Marketing is about psychology – the two are inextricably linked. When we understand why someone does something, we can use that to get them to do the thing we want.
Email marketing is no different. It’s not just about writing good copy (though that is important!), it’s about understanding how your audience thinks and what you can do to push them towards your end goal.
Done well and ethically, understanding some core psychological principles will help you boost your email marketing, improve engagement, build your relationships and, ultimately, drive conversion.
The Power of Consistency
In 1984, Robert Cialdini wrote Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. Noting that he was personally susceptible to sales techniques, he underwent a study to discover exactly what it was that convinced people to buy.
One of those influences was consistency, and it’s something that forms a core component of email marketing.
The idea is simple – if you do something, you start to think of yourself in that way, and you’re more likely to do it again. For example, if you enjoy a cup of coffee the first time and try another, you will pretty soon consider yourself a ‘coffee drinker’ and will be easily convinced to buy coffee.
Email marketing can use this in different ways. First, by targeting the audience based on their previous actions, including persuasion based on consistency in the copy:
‘As a coffee drinker, we thought you might enjoy our Coffee Club subscription, delivering fresh coffee to your door every month.’
Just by including the words ‘coffee drinker’ in the example, you’re more likely to persuade the reader to click the button and sign up for the subscription. Without triggering that thought, the chance of success is far slimmer. The simpler ‘Click here to subscribe to the Coffee Club’ will have far fewer conversions.
This principle also applies when considering consistency with your email marketing – if your emails arrive in the inbox at the same time each week, your audience will make reading it part of their routine. They become a regular reader of your email newsletter and will think of themselves in that way when the next one arrives.
Filtering Noise
There have been many studies regarding how our brains filter out irrelevant info, including Broadbent’s Attentional Theory (1958) and Treisman’s Attenuation Model (1964), among others. These ideas look into how some messages make it to our brain to be listened to and considered, while other messages are simply lost or tuned out.
One key understanding from such studies shows that personalisation grabs attention – it’s why we react to our name being said from across a noisy room at a party or gathering.
And it works for email marketing.
When you write emails that are personalised, either by directly using the recipient’s name in the subject line and copy, or by tailoring the recommendations such that the email feels custom made and individual to them, you increase engagement.
Statistically, personalised subject lines boost open rates by more than a quarter. That means that instead of 1000 opportunities for reader engagement in a given email campaign, your message will be heard by 1250 or more people – definitely worth the extra effort of personalisation.
The Theory of Reciprocity
Reciprocity is the idea that if I give you something worthwhile, you’ll be more likely to feel the need to do me a favour in return. A famous study by Dennis Regan in 1971 and similar reasoning by Cialdini (1984) point to the power of reciprocity or ‘giving to receive’.
In email marketing, the technique is extremely effective – if you provide something of value to your audience, they’re more likely to buy from you in order to return the favour. This is why educational content – emails that teach us something we benefit from – sees higher engagement than pure promotional content.
Tailor your content to be more than just marketing copy to make use of reciprocity. Offer tips, provide free guides, and provide genuine insights with your emails and those click-throughs will rise.
Using Psychology with Nathan Littleton
Email marketing is not just about telling people you have a product you want to sell them and hitting send, it’s about considering your audience and the things that motivate and drive them, and then tailoring your campaign and content accordingly. A little psychology goes a long way.
The many factors that go into human behaviour are not simply explained in an informative blog, no matter how engaging and exciting it might be! No one is expecting you to go out and become a psychologist in your spare time (unless that’s exactly what you want to do!).
Instead, why not work with someone who already practices many of these theories and who works every day to grow with new understanding to improve their marketing skills? If you think that’s something you’d like to explore, get in touch. I’d be happy to help.
