No, there are no magic words that you can use to instantly hypnotize your audience to get them to automatically take out their credit card and give you money (chuckles). But there are some proven psychological truths based on the study of us weird humans to help make your copywriting exponentially more persuasive. So keep watching. What’s up guys, it’s Alex and today I am spilling the tea on 10 key psychological triggers to help you become insanely more persuasive with your copywriting. These triggers are based on powerful and proven psychological concepts that you can use in your sales copy to provoke emotion and action by activating your customers internal motivators.
And they can be used anywhere in your copywriting, in your emails, your headlines, your ads, your sales pages and your landing pages. But you have to make me a big Posse promise, and that is that you will only ever utilize these copywriting tips to authentically and accurately communicate, add insane value and sell products and services that genuinely help people solve problems. So do you promise? If we have a deal give me a thumbs up below.
Now many of these psychological triggers I learned from one of the top experts in the field of human persuasion, Dr.
Robert Cialdini who wrote this best selling book, “Influence the Psychology of Persuasion”. And if you haven’t read this book yet guys, I highly recommend you do, in fact it’s one of the top five books I recommend if you want to start copywriting. Now the list I’m sharing with you today is only a handful of the Copy Posse-approved psychological triggers that I train on inside my live copywriter coaching program, the Copy Posse Launch Pad. It’s currently closed for enrollment but if you don’t wanna wait to ignite your copywriting business, you can get immediate access to the insider recordings, templates, guides and bonuses in the Copy Posse Launch Files. You can check that out by clicking the link in the description below.
And of course don’t forget to check back here every single week for free copywriting tips, tutorials and exercises to take your copy skills to the next level, I release a new video every single Wednesday and I have had so many of my Global Posse members tell me that they’ve gotten clients and paid writing gigs from simply watching my videos, which makes me so, so, so happy. So if you haven’t done so already remember to hit the subscribe button below and ring that bell to get notified of when my next video goes live. All right, now let’s dive in. Here are 10 Copy Posse-approved psychological triggers to ethically persuade and influence with your copywriting. Psychological trigger number one, reciprocity.
It’s a basic law of social psychology that we often feel the need to give back the value we receive from others. If you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours, it’s as simple as that. In his book, Cialdini talks about the universal tendency for us human beings to feel compelled to repay or reciprocate after an act of kindness or generosity by another.
You see this rooted in cultures all around the world from weddings between neighbors and business relationships, and yes it is no stranger in the world of marketing. The trigger of reciprocity is used when you incentivize prospects to take a desired action by giving them something of value first.
So think about it, this concept is baked into every single opt-in page used for lead generation. I’ll give you something really, really cool and free, all you gotta do is enter your email address and you’ll be showered with free value and amazing content. By the way guys, it really should be amazing or else the rule of reciprocity will backfire in your face. It could be a free 30-minute assessment call if you’re a coach or a consultant or maybe a copy critique if you’re a copywriter, or a free trial of a software subscription service like Spotify and YouTube premium. You even see this being used in nonprofit organizations when they give free merchandise to people who make donations, increasing the likelihood that they will in fact donate again.
So when your copywriting, think how can I add so much value that my prospects feel inspired to reciprocate. All right, that brings us to number two, personalization. Using personalization your marketing is a powerful psychological trigger. It doesn’t only keep people’s attention but it also makes them feel more in control, makes them more receptive and reduces the perception of information overload. There are a lot of ways to personalize your copywriting and the most obvious one of course is to use your readers first name in your sales pages, emails and subject lines.
I know, I know everybody knows that this is just an automated merge field. But before you go writing it off completely, according to Campaign Monitor, using your readers first name in a subject line makes an email to 26% more likely to be opened. But beyond this classic case of personalization, you can use other marketing tools to further customize a user’s journey with your brand and products. Numerologist.com does this very well by giving new subscribers a beautiful and engaging personalized video numerology report based on their full name and date of birth.
Another example is Noom, a custom weight loss program that lets you create your own profile before buying a plan so that you can pick the one that’s right for you. And yes, you’ve heard it here before you 100% should be personalized in your copywriting based on your audience’s specific actions, interest and engagement habits. Marketing is no longer about spraying one marketing message all over the Internet to everyone. The future of effective marketing will be sending behavior-based emails in real time to your subscribers. In fact, Internet users are expecting you to know their patterns.
They want relevant content 1,000% of the time and they’re often not very forgiving of blatant non-personalized marketing.
Increasing personalization in your messaging across all channels can lead to a massive 500% increase in consumer spending. Excuse me, (chuckles) so copywriters as you’re writing sales pages, email sequences and video scripts take time to consider who is consuming this content and how you might wanna adapt these messages for different market segments. All right, moving on to psychological trigger number three, reason why. a four-year-old that follows you around the house asking you why after everything and anything you say, all be it annoying is a reflection of a fundamental human desire to need to understand the rationale behind person’s actions or opinions in order to believe it.
Yes, that’s right, our brains are far more likely to believe something is true, real and legit when a reason or justification is given.
In fact, Ellen Langer, a psychology professor at Harvard University conducted a study on whether or not giving a reason why influenced people’s decision to allow strangers to cut in line while waiting for the Xerox machine in a busy library. And her findings were pretty incredible. When a stranger went up and asked the first person in line this, “Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine?” 60% of them said yes.
That’s not bad. She then tested the same question but using a reason why, “Excuse me, I have five pages, may I use the Xerox machine “because I’m in a rush?” A staggering 94% of people said yes, but here’s where it gets really juicy. She then changed the reason from something legit being in a rush to no real reason at all, “Excuse me, I have five pages, “may I use the Xerox machine because I have to make copies?” Still a massive 93% of people said yes.
Isn’t that nutty? I love humans, we are so weird. Simply using the word because no matter the reason resulted in significantly more yeses. So in your sales copy, it’s always wise to include a reason why you’re selling the product, why you’re giving a discount and why you’re limiting the sale or using any sort of scarcity.
Because you need to make it believable in the minds of your prospects.
All right, moving on to number four, commitment and consistency. In his book, Robert Cialdini also wrote on this principle which is based on the human need to be seen as consistent. This means that once we’ve publicly committed to something or someone, we’re much more likely to follow through on it to avoid looking flaky, unreliable or inconsistent. In marketing, this principle can be applied by encouraging prospects to make commitments that gradually increase in scale. It’s why questions work so well in copywriting.
You want your audience to subvocalize the word yes as they begin their journey with you. It’s a tiny commitment that can be the starting point to a lot more yeses. So are you ready to learn highly-paid copywriting skills, write an irresistible portfolio and ignite your copywriting business this year? Click the link in the description below to get the Copy Posse Launch Files. Once your prospect takes any sort of positive action or makes a commitment, no matter how seemingly insignificant, they are more likely to make another, it’s as simple as that.
This is also why quizzes work so darn well, once clicking to start a quiz a human has the inherent need to finish it. Could you imagine leaving a quiz after answering only one question? That would be crazy and you would never find out which Harry Potter character you were (chuckles). To illustrate this psychological trigger in his book, Cialdini referenced the work of psychologist Stephen J. Sherman.
Sherman conducted a survey asking neighborhood residents to predict what they would say if they were asked to spend three hours canvassing door to door for the American Cancer Society.
Not wanting to look bad of course, many of the residents said they would in fact volunteer if they were asked. Well, no surprise here, an actual representative of the American Cancer Society did call and ask for neighborhood canvassers. As a result there was a whopping 700% increase in the volunteers because that initial conversation took place. So how can you use messaging and marketing tools to get more micro-commitments early on from your prospects?
That brings us to psychological trigger number five, social proof. There is no doubt that social proof is a powerful psychological trigger in copywriting and marketing.
Seeing real evidence of other people using and liking products that we want makes us a bazillion more times likely to actually believe it’s a good product and trust the brand. In fact, according to a study, 97% of consumers say online reviews impact their purchasing decision and the average consumer reads 10 online reviews before making a purchasing decision. That’s why as a copywriter you should always feature real testimonials, reviews or any other user-generated content on your sales pages, landing pages and ads.
For example, Lulus is a clothing brand, includes photos of their actual customers wearing Lulu’s products on their website. Along with these photos they indicate other information like body weight, build and height as well as testimonials about how each product fits. These reviews are effective, specific and 100% believable. All right, psychological trigger number six, common enemy. Sociologist Georg Simmel said it best when he stated that “Nothing unites a nation, or any group of people for that matter, quite like having a common enemy.
” No, I’m not saying you should go all political in your copywriting, that will maj backfire… But rather rally your audience around a common cause, viewpoint or belief that aligns with their identity. A research study by psychology Prof.
Dr. Mark Landau indicates that people have a basic need for coherence, and for things to make sense. They want to belong to a group who views the world in the same way they do.
So communicating a common enemy in your copywriting is a great way to create the sense of belonging. But plot twist, the enemy does not have to be a person.
It can be anything that stands in opposition to what your audience stands for. So for example, to organic and sustainable food advocates, the enemy could be processed foods. To people with knee pain, it could be high impact workouts. To the health industry, it could be crash or short-term diets, you get the idea. You can use this psychological trigger in your copy by calling out that common enemy and positioning your product as the solution that stands against it.
All right, number seven on the list, authority. Another psychological trigger researched by Cialdini is the principle of authority. It’s the tendency for people to accept an opinion, product or service if it’s supported by a perceived expert, an authority figure or a globally recognized platform. So anytime you see a doctor or a scientist or a celebrity or an accredited professional endorse the product or service, yes, the authority principle is at play.
In copywriting this can be showcased through credible stats, scientific proof or press coverage.
Like when you see the classic “as seen on” logos across a website or sales page. Even social follower count lends a huge amount of authority to content creators, you cannot deny that. Showcasing authority makes you look legit and helps you gain your audience’s trust. This is why big brands pay tons of money to get their product endorsed by a famous personality or influencer. For example, George Clooney for Nespresso or Cardi B for Pepsi.
.. And that all time famous selfie by Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars in 2014. Yeah, that was a big moment for Samsung. All right, moving on to psychological trigger number eight, anchoring and priming.
In Robert Cialdini’s second book Pre-Suasion, he talks about the “focusing effect” or “focusing illusion”, which refers to our natural attention bias to rely more heavily on the first piece of information we receive when making decisions.
It is in fact why first impressions are everything, even if we’re not consciously aware of that bias. You can use this little known psychological trigger in your marketing and messaging through something called anchoring and priming. Essentially exposing your audience to information before the buying decision that will increase their likelihood of saying yes later on. In a study conducted by marketing researchers Naomi Mandel and Eric Johnson, two different versions of an online sofa website were shown to the subjects with only one key difference.
One version showcased fluffy clouds in the background and the other showcased pennies. What they found was that the consumers who were anchored with the cloud imagery were more willing to pay for comfort and those who saw the pennies were far more likely to select a more affordable option. Cialdini sums this up best with the quote, “If you want people to choose a bottle of French wine, first expose them to French background music before they decide.” So as a copywriter think how can you get your audience to be more receptive to your product solution or features by exposing them to messaging that anchors and primes first.
All right, now moving on to psychological trigger number nine, specificity.
Specificity is such a simple yet powerful psychological trigger and there are two very easy ways to use it. The first, when using story and copywriting be as specific as possible and share real emotions and pain. Being specific as you share an experience will make your audience feel something and therefore feel more connected to you and what you’re selling. When you know exactly who your avatar is and you speak to them directly without being vague, universal or mainstream, you’ll become infinitely more relatable to the people who actually matter.
Remember when you try to appeal to everyone, you in fact appeal to no one.
All right, and the second way to use specificity is to use specific numbers when communicating amounts, lists or figures. Now I’m not saying you should bombard your readers with detailed stats throughout your copy, but specific numbers can go a long, long way. Presenting numbers exactly as they are so not rounding up or rounding down can build trust and evoke curiosity. So for example, something like a 63.7% success rate is far more believable than using a 64% success rate in your copy.
Or saying that you have 9,984 happy customers instead of 10,000. All right, now moving on to psychological trigger number 10, storytelling. So I know I already hinted at this in number nine but it’s so freaking powerful that it deserves its own place on this list. The human mind is hard-wired to pay attention to and understand stories. It’s the oldest form of human communication yet new stories are being told every single day.
According to story analyst Lisa Cron in her book “Wired for Story”, the regions of the brain that process sights and sounds and taste and movement in real life are activated in the exact same way when we’re engrossed in a compelling narrative.
So if you can use compelling storytelling structures in your sales letters, landing pages, campaigns and website copy, you will create mad relatability, engagement, connection and trust with your prospect. If you want to learn some powerful storytelling techniques that you can use in your copywriting, check out my video on four storytelling formulas to create content that sells. You can watch that right here and that wraps up my list of 10 psychological triggers to help you become insanely more persuasive with your copywriting. Give me a thumbs up below if you found this video helpful.
Thank you so much for watching and subscribing, I will be back next week with a brand new video.
Until then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!.