profile

Nudge Newsletter

Over 1,000 people will ignore this email | Nudge Newsletter 🧠

Published 4 months ago • 1 min read

Well Done! You don't follow the crowd.

Thank you for opening today’s email.

Because psychology suggests you wouldn’t.

There’s a psychological principle known as negative social proof.

Definition = if you make an unwanted behaviour seem commonplace, more people will perform the unwanted behaviour.

Few examples:

  • “Visitors steal 5 tons a year” increased wood theft at an Arizona park (Cialdini, 1984)
  • “Many miss their NHS appointments” increased no-shows (Martin, 2024)
  • “Over 1,000 people will ignore this email” should harm open rates (*ongoing study Agnew, 2024)

In 2022, BBC published an article which shouldn’t surprise you

“The Met Police practice of posting photographs of seized knives on social media could be encouraging knife-carrying, according to a new study.
​
The University of Strathclyde research also found that sharing such images risked creating ‘a culture of fear’ and ‘perpetuating negative stereotypes’”

With all the best intentions, communicators repeatedly make this mistake.

Even organisations that should be aware of consumer behaviour fail.

Take Wikipedia’s notoriously bad attempt to encourage readers to donate.

No prizes for identifying what’s wrong with this message.

So, if you’re trying to deter a certain behaviour, never make the unwanted behaviour seem commonplace.

Cheers!

Phill

Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

I spend 18 hours each week turning marketing psychology into readable newsletters.

Read more from Nudge Newsletter

Give Bonuses Upfront? Read online What would happen if bonuses were paid upfront? Almost every company pays out bonuses AFTER targets are hit. But why don’t companies pay bonuses BEFORE and withdraw the money if targets are missed? I accept that it could be a logistical challenge, but the potential benefits are huge. On page 71 of The Influential Mind, Tali Sharot¹ shares an eye-opening study. One group of teachers were given $4,000 and told that the money would be taken away if their...

7 days ago • 1 min read

Never Lead With Negativity Read online Last week, a student enrolled in the Nudge Unit asked me: Should I show my negative reviews? The answer is yes but with a heavy caveat. Studies show that consumers prefer a 4.8-star rating to a 5-star rating¹. The 4.8 rating feels more believable and trustworthy. So, you'll need to include a few negative reviews. In fact, an analysis of New York Times book reviews found that negative reviews increased sales by 45%² for unknown authors. A poorly reviewed...

14 days ago • 1 min read
Me talking at iMark conference.

Distinct But Not Different Read online Last week, I gave a keynote speech in Reykjavík for the ÍMARK conference. Want me to speak at your event? Email me (I'll give you mates' rates) I spoke about standing out and why marketers are obsessed with differentiation. It all starts with the Von Restorff effect. Distinct images stick in our minds 👇 Distinct items stand out in our minds. Not only are distinct things 30x¹ more memorable, they bend our perception. That's why the heavy metal band Party...

21 days ago • 1 min read