If you’ve read Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini you may have been fascinated by the automatic behaviors that can be triggered in all of us by marketers and salespeople who understand the way pre-programmed behaviors can be switched on.
Understanding human psychology and what gets people to say “yes” is crucial for building effective marketing materials and perfecting your sales pitch.
I once thought of these tactics as manipulative, maybe even evil, but now I know that we’ve all been striving to leverage them since we were five years old trying to trick our parents into letting us stay up passed our bedtime.
The following eight posts & articles are instrumental in understanding how psychological triggers work and how to put them to work for your business online.
1. Six Ways to Get People to Say “Yes”
by Dean Rieck| Copyblogger.com
This post by Dean Rieck is a perfect reading companion to Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.
Dean discusses each main persuasion trigger covered in Influence and offers examples on practical applications for marketing. If you’re not going to read Influence at least read this post – and if you have read Influence, this post is a great refresher and outline for future reference.
2. Do You Want to Inform or Persuade?
by Bryan Eisenberg | ClickZ.com
Bryan Eisenberg of FutureNow discusses the basics of the AIDA concept (awareness, interest, desire, and action) and how he and his team tie the buying and the selling process together to achieve persuasion architecture.
Bryan is widely considered one of the foremost conversion experts out there. If you’re interested to get your website generating more business I’d encourage you to check out his book, Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results
3. 10 Timeless Persuasive Writing Techniques
by Brian Clark| Copyblogger.com
There are few copywriters with as much notoriety as Brian Clark, and posts like this show us why he is who he is.
In this post Brian discusses, in his usual direct and accessible style, ten techniques you can employ your copywriting to persuade your readers to “do something or agree with your point of view.”
4. 10 Irrational Human Behaviors and How to Leverage Them to Improve Web Marketing
by Rand Fishkin | SEOmoz.org
Rand knows actionable information when he sees it, and he’s made a name for himself by sharing information like this in easily-digested yet insightful posts.
This post – based on Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions
5. Predictably Irrrational Web Marketing Strategies
by Aaron Wall | SEOBook.com
This is not hyperbole: there is only one blogger whose posts I never miss, and this is the man. Aaron Wall’s writing transcends SEO and Web Marketing. He is a thought leader in every sense.
This post is also focused on Predictably Irrational, but Aaron’s input always adds value and insight. Read this. And if you’re not reading his blog on a regular basis do that too.
6. The Secrets of Storytelling: Why We Love a Good Yarn
by Jeremy Hsu| SciAm.com
This article, published in the August 2008 edition of Scientific American, examines the human response to narrative and why we love the form.
While the article doesn’t deal directly with marketing the applications of narrative in marketing are clear.
7. Colors of Economy
by Ethan Lyon | Sparxoo.com
Color plays an important role in the emotion of your audience. Ignore the effects, and your marketing materials, as hard as you work on them, may turn people off. Use the psychological effects of color to your advantage, and your users will react with the emotion you want.
8. The Psychology of Linkbait
by Ryan Caldwell | SearchEngineJournal.com
Ryan Caldwell admittedly has no degree in psychology, but this post is a great resource that examines the tactics of baiting inbound links with viral content from a commen-sense perspective. It’s not heavy on the psych-speak or statistics, but it’s a great primer for understanding what makes linkbait work.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I love this post. Mostly because it combines the two things I’m most passionate about: communication and psychology. Well done – I’m going to come back to this post repeatedly. Very useful. Thanks!
Nice list of articlesyou got here. Six ways to get people say yes, and Ten timeless persuasive writing techniques was a great read. Thanks for the share!
@Sara T & Salwa – glad you liked the post, thanks!