You want your content inside your audience’s head.

Through your selection of words, you influence the audience’s minds, turning them into leads and motivating them to act.

It’s called good content marketing. It’s also called neuro writing — crafting text that appeals to human psychology.

Neuro writing has nothing to do with manipulation. While it can relate to natural-language processing techniques like anchoring and mirroring, it’s more about applying actionable writing techniques. Let’s look at seven ways to do this:

1. Put 2 numbers in headings

The brain is wired for numbers, which explains why people love listicles so much. Numbers can make the content easier to digest, tricking the brain into assuming it’s more efficient to consume. Your audience’s brains see listicles as cheat sheets to scan and get the necessary information.

Numbers also provide order to chaos. They help content consumers see the end goal and be rewarded with a dopamine release when they reach it.

To double this effect, use two numbers in a headline. The first invites audiences to read, while the second answers the why-should-I-care question.

This example from Neil Patel – How Marketers Are Spending Their Money in 2025 (We Asked 11,093 Marketers) – uses two numbers.

Related:How Human Behavior Impacts Your Marketing Strategy [Video]

The first number — 2025 — signals up-to-date information to the audience. The second number — 11,093 — sparks interest and shatters skepticism about the value of the ideas because it denotes how many people gave input.

TIP: Understand the psychology behind odd and even numbers. Even numbers look friendlier and imply something didn’t get mentioned, encouraging the brain to find out that “something.” Odd numbers are more thought-provoking: “11,093 people? Why did they choose such an odd number?”

2. Add beneficial adjectives

Beneficial adjectives in headings and subheads explain why the content deserves the audience’s attention.

Writers use many beneficial adjectives — new, free, unique, quick, exclusive, cost-effective, etc. But here’s the kicker: Readers see those benefit words so many times, that they react, “Yeah, of course. Everyone says it.”

So, this neuro writing tactic replaces this ubiquity objection: Combine two rarely matched beneficial adjectives in headings.

Ensure both adjectives relate to a noun and appeal to the reader’s emotions, such as:

3. Ask questions

Related:10 Psych Principles to Attract and Grow Your Audience

Given that people usually scan content to ascertain if it’s worth their time, pay precise attention to your subheads. Use them to ask a question.

I do this on my website — “Need a writer for your blog or marketing content?” The next subheading gives the answer — “How I can help you.”

Questions trigger social instinct — the brain’s mechanism to assume what others know, want, and feel.

Questions clarify what the audience will learn when consuming the content. They can spark curiosity, prompting the audience to want to know the answer. They can appeal to a fear of missing out. Audiences continue reading to ensure they haven’t missed anything.

TIP: Don’t limit questions to headlines. Adding relevant questions properly throughout your content can grab readers' attention and hold their interest.

4. Format headlines as quotes

Turn quotes into headlines and subheadings. You can take a sentence from the text or use quotes from industry experts when they fit the context.

Why does this trick work?

Quotation marks signal experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness (Google’s EEAT guidelines) that both audiences and Google quality raters appreciate.

This neuro writing tactic works with headings for case studies, press releases, and blog articles:

Related:How To Create Headlines That Are Good for Readers and Business

Style note: AP Style uses single quotes in headlines.

That’s what EssayShark did on its blog. The article — I’m an Essay Writer and I Know When You’re Using ChatGPT — quotes the author as an expert who will reveal the indicators of AI-generated content.

Later in the article, EssayShark uses two neuro techniques in one, using a quote-question format — “Why is my essay detected with AI?” In this use, the quote comes from the audience, and it motivates the audience to continue reading.

5. Use the Socratic method

As you can guess from the name, this conversational technique belongs to the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates. He used it to engage students in communication. In content writing, you can use this method in your introductions to hook readers, as Barbara Sturm did in this Smart Blogger article: “Wondering how to become an editor? Need guidance on mapping out your new career path?”

Ideally, you should ask three questions because the brain grasps three the best, whether that’s numbers, colors, fonts, statements, etc. Beyond three, the brain is challenged to focus and recall the information.

I bet you heard about the Rule of Three in writing. As Amy de la Force explains, citing the study by Professor Dominic Cheetham: “Repetition is core to persuasion, especially the number three.”

Besides posing three questions, try a modern version of the Socratic method: Give readers three statements they will agree with. Nodding at your words gives them subconscious proof that you understand their problem and can provide a solution. I use the statement technique in this intro to draw the intended audience: “Creative content writers. Sales and SEO copywriters. Bloggers. This is not a drill!”

6. Write with power and sensory words

As Smart Blogger shares, “Power words are persuasive, descriptive words that trigger a positive or negative emotional response. They can make us feel scared, encouraged, aroused, angry, greedy, safe, or curious.”

Power words push your audience in the direction you want them to follow. The active verbs and descriptive adjectives indicate, explain, and add action to your content.

This example from the Content Marketing Institute’s consulting services page uses many powerful phrases — let’s set up, figure out, and put together. Each bullet starts with an active verb — design, deploy, direct, and train.

Sensory details also matter because they appeal to the five physical senses — helping audiences see, hear, smell, taste, or touch the message. Use them throughout your content. Here are some ways to incorporate sensory details into headlines:

The Creative Copywriter scatters sensory words throughout its landing page, including “reel in,” “goldfish,” “grip,” “pack a punch,” “ramping up,” and “rain-making.”

Why do sensory words captivate audiences?

The human brain processes them differently. It recognizes them more quickly because they activate the somatosensory cortex. The brain processes non-sensory words as text. With sensory language, it processes scenes.

When painting scenes in your text, your audience experiences the words as if they are in your story. Such content is your surefire way to stand out in the sea of grey, same-sounding voices and influence the desire to act.

7. Consider negative language

FOMO as a phrase is overused, but its sentiment is not. Fear is a powerful motivator, and it triggers your audience to act. That’s why it can be your ally in persuasive content.

Use negative language in the content’s headings and intros. In this CMI article, the phrases “ban” and “right now” in the headline — Ban These Words and Phrases From Your Communications Right Now (an A-to-Y Guide) — could instill a fear in the readers who fear looking stupid or wrong if they don’t follow the advice.

When people read negative words, such as damaging, idiot, crash, stuck, devious, fail, miss, ban, and never, they get confused, feel uncomfortable, and begin to worry, even if subconsciously. Here are three negative headlines based on three types of fear as noted in the parentheses:

Use your brain to get to theirs

Neuro writing applies language patterns to create persuasive, brain-friendly content. Write with human psychology in mind — and you’ll engage audiences, win their trust, and motivate them to choose your content and your brand.

It’s time to take these seven tricks to jump inside your audience’s heads and take your content marketing to the next level.

Updated from a September 2022 story.

Want more content marketing tips, insights, and examples? Subscribe to workday or weekly emails from CMI.

HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT: