What are the most common psychological triggers in marketing?
Every website you’ve ever made a purchase on used at least one of these five psychological triggers.
They are completely hidden forces that drive decisions and dollars, and most people don’t even realize they exist. Do you? Let’s find out.
If you’re just starting out as a copywriter, or you’re a small business owner writing your own marketing, or you’re just plain curious about what actually makes people buy.
You’re going to want to read this post all the way to the end.
Because you’re about to learn 5 of the most effective psychological principles that drive buying decisions, why each one actually works and how to strategically and ethically use them in your messaging.
And because you know I love making this as practical as possible, I’m also going to share some quick exercises you can do to instantly improve your copywriting skills.
Btw, if you’re new here, I’m Alex. Award-winning marketer, copywriter and founder of the Copy Posse where I’ve taught over 400,000 rad humans how to turn words into dollars, monetize their message and build businesses they love.
Alright, let’s get into it. Starting with one of the most common marketing triggers you see everywhere, but you probably don’t even realize it.
#1 – LOSS AVERSION
This is why saying “Don’t miss out!” is more powerful than “here’s what you’ll get.”
Because as humans, we really don’t like losing things.
Research on loss aversion has estimated that loss aversion is 2.25x more impactful than the promise of a gain.
This basically means losing $100 hurts the same as gaining $225 feels good.
Which is wild. But also incredibly useful for a copywriter to understand.
Because most copywriters naturally write toward the gain.
- Get more clients.
- Make more money.
- Save more time.
- Grow your business.
- And you get a car, and you get a car.
And obviously, benefit-driven copy works great too.
But sometimes, you can make the exact same offer significantly more compelling simply by flipping from pleasure to pain.
And showing someone why continuing to do nothing is already costing them.
So instead of: “Here’s what you’ll gain if you do this”…
Try saying: “Here’s what you’ll lose if you don’t”…
I have actually seen this play out in my own marketing.
We recently ran a headline split test where we tested 5 types of hooks: a pain hook, a benefit hook, a FOMO hook, a mechanism hook, and a transformation hook.
And the pain hook was the clear winner with 24.4% conversion rate.
We thought that was interesting, so we decided to run the test again, this time on a different offer.
And again, the winner was the pain hook with a 23.6% conversion rate.
There are some really simple ways to put this principle into practice.
For example, instead of saying: “Gain $50 by signing up.”
You could try: “Don’t miss out on $50.”
But this works beyond just copy too! For example, you could offer a free trial that allows someone to actually experience your product, because once they’ve experienced the benefit of having it, suddenly they’re faced with the possibility of losing access to it.
Here’s a simple way to practice this psychological trigger in your copy.
Think of something you’re currently writing copy for and ask yourself what the #1 benefit this offers.
Then ask yourself, what does it cost the customer to not get this?
Not just financially, but what does it cost them in time? Stress? Energy? Opportunities? Or results?
Then, rewrite that benefit from the perspective of pain or loss.
Now there’s one big problem with using loss aversion.
You can tell me I’m losing all kinds of things by not buying your product, but if I don’t believe you, then it doesn’t really matter, right?
Which brings us to psychological trigger #2.
#2 – SOCIAL PROOF
Social proof is basically our tendency to look at what other people are doing to help us decide what we should do.
It’s why a testimonial or piece of content from a real customer saying your product or service is life-changing, is so much more believable than you claiming it is.
The source matters.
Of course the skincare company says their moisturizer is amazing.
Of course the coach says their program works.
And of course the restaurant says their food is delicious.
Humans are naturally skeptical, so if all we see is a company saying “Hey! Buy my thing because it’s totally amazing!” Our eyebrows raise.
But when the claim comes from someone who doesn’t have an obvious financial incentive to convince us?
Our brain processes that information differently.
Nielsen found that 88% of consumers trust recommendations from people they know more than any other form of marketing.
And BrightLocal found that the #1 review characteristic that makes consumers feel positive about choosing a business is a review describing a customer’s positive experience.
And the more specific, the better!
Like this testimonial Michelle left me.
“This month was kinda out of control! Landed a $4k/month newsletter client in the environmental niche. Plus a $2k quiz funnel for an organic skincare brand AND a newsletter strategy gig randomly from Upwork for $2k AND a new email agency job AND a raise at another agency I’ve been working for two months. Basically gotta get to work cuz this is tiring but my first $10k+ month ever!”
Do you see how specific and detailed that testimonial is?
Here’s how you can get more real and specific testimonials to use in your copywriting.
When requesting testimonials from clients or customers, don’t just ask them to share their overall feedback or experience.
That’s a recipe for getting a review like “this was great. I loved it. 10/10 recommend.”
Which, don’t get me wrong, is still great, but it doesn’t exactly get someone racing to make a purchase.
Instead, try asking them specific questions to get more specific answers, like.
- What was going on in your life/business before [product/service]?
- What was your biggest doubt about [product/service] before getting started?
- What has happened since finishing [product/service]?
- Any specific results or changes you can share? (career change, confidence boost, transformation, income, etc.)
- And, what advice would you give to your past self?
But the cool thing about social proof is that you don’t have to have testimonials in order to use this principle.
This is a roadblock a lot of new business owners run into when they’re launching something for the first time. I mean, you can’t showcase testimonials if no one has ever bought the thing, right?
Something really simple we started doing on a lot of our landing pages is using a social proof plugin that works like this.
When someone signs up for access to a free resource, a small notification pops up to showcase social proof.
It might not seem like much, but psychologically, it’s doing a big job. It’s telling other people they are not alone and that this is a trusted resource.
There are few other ways to utilize social proof too. But do not go anywhere just because, you could have the most amazing proof on your website.
And it means absolutely nothing if nobody sticks around long enough to read it.
Which brings us to trigger #3.
#3 – CURIOSITY GAP
In his article, researcher George Loewenstein described curiosity as something that arises when we become aware of a gap between:
What we know and what we want to know.
This is called the Information-Gap Theory of Curiosity.
And that missing information creates this little itch in our brain that we just have to scratch.
And one of the best ways to get attention? Yup, you guessed it, curiosity.
A 2024 study that analyzed more than 100,000 news articles and found that articles with a question mark in the headline were read 3.4% more often.
Why? Because your brain has to solve the question.
We decided to test this.
We created two thumbnails, both of them designed to make the reader curious.
But one asked a question and the other one did not.
And look at those results.
The “WINNER / LOSER” thumbnail had a 3.61% click-through rate.
And the “WHICH HOOK WON?” thumbnail had a 4.66% click-through rate.
That’s about a 29% higher CTR.
Now, obviously there are always multiple variables at play in a real-world test.
But when you look at what each version does psychologically.
“WHICH HOOK WON?” creates missing information, an open loop.
And there’s only one way to close that loop. Click.
This is why questions work so well as open loops in headlines, emails, ads and videos.
So here’s how to practice this.
Find a boring headline online, and ask yourself, how can I turn this into a question that piques curiosity?
Like in an email I sent to my list recently.
I took a script writing job I found posted online, and turned it into a subject line.
And, not surprisingly, the open rate on this email was great.
Now, curiosity can get someone to click, but it doesn’t necessarily make them take action.
For that, there’s another psychological trigger that I take very seriously.
#4 – RECIPROCITY
Reciprocity is the idea that we feel compelled to return a favor. It’s kind of a “you scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours” type of situation.
Yes. Obviously, sales are important, we’re copywriters and marketers. Businesses need to make money.
But genuinely helping your audience get results first is one of the best ways to eventually get sales.
Reciprocity works because when someone gives us something valuable, we naturally feel more inclined to give something back.
And in marketing, you see this everywhere.
Even this post you’re reading right now.
I’m spending time teaching you something useful without requiring you to buy anything from me, sign up for my course, or anything. I’m giving you pure value, no strings attached.
And when you do that well.
The eventual ask doesn’t feel like it came out of nowhere. It feels earned.
Let me give you another example.
I have a free email storytelling workshop that delivers a ton of real value.
I teach 3 frameworks and share real examples to help you improve your emails.
You don’t have to buy anything to get those frameworks. And when someone signs up for the workshop, I send two emails.
The first email simply delivers the workshop link and summarizes what they’ll learn. I drop a limited-time offer in the P.S. line here, but it’s super casual, no pressure type of situation.
Then, after the workshop, I send one more super-short email reminding them of the limited-time offer and inviting them to grab it before the discount disappears.
And considering that both of these emails are pretty chill and low pressure.
It might be surprising for some people to see that email #1 converts at 23%.
And email #2 converts at 20%!
Which knocks industry average out of the freaking park.
These emails convert so well not because there is some secret sauce in the emails.
They convert because I’ve already given them genuinely useful information, helped them get immediate results, and proved that I overdeliver on the value I promise.
And because of that, my emails don’t have to do nearly as much heavy lifting.
So think of something valuable you can give or teach your ideal customer for free before you ever ask them to buy.
Maybe it’s a free resource, a template, a tutorial, a checklist, a sample, or a workshop.
It should be something genuinely useful that solves a real problem.
Then write 2-3 benefits for that thing.
Now reciprocity might open the door.
But it doesn’t necessarily guarantee someone will walk through it.
That’s where our final psychological trigger comes in.
And this might be the easiest and lowest-hanging fruit you can implement, no matter what your offer is.
Think about the difference between asking someone who has never heard of you to immediately buy a $2,000 program.
Versus asking them to watch a video or download a free guide.
These smaller steps are called micro-commitments. And when done correctly, they build momentum and drastically increase conversions.
This concept is based on the psychological principle known as.
#5 – COMMITMENT & CONSISTENCY
Essentially, once we’ve made a choice or taken a small action, we tend to behave in ways that are consistent with that previous choice or action.
In a minute, I’ll share how I use this principle to massively increase stick rate on my live webinars.
But one of my favorite examples of this psychological principle in action is the Freedman & Fraser 1966 “foot-in-the-door” experiment.
Researchers first asked homeowners to agree to put a small safe driving sign in their yard.
Later, they came back with a bigger ask, allowing a huge, unattractive “Drive Carefully” sign to be installed in their front yard.
76% of people who had already agreed to the small request agreed to the much larger one.
Compared to only 16.7% of people who agreed to the large request alone.
Isn’t that crazy?!
You can use this same principle throughout your entire customer journey too.
Instead of immediately asking for the biggest possible commitment right away.
Ask yourself: What’s the easiest useful next step this person could take?
Reverse-engineer big steps into smaller micro-commitments.
Maybe instead of: “Buy now.” It’s: “See what’s inside.” Or instead of: “Join the program.” It’s: “Watch the free training.”
The lower the friction of that first ask, the more likely they are to actually take the next step.
I use this all the time in my live webinars and workshops.
If you’ve ever attended one, you’ve probably noticed that I start getting people involved in the chat ASAP.
I’ll ask.
“Where in the world are you watching from?”
Or.
“Type YES in the chat if you’re ready to get started.”
Now obviously.
Typing YES in the chat does not mean someone will buy something an hour later.
But what it does do is turn someone from a passive observer into an active participant.
These little micro-commitments keep them engaged, get them into action and increase my overall stick and conversion rate.
And if you want to go even deeper on the psychology of persuasion, I’ve also broken down one specific trigger that turns strangers into clients here.
Until then, I’m Alex. Ciao for now!
