Monday Memo
A Byte of Knowledge
Pain and pleasure. That's supposed to be the whole game.
Poke the wound, promise relief, collect payment.
Marketing 101, baby.
But it's an incomplete picture of what actually drives people.
The trailblazing psychologist Carl Jung figured this out decades ago.
You see, he kept treating the same strange pattern in his patients.
People who had everything....money, health, comfort...yet felt completely hollow inside.
They'd blow up marriages that worked fine.
Quit jobs that paid well.
Torch their own stability for reasons they couldn't explain.
Jung realized they weren't broken.
They were starving for meaning.
And this matters for every piece of copy you or your team writes.
Pain and pleasure are real motivators, obviously.
But meaning runs deeper than both.
The guy buying the $2,000 home gym isn't just avoiding heart disease...
He's becoming a father who'll be around to walk his daughter down the aisle.
The woman signing up for your side-hustle course isn't just escaping cubicle hell...
She's finally building something that proves her talent was real all along.
When your marketing speaks to that layer...identity, legacy, what their life is supposed to stand for...you're reaching somewhere primal.
Somewhere that simple pain-and-pleasure marketing doesn't quite reach.
🚀 Whether you're selling a $50 supplements or a $10,000 coaching program – having these 5 'Copy Blocks' on your landing page could be the difference between crickets and an avalanche of cash flow.
Discover All 5 'Copy Blocks' Now
Something to Ponder
We Asked – AI Answered
Our Question:
"Dark mode has become a designer favorite for its sleek, modern aesthetic. But direct-response marketers have long warned that white text on black backgrounds reduces readability and hurts conversions.
Does the data support this, or has modern dark mode design solved the problem?"
AI's Answer: The Dark Mode Conversion Paradox: Why Pretty Doesn't Always Pay
There's almost ZERO public A/B test data on dark mode conversion rates.
Why? Because companies that test it either:
• Find it tanks conversions (and quietly switch back)
• Discover it works (and keep the competitive advantage secret)
Terra Brazil saw 60% bounce rate reduction...but ONLY when serving dark mode to users who already preferred it. Not a true conversion test.
🧠 What Biology Tells Us (Since Data Won't)
The Pupil Problem:
Dark backgrounds force pupils to dilate wider. Result? More aberrations, blurrier text, harder comprehension. Dr. Jason Harrison's research at University of British Columbia confirms: light mode objectively causes less eye strain for reading tasks.
🔬 Hard Science Facts:
• Reading speed drops 7.8% with white-on-black text
• Comprehension accuracy falls 26% in dark mode
• Proofreading errors increase by 32%
Translation: Your checkout page just got dumber.
📊 The 82.7% Lie
Yes, 82.7% of users have "tried" dark mode. But here's what marketers aren't tracking:
Mobile vs Desktop Reality:
• 81.9% use dark on phones (battery savings)
• Only 34% prefer dark on desktop
• E-commerce desktop converts 3x better than mobile
You're optimizing for the wrong screen.
💰 Industry Winners & Losers
Dark Mode WORKS For:
✅ Gaming platforms (immersion)
✅ Video streaming (focus on content)
✅ Developer tools (reduce glare during long sessions)
Dark Mode DESTROYS:
❌ E-commerce checkouts
❌ Long-form sales pages
❌ Financial services
❌ Healthcare portals
Why? Trust psychology.
Dark = hidden, mysterious, uncertain. Light = transparent, clear, trustworthy.
👓 The Astigmatism Nightmare
50% of adults have astigmatism. For them, white text on black literally creates "halation"—a glowing blur around letters. You just made your copy unreadable to half your audience.
💡 What Smart Money Does
Amazon: Light mode only
Walmart: Light mode only
Every major bank: Light mode default
PayPal checkout: Always light
Notice a pattern? Companies that live or die by conversion rates stick with light.
🎯 The Only Solution That Works
- Default to light mode (biology wins)
- Add a toggle (respect preferences)
- Track both cohorts separately
- Never use pure black (#1a1a1a minimum)
- Increase contrast ratios to WCAG AAA standards
Until someone publishes real conversion data, assume dark mode is a vanity metric that makes designers happy and accountants cry.
Thanks for reading the Monday Memo.
Until next time!
The AI Marketers
P.S. Help shape the future of this newsletter – take a short 2-minute survey so we can deliver even better AI marketing insights, prompts, and tools.
[Take Survey Here]
