Art by svarog989.deviantart.com
Fun fact: ever since I was a teenager, I have wanted to study psychology. Sadly, the education system in Greece meant I became an engineer instead, devouring psychology books in my free time (Jung in particular). Then, I went on to post-graduate studies in the UK. Still hoping for a career shift, I contacted a score of universities asking if I could apply for an MSc/MPhil/PhD in psychology. I still remember my dialogue with a kind Professor from Cardiff:
“Sure you can study psychology here,” he said. “Why not?”
“Really? And my first degree can be anything at all?”
“Why not? I mean…” he scoffed, “…it’s not an engineer’s degree, right?”
So, I went on to get a PhD in digital architecture, instead (and the first part of a Certificate in Counselling, in my spare time).
I still read up on psychology, though, which is how I stumbled on some marketing tips from Hubspot that combine psychological principles with marketing in a way that, tweaked accordingly, can help us promote our books. Enjoy!
Reciprocity
The principle:
If you give something, people feel that they ought to give you something back.
How it helps us:
Use freebies to win over readers. If you give away a book, people will want to do something for you in return, like write a review, or buy other books of yours.
Commitment
The principle:
Once people commit to something, they will most probably follow through.
How it helps us:
If you write a series of books, people that have read the first part are more likely to read the following books as well. By lowering the first book’s price, or even giving it away, you get more people to read your books by getting them to commit to the series.
Authority
The principle:
Become an authority –or somebody with a strong knowledge in his/her field- so that people trust your opinions and your views.
How it helps us:
Posting material, writing thoughtful posts and acquiring knowledge of something makes people think of you as an authority; someone they can rely on. Become an authority on writing, book marketing, book covers, editing, book summaries or anything that you feel competent about. Then, use your influence accordingly.
For example, if you become an authority on writing, you can offer reviews. You see, a few months ago I read (can’t remember where; as you know my memory is sieve-like) that when it comes to reviews, people are more likely to trust an authority than a lay person or (even worse) the author. You can combine this with reciprocity: a favorable review of another authority’s work will probably result in one of yours by them.
Social proof
The principle:
When a lot of people like something, other people are more likely to like it as well.
How it helps us:
Make sure new reader know how many followers, reviews, blog posts, comments etc you have. This creates a virtuous circle; the more people endorse you, the more popular you (and your work) become.
Liking
The principle:
When you like someone, you’re more likely to buy from them.
How it helps us:
Interestingly enough, according to social psychologists, this does not necessarily mean that you have to be nice; just that you build a brand that people like. Or, more precisely, that they like being associated with (see Apple). So, you could either avoid, say, political arguments in public, or make sure everyone knows where you stand on controversial subjects.
Of course, there is nothing wrong with being nice and I personally think that it always helps, but that’s up to you! 🙂
Scarcity
The principle:
If something is perceived as rare or in short supply, people want more of it.
How it helps us:
Think of signed numbered copies of your books, or of a maximum allowed number of participants to a chat or an online seminar. People enjoy feeling like part of an elite group, so take advantage of it.
Recency illusion
The principle:
When you initially notice something, then you spot it pretty much everywhere.
How it helps us:
When I was looking to buy a car, I was flirting with a Hyundai i30. During that time, I remember thinking the roads had been overrun by them. Funny how I’d never noticed them before, isn’t it? Naturally, this reinforced my belief that I had made the right decision, for so many people to be driving that same car (see social proof).
This principle is particularly useful for marketing: your marketing approach should not be a one-off. Instead, you should use a wide array of tools to promote simultaneously your brand/book/series across different media channels. Hence, use multiple platforms, with the same message in different packaging. The aim is to convince people that, if they keep seeing your book everywhere, it must be good!
Verbatim effect
The principle:
The short version is better remembered than the long one. Aka, people like fuzzy feelings.
How it helps us:
People are bombarded with information day and night. Remembering a long text, explanation or description is wishful thinking, kinda like me improving my memory or losing a few pounds.
Therefore, readers are more likely to remember a catchy image, your headline, or the general gist of your book captured in a snappy tagline. Pay attention to your headline, make summaries really short and insert an eye-catching image.
Clustering
The principle:
Bullet points and numbered lists.
How it helps us:
This is linked to the verbatim effect: people have short memory spans and need a mental aid to remember them. Putting things in groups or clustering them makes them easier to remember. In your blog posts, cluster things under the same group (marketing tips, reviews, interviews and so on) so that people can find the material they are looking for.
The Power of Three
The principle:
This was kindly provided by Paula Kappa: if a customer sees a product three times, they are more likely to engage the product and buy it
How it helps us:
Paula placed her book cover at top and bottom of a her giveaway bookmark, so that the customer will see it twice. That way, when the customer sees the book cover again online, at library, in bookshops, etc, she establishes that 3-pronged hook!
If you can think of any further principles, I’d be more than happy to include them!
Your information is extremely helpful. Thank you so much! You have really enlightened me in this subject. I was stuck and am sure to rise over my plateau now. I am very new to this and believe I have found something that I can give to the community. I just didn’t know how to get the information across to people out there. I have rewritten my book at least 3 times, go to school for what I believe in and want to share everything with the world. I know now because of the information I learned here today,that I can be more successful in my endeavors. Thank you!
Thank you, Jasmine, and welcome 🙂
Hmm, I believe all authors automatically acquire a PhD in Marketing – afterall, necessity is the Mother of invention.
Never did I think I would be scouring ways to ‘sell’ my product. It makes me greatly appreciative of entrepreneurs and businessmen – even of vegetable vendors.
Lol – well, we have to, don’t we? It’s why I started this blog; to share with others what I’ve found along the way. I am lucky enough to have some 20 years of experience in Internet marketing. So many other authors, however, are lost when faced with promotion.
Speaking of which, as a new author, you may want to check out my A to Z on https://nicholasrossis.me/2014/02/21/a-zguide/ and my I just published my book post on https://nicholasrossis.me/2014/10/11/i-just-published-my-book-now-what/
Downloaded both pdf formats.
Started reading Prince. A whopping 359 pages! This is going to take a little more time than I thought.
But I was riveted by first 15 pages. Very stylish!
Amazing article Nicholas. It’s a coincidence that the first chapter of my book also has the same principals by Robert Cialdini. I want to interview you to pick your brain. Sent you a mention via twitter as well.
Thank you, that’s kind of you! 🙂 I’d love to be interviewed by you, I’ll send you an email with my contact details.
NLP is much too powerful to ever be harmed I think!
Excellent post! And I love the power of three! Thank you Paula and Nicholas for sharing this. All other points were spot on, made logical sense but the specific one, wowed me. Another trick I know, is that a customer won’t resist buying the product if you place it in his hands. It’s already in his reach and subconsciously he feels obliged then to get it. Salesmen often hand you the product while they make the pitch for that very reason. The other one I know is from my little knowledge of NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming). You got to use embedded commands in your wording (they are subliminal messages – it’ll take ages to explain it but anyone interested can look it up) and the last one is quite simple. Use the imperative. Instead of saying for example, ‘why not check out my book’ you bluntly say, ‘Visit Amazon now” or something.
Excellent tip, thank you! 🙂
Poor NLP, it got such a bad name because of the guys selling sex tapes (music containing subliminal message that will supposedly make anyone listening to them horny). 😀
Your post reminds me of the ‘power of three’ in advertising. The theory is that if a customer sees a product three times, he or she is more likely to engage the product and buy it. I was advised to push the graphic image and place my book cover at top and bottom of my bookmark so that the customer will see it twice. Then when the customer sees the book cover again online, at library, in bookshops, etc, I’ve established that 3-pronged hook. I’ve yet to see results but I’m getting lots of compliments on the bookmark so that’s something.
That’s a great one, thanks for sharing! I’ve now added it to the post. 🙂
You’re spot on with the psychology, Nicholas! I’m going to try some different approaches to giving away my books, something I’ve been reluctant to do. I just had a Facebook event where I made all my books free with Smashwords coupons and over three days I gave away 31 copies . I think that’s pretty good considering it included mostly people who were already my friends and who likely will review the books if they ever get around to reading them. But I did attract some new friends, so that was great. And as for being an authority … I am the world’s greatest authority on extraterrestrial intelligent termites! What more could one ask fort lol
That’s awesome, congrats on the event success! Please let me know in the future, so I can promote (and attend) it!
The dirt behind extraterrestrial intelligent termites – now *that’s* a blog I’d follow! 😀
I don’t think we had become friends on Facebook yet, so I don’t believe you got invited. And both of my blogs are loaded with information on my termite people. Here is a post you could start with. https://termitewriter.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-re-post-of-what-are-termite-people.html
I love it! So intelligent and imaginative, yet quite plausible! I love the small details in particular; their worship of a mother-goddess, their counting up to 36 etc. Great stuff! 🙂