Use when persuasion principles have to be applied to a specific asset — reciprocity, scarcity, authority, social proof, liking, commitment, and unity mapped onto copy, a landing page, an email, or an ad, each with a hypothesis and a test plan. Trigger on 'marketing psychology', 'Cialdini', 'persuasion principles', 'how do I add urgency', 'make this more convincing', 'behavioral triggers for this page'. Also use when the user asks why people read the whole page and still do not buy. Not for — price framing and margin math, see `17-pricing-strategy-global`; building the offer itself, see `31-offer-design-global`; running the experiment properly, see `19-ab-test-setup-global`.
Use when persuasion principles have to be applied to a specific asset — reciprocity, scarcity, authority, social proof, liking, commitment, and unity mapped onto copy, a landing page, an email, or an ad, each with a hypothesis and a test plan. Trigger on 'marketing psychology', 'Cialdini', 'persuasion principles', 'how do I add urgency', 'make this more convincing', 'behavioral triggers for this page'. Also use when the user asks why people read the whole page and still do not buy. Not for — price framing and margin math, see `17-pricing-strategy-global`; building the offer itself, see `31-offer-design-global`; running the experiment properly, see `19-ab-test-setup-global`.
A .md file containing 1–2 selected psychology principles applied to specific marketing assets (copy, landing page, email, ad), with hypotheses and an A/B test plan
Apply behavioral science to marketing without manipulation. Real psychology beats fake urgency every time.
For Newbies
Before diving in: marketing psychology is not about tricking people. It's about removing friction from a decision the prospect already wants to make.
If your product is bad, no Cialdini trick will save it. If your product is good, these principles help the right people say "yes" faster — and feel good about it afterwards.
The two failure modes:
Underuse — you write robotic copy with zero emotional triggers, prospects feel nothing, they bounce.
Overuse — you stack 7 fake-scarcity countdowns, fake reviews, and fake authority badges, and trust collapses.
Pick 1–2 principles per asset. Make them honest. Test them.
Step 0 — Read Context
Read .agents/product-marketing-context.md if it exists. The product, audience, and brand voice should drive principle selection — not the other way around.
Step 1 — Information Gathering
Ask up to 3 questions before writing:
Where will this be applied? (Ad copy / Landing page / Email / Video script / Social post / Pricing page)
Audience temperature? (Cold / Warm / Hot — different temperatures need different triggers)
The 7 Principles (Cialdini, applied globally)
1. Reciprocity
Principle: People feel obligated to give back when they receive something of value first.
When to use:
Top-of-funnel (cold audience) — hand out value before asking for anything
Building an email list — lead magnet (template, checklist, mini-course)
Re-engagement — gift to dormant customers before re-pitching
International examples:
HubSpot — gives away free CRM, blog, courses, and academy certifications. Converts a small % to paid Marketing Hub. Probably the cleanest reciprocity flywheel in B2B.
Spotify Wrapped — annual gift of personalized data. Drives massive social sharing and retention.
IKEA — free meatballs in the cafeteria, free in-store kid daycare. Reciprocity at retail.
Sephora — free samples with any purchase. Increases AOV and repeat visits.
Trigger phrasing:
"Free [resource] — no signup, no card"
"Take this [template/checklist] — use it whether or not you buy from us"
"On the house: [unexpected gift]"
Measurable outcome: Lead generation typically 2–3x higher than direct-sell offers.
Pitfall: Gifts that feel transactional ("download this whitepaper to get on our sales call list") destroy reciprocity. Make the value real and unconditional.
2. Commitment & Consistency
Principle: Once people make a small commitment, they tend to follow through with larger ones to stay consistent.
When to use:
Long sales cycles — break the journey into micro-yeses
Pitfall: Forced commitment (auto-renewing subscriptions hidden in fine print) creates short-term wins and long-term churn + bad reviews.
3. Social Proof
Principle: People trust the actions of others more than they trust marketers.
When to use:
Always. Social proof works at every funnel stage with different formats.
Especially when prospects are uncertain, in a new category, or comparing options
International examples:
Booking.com — "23 people are looking at this property right now" + "Booked 47 times in the last 24 hours." Industry-defining social proof at scale.
Airbnb — host reviews with photos, response rates, Superhost badges. Trust is the entire product.
Slack — homepage logos: NASA, Airbnb, OpenAI, Target. "If they trust Slack, you can too."
Notion — public templates from real users with real screenshots. Community as proof.
Formats that work globally:
Specific numbers — "Trusted by 12,847 small businesses" beats "Trusted by businesses worldwide"
Named, photo-real testimonials — never stock photos, never fake names
User-generated content (UGC) — real customers showing the product
Logo walls — recognizable brands using your product
Live counters — "47 people are viewing this right now" (only if real)
Third-party reviews — G2, Trustpilot, Capterra, App Store ratings
Trigger phrasing:
"[Number] [audience] have already [action]"
"[Named person, role at recognizable company]: '[quote about specific outcome]'"
"Rated 4.9/5 by [specific community]"
Pitfall: Fake reviews, anonymous testimonials, and stock photo "customers" are detected fast. Once trust breaks, social proof becomes a negative signal.
4. Authority
Principle: People defer to credible experts and recognized institutions.
When to use:
Categories where expertise matters (health, finance, legal, education, B2B technical)
Reducing skepticism in complex purchases
Justifying premium pricing
International examples:
Patagonia — environmental authority through actions (1% for the Planet, repair programs, public lawsuits). Earned, not claimed.
Mayo Clinic Press — medical content authority drives adjacent product trust.
Stripe — engineering authority through public documentation, blog posts, and open-source. Developers trust developers.
Tim Ferriss / Naval Ravikant — earned authority via long-form content; brands they endorse get instant trust transfer.
Pitfall: Fake countdowns that reset every visit, "only 2 left!" messages that never decrease, "limited time" offers that run permanently. Modern audiences detect and broadcast this — one viral takedown destroys credibility.
7. Unity
Principle: People are most influenced by groups they identify as part of — "we" beats "you and us."
When to use:
Membership communities and subscription brands
Identity-driven categories (fitness, finance, parenting, professional networks)
B2B where buyer wants to belong to the "smart companies" club
International examples:
Peloton — "Together we go far" + leaderboards + named tags + instructor shoutouts. Members are not customers, they're part of the tribe.
Harley-Davidson H.O.G. — owners' group with chapters worldwide. Buying the bike means joining the family.
CrossFit boxes — "your box," "your coach," named workouts (the Murph). Identity > equipment.
Notion ambassadors / Figma communities — power users self-organize and recruit; the brand amplifies them.
Spotify Wrapped — "I'm in the top 0.5% of [Artist] listeners" gives identity ammunition to share.
Unity levers:
Naming the group — "Patagonians," "Pelotoners," "Notion Heads"
"We" language — "We don't compromise on [value]" beats "You should care about [value]"
Identity-first copy — "If you're the kind of [person] who [behavior], this is for you"
Trigger phrasing:
"If you're [identity statement], this is for you"
"We [value statement] — and so do you"
"Welcome to [community name]"
Pitfall: Hollow group names without real community infrastructure. If you call them "the family" but never host an event or respond to messages, the language curdles.
Quick Application Matrix
Audience Stage
Primary principles
Avoid
Cold (TOFU) — don't know you yet
Reciprocity, Social Proof (numbers), Liking (story)
Heavy Scarcity (premature), unverified Authority
Warm (MOFU) — comparing options
Authority (expertise), Social Proof (detailed reviews), Commitment (micro-yes)
[Hero] Authority + Unity:
"[Expert name, credential]" + "For [specific identity]"
[Problem] Liking:
"We get it — you're tired of [specific pain]"
[Solution] Reciprocity:
Free assessment / template / demo (no card)
[Proof] Social Proof:
Numbers + named testimonials + recognizable logos
[Pricing] Scarcity (only if real):
"[Specific number] cohort spots left"
[CTA] Commitment:
"Get your custom [X]" — micro-yes wording, not "Buy"
Email subject lines
Curiosity: "Why 73% of new users churn in week one"
Authority: "[Title]: 3 mistakes I see in every [category] launch"
Scarcity: "Last 24 hours — [specific bonus] disappears tomorrow"
Social proof: "12,000 founders switched to [solution] — your turn?"
Personal: "[First name], a quick thought on [recent context]"
Ad copy (Meta / Google / TikTok)
Social proof: "12,847 founders trust [tool] — see why →"
Scarcity: "Beta closes Friday — last 50 invites"
Authority: "[Expert] reviewed 200+ [products] — here's what wins"
Liking: "Hi, I'm [Name]. I built [brand] after [specific moment] →"
Reciprocity: "Free [resource] — no signup, no card →"
Golden Rules
One or two, never seven. Pick the strongest two principles per asset. Stacking all seven looks desperate and erodes each.
Real or nothing. Fake scarcity, paid testimonials, ghostwritten founder posts — every fake gets caught eventually, and recovery is harder than not faking.
Match the temperature. Cold audiences need Liking and Reciprocity first. Hot audiences need Scarcity and Commitment.
Test, don't assume. Theory says "scarcity works" — your specific audience may respond more to Authority. A/B test (see skill 19).
Brand voice over technique. The principle should disappear into copy that sounds like your brand, not feel like a manipulation script.
Quality Checklist
Selected 1–2 principles (no more)
Audience temperature matches principle choice (cold/warm/hot)
Every claim is real (no fake scarcity, fake reviews, fake authority)
Language matches brand voice (not generic "Cialdini-speak")
Audience-specific phrasing pulled from product-marketing-context-global
A/B test plan defined (variant control + variant with principle applied)
Cultural assumptions checked — what reads as "social proof" in one market may feel intrusive in another
