Web Copywriting - What Are Those Psychological Triggers Anyway?

Jul 26, 2007

It just means saying the right things just at the right time and using the most appropriate words.

While trying to gain more and more knowledge of web copywriting and copywriting in general (for me learning never stops) I often come across writings that “reveal” the secrets of copywriting (without revealing them, unless you buy that e-book or that report) that can turn your websites into ”money making machines”. While reading, I find these expressions repeatedly:

• Psychological triggers
• Mesmerizing copywriting
• Action words that sell your product like hot cakes

and a horde of other hyper terminologies. Some of these writing styles may put you off, but surprisingly, they work. Before proceeding further, here are a few things we must keep in perspective about the Internet:

• The other website is just a click away
• A customer, sometimes when gone, is gone forever
• Distractions on the Internet are as many as the bees in a bee-farm
• Trust and personal touch lacks on the Internet
• People still are not comfortable with the technology
• Swindlers galore on the Internet

Hence, web copywriting is different from conventional, off-line copywriting

A website is not your usual shop, mall or office where you have to enter physically and then to go to the next shop, mall or office you have to cover a considerable distance. There are no friendly sales people more than ready to show you around. You are alone on the website full of text, images, and animations and videos sometimes. Everything is quiet there, and if you are alone in your room, there is a pin-drop silence. Or you may be in a room full of people watching a football match.

You might have ten more websites open in various browser tabs or windows. Even a small distraction or a disturbance can make you close the tab and go to the next website. So whatever has to happen, must happen while you are there on the website. You are like a bird ever ready to fly away the moment you find something else or you find something unsuitable.

Great products and services fail to make it because they fail to keep the visitors glued to the website long enough to make the right impact, or cause a sale or a subscription.

With so many things literally working against your online business, I can really understand if you don’t want that visitor to go away without him or her buying something, or subscribing to your service or the RSS feed (it applies to blogs too). Hence, you have these psychological triggers and mesmerism and what not.

Therefore, originates the need for “hypnotic copywriting” — a style of writing that grabs the attention of the reader and then keeps him or her glued to the screen. I don’t think it’s a deception. You don’t have a person spell-bound, eager to do your every bidding.

Hypnotic copywriting, or those psychological triggers are not as vile as they seem. It just means saying the right things just at the right time and using the most appropriate words. It’s a linear, procedural progression. It involves:

• Get the reader interested in the very first line
• Make the reading as engaging (and easy) as possible
• Highlight the benefits and establish credibility, or
• Establish credibility and highlight the benefits
• Make it all about the reader
• Trust his or her intelligence
• Trust your intelligence

Whenever I’m writing for a client I don’t use styles: I just try to be genuine. I ask the client, how the product can benefit the buyer. Everything begins from there.

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: copywriting, online copywriting, web copywriting

5 Responses to “Web Copywriting - What Are Those Psychological Triggers Anyway?”

1. Ciara Website Copywriter
   August 19th, 2007 at 7:58 am
   “Hypnotic copywriting, or those psychological triggers are not as vile as they seem.”
   I love the words you use. “Vile” is one of the most commonly used words in my dictionary.
   
2. Peter Kohar
   August 22nd, 2007 at 12:35 pm
   don’t forget to use powerful words, to create a huge different when you use it or no. it can bump your sales on to 50%-400% when you use your powerful words.
   Peter Kohar
   www.CopyWritingRevolution.com
   
3. czeus
   September 9th, 2007 at 11:09 am
   yes, i agree, writing copyrights for web is far different than the traditional copyrighting, but i find it difficult one. May be because of the nature of material/content we intend to protect with our skills
   
4. Marketing Lens - Today’s Top Blog Posts on Marketing - Powered by SocialRank
   October 1st, 2007 at 4:43 am
   […] Web Copywriting - What Are Those Psychological Triggers Anyway? […]
   
5. Ginsu Pekatu
   July 20th, 2008 at 4:19 am
   Hypnotic copywriting, or those psychological triggers are not as vile as they seem. This is true.
   

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