profile

Nudge Newsletter

The unknown footballer who's book outsold Beckham | Nudge Newsletter 🧠

Published over 1 year ago • 1 min read

A secret bestseller.

Do you recognise this football player?

Probably not. He's only played for England once.

And yet.

This fairly unknown English footballer sold more books than David Beckham, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard, and Frank Lampard combined.

He did so using the curiosity gap.

He wrote under a pseudonym, "the Secret Footballer".

By hiding his identity, he could share hard truths, gossip, and uncensored stories, such as the drunken antics of a Chelsea striker or the binge-eating winger who hated the game.

I heard Harry Dry share this on David Perell's show.

It's a fantastic example of the curiosity gap. People are drawn towards the unknown.

One study in Cialdini's book Pre-suasion shows this nicely.

The study found that college women were more attracted to men whose opinions of them remained unknown, rather than those who rated them highly.

The unknown ratings dominated their thoughts a bit like this infamous meme.

Dave Kitson benefits from the same bias.

By hiding his identity, he made his book more intriguing, selling more than far more successful players.

So, next time you want someone's attention, consider withdrawing some information.

​

Cheers for reading,

Phill (the not-so-secret marketer)

Nudge Newsletter

Phill Agnew

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

Read more from Nudge Newsletter

Barnum Effect Read online Why does the ad on the 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 capture attention? Well, it might be down to the question.Rohini Ahluwalia and Robert Burnkrant's study¹ in 2004 tested two types of ads. Statement-based ads: "You haven't had a pear in a while."And... Question ads: "When was the last time you had a pear?" The researchers found that ads using questions are rated 14% 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐲 than statement-based ads. So, why not turn your statement into a question? I tested this myself in two...

3 days ago • 1 min read

The Country-of-Origin Effect Read online You’re thinking of buying a new pair of running shoes. Usually, you go with Nike. But this time, you’re considering Umbro (a lesser-known brand). Then you find out: Umbro makes their shoes in the UK. Nice. It's always good to find locally made brands. You’re willing to pay a decent price. But the next day, you hear Umbro are moving production to South Korea. Now, would you still pay the same? Probably not. That’s exactly what these researchers¹ found....

10 days ago • 1 min read

The Anchoring Effect Read online In the 1970s, Tversky and Kahneman¹ ran a simple experiment. They asked people: "What percentage of African countries are in the UN?" But before answering, participants had to spin a wheel with numbers from 0 to 100. The wheel was rigged to land on either 10 or 65. Then came the important question: "Is the actual percentage higher or lower than that number?" After that, participants gave their best estimate. Here’s what happened: People who saw 10 guessed 25%...

17 days ago • 1 min read