Psychology of Email Marketing

By Jenish Modi

14 min Read

November 17, 2022

Humans are social animals, and this fact affects many facets of life, notably how people make marketing and purchasing choices. You may make the most of your marketing efforts by taking a moment to refresh your memory on how humans think and behave.

How can you perform better by utilizing psychology in marketing?

The quick answer is that it improves the efficiency of your marketing efforts by helping you produce more conversions and sales. However, let’s take a deeper look at the actual effects of employing marketing psychology to optimize your email advertising.

More sales will result from the use of social proof, which is the idea of basing one’s purchasing choices on the experiences of others. The statistics are self-evident. Consumers typically read 10 reviews before making a purchasing decision, and 85% of individuals say they place the same value in online user testimonials as they would in personal recommendations.

More consumers will enter your sales funnel if you can increase your reviews and highlight the positive customer experiences in your email advertisements.

The use of reciprocity, one of the most effective psychological marketing strategies, has also resulted in previously unheard-of gains in sales. The principle of reciprocity is very powerful and says, “Helping you will benefit me”. The same idea may be applied to your email marketing efforts to increase revenues and attract more clients overall.

It follows that applying psychology to marketing may have a significant positive impact on your company. We have listed some strategies that you might use in your emails to achieve success. Remember that there are no hard-and-fast rules for how to apply each marketing psychology idea, but doing so in a way that fits your brand’s voice and aesthetic will undoubtedly increase sales, attract more leads, and enhance your company’s reputation.

Email Marketing

Marketing emails using psychological tricks

Let’s look at some of the ideas you can use to make your emails more effective now that we have a better understanding of the potential of modifying your marketing messages to profit from psychological marketing techniques.

Social Proof

This one is a classic and is still one of the best marketing psychology techniques you can do to advance your company. Simply put, the phenomenon known as “social proof” occurs when an individual bases their own actions on the actions or experiences of others.

Establish that there is some societal agreement that a large audience uses and enjoys your product or service.

This idea is relevant to so many facets of our lives, especially marketing. You may simply include it in your emails in a variety of ways, which is beneficial for you. Customer reviews, user-generated content, brand authority, expert or celebrity endorsements, and a long list of other things can all be used as social proof. One of the first tricks in existence is this.

Framing

This idea is all about showcasing the “best aspect” of your business or product. This does not entail misleading your consumers; instead, focus on using language and content that play to your advantage. Using framing is comparable to how you portray yourself in an interview. You may explain that you handle tasks in a certain style that provides you with a distinct perspective rather than suggesting that you are not the most organized person. You should discuss your brand and items in the exact same way.

Although this is a simple idea, you will probably find something you can rephrase if you review your marketing messaging with the intention of using this psychological hack.

Exclusivity

Whether we like it or not, we have the propensity to appreciate things that are hard to come by, uncommon, or exclusive. For instance, passion for gold has existed almost since the dawn of time. Why? The product is both rare and desirable.

The value and exclusivity of your product can be portrayed by taking steps like indicating that only a limited number of a product is available, releasing a special edition of your product, offering exclusive experiences, having time-limited discounts, and highlighting the fact that your offer is only valid for a specific group of your customers. As a result, consumers will find your brand and product more appealing.

Fear of missing out

The fear of missing out, FOMO, meshes well with the idea of scarcity that we discussed earlier, but it may also be employed to evoke the impression that something is rare. Even if you are not familiar with the phrase, FOMO permeates every aspect of your existence.

Despite our desire to believe that we are beyond such “primitive” temptations, the evidence shows that 60% of millennials really make purchases motivated by FOMO. It’s quite easy to create experience-based FOMO, and you probably don’t even need to do anything to utilize it. If you just conducted an event, it’s probable that attendees will post about it on social media. By adopting a custom hashtag for your event, you may boost the probability that this will happen. Then, all you have to do is include a few of these comments and impressions from event attendees in your email marketing, and your next event will immediately cause FOMO. A countdown timer may be a fantastic addition to your emails to further emphasize this pearl of email marketing psychology.

Reciprocity

Compared to marketing itself, this idea is more ancient. Reciprocity is the idea in marketing psychology that you should give your prospects something of value in order to encourage them to “supply value” in the form of a purchase of your good or service.

There are a number of important possibilities for your initial value providing to begin your reciprocity journey. Utilizing a lead magnet in your subscription form is an easy place to start. For signing up for your brand’s emails, visitors to your website will receive this straightforward “prize”. In addition to other things, you may provide a free eBook, cheat sheet, discount, and extended trial. By doing this, you’ll increase subscription rates and establish your new connection.

Persuasive language

It’s difficult to discuss psychological tricks for email marketing without first looking at the email’s body content. While there are some pitfalls to avoid, email copywriting is not an exact science. The use of attention-grabbing language and assertive claims can be appealing when writing an email. Between a convincing email copy and spam, though, there is a thin line.

Of course, including all of the aforementioned ideas are ideal, but you also need to watch out for the language your email’s text employs to encourage your subscribers to keep connecting with your business and advance them down the sales funnel. It is essential to keep your emails light and chock-full of material that uplifts the reader’s spirit. Consider each email as a setting you need to construct, employing sensory language while being informal and considerate to your recipients.

Colour

Although it is a complicated science, colour psychology is one of the best psychological tricks. Nearly every contact you have with marketing materials for a business will demonstrate the use of colour psychology. In email marketing, focusing on colours might be a bit of a rabbit hole, but the benefits are undeniable. You may maximise the effectiveness of your marketing emails by optimising them for colours that customers will like.

Although there are many exceptions and outliers, the overall topic of colour in email psychology is that colours are unconsciously related to particular emotions.

Email Marketing

Conclusion

Although we’ve covered a lot of psychological tricks, it ultimately comes down to what works for your business. Every audience differs somewhat from one another and has varied requirements of the companies they contact with. But while building or upgrading your subsequent email campaign, bear these four broad conclusions in mind.

Mix up your strategies. Despite the fact that we discussed each subject separately, they are interconnected. In each email you send, you might employ a few psychological marketing techniques. Don’t be scared to try alternative strategies because there are many combinations and variations of each email.

Streamline your emails. Any email psychology strategy may be overused and turned into a “sales” email. Nobody likes receiving emails that are overtly demanding. Some find it offensive, while others refuse to even open the email. So, certainly, you should employ psychological tricks, but always keep the needs of the consumer in mind. The amazing tools of FOMO, exclusivity, and persuasive language should only be employed to offer value and gently advance leads through the sales funnel, not to pressure them into making a purchase.

Promote your advantages. Making your brand more appealing is a fantastic method to achieve marketing’s main objective, which is to increase sales. To enhance your brand’s reputation and generate more leads, use reframing, social proof, and reciprocity. Just be careful not to mislead your audience while presenting your finest side.

Iterate. It is not sufficient to alter an email template and then ignore the change if you want to use psychology in marketing. Emails may be gradually enhanced, and performance alterations can be tracked over time. Try experimenting with various color schemes, fresh text, and photos. This would be helpful. Your email service should offer comprehensive campaign performance information. As you work to make your emails better, don’t be hesitant to experiment with different settings.

Get more customers, increase your sales, and attract clients who pay premium price.