Introduction to Psychology-Based Copywriting
When our founder Laura studied Psychology at UCLA back in the early 2000s, she never imagined just how impactful psychology-based copywriting would be to every element of her brand and business (and to those of her clients).
Did you know that 95% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously? (Source: Harvard Business School).
This underscores the vital role of psychology in crafting effective copy, whether you are a local business selling within a 10 mile radius of your location or a digital entrepreneur selling nationwide or worldwide.
Emotion, instincts, and psychological triggers guide consumer behavior more than logic. By leveraging psychology-based copywriting, you can create engaging content that resonates with readers, builds trust, and drives the desired action to grow your brand and business when you’re:
- writing copy for your website
- crafting persuasive copy for a sales page
- tweaking social media captions
- updating your bio or company’s About Page
- testing ad copy
- optimizing SEO copywriting
- and more
Understanding copywriting psychology and the psychology of human behavior is a game-changer, so let’s explore how to write copy that uses a proven psychological principle, trigger word, and emotional appeal to elevate your brand positioning, increase conversion rates, and elevate your sales copy.
1. The Science of Persuasion
The Role of Emotion in Decision-Making
Emotion is the backbone of persuasive copywriting. Therefore, effective copywriting uses emotional triggers—like positive emotions (joy, hope, excitement) or negative emotions (urgency, fear of missing out, frustration)—to influence consumer behavior.
Incorporating emotional words helps craft compelling ad copy that deeply resonates with readers.
- Local Business Example:
– A neighborhood bakery’s website copy shares a heartfelt story about how their bread brings families together with a recipe passed down for generations, evoking nostalgia.
– A community fundraiser highlights how donations restored a local park. - Online Example:
– A subscription meal service’s ad copy highlights a busy parent saving hours with pre-prepped meals, using emotional words like “stress-free” and “time-saving,” and being able to spend more time with their kids.
– A global nonprofit shares testimonials from those impacted.
Use Textural Adjectives
A textural adjective is a descriptive word that creates a vivid, sensory experience by focusing on the “texture” or feel of an object, idea, or emotion.
Examples of Textural Adjectives:
- Physical Texture: silky, rough, grainy, velvety, gritty, spongy, coarse
- Emotional Texture: tender, harsh, warm, sharp, smooth, prickly, jarring
- Metaphorical Texture: slippery (for a situation), jagged (for emotions), sticky (for problems), soft (for tone), rigid (for rules)
Why Use Textural Adjectives in Copywriting?
- Creates Emotional Connection: Textural adjectives tap into the reader’s senses, making the content more relatable and memorable.
- Adds Depth: Describing something as “soft and warm” paints a clearer picture than just saying “nice.”
- Evokes Action: Words like “crunchy” or “silky” can make readers feel, taste, or imagine, encouraging them to take the desired action.
These descriptive words help evoke strong mental imagery or sensory associations, making your writing more engaging and impactful.
- Local Business Example:
– A local store changes its print ad from “our blanket is high-quality” to “our blanket is velvety soft, wrapping you in cozy warmth.” - Online Example:
– A business consultant changes her website tagline from “I help businesses streamline their operations and grow” to “I help businesses build seamless workflows and achieve steady, sustainable growth.”
Trust and Credibility
Humans are hardwired to trust authority figures and credible sources, so another critical psychological tactic is to embed social proof in your copy. Adding testimonials, certifications, or case studies to establish credibility can dramatically improve conversion rates, especially if an endorsement is from a well-respected name in your space.
According to BrightLocal, 88% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
- Local Business Example:
– A real estate agent’s sales copy features a testimonial from the town mayor: “Thanks to Jane, we sold our home in under 10 days. I highly recommend her. – Mayor Smith” - Online Example:
– An e-commerce site highlights verified buyer reviews and “Best Seller” badges to reassure potential buyers.
The Power of Subconscious Cues
Psychological triggers like priming, loss aversion, the recency effect, and the pratfall effect subtly influence readers’ perceptions and become subconscious cues.
Let’s look at each with examples of how to apply it to your brand and business.
Priming
Exposing your audience to specific cues to shape their perception.
– Use calming colors like blue for financial services to instill trust and create a sense of security.
– Feature icons of credibility to appear as trustworthy at-a-glance.
Loss Aversion
Highlighting potential losses rather than gains to encourage action.
– “Don’t miss out on your exclusive discount” can be more effective than “Save 20%.”
Recency Effect
The tendency to remember the last piece of information presented.
– Structure your message so the most compelling benefit appears at the end of a list to reinforce its impact.
Pratfall Effect
Demonstrating a small, relatable flaw to increase likability and trust.
– “We’re not the biggest agency, but our personalized service sets us apart.”
Try testing the use of each psychological principle one at a time and measure your conversion rate before and after each change to see what works!
2. Key Psychological Principles in Copywriting
Reciprocity
When you provide value upfront, your audience feels compelled to return the favor. Not only can this can be in many digital forms, including video, audio, and/or written content, it can also be in the form of free trials, free consultations, or free samples.
- Local Business Example:
– A gym offers a free 7-day trial to encourage memberships. Anyone who works out for all 7 days of their trial wins a water bottle with the gym’s logo on it. - Online Example:
– A business coach uses lead magnets like free eBooks, templates, mini-courses, or tools to encourage engagement and build trust with potential clients.
Scarcity
Scarcity creates urgency. Phrases like “Limited-time offer” or “Only 3 spots left” leverage the psychological principle of loss aversion to drive immediate action.
- Local Business Example:
– A farmers market announces: “Fresh peaches—available this weekend only!”
– A yoga studio sends an email to prospective clients with: “Register by Friday for 20% off your first month!” - Online Example:
– A webinar sign-up page displays: “Only 5 seats remaining!”
– An online course offers an early-bird discount for the first 50 sign-ups.
Social Proof
Consumers trust recommendations. Incorporate social proof through case studies, user-generated content, and testimonials to improve conversion rates.
- Local Business Example:
– A hairstylist’s Instagram showcases before-and-after photos of satisfied clients.
– A local restaurant hangs photos of leaders of the community enjoying food there on the walls. - Online Example:
– A fitness app’s sales copy features transformation stories from users.
– A software-as-a-service (SaaS) company features user reviews prominently on its homepage.
Authority
Position yourself as a credible expert. Use awards, credentials, and media mentions to demonstrate authority. This tactic is especially effective in SEO copywriting and website copy with Google’s focus on E-E-A-T, which stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness. If Google sees it as a critical set of guidelines to evaluate the quality of content and websites, you should too.
- Local Business Example:
– A chiropractor highlights their certifications and 20+ years of experience. - Online Example:
– A freelance copywriter’s portfolio features guest posts on high-profile industry blogs to prove their copywriting skills.
Curiosity Gap
Capture attention with a headline that sparks curiosity, a powerful psychological trigger. One way we have found this to work is to also leverage the illusory truth effect, which encourages engagement by posing intriguing, unanswered questions.
- Local Business Example:
– “The 3 biggest gardening mistakes you’re making—#2 will shock you!” - Online Example:
– “What’s costing your business thousands in untapped conversions?”
3. Writing Techniques That Leverage Psychology for Your Business
Attention-Grabbing Headlines
You have fewer than 3 seconds to make a great first impression. Even fewer online. And your headline is your first impression.
Knowing this, a favorite copywriting psychology hack is to use power words (emotionally charged and impactful words or phrases that compel readers to take action or feel a certain way), numbers, and emotional appeal to stand out and capture attention.
Headlines are critical for successful copywriting, as they determine whether your readers will continue engaging with your content.
- Local Business Example:
– “5 Can’t-Miss Deals at This Week’s Farmers Market!”
– “Say Goodbye to Laundry Hassles—Fresh, Fluffy Clothes in Record Time!” - Online Example:
– “10 Proven Ways to Boost Your Sales for $0.”
– “Discover the Proven Formula to Skyrocket Your Sales Today!”
Using “You” Language
Make your audience the hero of the story. Personalized content resonates more deeply and creates a sense of connection.
- Local Business Example:
– “You’ll love the serene escape our spa provides.”
– “Baked fresh just for you!” - Online Example:
– “You deserve website copy that converts visitors into buyers.”
– “Your phone will be ringing off the hook!”
Storytelling
Stories are memorable and relatable. They are our oldest form of education and entertainment. Use stories to evoke empathy, connect with consumer psychology, and showcase solutions to common pain points.
- Local Business Example:
“Meet John and his two sons, who found their dream home with our help.” - Online Example:
“Discover how Sarah’s business grew 300% with just one change to her ad copy.”
Clear Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
Be specific with your CTAs. Replace vague phrases like “Learn more” with actionable ones: “Start your free trial today!”
Related posts can also serve as valuable CTAs to keep readers engaged with your content.
- Local Business Examples:
– “Sign up for your free yoga class now.”
– “Get a 10% coupon for your first order here.” - Online Examples:
– “Download your free SEO copywriting checklist.”
– “Dive deeper on How to Become a Freelance Copywriter with this article.”
4. Tools and Resources for Applying Psychology in Copywriting
If you want to learn more or start applying these psychology-based tactics for more effective communication, here are some tools, books, and courses to give you a jumpstart.
Tools
- Google Analytics: Understand audience behavior.
- Hotjar: Visualize user interaction with heatmaps.
- Grammarly: Optimize your ad copy and website copy.
Books
- Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini
- Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath
- Contagious: How Things Catch On by Jonah Berger
Courses
- Learn copywriting on platforms like Udemy
- Study persuasive writing on platforms like Coursera
- Should we make a psychology based copywriting class?
If you want us to go deeper on anything to help your copywriting skills, please let us know in DMs on social media or send us an email! I’m at Info at CopyThatPops.com.
5. Common Psychology-Wielding Mistakes to Avoid
While all the psychological tactics shared above can work both in isolation and when combined with each other, it’s important to not go overboard or wield your psychological powers for evil. Bruhahahahaaaa.
Here are a few common ways that new copywriters or overzealous entrepreneurs could go down the wrong path.
Overusing Scarcity
Overplaying urgency leads to mistrust. So don’t say “only 2 seats left” when there’s unlimited capacity. Don’t say “this coupon is valid for the next 24 hours” when that’s not the case.
It may take an extra plugin, tool, automation, or step on your part to implement true scarcity, but make sure you what you say is actually true.
Being Manipulative
Some people feel that any leveraging of Psychology is manipulation. We disagree. If you wanted to work with dogs, you’d be smart to learn what motivates dogs and how to communicate with them best in order to be effective. Same for working with humans.
Where leveraging psychological triggers and knowledge can go too far is by making false promises or unethical claims. Use your best judgment and remember The Golden Rule: do unto others as you’d want done to you. If you create a negative emotion in the mind of your prospect, it’s a recipe for disaster.
Ignoring Data
Avoid making the mistake of going with your best guess when there are so many ways to gather data these days.
– Test ad copy and website text to optimize results using A/B testing tools like Optimizely.
– Survey your audience and ask for honest feedback.
– Try different approaches on social media and see what earns the most comments, shares, and positive reactions.
– Look at your conversion rate for each email campaign and sales page.
Remember to err on the side of honesty, treat people with respect, and focus of facts instead of emotion in your analysis and you’ll be on the right track.
Using Psychology for Compelling Copy: Summary
Psychology-based copywriting blends the art of persuasive writing with the science of human behavior. By using psychological triggers like social proof, emotional words, power words, curiosity gaps, and textural adjectives, you can craft copy that captures attention and converts readers into loyal customers. Start applying these principles today to enhance your website copy, ad copy, and SEO copywriting.
Whether you’re a seasoned freelance copywriter or a business owner just beginning to learn how copywriting can help grow your brand and business, these psychological principles will transform your content writing and help you achieve better results.
Successful copywriting is within your reach—it’s all about understanding the copywriting psychology behind each word you choose.
Here’s a video short with a summary of what we covered in this psychology-based copywriting article:
xo CTP Team