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.
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every single week for free copywriting tips,
tutorials and exercises
to take your copy skills to the next level,
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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!