- The Pen Pivot
- Posts
- 2 Unusual Psychological Triggers That Will Get Your Reviews Clicked And Viewed
2 Unusual Psychological Triggers That Will Get Your Reviews Clicked And Viewed
Welcome to The Pen Pivot!
In this email:
🔧 Creator Tool Of The Day:
21 psychology-driven email subject line tricks to boost your open rate.
💡 Psychology-Backed Content Trick:
Most content creators write/create reviews of products or services at times. Here’s how to use psychology to make that content “buzz” enough to get clicked and viewed.
🐰 Rabbit Holes And Resources:
The full story of MrBeast (0 to 34 billion views), how to write an essay with AI, and more.
Let’s get to it.
🔧 tool of the day
New Cheat Sheet 🥳
The email newsletter you’re reading right now has an industry-leading open rate of 52%.
I won’t lie - it took many painful months to get there.
Let’s just say I struggled with desperately low open rates for a long time.
Plus, I wasted so many hours on “busy work” that didn’t move the needle.
The biggest difference came from testing dozens of psychology-driven email subject line styles and formats.
I’ve condensed all of it into a handy PDF cheat sheet containing 21 email subject line tricks to test out yourself.
It gives you quick and actionable tactics (with examples) to increase your open rates with hardly any extra effort.
🖱️
A Psychology-Driven Headline Tweak To Get Your Reviews Clicked And Viewed
Who’s seen this type of headline before?
“MacBook Pro 2023 Review: A Detailed Take”
“Vitamix E310 Explorian Blender: What You Need To Know”
Don’t get me wrong - they aren’t terrible.
They’re clear, factual, and straightforward.
But ultimately, they don’t do the one thing headlines are supposed to do:
Spark curiosity.
Here’s a simple technique for writing review headlines that do spark curiosity:
Add some social proof and/or FOMO.
It’ll pop some “buzz” into your content.
Yep, and all it usually takes is a few extra words.
Here’s how…
How To Add Social Proof And FOMO To Your Review Content — Trust Me, It’ll Get Them Clicked
They’re both powerful, but subtly different psychological triggers.
Social Proof: It’s when people copy what others are doing because they think it’s the “correct” behavior.
FOMO: It’s the worry that you’re missing out on important experiences others are having.
Here’s the key:
💡 Highlight that the product, service, activity, or topic you're reviewing has already been validated by others, is getting attention, and/or is part of a current trend.
Two Examples Of Headlines That Crush It With Social Proof/FOMO
Headline 1:
“This Book Sold 100,000 Copies In One Day — Everything to Know About the Fantasy Series Taking Over BookTok” - The Messenger
The headline highlights the massive popularity of the book (social proof) and that it’s part of a trending movement (FOMO).
It also keeps the name of the series hidden, urging the audience to click and find out more.
It’s a little long, but it fills you with curiosity.
Here’s a shorter one…
Headline 2:
“It’s the Most Hyped Burger in Years — But Is It Any Good?” - Grub Street
The word “hyped” combines social proof and FOMO.
It’s essentially saying:
Lots of people are eating this burger.
Lots of people are talking about this burger.
It then cleverly ends with a question that makes us wonder whether that hype is justified.
And again, the name of the product is hidden.
We can’t help but click to find out more.
How To Apply This To Your Own Review Content
Identify “Buzzworthy” Points: Look for statistics, sales figures, trending topics, or anything that suggests the product/subject is getting attention. Anything from social media trends to sales milestones.
Add Some Intrigue: Try phrases like "Here's why everyone's talking about..." or "Why is this [product] suddenly all over your feed?" to generate buzz and imply widespread interest (if true).
Try Questions: Sometimes, a question can be more engaging than a straightforward statement. Eg. “Is this the best [product] of the year?”
Highlight Unique Features: If the product has a unique feature that's causing buzz, highlight that in the headline. Eg. “The [product] with [feature] that's taking Instagram by storm”.
It’s Happening As We Speak…
Type “Stanley Cup” into Google News for present-day examples of headlines using social proof and FOMO in full force.
Your Next 3 Steps:
Apply This To New Content: Use social proof and FOMO in the headlines of your upcoming reviews to test their impact on click-through rate/engagement.
Keep Up with Trends: Keep an eye on current trends, popular topics, and viral products in your niche. Use these insights to write headlines that tap into trending interests and conversations.
Ask Your Audience: Engage with your readers or viewers by asking what they're interested in or talking about right now.
🐰 rabbit holes and resources
🍫 Today’s link candy for content creators:
Did you find today's newsletter content valuable? |
And that’s all for today!
Dil, The Pen Pivot