Tips for Using Psychology in Online Marketing

Tips for Using Psychology in Online Marketing

Today we are going to cover some very important tips for using age-old psychological triggers in your marketing.
By using the six tips that you are learn today, you will boost your conversion rates, lower buying resistance, and increase the value of every visitor that comes to your website.

1. Appeal to emotion

Humans are emotional creatures. We make decisions based on emotion. Logic is used, but usually after the fact, to justify the choices we have already made emotionally.
Effective marketing appeals to human emotions - it makes us feel rather than think. To use this principle when promoting products or offers on your website, emphasize how the product will make the purchaser feel during or after use. Or how it will remove an existing pain.
For example, if you are marketing a dog training eBook then describe to the reader just how great it will feel to have that unbreakable bond with their dog. The type of bond where the dog 'knows' what you want him to do, almost without a command.

2. Increase the sense of value to the customer

Value is not the same as price.
If your product is not seen as delivering more value to the user than the price asked, then no one will buy.
The key then, is increasing the perceived value of whatever it is you are trying to sell.
It doesn't matter if your 'product' is an e-Book, a pair of shoes, or opting in to an email list. The perceived value needs to outweigh the perceived 'cost'.
You can increase value by lowering the price, but you can also get the same effect by:
Explaining the outcomes that the user will get more clearly, and exactly what it will mean for them.
Comparing the product to other solutions (in a favourable way).
Including free 'premiums' or bonuses.
Improving your product.
Outlining all the negative consequences of not purchasing.

3. Appeal to Self-Interest

By nature, people think mostly in terms of 'what is in it for me?'. This is simply a fact of life.
When we see an ad, our first thought is, 'how will this product or service help me?'. Would you be more inclined to purchase an eBook about people who have managed to train their dogs, or would you rather purchase one that tells you how to do it yourself? More than likely you would buy the eBook that is going to help you, rather than the one that simply recounts the experiences of others.
Make use of this psychological principle when marketing your products online. Before purchasing a product, potential customers will be asking 'what's in it for me?' Write your sales pitch in consideration of this concept, and ensure it directly tells the customer how the product will help them.
Always keep in the back of your mind, 'what's in it for my customer/visitor', and you can't go too far wrong.

4. Sell Solutions

'Evergreen' niches like weight loss, getting an ex back, or getting rid of acne are big for a reason - there are always people out there looking for solutions to their problems.
Identify the problems your product solves, and then demonstrate how it solves those problems. This is even more important when marketing digital information products, such as an eBook or web seminar package.
For example, if you are selling an eBook about stopping a dog from barking, then the main audience are clearly people who have a dog that barks excessively. Tell the customer how your eBook will solve that problem, and remember to invoke an emotional response in doing so (for example - 'imagine how much more relaxing and less stressful your life will be when your dog is trained not to bark')
Another example. Golf. It is a popular hobby. Although it does not immediately scream 'problem', in the same way that weight loss does. However, there are problems golfers might be having that you can appeal to.
Such as:
 'I can't seem to hit the fairway. How can I hit the ball straight, consistently?'
 'I don't want to look stupid when I buy new clubs. Which golf clubs are the best?'
 'Everyone I play with hits the ball further than I do. How can I hit longer drives?'
As you can see, there are problems within hobbies that you can address. Although a poor golf swing is not as 'desperate' a problem as getting an ex back, to the keen hobbyist it is of great importance.
So figure out what problems people are having. Then explain how your product solves these problems.

5. Being Believable

There are only two reasons why people won't buy from you. (A) they don't want what you're selling. Or (B) they don't trust what you are saying.
Believability and credibitlity are extremely important. Especially online, where the barrier to entry for sellers are so low. Many people are also concerned with potential risks of credit card or ID fraud, or paying for a product online only to never have it arrive.
Therefore, you should do everything possible to boost your credibility in the eyes of your visitors and customers.
Make sure:
That any transactions conducted on your website have full SSL encryption (or that the affiliate product you are promotion offers the same). Emphasize this to your customers so that they feel safe.
You maintain a clean and professional image that shows reliability and credibility.
That you offer testimonials - especially video testimonials. As what others say about you is believed much more readily than anything you can say about yourself (But don't make up testimonials - this is plain misleading and also against the law).
And reassure the customer by providing multiple options for contacting you, and respond to requests or queries quickly.

6. Assume a buying decision has already been made

What I mean by this is, assume that your visitor is going to buy. And act accordingly.
For example, rather than saying 'if you buy the new XYZ Dog Training Manual you will get...', say 'when you purchase the new XYZ Dog Training Manual...' - this assumes the reader is going to purchase the product, helping them to accept the decision before it has been made.
When used properly, you can 'steer' the conversation you have with your audience in the right direction.