Free trials can orient people toward the behavioral costs of a product.

Gym offer in which first class seems mote enticing for $1 instead of free

Charge for Trials-min

Charge for Product Trials That Require Effort

Male CEOS seem more competent when they wear the same clothing. Guess we can thank Steve Jobs.

Same Clothing? More Competent

We assume that happy people engage in "good" behavior. White and Black participants judged racist targets to be higher in morality if they seemed happy.

Happy People Can't Be Immoral

It's been confirmed. A meta-analysis of 170 studies shows that everyone across the globe hates thinking. Though it's stronger in Western cultures.

Thinking Feels Unpleasant

Avoidance of Free

Zoom Levels

Customers prefer zoomed-in images for immediate actions because they imagine these actions with a close proximity.

Zoomed in dessert implies now, zoomed out dessert implies the future

Pair Zoom Levels With Time Lengths-min

Pair Zoom Levels With Time Lengths

Lucky Discounts

Gamified discounts are consistently effective.

Three doors with the third door being picked and revealing a 15% discount

Let Customers Win Their Discount-min

Let Customers Win Their Discount

Research shows that customers are more likely to redeem discounts that they won.

Upload button on top, download button below

Does Visual Placement Influence Directional CTAs-min

Do Locations Influence Spatial CTAs?

Product Anatomy

Layered images boost the expected performance of products.

Show Anatomical Layers-min

Show the Anatomical Layers of Your Product

A new study found that customers are more likely to buy products when they see an image of the inside layers.

In a popular study, participants ate a bowl of soup while it was secretly refilled. And they ate 73% more without realizing it. But in the past few years, 15+ papers from this lead researcher have been retracted due to egregious p-hacking. So researchers tried to replicate this bottomless bowls study. Turns out, it was successful (though with a smaller effect size).

Replication: Does Self-Filling Food Increase Eating?

In a popular study, people were more likely to share content when they felt a state of physiological arousal. But a new study failed to replicate this effect.

Replication: Does Arousal Increasing Sharing?

In a popular study, participants rated their likelihood of cheating in a task. Their ratings were consistently higher than actual cheating behavior. In a new study, researchers successfully replicated this effect in a cheating task, but they failed to replicate this effect in other contexts.

Replication: Are We More Ethical Than We Think?

Product Sensations

Sensations imply that a product is working.

Applying lotion that triggers a warmth or cooling sensation

Induce Any Sensation During Product Usage-min

Induce Any Sensation During Product Usage

In a new study, customers preferred products that induced a physical sensation because it felt like the product was working.

A smile increases bookings by 3.5% on average, especially for new listings. 

Smile in Your Airbnb Photo

When you see a stimulus, like a face, you encode an exaggerated version in your memory (e.g., a prominent cheekbone becomes more extreme).

Memories are Caricatures

We dislike people who answer vaguely. Even if they're trying to avoid offending somebody, their ambiguity feels like deceit.

We Like People Who Give Direct Answers

Ugly Fonts

Customers encode ugly discounts in greater detail.

$50 price discounted in $25 in font that is slightly unusual

Ugly Font-min

Display Good Deals in Ugly Fonts

Customers are enticed by discounts in ugly fonts because they spend more time looking at them.

Ironically, some claims (e.g., drug efficacy) appear weaker with more research. It implies that  more research was needed because this context is more uncertain.

More Research = Less Confidence

Customers recover from negative experiences faster when they write a review because it acts like a pseudo therapy session. Perhaps marketers should help customers write any negative experience before it reaches a public domain. Much like journaling, this act of writing can alleviate their negative emotions.

Writing Reviews = Therapy

Is your boss more controlling on certain days? They might be lacking sleep.

Sleepy Managers Act More Authoritarian

Task Framing

Additional tasks feel easier if the first step is already completed.

Sequence of 3 steps (view this image, read this tactic, share this tactic) with the first step already completed

Goal-Gradient-Thumbnail-min

Mention a First Step That's Completed

Research shows that additional tasks feel easier if the first step is already completed.

A Fred looks like a Fred. A Jasmine looks like a Jasmine. This face-name similarity only emerges in adulthood, which suggests that faces conform to names throughout our lives. Perhaps we're driven by a self-fulfilling prophecy (e.g., adopting certain hairstyles).

People Look Like Their Names

Participants could discern these beliefs from faces.

Atheists and Christians Look Different

Black people experience animalistic dehumanization, while Asian people experience mechanistic dehumanization.

Different Types of Racism

You just read this subject line

Parentheses Effect

Mid-sized amounts pull customers to the lower end of their purchase range.

$1.00 fruit with $0.50 discount being limited. Limit of 1 or 9 is correct, but limit of 3 is wrong

Restrict Discounts to a Small or Large Quantity-min

Limit Bulk Discounts By a Small or Large Amount

A new study shows why moderate anchors can reduce sales.

Online checkout with gift wrapping option for $4.99 inside vs outside parentheses

Show Prices in Parentheses-min

Do Prices Feel Cheaper in Parentheses?

Numerical Anchoring

Momentum Effects

Visual ratings are more persuasive because of anchoring and momentum.

3.5 rating is better in stars, rather than digits

Show Ratings in a Visual Format-min

Show Ratings in a Visual Format

When you rewatch a video, the actions seem rehearsed and less spontaneous. Even important videos (e.g., trial evidence) seem less genuine and believable with repeated viewings.

Rewatching Increases Skepticism

Conservatives prefer traditional and familiar behaviors.

Liberals Are More Likely to Use Self-Checkout

AI Has Learned How to Deceive

When To Use Italics

Slanted fonts look fast and animated, so customers want to act sooner.

Use Italics for Urgency-min

Convey Urgency With Italics

A new study found that italics convey urgency because this text resembles a fast-moving object.

Newsletter Archive