Applying the Psychology of Influence to Your Website Copywriting: Part 1

It is 18 years old.  Its predecessor is 27.  The pages are yellowed, dog eared and suffer from the markings of an overzealous note taker (me!).  Still, like so many other copywriting classics, “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” is one book I refer back to several times a year.

 

Recently, when I conducted a survey of those who subscribe to my blog updates, I discovered applying psychology to their copy was a subject that many people had an interest in.  Apparently, there are lots of people talking about the techniques, but not many are addressing practical application.

 

Admittedly, that can be a challenge for copywriters, because oftentimes persuasion psychology is observed (or created) during face-to-face settings.  That’s the case with most of the examples in this book as well.  So, let’s just take care of that situation right now 🙂

 

As I said, the book I’m pulling these influence tactics from is called “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion” by Robert B. Cialdini.  While my copy is many years old, there is a more updated version ((c) 2006) that you can buy from Amazon for about $11-$15 or so.

 

There are 5 persuasion techniques outlined in the book.  I’ll cover 3 of them in this article and leave the remaining ones for Part 2.

 

#1 Reciprocation

 

According to Dr. Cialdini, “The rule [of reciprocation] says that we should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us.  If a woman does us a favor, we should do her one in return; if a man sends us a birthday present or Christmas card, we should remember his birthday with a gift of our own or send him a Christmas card.  By virtue of the reciprocity rule, then, we are obligated to the future repayment of favors, gifts, invitations, and the like.”

 

“So typical is it for indebtedness to accompany the receipt of such things that a term like ‘much obliged’ has become a synonym for ‘thank you,’ not only in the English language but in others as well.”

 

So, how do you use this when you write copy?  One way is to offer a free download or gift/bonus of some sort.  When you make a point of saying that the customer can keep the bonuses as your gift to them even if they choose to return the product they purchased, they feel a sense of obligation.  It causes them to be less likely to return the product because they feel compelled to keep it since you provided them with something free of charge.

 

Keep in mind, the bonus must be something that is relevant and of value. Offering some crappy, poorly written downloadable report that everybody and their brother is also giving away won’t cut it.

 

#2 Commitment and Consistency

 

“Once we have made a choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.  Those pressures will cause us to respond in ways that justify our earlier decision.”  In other words, we don’t want to make fools out of ourselves by contradicting what we just said or did.

 

This technique (when used in writing) requires a bit of a set up.  That’s because you must first get your readers to take a stand.  Oftentimes, the approach works by asking several questions or taking an initial step.  Here’s one example.  Let’s say you’re writing copy for a luxury jewelry store.  You can flip the switch of consistency like this.

 

Step 1:  Turn that prospect into a customer by selling them something smaller first.  It doesn’t even matter if you make much of a profit on the first sale.  The point is that you’re now able to call the person a customer instead of a lead.  You could write about a sale on sapphire earrings for only $19.99 to bring people in.  They’ll now be predisposed to your online store and the products you carry.  AND, because they’ve purchased from you once, they are now far more likely to purchase from you again in order to be consistent.  You also see this a lot with online community membership sites that give you your first month’s admission for just $1.

 

Step 2:  Now that you have that customer’s contact information (email address, postal address, etc.) send them an announcement about a sale just for active customers.  “Because you’ve purchased from us in the past, we’d like to offer you special, limited-time only offers…..”  You reinforce the fact that their former behavior has laid a foundation of buying from this store.  Now you’re much more likely to draw them back for additional, more expensive purchases.

 

Another approach (as I mentioned) is to ask questions that get them to answer “yes.”  After you’ve asked 2 or 3, you’ll insert a statement that connects them to what you’re selling.  For instance, copy for a weight loss program for women might say:

 

“Do you want to lose 10 pounds by summer?”

“Are you ready to impress your friends with your new figure?”

“Isn’t it time to take back control of your life?

 

If you answered “yes” to the questions above, it’s obvious you’re ready for ABC Weight Loss for Women.

 

#3 Social Proof

 

Basically, this rule states that people are more willing to take a suggested action if they have proof that others, especially people similar to them or in similar circumstances to them, have done so.

 

This one’s easy when it comes to copywriting.  The most basic form of social proof is testimonials.  They should be specific and very detailed to be effective.  However, you can go a step further and offer videos of people using your product/service, case studies showing other people’s success, etc.

 

In Part 2 of this article, we’ll look at the last 3 principals: scarcity and friendship.

 

 

By Karon Thackston © 2011, All Rights Reserved

 

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