find that when they become aware of the double benefit they gain by buying green -- not only are they helping the planet, but also making investments that will pay off in savings over the long term - their incentive grows.

Is this a pure-green motivation? Maybe not. But in the end, does it matter? However a client ranks their financial health versus the planet's health, the fact remains that their green buying decisions can serve both in the long run. It's a matter of demonstrating long-term value over short-term cost.

Bottom line? The more you speak to your clients' immediate concerns, and the more you inform them about the economic and environmental return on investment for their green buying choices, the more motivation they'll have to continue.

Creating a Livable Future

I've been reading a great deal about Deep Ecology lately...and pondering how Green Business has launched a whole new concept of entrepreneurism.

For the past two centuries, businesses have treated natural resources as unlimited, there for the taking. They focused their creativity on getting the biggest bang for the buck in terms of efficiency, productivity, and sales.

At the time, this was seen as the entry to a new era of prosperity...but today, the long-term results are catching up to us. Global warming is altering the world's weather patterns and ecology faster than experts ever dreamed, and mainstream industry continues to deflect responsibility.

Some may wonder if it's too late - if the oceans, rivers, and streams are not irrevocably polluted, the aquifers drained past hope of replenishment, the rainforests razed past the point of renewal.

Some businesses deny the problems, or shrug their shoulders and drive to get even greater short-term profits while the getting's good. And some heroic souls put their lives and livelihoods on the line to resist the ongoing destruction.

But if the nature of commerce is to change - as it must - we need visionary new entrepreneurs who change the face of business by pursuing the best good for all, despite worsening conditions. Who visualize pioneering answers to overwrite the exploitative legacy of traditional industries, and set a new standard for balanced and sustainable business. Who take positive steps, in hope, toward creating a livable future for us all on this planet.

There are many, many green business networks and resources that offer opportunities to join in this visioning...for just a few, see the Reference Sites page of Your Words' Worth. For a globalocal event that encompasses this issue from many sides, see the Bioneers Conference, happening Oct. 19-21 in California, with satellite conferences held in many locations. For information on the parent conference, visit Bioneers.org for a list of satellite conferences, see the Beaming Bioneers site.



KudoSurf Me!

What's Different about Green Copywriting?

Ever since I decided to focus my copywriting work on the topic of my heart - sustainable business - I've felt as if I've been walking a path that's barely been trodden. Despite the growing mainstreaming of green business principles, few eco-preneurs have begun info-preneuring.

Let's face it - infopreneurs can range all over the map, from flaming hypesters to hypnotic gurus. Many are selling an “Internet lifestyle” of getting rich quick with minimal effort…and while I respect their desire to share their abundance…well… let's just say that the owners of green businesses, my clients, tend to shy away from that kind of approach.

So in defining my services as a copywriter for eco-info-preneurs, I need to make it very clear - those priorities are not what I'm about! While I practice…well… semi-hypnotic writing, I also work to practice the triple bottom line of People, Planet and Profit, run a wind-powered office, buy carbon offsets….and generally try hard to walk my sustainable talk.

You could say I'm practicing green copywriting with an agenda: to promote not just my clients, but the whole idea of green, sustainable, environmentally and socially responsible business. To promote the idea that the Earth, in her delicate balance and biodiversity, sustains our life and endeavors and should rightly be respected, protected, and nurtured in return. That we as businesspeople should work in cooperation with the Earth rather than in heedless consumption or outright exploitation.

But how does copywriting with this underlying value differ from copywriting for business-as-usual?

All the Internet marketing gurus teach one principle that holds true for all kinds of copywriting: it needs to come from the heart. Whether you're selling an E-book about making easy millions on Google, or an online course in greening your business, it's the belief, passion, and sincerity of your tone that will convince the reader and inspire trust.

Back in the 90's, in the Cluetrain Manifesto (if you haven't read it - read it - this is where the core principles of online marketing and Web 2.0 began) presented the principle that Markets are Conversations - and the more you sound like a real, live, thinking, feeling human in those conversations, the more trust and business you will gain.

That's one of the founding principles of Your Words' Worth. And I believe that passionate, from-the-heart quality is also what sets green copywriting apart from other types of online copywriting.

Sure, the seller of Making Easy Millions on Google is probably just as passionate about this product as the seller of Greening Your Business 101. But I think the type of passion differs enormously…and this inevitably shows up in the tone of the copywriting.

You see, in green copywriting just as in green business, Profit isn't the only target of passion - People and the Planet are equally important. And if that passion isn't felt, if that underlying environmental and social responsibility isn't evident…well, no sincerity, no sale!

So when you look for a copywriter to promote your green business, ask - does he or she know about corporate social/environmental responsibility? the triple bottom line? carbon offsetting? fair trade? a living wage? If terms like these are familiar - are they just quaint concepts, or are they living ideals?

Bottom line - does your copywriter share your passion?



KudoSurf Me!