One of the adages I have always subscribed to was the power of the words “Free” and “New”. Certainly in marketing these words are golden. Today’s brand currency is definitely rooted in the free exchange of ideas, support, help and even transparency. And “New” is, well, “New”! Our culture feeds on these two ideas.
So imagine my surprise when I see the Copyblogger post entitled “The 5 Most Persuasive Words in the English Language.” They added to my list! Here are their five words and a bit of explanation on their power:
1. You (or your own name).
“According to recent research examining brain activation, few things light us up quite like seeing our own names in print or on the screen. Our names are intrinsically tied to our self-perception and make up a massive part of our identity. No surprise then, that we become more engaged and even more trusting of a message in which our name appears.”
2. Free.
“People will make different choices when “free” is introduced to the deal. Dan Ariely revealed this startling fact in his book Predictably Irrational, where he examined a very unusual “battle” between Lindt chocolate truffles and Hershey Kisses. Ariely points to loss aversion (our disdain for losing out on things) and our natural instinct to go after “low hanging fruit” as the reasons why we are so susceptible to snatching up free stuff.”
3. Because. Most Moms know the “Just because” line but evidently most of us really need the reason.
“A well-known principle of human behavior says that when we ask someone to do us a favor we will be more successful if we provide a reason. People simply like to have reasons for what they do.”
4. Instantly. Read “Instant Gratification.”
“Several MRI studies have shown just how fired up our mid-brain gets when we envision instant rewards, and how it’s our frontal cortex that’s activated when it comes to waiting for something (that’s a no-no for sales).”
5. New.
“Newness” is important to products, especially because research has shown that they age far more quickly than “experiential” purchases. (In other words, you’ll hate your new headphones in 2 years, but that concert you went to 5 years ago probably aged in your mind like a fine wine.)”
