The Steal Club - 4 psychology hacks for your content

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This is The Steal Club, a newsletter for creative entrepreneurs.

We share lessons, strategies, frameworks, and templates to grow your audience. “Stolen” from the best creators in the industry.

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I’ve been studying cognitive biases and buyer psychology a lot lately.

Initially, it was out of curiosity more than anything else. But, the deeper I dug, the more ideas I found that could be applied to content creation.

We engage with things that spark emotions in us. That’s why learning what makes people buy, click or engage is super helpful.

And it can turn into a competitive advantage

In today’s email, I want to share 4 cognitive biases (or psychological triggers) that can boost your content, how some creators use them, and how you can steal them for yourself:

#1 - Barnum Effect

The Barnum Effect happens when we read statements that feel personal, but that could apply to anyone.

For example:

• “You are a very loyal person”
• “You need others to like you”
• “You are worried about money”

I know, I sound like a tarot reader 🔮😆

How can you use it?

Make your content feel personal (especially with your hooks). Grab a pain point your audience is facing and put it right in front of them.

Example

“If you struggle to publish regularly…”

Most people following Amanda are creators. And if they are, they need help with being consistent with content.

We all do.

This is an excellent example of how a general statement that could apply to anyone also feels personal and directed towards “you.”

#2 - Distinctiveness

We pay attention to stuff that stands out (duh). While this is obvious, not so many creators try to be distinctive.

How can you use it?

Distinctiveness in content can take many forms:

• How the content is structured (aka format)
• How the content is presented (aka the branding)

The best way to differentiate yourself is to generate some contrast.

Look at what everyone is doing on the platform and try to break the pattern.

Example

Why do you think I use this bright yellow/orange as my profile background color and as the background for my pictures?

When you log into Twitter or LinkedIn, everything looks white or black (depending on the theme you use).

Now imagine you start scrolling down and suddenly see a bright orange thing. You are probably going to stop the scroll and pay attention.

See how it pops out 👇

That happened because seeing a bright color in your feed is different.

Not many people use it, so your brain signals “hey, there’s something different here, you need to pay attention.”

See this other example by Katelyn 👇

Twitter is usually a wall of text. But then, you see a little stick person holding a sign.

It’s different. Distinctive.

And you can see it generated a ton of attention.

#3 - Reciprocity

When we are given something, we feel compelled to return the favor. You could say that’s “being a good person,” but it’s actually a cognitive bias 😅

How can you use it?

Strategically ask for something in return when you give something of value.

Then, if people truly feel they got value from your content, they will act on your ask.

Examples

An example of a low-effort ask after a thread 👇

Or an example of how valuable content spreads, even without the creator’s input 👇

Dagobert launched a Twitter course. He didn’t do too much promotion, but the content is so good that 27 people tweeted about it, helping spread the word (he probably prompted them to do it inside his course).

#4 - Bandwagon effect

You know that sports team that no one pays attention to but then, once they start winning, everyone jumps in?

Looking at you 2015 Golden State Warriors.

Getting a bunch of people talking about something will get more people talking about it.

It’s a positive cycle.

The same happens with content. A post with a bunch of likes is way more likely to continue racking more likes.

How can you use it?

This works particularly well on newsletters.

Nobody wants to miss out on good content, and a great way to make people notice that your content is worth reading is by telling them how many people are receiving it.

Example

Top newsletter creators like Justin Welsh use this all the time.

Learn more about marketing psychology

These are just a few examples of how psychology can be applied to content creation.

If you want to learn more about buyer psychology, I’ll leave you the two resources I’ve been binging and that I used for my research:

​Psychology of Marketing: Science-backed marketing tactics to help you build your business. Join 12,554+ marketers for $0 here.​

​Why We Buy: Learn buyer psychology in 3 minutes a week. Join 23,700 smart people who get Why We Buy in their inbox each week

If I see enough people liking this issue, I’ll make a part 2!

🕵️‍♂️ The Stash

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​5 questions to see if your newsletter is working or not

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Thanks for being part of the club! See you next week!

Alex Llull Thief Master The Steal Club Share this newsletter | Say 👋 on Twitter | Sponsor this newsletter

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