Remember that surprise gift I sent you yesterday? I’m dying to know… Did you make your Buyer Psychology Cheatsheet your screensaver like I did?
Now I know I’m all smiley in that picture, but I’ve gotta fess up... There’s something I left out of your cheatsheet… Something important that can have a huge impact on your sales. Why did I leave it out? Well… it’s kind of a downer, and I didn’t want to kill the vibe. So here it goes. *takes a deep breath* People are hardwired to pay attention to… Negativity 👀 I know, I know. Devastating. But it’s science—our brains are on constant alert, scanning our environment for possible threats. Behavioral scientists call it “Negativity Bias.” Even words with a negative tinge (e.g., “don’t,” “never,” and “bad”) grab our attention. They’re called “negations.” One study analyzed over 15,608 social media posts and found Facebook posts that used negations had a 17.6% increase in engagement. So now that we’ve got that outta the way, I’ve got more good bad news! I put together a handy list of negations so you can swap out everyday words with negative ones to make a *positive* impact on your bank account.
Now negations sound kinda, well, negative. But when you use them properly, they can have a very positive effect on your sales. See for yourself. Which one of these billboards is *instantly* more compelling to you?
The second one makes *me* want to pack a bag and head to Helsinki this winter. (And I already suffer through Canadian winters as it is.) So if sales are slow and you wanna boost conversions, sometimes you *don’t* need to make huge, sweeping changes to your marketing campaigns. You can make tiny copy tweaks—like adding a negation to your headline or email subject line—and it can drive BIG results. Don’t believe me? I’ve spent hundreds of hours digging through bone-dry research studies to find little-known copywriting techniques that compel people to act. And I use science-backed tips like these on every sales page, ad, and email I send (including the email you just opened). And it works. For example, our Wallet-Opening Words sales page converts at 11.89% (that’s 6X higher than the average sales page for a digital product).
Yup. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but… Negativity sells. The lesson? Don’t be afraid to pepper your copy with negations—unless you never want to get more sales and hope nobody ever buys from you. (See what I did there?)
P.S. You’ll get your first standard issue of Why We Buy 🧠 this Tuesday. Eeeek! The topic? It’s a secret. But I can tell you this… If you care about getting more referrals, testimonials, or survey responses from customers, you *won’t* want to skip this newsletter. 😉
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