Using psychological devices to write great sales copy

Have you ever wondered how to make your web copy even more persuasive? Find out more about psychological devices and how they can help you to create truly compelling copy.

Use the Reason Why System

An easy method is the reason why model. Ellen Langer of Harvard University discovered this after realising that people enjoy having a reason to do something. By giving your readers reasons to purchase your product or service, you’ll encourage them to buy. You could give them a variety of incentives to do this, such as offering a money-back guarantee, free gift or a huge discount.

Discover the Zeigarnik Effect

The Zeigarnik Effect can also be used as a good sales tool. This device uses the principal that uncompleted tasks can cause feelings of tension and mental imbalance. If you are applying this to copy, it merely means your piece should avoid mentioning too many different subjects and topics, as they can distract the reader. The best way to do this is by ensuring your copy sticks to one, single message and limits the use of banners and links. Doing this allows you to lead the customer directly down one easy sales path.

Explore Neurolinguistic Programming

Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) is a term used to describe how experience and learning are coded in the brain. While this actually sounds rather complicated, Neurolinguistic Programming is very straightforward. You can use it to send messages to the brain via language and if used properly, it can help you to create some persuasive copy.

An easy and effective NLP device is presuppositions. These work because the brain is unable to focus on more than one thing at once and when overwhelmed with thoughts, it has to presuppose or assume the action it should be taking. The brain is programmed to ensure it can come up with an answer for every question. This means that if you ask the reader questions such as, “How would you spend a spare £550 a week?” the brain has to make involuntary decisions to provide an answer. For the question above, this means that the brain subconsciously processes the ‘how would you…’ element and assumes that because you’re asking how it will be spent, the reader will certainly be receiving the extra £550. While this answer may not be right, the brain is satisfied because it has managed to produce one. You should also find out about other NLP devices like linguistic binds and embedded commands, which can help give your sales copy a significant boost.

Uncover Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is used to describe a situation where people can find themselves changing their opinion of something or behaving out of character. You can use this to great effect in your copy by making your product or service directly appeal to people who had never considered using it. The best way to do this is by ensuring your copy states a compelling reason to buy.

Psychology as a Sales Tool

By using psychological devices in your sales copy, you are not attempting to con your customers but to understand them. By understanding the needs of your reader, you are in the best possible position to create persuasive copy that appeals to them. If used ethically and responsibly, you should find that adding a psychological element to your copywriting could be your most successful technique yet.