11 Ways to Influence People Online and Make Them Take Action
Influence can be defined as the power exerted over the minds and behavior of others. A power that can affect, persuade and cause changes to someone or something. In order to influence people, you first need to discover what is already influencing them. What makes them tick? What do they care about? We need some leverage to work with when we’re trying to change how people think and behave.
But there’s a problem. You won’t be able to meet and get to know everyone. You won’t have the luxury of learning their life history and what they hate or love. In the online world, people are ghosts. They drift into your website, showing up only as a number in your traffic statistics. Who are these people that come in to your website? Who is viewing your content and checking out your products?
If you don’t know the answer to all these questions, how are you going to influence them? The solution is to find and analyze general patterns of human behavior or thought. These patterns are indicators of how most people operate: by learning them you would have acquired the tools to exert influence over them. You don’t need to know everyone personally to understand what drives them and what they love or hate.
I recently read Neuro Web Design: What Makes Them Click by Susan Weinschenk, a book about how our online behavior is influenced by both conscious and unconscious thought patterns. I found it fairly interesting because it provided some scientific explanations to tactics that many marketers have been using for the longest time.
At only 130 pages long, the book is a very easy read because its tailored for the average person and not specialists. The downside of this is that it only offers a very general overview of brain science and how it relates to websites.
Contrary to its name, it also talks more about psychology than general web design/usability. If you’ve read Robert Cialdini’s work or other books on persuasion tactics you would easily recognize many of the concepts mentioned in the book.
While I would preferred a lot more depth on some topics covered, it did offer a handful of helpful tips you can implement immediately to improve your website. I thought I’ll do a quick summary of these tips while adding in my own unique analysis and comments.
But before we begin looking at what you should do on your website, you must first understand how your brain works.
Trium Brain Model – We Have Three Brains, Not One
The trium brain model is a theory developed by Paul MacLean in the 1960s to explain how the human brain has evolved. This simplified understanding of the brain became an influential paradigm amongst psychologists and some neuroscientists. As the name suggests, we don’t have one brain but three. These are all layered on top of each other and were developed during different stages of evolution. They are as follows:
- The old brain. Also known as ‘R-complex’ or reptilian brain. The old brain is primarily concerned with your survival. It scans the environments for threats and benefits. It controls instinctual survival behavior and is also in charge of autonomic functions such as heart beats, digestion, movement and breathing.
- The mid brain. Also known as the Limbic System or mammalian brain. The primary seat of emotions, memories and attention. This is where your emotions are produced and where positive or negative feelings arise. The mid brain includes the amygdala, which is involved in connecting events with emotion and the hippocampus, which is responsible for memory recall and converting information into memories.
- The new brain. Also known as the neocortex. This is the logical part of the brain that involves rational thoughts, thinking skills as well as language and speech processing.
According to this theory, we are only fully conscious of our new brain, the neocortex. But our mid brain (limbic system) and old brain (reptilian brain) are largely unconscious. Our unconscious is incredibly efficient, smart and useful. Neuro-scientists have estimated that our five senses receive 11 million pieces of information every second with our conscious brain only processing around 40 pieces. The rest is being assessed by the unconscious automatically.
The unconscious brain helps you to determine what you should pay attention to with your conscious brain. Your decision-making behavior is greatly influenced by the unconscious brain. According to Weinschenk, the best website is designed to talk to all three brains, both the conscious and unconscious.
Such a website would be the best at encouraging any visitor to take action. Here’s what you can implement on your website to talk to all three brains:
1. Show ratings and reviews by other users
Image Credit: kygp
Allow visitors to rate and review products on your website. Make sure that ratings and reviews are clearly displayed on your site or product pages. Allow users to include more information about themselves such as their gender, name, location and occupation. This makes the reviews even more compelling since it creates an instant persona (e.g. 36 year old stay-home mom from Boston).
Why do ratings and reviews work? Social validation. People look to others when deciding what to do, especially when they are not sure of what action to take. This is part of the mid brain’s unconscious urge to fit in and belong.
When ratings and reviews are clearly displayed, they help to unconsciously trigger people’s need for social validation while allowing their new brain to rationalize that they are making a smart choice. They work on both the conscious and unconscious: to the rational thinking mind, user ratings and reviews are also more credible than profit-seeking ad copy.
2. Provide instant gratification and a quick fix
Image Credit: Tetsumo
When deciding to make a purchase, we often influenced by how fast we can have the product (gratification). In an experiment participants were asked to choose between getting $5 now or $40 at a later date. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) reports show that when they thought about waiting, the new brain or pre-frontal cortex was activated.
When they thought about getting the money right away, the mid brain lit up. This shows that the emotional mid brain is aroused when people think of getting something rewarding right away. You can take advantage of this even if you’re not selling a digital product or something that ships the next day. You can activate the same emotional triggers by using words like ‘instantly’, ‘immediately’ or ‘fast’ to engage the mid-brain. Integrate them and other similar words or phrases into your site copy.
3. Put the most important action to be done first
Image Credit: Marxchivist
When you want your visitors to buy a specific product the most, make sure that it is highlighted and displayed as the first item on the page (either at the top or beginning of a row/column). A study of an e-commerce site selling tents showed that visitors picked the first tent to appear on the page 2.5 times more than any others. This is an unconscious preference. Do some similar testing on your website to see if you notice any sales differences.
The idea behind this is simple: what comes first is unconsciously regarded as the best. So even if you’re not a vendor but an affiliate, put the product you want to get sales for first. For example if you’re doing a review site promoting a couple of products, make sure that what you want to sell the most is the first to be seen when someone lands on your website.
Having had some experience with affiliate review sites, I’ve noticed that you’ll eventually find a ‘winner’, a product that converts the best. If you notice that a product not in the first spot converts better than the one that is, make them switch places. Sales may go up.
4. Use the illusion of scarcity
Image Credit: TW Collins
When something has a limited amount to it, its assumed value increases. We will want it even more. Make your product/offering limited by showing a limited stock quantity or limited time frame. This is a common tactic that most internet marketers and offline/online retailers use. And it works. Because we feel good when we gain objects of value.
The way you frame scarcity is important. I’ve seen some marketers combine scarcity with exclusivity by restricting access to a limited number of people. The term ‘Inner Circle’ is a widely used in many niches offering paid membership programs to demonstrate exclusive premium value. Scarcity is enhanced when exclusivity is stacked onto it.
5. Build reciprocity by giving away something for free
Image Credit: lucyfrench123
When someone gives you something, it triggers a sensation of indebtedness, which you will unconsciously want to get rid of by giving something back. Create this feeling of indebtedness in your visitor’s mind. You can give away things like free product add-ons, free guidebooks, free content, free downloads, free shipping etc.
A study mentioned in the book suggested that visitors are twice as likely to complete a survey form after they were given access to free useful information, as opposed to being allowed access to the information only after completing the form.
Does this mean that you’ll get better email opt-in conversions after giving away free content first? Research would say so. But I suggest that you perform your own tests to get a more accurate reading of what works best for your website.
From my general experience, I do get higher quality subscribers (judging by email open rates and no. of unsubscribes) when I first provide value-added freebies while making opt-ins optional. When I lock content and only allow people access after they perform an action, I inevitably get some tire-kickers who’ll unsubscribe or not open emails later on. When I think about it now, reciprocity DOES seem to play a big role in actual audience responsiveness.
6. Learn to use food, sex and danger
Image Credit: Zelluloid
These three things are related to survival and appeal to the old reptilian brain. Use headlines and pictures that look or sound frightening to emphasize danger. The old brain is primarily focused on ensuring your survival. It puts your entire body and mind on high alert when it comes across any threat.
When you are in this heightened state of awareness, whatever you encounter is more deeply engrained in your memory. That’s why you see TV commercials using exciting and dangerous scenes like a car chase, sky diving or a sexy woman to promote products like credit cards and beer.
Use pictures of food on your webpages, it instantly attracts the attention of the old brain. Imply the presence of sex through the use of faces, bodies and things associated with sexual behavior or experience.
Are food, sex and danger really so attractive to the unconscious? Think about it. What are you drawn to when you’re bored online? Many people gravitate to celebrity gossip or porn (sex), food sites or thrilling content (extreme stunts/sports/music videos/movie clips on Youtube etc). Maybe you would rather work on math puzzles or read a knitting blog instead. But not many would.
Learning how to integrate each of these three topics into your website will be an interesting challenge. A while ago, I wrote about Cracked.com and how their style could help you create super popular content for social media sites like Digg. Cracked.com is a great example of a site that often has all topics (food, sex, danger) in constant rotation, both in their content and their use of images/references.
7. Limit the choices available and promote bundles
Image Credit: Éole
While people think they prefer many choices, the numerous options available often lead to decision paralysis. Too much choice may cause your visitor to not take any action at all. The Paradox of Choice is a fantastic book which examines this issue in much greater detail.
So how do you solve this problem? You don’t have to reduce your inventory range, you just need to highlight specific actions you want taken.
My solution is to simply choose for your visitor. For example, certain products could be moved into a ‘Editor’s choice’ or ‘Most recommended’ or ‘Top 3 choices’ list which is then displayed prominently on your site. Alternatively, you can create a wizard user interface which asks the visitors certain questions, one after another in order to ascertain what product suits them the best. The final result will show the recommended products for his/her specific needs.
Our brain has a unconscious fear of losing and we’ll make decisions to avoid loss, especially when we feel the loss will be painful or disadvantageous. This fear of losing can be activated by bundled products/services. This means that instead of allowing visitors to select the core product first and then choose addons, you promote a product bundle and then allow them to subtract items from their final order. Subtracting is akin to ‘losing’ something.
Many e-commerce websites practicing different levels of bundling. Take Amazon.com as an example. Instead of promoting bundles over single products, every single product page showcases a bundled package with a reduced price. On top of that, they promote bundles indirectly by including the buying statistics/patterns of other customers.
8. Speak to your visitor by using the word ‘You’
Image Credit: hernan.seoane
A quick and easy way to grab the attention of the old brain is to use the word ‘you’ often in your copy. The old brain is self-centered and focused on what is good for you, hence it’ll often unconsciously prefer what better emphasizes how You can benefit.
Here is a comparison of sales copy. The second one should appeal to you more:
No. 1: “This software has many built-in features that allow for photos to be uploaded, organized, and stored. Photos can be searched for with only a few steps.”
No. 2: “You can upload your photos quickly, organize them any way you want to, and then store them so that they are easy to share with your friends. You can find any photo with only a few steps.”
In my opinion, ‘you-centred’ copy is part of the bigger ad strategy called personalization. You’re writing copy that speaks their language. And that entails knowing what your prospect or target market likes/dislikes and desires. Write as if you’re talking to a person sitting right next to you. She is your prospective customer. She is your blog reader. And she is your friend. Don’t be afraid to use slang or community lingo to connect to their thought processes.
9. Get your visitors to make a commitment
Image Credit: Anna Fischer
People are more likely to take action after they’ve made a small commitment first. This is because a small commitment activates a persona which the person will seek to maintain with future decisions. For example, asking someone to wear a small badge to promote breast cancer awareness is an example of a small commitment.
This activates a persona which makes them think ‘I’m a person who cares about cancer patients.’ Later on, they will be far more willing to make a donation to a breast cancer charity because the action of donating is completely consistent with the persona they have taken on. In fact, donating maintains that persona and makes them feel good about it.
Your goal is to activate a persona within all your site visitors. This persona will eventually push them to take a specific action, be it buy, donate or subscribe. Methods you can use include using quizzes and surveys around a topic that is related to your product or website focus. The simple act of writing, typing or signing something strengthens their commitment to to your website/company/brand. The more public the commitment, the stronger it will be.
Getting your visitors to commit to your website is incredibly easy. You don’t always need to get something from them, like their email or vote. By simply allowing comments, you’re allowing visitors to be publicly committed to your website. Polls and surveys work equally well too because they make your visitors interact with you. They aren’t just lurking viewers anymore, but participants within a community. Step it up a notch or two after that.
I think its important not to overthink it. Ask for what you want. As long as its not an outrageous demand, you’ll get people to respond and invest their time, especially if you’re already worked on developing reciprocity.
10. Use images that demonstrate similarity and attractiveness
Image Credit: Fire Monkey Fish
Use images of attractive people who are similar to your target market’s demographic profile. People are most influenced by people they deem to be both attractive and similar to them. The old brain is unconsciously sizing up people you see and their attractiveness can rub off on your website itself, much like how an attractive person in a cellphone ad makes the cellphone look more enticing.
This doesn’t just apply to images. Most internet marketers know that in order to appeal to a certain group of people, you need a human face that will be the focal point of their empathy and connection. Hence, the widespread use of pen names, stock photo pictures and even a made-up history or life story. While it may be entirely artificial, these methods do work to engage website visitors.
11. Be a master at telling stories
Image Credit: dead redhead
Use stories as part of your sales copy or weave them into your content/blog post. When we read or listen to a story, our brains physically react as though we were having the same experience ourselves. When combined with pictures, it is a very powerful way to immediately grab attention, convey information and ensure that your reader retains your message.
Story-telling is a fantastic method of persuasion. It’s almost like a hypnotic process. I’ve noticed that I tend to suspend rational thought when I’m thoroughly engaged with reading or hearing a fascinating story.
I’m fully conscious but my mind is taken over because I’m actively visualizing the situation by generating images to accompany the words I’m reading/hearing. And the images I’m creating are generating emotions at the same time. A skilled story teller can easily embed suggestions or increase one’s perceived value subtly by using stories.
This is a really powerful persuasion tactic and something I would encourage you to learn. All of us can tell stories but not all of our stories are as persuasive as they can be.
So there you have it. These methods of extending influence are easily applicable in most circumstances so put them into action as soon as you finish reading. Feel free to spread the word and share this article with anyone you know.
If you found these tips useful, you should probably subscribe to my blog via rss or email. Just so you’ll get easy updates on new articles about persuasion, influence and marketing. ^_^
Brilliant post! You never disappoint with excellent and thought provoking content. (Good to see you back). I love the juxtaposition of traditional marketing tactics transitioning to online influence.
Thanks!
Bravo, great article. Thanks for the effort to put it together.
Thanks for this great post about social psychology and cognitive psychology applied to Internet marketing.
Great post…..worth reading it and sharing on facebook…
wow, that was good psychology , awesome post ….
Great Article.
Indeed, I like the images that you choose to tell your story.
This was an amazing read and highly informative! I’m sure both businesses and internet marketers can use this information to improve their landing pages and make their readers take action. I know that by reading this you have given me a few ideas which I can use to improve my own landing pages and websites. Thanks for the tips!
Very cool post. I enjoyed how you demonstrated how the unconscious and conscious mind works in the brain of a human being, and how it related to online marketing. It is fascinating how much storage there is in our unconcious minds compared to our conscious minds.
One of the best posts yet!
It’s funny because a few weeks ago I happen to stumble upon a few great articles on neuro marketing.
It covered a lot of things that you mentioned. How people act upon emotions on scarcity and such.
I would add an addition to 11.
Beside just the face in a picture, you can use the eyes as major drawing point toward a product or engagement. As humans, we use the face (especially the eyes) as a way to identify with one another. By creating this connection by having the face stare right at the user, it gives them this subliminal connection and trust.
So much great information. I must feast on this in small sections to digest to the fullest. #11 and #6 are my specialties. But that’s it. Time to branch out a bit.
xoxo to you.
Excellent information and I think that number 9 getting visitors to make a commitment is a great way to retain followers, but you really need that WOW factor to get somebody to do that today with all the competition. The bonus I guess I would say is that you have multiple opportunities on the web and lots of visitors. p.s. I like the YOU point that you made psychology is obviously a very large part of the web and way we search, just ask M.I.T. if you don’t believe it.
What I nice way to start my day! Your site was the first I stumbled into and you have great content all wrap up in a nice package ready for me to take away. Great! Following you is a must! Can there be more ideas?
As usual from you, a simply wonderful post.
I don’t often bookmark pages, but this is one I know I’ll return to time after time.
With reference to point 11, are you sure that story-telling can be learned?
Have you always been a story teller or did you become one?
I have a feeling that it’s one of those gifts that some people (Seth Godin, Joel Spolsky, Gary Vaynerchuk and yourself) are blessed with and others (like myself) are destined to simply consume.
Thanks again.
Hi Maki, just a quick note to say I hope things are going great with you. Been a while.
All the best.
Great post!
Nice to see you back!
This post is worthy of 10/10. I was personally engaged all the way through and I love the images.
You told a great story while providing excellent advice. My hat goes off to you.
Andrew
Excellent post Maki, worth the long read. If we learn to use persuasion tactics that incorporate psychology into our marketing, then we will be closer to getting our desired results. i’m thinking of challenging myself with number 6, using food, sex and danger on my site. I expect the response to be instinctive, reptilian, and good for us all
Great Article!
I think your best point, was about telling stories. Like you mention, stories are hypnotic. If you can weave a sale into a story, you have your readers attention captured.
Once engaged in a great story, your reader is forced to hear and obey whatever it is you are trying to convey. They can’t help themselves.
And you have a customer for life.
Keep it up.
I landed on your page via Matthew Stibbs tweet and I thank you both for this post.
Dr. Desmond Morris (of “Naked Ape, Manwatching” fame)says every human being craves for strokes. It could be a touch, a look – a form of acknowledgment of one’s presence.
‘You’ does that. I always use “Thank you” rather than a “Thanks”. That you makes a lot of difference. So do the images that appeal to the raw instincts in your post.
Your presentation is great. Your pictures are great. Your post is great.
Out of 110 words here, I used including this you 10 times almost 10 per cent. Great isn’t it!
Thank you!!!
Maki,
Thanks for the links and your willingness to help readers in their work. However, this post rubbed me the wrong way. So many of these points are the stuff of manipulation and monkey tricks. If this is Weinschenk’s POV, then I have to question how much she actually cares for the consumer.
Marketing succeeds with these pointers, for sure, but at what expense? They don’t elicit popular respect for the trade nor promote human dignity.
If it’s true that Producers (marketers and advertisers in this case) and Consumers are in a relationship – and I believe we are – then we must treat each other accordingly. Otherwise, the Producer becomes a mentally strong-arming husband, and the Consumer a co-dependent wife.
Forgive the analogy if it doesn’t fit well enough here, but in my mind, a manipulation-based relationship is never, ultimately, a healthy one.
Feel free to push back.
dear doshdosh, great artile. i like point to 10. this most attractive
Where do you obtain your pictures?
Excellent article. Thank you.
I do have one question. In the section where you discuss the power of bundling offerings and narrowing choices you say “This fear of losing can be activated by bundled products/services.” I’m not quite sure I understand. Isn’t the point of bundling and minimizing choices to reduce the fear of losing? It’s possible that I’m just missing the point entirely. If you could elaborate that would be greatly appreciated.
Damn! Great article with an awesome list of ways! One of the best advices I’ve read!
I would want from you to point to some more resources, such as books, websites etc
Anyway, thanks!
Awesome read,
There are some great points that anyone in marketing – online or off can take from this.
However – I have to agree with Sam – if used the wrong way, could be very abusive.
However – with that said, I can think of several ways to incorporate many of the 11 points and still be sincere & genuine.
Thanks for the great post!
Sean
Maki, thanks for the great tips for applying persuasion to our websites. I especially like the food/sex/danger tip – I’ll be trying that one.
@Sam Van Eman – I can certainly empathize with your POV and agree that persuasion techniques shouldn’t be used to manipulate people into doing something harmful. But, to be honest, we do these things naturally and subconsciously in social situations as our limbic and reptilian minds operate. Astute marketers just learn how to identify and apply influence to help close the deal.
The article is long and technical, but very, very good! As mentioned by a few of your readers, it sounds manipulative, but the truth is that we all use manipulation in our everyday lives – many times we just don’t recognize it as such. Some like to call it persuasion, but it’s the same thing. You can manipulate (persuade) for the benefit of your customer, or not, but it is still manipulation. You can do it with words, sound, or sight – any of the senses can be used as a means of introducing your message to your prospective customer. Thanks for a well done article!
Whoa! And that’s why this is the only exclusive maketing blog I read now. Fantastic article. As a marketing professional, I can’t tell you how many times I have to tell people, KEEP IT SIMPLE, WE ARE ANIMALS. Even things like putting your hyperlink twice, once in the middle and once at the end of your email will increase your click through rate. Or my favorite, put your sign up to receive emails on a new blog post at the botton of everyone post you make right before your leave a comment box will increase your blog sign up rate.
Sometimes you have to design an offer, produce the whole thing, then add a dummy it down phase to make sure you are now making things too complicated for the animal brain.
You may have a typo here (change “I’ve” to “I’m” in this sentence):
I’m fully conscious but my mind is taken over because I’m actively visualizing the situation by generating images to accompany the words I’ve reading/hearing.
Awesome post by the way.
These are all great guidelines, and while the photos were interesting, I didn’t really think that some of them went with their headers. Otherwise, the content was very informative and worth the read. Thank you!
Hey Maki,
The less choices a person has, the better.
There’s a reason Apple sells so well. By only having a small handful of devices–and only one for each specific need–they make it easier for you to buy. What do you need? Portability? Macbook Air. Power? Mac Pro. Power to go? Macbook Pro.
No Macbook TV-345X, or iMac Z-series 4513. Just one model. You either need it or you don’t. And if you do need it, then you just buy. No comparisons or research to delay your purchase.
3 is better than 13. And if you make sure each of those 3 choices are of the highest, most remarkable quality, then you’re more likely to have people read and buy your stuff. And of course, utilize the other 10 ways you mentioned, such as focusing on “you” rather than “our stuff has blah blah.”
Thanks for the great list. I was aware of most of these, but a few were new to me. Either way, an awesome reminder and useful resource for bookmarking.
Best,
Oleg
I like the idea of giving bundles and then letting them remove items if they choose.
Hi, How are you?
thank you for the post,
I like your theories so much.
Nice post! For #9, I’d like to stress “small” for getting your users to commit. So many web sites screw this up by requiring a large commitment too early.
I am such a big fan of your lists becasue you provide so much informtaion. Getting readers to take action can sometimes be an uphill battle so I really apprecitate these detailed steps.
excellent article. incentives are always important with consumers asking “what’s in it for me”. With the internet as the predominate outlet for mass media, your article spells it out clearly how to both influence and make them take action in the short time that you have them on your site. awesome article.
Great post. It took me like 30 mins to read the entire thing, but it was worth it. Valuable tips
Awesome stuff there. There is no doubt that such things will help alot in a successful copy.
Thoroughly engaging read. Very rarely do I read a whole article. Keep up the great work.
PURE GOLD! I came back to your site multiple times, and really LOVE it! Connecting and Understanding the audience is the hardest for most people! But once you understand it really is easy!
I hope everyone can use this information to protect themselves from the same manipulative propaganda this article recommends.
Hi Maki! Yep, another great post.
What I learned about the Neuro web is that it’s very similar to buying behaviors in the offline world. You can also check the 2nd edition of Why We Buy by Paco Underhill. He included new stuff related to the internet.
Ok, now time for me to digest what you wrote!
Great post full of useful information. Thanks for the continued tips!
Hi Maki,
It’s an interesting summary of my book. Since so many of your readers seem to like the concepts I do hope they will check out my book or my blog as well. I’ve been a subscriber of your blog for a while now, and I invite you to check out mine if you haven’t done so yet.
Excellent article with lots of food for thought. Glad to see you back to work on your blog. It’s one of the few blogs that constantly inspires additional reading and thought. I’ll definitely be putting some of these ideas to test over the weekend.
Sir thank you for this great post. Your every blog post is really awesome. Well I will read this article again after sometime to understand what you want to say actually.
Thanks for this Brilliant post! #11 are specialties.
Disappear for weeks on end and then come back online and blow us away with an amazing article! Is that a strategy mentioned in the book? Haha.
Absolutely fantastic. One of the best articles on this subject matter I have read in years. The only thing missing from it IMHO is a discussion on the ethics of using sex in marketing. It’s not always appreciated by the audience.
Glad you’re back.
Ramsay.
Points 4, 7, 8, 10 and 11 do not work with me! I can add that in point #7, amazon’s process of selling bundles is cross-selling, I think, that is the term given to it. “People who purchased this also bought….” that is cross-selling. I can totally attest to the ‘fear of subtraction’ that of losing options since fear of loss >= desire for gain. Also I usually have what item I wanna buy well-researched and embedded in my mind, so I will find it even if it appears within 10-20 results on the same page. So the theory of ‘if the item appears first, then it is more appealing to me as a buyer’ doesnt work with me atleast. All my purchase are well-researched among available alternatives. I like to see variety rather than limited option bundles. I dont fall for them. Further, another psychology tactic is ‘promoting relative scarcity by artificial means’. This is like you tell them ‘There are only 7 copies of Product-A left but 25 copies of Product-B left’ then they think Product-A must be better than Product-B, it sold more, so is left with fewer copies unsold. Of course it is just Just-in-time supply chain demand management, but to the untrained brain, this is one of possible logical deductions. Another option is to promote ‘relative quality’ If visitor knows Maytag and Bosch are no good and has already seen them in other sites, then limiting your product lines to only Maytag, Bosch and Whirlpool will get the Whirlpool sold (Assuming you want to sell more of Whirlpool which gives higher profit cut may be). It is like black hat technique – you tarnish the image of alternatives and competitors to promote something to make it look more good. This is one of the pages from car salesmanship. Explaining why ‘this is better than that’ and limiting the available ‘thats’ in the market, the cartel can get ‘this’ sold.
So, what will keep us from becoming scared, witless sheeple?
Our handy-dandy neocortex! Its executive function prevents the fears and emotions from overriding our decisions!
Be conscious!
Really interesting reading with a lot to take away and apply.
Thanks! We’ll be back.
Awesome post. Worth reading and retweet it.
Hey , I like the 1st method. Social validation? That’s a great term , better than the over used “social proof” right?
I think each method has their own pros and cons, although I’ll use them ALL and adapt them to my blogging business, no matter what.
That was great. Amazing insight as aways, I enjoy how deep you dive into your subjects. And the photos added a thousand alluring words.
Peace
Jonathan
I really appreciate with all of your articles. They are all long and detailed with clear evidence, that is why they all convinced me to return and read them. Keep up your good work
@Murlu
Good points on the eye as a means to direct focus. One of my favorite adsense tricks is to actually use pictures of people with their eyes looking AT the ad.. because we tend to follow the direction of the eyes. Helps click-through rate, I think!
I think I should actually write a post about that.
@ Coopers Sports Picks
Doesn’t have to be too WOW-sy to get someone started on a commitment path. Start small and then escalate step by step while building trust along the way. Works even if you have tough competition!
@ Peak Oak Flooring
Flattering but I’m not a particularly talented story teller. Anyone can learn how to tell stories. In fact we tell stories all the time, every day to people we know. Colleagues, loved ones, friends.
Just learning how stories work by reading a few books about story telling will help tremendously. Definitely a learnable skill.
@ David Airey
Hey man, what’s up? Good to hear from you. I hope things are going great for you too.
@ Anil Atluri
Great point on the ‘Thanks’ vs ‘Thank You’. I’ve been guilty of using thanks most of the time, because its more casual but yeah I think it does make a bit of a difference when you add the ‘you’ in. Thank you for liking the post!
@ Sam Van Eman
Hmm.. I don’t see these tips as being disrespectful to consumers actually.
They are leveraging how people normally think or act. These patterns have existed for hundreds of years, even before the advent of modern marketing tactics.
Stuff like reciprocity, scarcity and social validation are rooted in human culture and social behavior. If a marketer recognizes how people think, would it actually be ‘manipulation’? Are they really ”taking advantage’ of people? I think we’re victimizing consumers a little bit here. They’re not all so gullible or weak. There’s still volition, people can choose to buy or not buy.
If you’re not lying or misrepresenting the benefits of your product, I’m not sure how it is ethically wrong. Persuasion when done right, succeeds in attracting and holding attention.
The value of what is offered still has to speak for itself. As long as there is true value there and you’re not promoting a scammy solution that doesn’t fulfill what it promises, I see no wrong in it.
@Greg
As you can see from the image credit links, I get them from Flickr.
@Ryan
Sure. When you promote a bundled product you are promoting a bunch of products together at a certain price, lets say $100.
This is a special discount price. If you bought each product individually, you would pay $130 for everything in the same bundle. At the checkout page, the customer has the option of reducing the amount of products in her basket.
She could remove one or a few products if she doesn’t feel that she needs it. However, when removing products you lose the bundled discount price. It will be no longer at $130.
When she is subtracting from the bundle (taking away items from the basket), she is losing something. That’s what I mean when I talk about the fear of losing.
Hope this makes it clearer.
@Alex
Quite a lot of many other books to recommend. Steve Krug’s Don’t Make Me Think is another good one. It’s not really focused on psychology (much of it is implied) but it has a good deal of great stuff on usability/design.
I’ll be highlighting other good books I’ve read in future posts.
@NitroMetrics
Thanks dude. I’ve changed the sentence.
@Kelsey
I think the pictures went perfectly with the text but feel free to disagree, no problem. ^_^
@ Oleg Mokhov
Definitely.
And if the manufacturer or vendor doesn’t narrow down the options (not everyone is like Apple!) we as middlemen marketers/bloggers/publishers should do it.
I recently bought a netbook and was actually relieved to find a tech site that said ‘hey there’s a lot of netbooks out there but you only need to care about these four and here’s why’… I’m paraphrasing but that’s the feeling I got from it. Made me act!
@Susan
Hey.. thanks for dropping by! Yup I do hope more people will get your book. It was a good, quick read for me!
@Ramsay
Haha. Ethics don’t go with tactics (just kidding). General discussions about sex in marketing usually ends up with lots of talk about ‘dehumanization’ and ‘objectification’. Boring. I haven’t read anything interesting about this particular topic but now that you’ve mentioned it, I’ll take a look at some academic journals to see if they came up any cool new studies about sex/marketing.
@Mohan
You see the thing about brain science… their evidence is hard to verify since we can’t hook ourselves up to a machine and get MRI tests done while we’re thinking about something.
Logically I would also agree what the first item to appear is not always what I’m looking for…but the key point is that its an unconscious preference. How deep is this unconscious appeal for everyone? Hard to say.
Relative scarcity works. One of the more famous tests of scarcity included people eating cookies from two cookie jars (one almost empty and one nearly full). People said that cookies from the almost empty jar tasted better than the one that was nearly full. Here’s the kicker: Both jars had exactly the same cookies!
Even if the products are nearly identical.. people will always be slightly drawn towards what is more scarce, because its more valuable/wanted.
As for Amazon, I was referring to the actual bundled product right below the descriptions, the one where you get Product A + Product B = Slashed Reduced Price Quote… not so much the cross selling section where it tracked other user buys… although as I said, I would regard that as a cue for people to make their own bundles. Also throws in social validation there before leading into the reviews. Amazon does it all on one page.
Great points in your comment. Thanks!
@Rebecca
We think we’re in charge but we’re not. The neocortex may be the largest part of the brain but its weak. Take love for example. Such a powerful emotion. We backwards rationalize things, events, memories and facts to accommodate it all the time. We are subservient to it but we rationalize to maintain a false sense of control.
In all seriousness, I think increasing your level of moment to moment awareness is great, not just for resisting marketing pressure but as a way to enhance the quality of life. Not just for reining in the uncontrollable chaotic monkey mind impulses but for going with them and enjoying the flow.
@ Everyone else
Thanks for your comments!
Great Information as always!
Great tips about influencing people online, with objective conversion. However, given the abysmal record of psychology in effectively treating mentally ill patients, let alone explaining why people act the way they do, one must take care in supporting these recommendation on a discipline that many see as too “soft” to offer much scientific knowledge.
excellent tips..
This post has got me subscribing
. Dosh Dosh community here I come!
I think you can write a book Maki…
Always love to read your post.
I don’t know how long you make a research to write this.
‘Be a master at telling stories’
Yes you are, you make us read a depth theory like stories.
I saw many internet marketer, and they doing what you write here.
Great post Maki…
I was enjoying reading the post, but have a question. Why do you give away your secrets? Or they aren’t any more?
Excellent post. You can actually take your bullets and compare your own site side by side immediately to see if you doing doing a good job on each of these action items. It compares to the old “Meatloaf” song- “All Reved Up and No Place to Go”- you get your visitor all juiced up, excited about a product, then tell them what to do, how to do it and HURRY- THIS DEAL WON”T LAST LONG. Just like the QVC on TV. Brilliant
Wow, and you actually used 9 out of 11 principles in this article too (all except #4 and #7?). Was that on purpose, or are you so well practiced that it just comes naturally now? Very impressive.
Also worth reading Dan Ariley “Predicatably irrational” .
He gives quantitive studies in concepts of free, value, placebo effect and more economic behaviourlism. And its a fricking funny read.. Like the experiment where he gives students at MIT a saran wrapped macbook, and asks them to fill out a questionaire mid handshandy to study effects of desire on decisions. Genius..
Really killer article. The time and thought you put into this piece really shows….not to mention the wealth of priceless information shared. Thanks so much.
Maki,
I’m going to evaluate our preview site with all this gold.
Thanks!
– Axle Davids
@1day1brand
Great post. Will try some of these things out
Thank you for your insight. The article was worth every minute reading it (and the upcoming re-reads). Brilliant post.
Hi
First of all thanks for this info about social psychology and cognitive psychology applied to Internet marketing.
Thanks for the great post and for sharing some really good tips.
Stop! Buy now! Instant delivery! 10% bigger! Buy one, get another for free! Limited offer, only for You my friend! Score like never before!
I am sure this works for some audiences. Grunt.
Be a master at telling stories… That’s your better advice.
Briliant post, indeed.
kudos! I’m following everyone that commented on this shiver-me-timbers article. ( : D )
Maki, Thanks for the feedback. I like your reminder about the true value of a product. Customers are so inundated with choices that mere true value doesn’t always sell. What to do?
Here are a few points of pushback and affirmation re: your post and comment:
Pushback:
1) If scarcity exists, then highlight it. If not, employ a more honest tactic.
2) If no real threat exists, avoid fear tactics. This TV ad for Broadview Security creates unrealistic fear in viewers – especially since it happens in this particular woman’s neighborhood. Perhaps an inner city mom should worry in the daytime, but, then, she couldn’t afford the system. (Note: This guy tests the honesty of these ads by timing the response.)
3) Just because a pattern of human behavior exists doesn’t mean marketers should work it. My kids are drawn to sugar, but as a parent I provide balance – some sugar, some veggies, some…. Parents fight against “normal” human gravitations to a degree so their consumers (kids) develop boundaries, civility and discernment. Rebecca’s use of the word “sheeple” comes to mind here. Consumers have volition, yet most will keep nibbling food, sex and danger right out of the pasture and into danger, just as most kids will eat junk all day if left alone. I don’t mean to excuse consumers, or make marketers fully responsible, but marketers do know more about human behavior and thought than most consumers. That provides an edge – hence the responsibility bit.
4) Re: attractive images, marketing should use beauty and be beautiful itself. However, taking advantage of customers’ insecurities is like kicking them when they’re down. While teens may experience an initial boost in ego using Taylor Swift’s shampoo, it also reminds them that they aren’t Taylor Swift. And no one truly enjoys being a poser or wannabe.
5) Finally, I don’t believe artificial stories and stock photos mark healthy human interaction. Call it baiting or luring, but not good practice.
On the stuff I like:
1) “Limiting the choices available.” This shows customer care by giving them less stress and more time to enjoy other parts of their lives.
2) “Using the word ‘You’.” One marketer might use this as an “ad strategy” but another can be just as effective by genuinely being personal. It shows that you have the customer in mind. Relationships – even distant ones – don’t need to be faked. I love this personalization.
3) Your last point returns to story-telling. I love good stories, and especially ads that use them well. Fortunately, enough real stories exist that none have to be artificial.
4) I like phrases such as “participants within a community” and “she is your friend.” What good language to use genuinely in this business. Perhaps my complaints started with how some of these points were framed. I think you could keep most of the 11 tips, but change the focus from Marketing Tactics to Customer Care. Marketing Tactics asks, “How can I get customers to fall in love with my product?” Customer Care asks, “How can I love customers by getting my product into their hands?” The difference may seem subtle, but the two orientations are substantially different.
Sorry for the length here, but I didn’t want to skim over the conversation.
I enjoy reading your engaging posts.
wonderful! thank you!
There are many ways to influence people in online marketing. I read the sentences above and I agree that we need to learn on how and what people are interested and ways to improve their interest. Once we know this we can easily win in online marketing. thanks I like this.
Great post! Couldn’t agree more…
How would you come up with such idea that has actual relation in real life? I entirely believe? Despite of 95% failure rate, it’s possibly to get them into the world of internet business. But I found something that wouldn’t be applicable to general audience, the use of having sarcastic words should be if possible be avoided.
They are, indeed, Maki. Just finishing up my first book which is due on shelves at Christmas (or thereabouts). Cheers.
Good Evening, Citizens
I could use your help. I’m not an experienced internet user, in fact I’ve only really started in September 2009. But I do have a story to tell, and a need to reach out to people.
I’m not interested in making money, I’m interested in sharing my story and reaching a broad audience of people in the hopes of inspiring them. Essentially, I decided that I had to take a personal stake in the betterment of the world, and have a simple mission: Fight Evil
So it isnt just criminality, but a broader evil – a moral imperative to stand up against things that are wrong in the world, from apathy & deceit to rape of the environment. I basically break it down into four core areas:
1) actively patrol, intimidating the criminal element and helping with homeless, graffiti, litter
2) directly intervene if I see criminal activity, or solve crimes I become aware of
3) Help people. Organised charities or individuals with problems.
4) Inspire people. By my righteousness, putting my own personal safety and resources on the line for the welfare of others, show people that its not acceptable to live in the pool of decadent obsessive selfishness that we tend as a society to wallow in these days
I’ve been keeping an online journal of my experiences as a masked crime-fighter. So far, I’ve been grappling with my purpose, my mission, trying to find ways to ‘do good deeds’, particularly objectives 3 & 4. In reaching out with the simple offer ‘let me help you’, my main difficulty is exposing that message as broadly as possible.
So I find myself reading (excellent) blogs like this one, trying to learn how to spread my message – basically becoming an online marketeer.
I’ve been reading through historical posts on this blog and have seen excellent tips, but most are based on networking, connecting with a community of people who sit within my niche.
But what if I dont have a niche ?
What if I want to reach everybody ?
What if don’t care about selling, I really just want to help people ?
Sorry, it’s late at night here (Australia), I don’t intend to ramble or burden other people with my problems, I’ve just finished work in my secret identity white-collar job and I’m trying to learn principles and techniques that seem as much artform as practical skills.
Any advice ?
Your friend,
Captain Australia
Amazing post Maki. Like reading copywriting book from Joe Sugarman or Dan Kennedy. Now I just have to apply the information to my business
Please keep it up. I look for your posts on my iphone rss feed every day.
Wow! What a post! It has been a while Maki since I’ve been here, but you nailed me with this one. This is one of the most detailed blog posts pertaining to influence I’ve seen. There are a ton of “nuggets” to take from this post and use on our sites and online businesses. Thank you!
Welcome back Maki
Mind-blowing post! I haven’t read Susan Weinschenk’s book yet, but I have read/watched Frank Kern’s Mass Control 2. This reminded me a little bit of Frank’s stuff. This post is chalk full of “secret” goodies that anyone can apply to their business, whether online of offline.
You touched on this in point #4, but just to re-iterate: If you’re going to use all of this “power”, please make sure you give the customer something of real value. I’d hate to see spammers or rip-off artists actually take the time to learn what you just taught us! Anyways, thanks Maki!
This post is right on the money… I bet many, including me will try and experiment your tips on their blogs and websites. This is really a great help…
official ‘wow!’ article. don’t have the right words
There’s no need to use the “illusion” of scarcity. Find what part of your offer rare and fleeting and exploit that. Don’t lie.
It all comes down to understanding the human mind in order to understand your audience (or customer in this case). Successful financial advisors understand this one for sure.
great article as usual, and welcome back to blogging… took a long vacation?
Great article. Breaking down how we as consumer think vs how we as marketers present our information is what creates the persona of our buyer and how we need to market to them. I was a bit unsure on the commitment section and naturally did not read down far enough to see where you told us to not over think it. I started to over think it.
Online is changing the way that we market to our clients with an opportunity to interact however the basics of how we present the material has not changed or strayed too far from traditional efforts.
Bookmarked and shared!
Great pictures and solid content!
Though I would say that the information are delivered piece-wise and doesn’t really gel together that well. Still, I learned a thing or two from you.
Keep up the good work.
Really really happy to see you back Maki
and I love this post! Just in time because I’m going to release about two ebooks this month. Thanks a bunch! You’re always the best 
Mixing psychiatry and blogging?
That’s a winning combination!
Great post Maki.
Sensational post Maki.
I would hold back on any negative tactics. While proven influencers they can backfire. Kind of like the boy who cried wolf, web surfers have seen fear-based tactics again and again. They’re usually dismissed instantly. Best to be honest and believe in your product. You’ll attract more quality customers and a better karma.
BRILLIANT – YOU did the things you were telling US to do in the article well written and well illustrated 100%
Thanks for your information Maki
I never knew we have 3 brains … Great stuff and good to have you back.
Thats great maki,your posts are always well researched.
Fantastic article. One of the best I have read in a long time.
A (new) fan from Oz
This is a very nice post. I can see you have put hard work on your blog. I’m sure I’d be back here more often. You can come by and visit my site if you have time. See yah!
Amazing how simple it can be to control an interaction if you know what to leverage when trying to persuade or sell someone. Great post I found it to be truly enlightening.
Excellent Post. I really like it .Thanks
I too have read ‘What Makes Them Click’ and think it’s one of the best books on the subject. Thanks for the article
I read it twice. its my habit to read anything twice. I will remember this for log time. Thanks a lot. Great job.
Wow, what a great and practical list, respect for your work Maki
Thanks for the informative article. I have realised that there is an important action that I want people to take that doesn’t even appear on my front page. Don’t know how I could have missed that one!
Diane
That might actually be the most interesting article I’ve ever read, and that’s just not something that I say.
Thank you Maki for the insights.
Best,
Magnus Lundin
That’s what I like about Social Media. You can influence people to take action, to develop their own opinion but you can not control their openion like the old media used to do. Propaganda on Twitter for instance, is simply not possible. It will not take effect. That’s why politicians do not understand Social Media. They can not control people with it. I guess, if that’s their only goal of our political leaders, their priority, then Social Media Society is better off without them…..Whatever that is going to mean in the end…..
I need to find some ways to add food, sex and danger to my site.
Hmmm … free cookies? … a “Beware of Blogger” sign? … others?
Wow. What a post. I think it’s the best blog post I’ve read on the whole Internet after 3 years online. I like the personae and commitment point. And it’s true that when someone takes the time to comment on your blog, it’s a really good start.
There are a lot of gems in this.
Thank you,
Franck
Very indepth info Maki. I have been reading a little about the amygdala in the book “When Anger Hurts” Fascinating stuff if your into how the brain works. The fight or flight instinct controls so much of our actions.
Thanks Maki! i feel happy to see this article. finally i got some knowledge to boost my business. i like to share with all of my online friends.
Great post and nicely put together. I’ve never read a marketing article about persuasion that was so in depth and informative. I learned a few things that I will definitely share with others and also put into practice myself.
Glad to see you back!
hey, great post, you really put your time and efforts into your posts, good content on the brain, very interesting. I’m signing up to your mailing list right now, bye.
I just stumbled upon this site and I am like amazed for some reason. It sucks when you start blogging with a basic idea, you start finding other sites that have your basic idea but are 10 times less dry. Do they divide talent equally in communist countries?
Sorry to be off topic but how much time have you spend in writing this post. I have never ever seen such a long post and comments in my life. Hard work has paid off for you.
Thanks for this wonderful article. One of the best things had happened to me is to discover this website. My favorite is the point No. 1 (and all of them). Congrats.
Amazing ideas and tips, ive started to put a few of these into action.
I loved the idea of using the quick fix method or early gratification to get users or your readers to take action, and I think that was one of the best tips you mentioned. Ive also seen that type of idea used in some web apps and websites and it really does work.
Im going to give the other ideas you mentioned a test and see what works best.
Such an amazing article! I really enjoy reading it, very good insights, the article is very ell-said. A thumbs up!
A truly amazing article. Thanks for sharing you’re wealth of knowledge with us once again. It’s no wonder your blog does so well. Your site is well thought out, graphically impressive and full of great advice. Kudos
I’m not really sure about 8. where using the word “You” actually improves sales.
I’ve seen secondhand evidence that this is wrong, but I’ve never seen anyone show that it true.
As a word of mouth marketer, my guess is that people have an aversion to being told what they think, feel, need etc.
Selling is better if people ’sell themselves’ on what you offer – and ‘you’ can be a bit too pushy. Happy to hear different evidence.
Well written post – and, although I read Cialdini’s book, you reminded me of a violation I often make in giving a presentation or trying to persuade. Namely, I often save the “best for last” – and find myself frustrated that I sometimes don’t get to the last point – or end up rushing my description. From now on, most important goes first! Thanks for putting this together.
A Perfectly written article and great images to go with
Thank you for reminding some PR principles. I am amazed how we sometimes miss the very basic. I hope this will help a lot of us revisit our websites with a different perspective.
I think that was one of the best tips you mentioned. Ive also seen that type of idea used in some web apps and websites and it really does work.
Im going to give the other ideas you mentioned a test and see what works best.
Great Article!! Looks like I should be putting my Psyc. degree to work online.
Thanks again.
This is an amazing article with some much insight. Thank you for sharing. The importance of understanding what influences visitors is paramount to a successful online business…. and you have help others understand this important concept!
Continue the excellent work!
To you success,
Candace Davies
For reference, the Cialdini’s book on persuasion (referenced in this blog post) has been beautifully summarized here in 50 points – http://www.moskalyuk.com/blog/yes-50-scientifically-proven-ways-to-be-persuasive/1624
Really, really informitive and well thought out article -
> Are food, sex and danger really so attractive to the unconscious?
I have often pondered why in the UK (at least) that you have some high street retailers using the colour Red on their home page promotions, such as Next and Debenhams.
Well done and please… do not stop!
Brilliant. This article does what it recommends…nice work.
If your visitor finds the information or product she/he is looking for and experieneces pleasure at your website, she/he will be soon back. Thanks for the great article.
Maki, a great post like usual. I have been reading your blog regularly for quite sometime now, and the funny thing is that I just realized that you are a guy and not an anime girl..for some reason ended up visiting your about page. Excellent posts and material always kept my attention and I never read about page. This is how good your content is. Thanks.
This is the sort of article that makes me click through to your whole site to see what else you have to offer.
Well done.
Interesting article with many useful advises. Thank you very much, Dosh Dosh, I’ll start reading your blog
Absolutely love this article. And I’m definitely getting the book to read.
Though I’m wondering how would a client benefit from a website which offers customers to write reviews but nobody wants to write one?
Very, very good article. I have never heard of the book, but it sounds pretty interesting. Very helpful post. Thanks.
Really great, practicly explained and useful tips.
Great post,
Thank you very much for the share. I am am bit of a hobby psychologist my self and most of what you said is definatly true.
Will those quality techniques you can definatly lead people into a much higher chance of taking action.
I also used to work in sales so once again can confirm most of what I learnt and taught other’s was based on your comments.
Thanks for the share.
Great work…
This is a wonderful article. Has given me a lot of ideas for my website and future promotions.