The Marketing Psychology Playbook - Summary and review

Find where your audience is talking. Mirror their conversations, content, and language back to them.Read the positive reviews on your product and include that in your website copy. Read the negative reviews and fix them in your product, also add a FAQ to explain the most common questions you get.

Some ideas on what to think about:

• Colors - use them strategically, they symbolize and trigger emotions

• Font size and style of pricing - make a perceived difference large and easy to grasp by using visual elements and clear communication

  • The easier to understand a difference is - the larger the difference in price will appear - think about the order in which you present and the decimals you include

  • Use visual weight on a sale by making discounted prices appear cheaper (by being small)

Use questions that prime the reader and generate higher engagement rates.

If the readers read your question headline and think “no” or “who cares” then the question is hurting your engagement rate.Also, if your headline asks a question - make sure your copy answers it. Otherwise, it will leave a lingering negative impression on the reader.

Think of how effective cliffhanger endings are. Use questions to trigger curiosity. A good question will allow the reader to ‘hear’ the question in their own inner voice and feel the need for an answer in order to get closure.

The Zeigarnik Effect - unfinished stories or tasks claim more of our memory and attention than finished ones.

The marketing world is filled with too many buzzwords - vague, complex, and abstract words that do not create clarity for the reader. Avoid jargon and write dead simple copy that creates value. Read the copy out loud. Emphasize the inevitable (!), and shorten it down so people understand.

The default state for your audience looking at your marketing will be skepticism.Here are some classic ways to shift that skepticism:

• Long-term: Give away high-quality content for free, without anything expected in return (maybe an email address, but nothing more)

• Short-term: Testimonials, free trials, money-back guarantees

Using transparency to shift skepticism- The Pratfall Effect:A big way to shift skepticism and build trust is admitting your product/service has weaknesses - just like The Transparency Sale advocates.

The Pratfall Effect - admitting to a mistake, misstep, or weakness makes competent people seem more approachable, more relatable, and more human.