Greatest Hits (so far)

In case you missed anything about psy-copy®, here's a round-up

I’ve been on Substack for four weeks now and am starting to gather a lovely band of copy psychology enthusiasts.

I’m plan to do an occasional round-up in case you’ve missed anything.

So here’s a quick recap …

Odd Couples & Netflix borrowing

In my first-ever post, I covered a little-known storytelling trope (The Wunza Plot), Netflix-style visuals and insider rituals using the podcast, Help I Sexted My Boss.

Ever heard of The Wunza Plot in storytelling?

Read Messaging velcro (cloaked in comedy): 9 under-the-radar marketing lessons hiding in a comedy podcast.

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Brand names & mind games

Brand names serve as labels on your brain’s filing cabinet, which is why I wrote about naming and subliminal priming, sound symbolism and The Concreteness Effect. Plus bonus word-nerd tips on phonemes.

In this post, I considered how to do smarter brand naming by leveraging -

• Heuristics and copy psychology

• Familiar story patterns and rituals

• Positive word associations and the Halo Effect

• Euphony (or the sound-good factor)

Read the Mind Games of Brand Names: 4 ways to use copy psychology to name things in your business.

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Mighty Number 9

In this post, I looked at three lightbulb concepts around the number 9 for marketers -

1. Price psychology and charm pricing

2. Word associations and positive priming

3. 9-enders and the Fresh Start Effect - did you know that, among other things, 9-enders are more likely to run a marathon, get married, change jobs, seek out bucket-list experiences or buy luxury items?

9-enders are more likely to do all kinds of interesting things

Read Strength in numbers: is 9 your marketing secret weapon? here.

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The language of hands in copy psychology

We use hand metaphors unthinkingly all the time to symbolise our level of control. We seize power or get a grip on a tricky topic.

This post is all about the language of hands in copywriting. And how to use it to reinforce expertise and trust in your business messaging.

Not just good. Finger lickin’ good.

Read about the language of hands here.

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Coming up next

I’m writing about the psychology of ‘Lipstick Offers’ for service businesses.

Lipstick what? You know, those low-cost (but paid), recession-friendly offers that many of us are building into our services right now? Like that £10 ebook or £15 workshop.

Here’s what I’m covering -

• Why your service business might need some Lipstick Offers. What’s the psychology behind them?

• How to position your own Lipstick Offer, covering price framing and foot-in-the-door psychology.

• How to name your Lipstick Offer using copy psychology.

Have you got a Lipstick Offer yet? Might you need one?

Here’s where you subscribe so you don’t miss it ⬇️