Happy Friday! Here’s what we’ve got for you this week:

• 31 "psychological triggers" that convince people to buy stuff. A breakdown of some of our favorites from copywriting legend Joseph Sugarman.

• Underrated ways to get more customer reviews. 5 tips to get the 5-star reviews flowing in.

🧠 31 ”psychological triggers" that convince people to buy stuff

One of the most well-known copywriters of all time was a man named Joseph Sugarman. He started the JS&A Catalog, which was once the largest direct mail catalog in the US.

He’s famous for doing some pretty genius things like:

• Selling a used airplane valued at $190,000 for $240,000 through one magazine ad.

• Offering $10 for every spelling error found in his copy. Which purposefully included errors so that people would spend hours searching for them and reading about the product.

• Being the first to use toll-free numbers so that he could accept credit card orders over the phone.

He also authored a book called The AdWeek Copywriting Handbook. In it, he shares some of his secrets to success.

In the book, he outlines 31 psychological triggers to get people to buy things. Here’s Joe’s complete list:

If you want a deep dive into all 31 triggers, we recommend checking out the book! But, in today's issue, we want to break down a handful of our favorites.

1) Feeling of involvement or ownership

When people feel a sense of ownership or involvement with a product, they’re much more likely to buy.

This is why Costco hands out samples, car salesmen want you to go for a test drive, and Ikea designs their showroom floor as a maze that forces you to walk through rooms full of their products.

2) Justify the Purchase

One of the questions people may think about before buying is, “Can I really justify this purchase?”

You must give them logical or emotional reasons to justify spending their money. The more expensive a product is, the more critical it becomes.

Sugarman points out that sometimes, this is as simple as saying, “You deserve it.” Other times, you might need to justify it in other terms, for example:

• Savings (”a one-time-only value”)

• Health (”protects your eyes”)

• Recognition (” you’ll be your kid's hero”)

3) Hope

Hope can be a big motivator during a sales cycle. Hope that a problem will be solved. Hope they’ll achieve a big win.

A person buys a gym membership because they hope it’s a step towards their dream physique.

A golfer upgrades his club because he hopes it will shave strokes off his game.

Show people what outcome they can hope for by buying from you.

But use caution with this one! Hope is an extra powerful trigger. That’s why scammers use it so often.

Use hope ethically. Only offer up a promise you can actually deliver on.

4) Greed

Sometimes, people will buy ONLY because they feel like they're getting a bargain.

We assume you’ve heard the phrase, “I got it for a steal!” Try to evoke that sentiment in your buyers.

Don’t underestimate the power of a strategic discount.

5) Desire to Collect

Sugarman says it's a natural instinct in the human race to collect things.

People will make purchases just to grow their “collection.” And people collect all kinds of things!

Some obvious, like watches or handbags or sunglasses. But many are more niche, for example, course completion certifications that they can list on their LinkedIn profile.

Think of creative ways to make your products part of a collection. There’s no better buyer than one who has already purchased something from your “line.”

📰 In the news this week.

❌  Twitter is now X.

🎀 How the Barbie movie redefined brand marketing.

🗑  OpenAI shuts down flawed AI detector.

👂 Why do so many brands use sound to make you buy stuff?

💰 What Big Tech earnings mean for AI.

⭐️ Underrated ways to get more customer reviews.

Showing social proof is a vital part of a good marketing strategy. But getting customers to take the time to leave positive reviews is easier said than done. Here are some tips to help.

Fair warning: some of these will seem obvious. But most companies don’t actually do them! 😤 

So we’re going to cover them anyway.

Actually, ask for reviews.

We warned you… It seems super obvious, right? And yet, so many companies get tripped up here!

Kevin Coster was wrong! If you build it, they won’t come.

Don’t expect customers to seek out your G2 profile, Google business listing, or whatever other site you collect reviews on.

You need to be proactive. You need to drive potential reviewers to your profile(s). The first step to getting a customer to leave you a review is simply to ask them for one.

You might be surprised at your success rate just by asking.

Ask at the right time.

Your goal is to get 5-star reviews. The best way to get these is to ask people for reviews at the correct time.

The correct time is when they’re already happy with you because you’ve just given them a positive experience.

If you’re on a call or emailing with a customer and they compliment you, reply and thank them. Then, ask if they’d be willing to share that feedback in a public review. Tell them how important reviews are to your business and communicate how much you’d value them sharing their opinion.

Offer to write the review.

People are busy. Your goal should be to make leaving the review a frictionless experience for them.

Offer to provide them with talking points for their review. This takes the heavy lifting off of them.

Or you can offer to draft the review for them. Then, send it to them so they can make any edits and post it.

Incentivize them.

Sometimes, people need an extra nudge. Offer something in exchange for leaving a review. Often, this comes as a gift card or discount on their next purchase.

Retarget people who’ve already left a review.

If you collect reviews on multiple sites, it’s an excellent strategy to try and get the same person to review you on various platforms.

For example, if you see that a customer left you a Google review, call them or email them to say thank you. Then, ask if they’d be willing to post a similar review on another platform.

This method usually has a higher success rate when combined with our recommendation to incentivize the review. Offer them something in exchange for leaving the second review and as a thank you for the first.

😂 Marketing meme of the week.

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