Engineering Copywriter Blog

Content marketing tips and insights to help grow your engineering audience

January 28, 2020

6 Subtle Psychological Triggers to Boost Online Conversions

Online Conversions

A trigger is a tiny little thing that sets off a proportionally large reaction – and it’s the same with psychological triggers. By using a psychological trigger, you can boost online conversions. However, they must be used in a subtle and discreet way. They are not very noticeable in themselves. But when used and combined appropriately, you can look forward to a boost in your conversions. It’s a bit like baking a cake, where the individual ingredients of flour, eggs, milk, and sugar do not seem terribly exciting. But when mixed together, the result can be quite delicious and irresistible.

How can psychological triggers boost online conversions?

As human beings, we rely on our minds to decide what to buy. Therefore, it is imperative to understand how the mind functions in order to be able to influence it. Once you have identified what those triggers are, you can begin to incorporate them into your marketing message and ultimately boost your online conversions.

So here are 6 of these tantalizing triggers:

1. The pull between pain and pleasure…


All human beings are basically wired to avoid pain and seek out pleasure – it’s as simple as that. So when you know the pain and pleasure points of your target audience, you can focus on offering them something that will meet both those needs. The winning combination would be to help your prospective clients escape something they dread and then give them the relief and satisfaction they crave.
Action Point
To boost online conversions you must showcase the benefit of your product or service and outweigh the pain associated with it.

When addressing the balance between pain and pleasure (benefit), you shouldn’t simply offer a free consultation. You need to identify what it is your audience wants.

Instead, offer to provide a complimentary service such as:

  • Free site visit and report on findings
  • Free analysis of current business technology & processes

2. The balance of giving and receiving…


Another psychological trigger works something like this: when you receive something from someone as a gift, then you will be much more open and amenable to giving that person something in return. So offer your readers some kind of gift, whether it is a free download or a discount, and then you can ask them to do something for you which could then likely lead to a sweet conversion.
Action point
Consider offering your audience and potential customers a limited time trial for your engineering software. This is an effective way to boost online conversions. You can simply consider it as a way of thanking your website visitors for providing you with their personal data and contact details.

By offering a free trial, you will require the visitor to sign up and create an account where they will need to state their name, email, and address. You may find that these customers will enjoy the service/technology you provide and continue to order.

3. The need to know why…


One of the first words a young child learns is “why,” and there is a good reason for this: we as human beings are innately curious, and we need to know why. So if you want to boost your conversions, make sure you explain to your future clients how your product or service works and why it will be in their best interest to take advantage of your offer.
Action point
Say for instance that your promise to your customers is to provide a service that will create a more efficient workplace and triple their income. People who read that are certainly going to want to know why and how you are able to do that.

Michael Gazzaniga in his book, Who’s in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain, discovered that our rational mind is constantly looking for meaning, even when one doesn’t exist. Essentially, by nature, we aim to understand every experience we have in life.

Therefore, it is essential that in your website copy you discuss the reasons behind why you are offering this product or service. You will discover that your potential customers are far more likely to convert.

4. The fascination of numbers…


Research and studies have shown that headlines which contain numbers (particularly odd numbers) get more clicks than headlines without numbers. The psychological reason is that our brains love to organise things into lists. And when we see a number, we automatically feel that the content will be specific, logical, and easy to read and remember.
Action point
When writing your website copy or articles, why not try to include a specific number or piece of data in your headline? This should draw the reader in by showcasing that the content is factual and well organised.

According to research, a headline which includes a number has the potential to generate up to 73% more clicks.

5. The attraction of the group…

At the end of the day, none of us wants to be alone. We all want to belong and be part of a successful group. There are a number of ways you can implement this trigger: referring to your readers with a group label, offering them membership, and showcasing user generated content. This way you can build a sense of prestige where only a select group of the best belong.
Action point
People will like to see that the engineering product or service you provide has been used by other people and that they are satisfied with the result. To emphasize this, you should display testimonials on your landing pages as well as case studies to demonstrate to people that they can trust your business.

People don’t want to be alone in buying from your business; they require security in numbers. This principle is called Wisdom of the Crowd, and it’s why people seek reviews and purchase bestsellers.

6. The novelty of something new…


There is something hopeful about new things. When we are exposed to the new and unfamiliar, our brains release the hormone dopamine which is associated with many neurological functions, including reward and motivation. The prospect of something novel can fill your readers with anticipation and the prospect of pleasure, which in turn motivates them to take action.
Action point
If you’re looking for a way to boost online conversions and encourage customers to purchase your product or service, simply create new ones, make adjustments to your current ones, or merely rebrand them. To develop this further, you could pair it with an urgency trigger and only release them a few times throughout the year. This tactic will evoke a sense of novelty.

If you need more help boosting online conversions for your copy, contact us today.

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