7 Super Triggers to Get Readers into Action

How do you persuade your blog readers to take action? How can you generate responses that are almost automatic? With triggers. Everybody’s got them.

A trigger is any stimulus that helps us make an quick, non-thinking decision or action. A trigger activates a person’s immediate compliance to an attempt to influence.

We are pre-programmed to comply with requests when a trigger is activated. It’s simply a shortcut to avoid the pain and effort of mental activity, to help us conserve energy in case of future threat to survival. Mental activity takes up a huge amount of energy, so we avoid it whenever we can.

Research has identified seven super triggers. Once you know and understand them, you will see them everywhere. In every request you make, in every email you write, and certainly in every commercial on TV, these seven super triggers are present. Why not put them in your blog posts?

You can improve your chances of persuasion success by using more than one trigger.

Here are seven triggers to automatically influence others, as revealed in psychological research:

1. Friendship
2. Authority
3. Consistency
4. Reciprocity
5. Contrast
6. Reason why
7. Hope

These triggers are written about in Robert B. Cialdini's book Influence, The Psychology of Persuasion (Collins, 2007). A more recent book that updates the research of brain science and persuasion is Russell H. Granger's The 7 Triggers to Yes: The New Science Behind Influencing People's Decisions    (McGrawHill, 2008).

The Friendship Trigger

People are more easily influenced by people they like. Liking is a prerequisite for the other triggers. Friendship generates trust, and trust activates a strong internal trigger. This is the basis of the marketing axiom that “people buy from people they know, like and trust.” The best way to activate friendship is through similarity. Find connections and common interests, and listen to the people you wish to influence.

The Authority Trigger

We respond with unthinking automatic compliance to those we believe have authority, credibility, and power. Managers and leaders might think they have authority by virtue of their position, but without the likability factor, this trigger is weakened. The authority trigger works because we assume the person in position of authority has already done the evaluation work for us.

The Consistency Trigger

Our internal guidance system compels us to be consistent with the way we see ourselves and the way we see our admired peers. We are slaves to consistency and conformity; in fact, these drives are hard wired into humans and governed by the amygdala.

The research is clear: Decisions are emotion based. When it comes time to make a decision, we call up an emotional memory that is similar to the situation at hand, and we’re guided in the same direction.

The Reciprocity Trigger

One of the strongest, most universal internal triggers is the law of giving and receiving, or quid pro quo. Reciprocity is the well-documented psychological desire to want to give back to someone who has given us a gift. It’s another automatic response hard-wired into our brains. Marketers have been using bonus gifts and free samples for years.

The Contrast Trigger

Framing a proposition so that it shows up as more desirable than an alternative is a proven automatic compliance technique. In this case the framing of the proposal is critical. Always present the most onerous approach first, then what you really want.

The Reason Why Trigger

The brain is looking for shortcuts to doing mental work. When you present a valid reason to accept a proposition, you get compliance. This has been applied successfully over a multitude of situations. We now understand why this happens because we’ve seen the neural networks in the brain’s decision-making process. The amygdala seems to accept any valid reason and doesn’t bother to send the information to the cerebral cortex. When you provide a reason, you persuade successfully.

The Hope Trigger

Hope motivates all human activity. We are easily persuaded by those who understand our hopes, our wishes, and our dreams. This is one of the strongest persuaders, underlying all others. We hope our decisions and actions will somehow improve our lives, our status, and help us become more successful and happy. Once we perceive an opportunity to satisfy our hopes, we seldom rely on rational cognitive thought or logic before we act.

The constant desire for happiness is the foundation for the omnipotent hope trigger. One of the best examples of this is seen in get-rich quick scams, gambling, and lotteries. The vitamin and cosmetic industries thrive because of the strong hopes and desires triggered by their marketing messages. Not a shred of logic or reason is employed to weigh the odds.

Comments

[Bryan Kress]

I feel very strongly towards the reciprocity and friendship triggers. These triggers have come up very recently in my life when I offered free classes on understanding social media. I am glad to see this post as it has been extremely hard to get people to make comments on my site.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Getting people to comment is often a challenge when you don't discuss topics that are controversial, Bryan. But as you are demonstrating the reciprocity trigger by commenting here, I'm now curious and might have to go check out your blog and leave a comment there! Thanks for stopping by!

[ChaCha Fance]

Very nice. Tried to digg ya but got a "no no violation" message =( Did Stumble it though.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Thanks, ChaCha. Since you suggested it, I went over to Digg to see what was going on, and had no trouble submitting it. Thanks for the thought!

[Connie Ragen Green]

I use the reciprocity trigger in my marketing. I offer free consultations and end up turning prospects into clients many times. My 30 minute free consults have been a remarkable way for me to build up the psychological feeling of people wanting to reciprocate by joining my courses and programs.
I just heard Cialdini on a teleseminar - what a talented man!

[Sharon Rose Gibson]

Thank you for writing this and sharing it here. This is great insight and information to keep in mind.
The friendship factor is something I've frequently used in selling and in most of my business relationships. I find I enjoy the whole process more if I make my customers or coworkers into friends.
I've learned that making friends is much easier through developing listening skills which I discuss on my website. That is an example of the reciprocity trigger working. When you give the gift of listening to someone, they are more inclined to take an interest in what you have to say.
Another fun example of the reciprocity trigger working on me...I was walking through a street market with my kids. This one man insisted on giving all five of us some of his delicious fresh pineapple. Well, I could not walk away from that kind of generosity and I brought one of his packages of nicely prepared pineapple slices!

[gout]

great information, I always active to creat frienship in social media like friendster, mybloglog, digg, and other popular social bokmarks...thanks

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Thanks, Gout! You need to read my latest post on blog commenting and leaving your real name! Thanks for stopping by, and I have a hard time calling you 'gout!'

[switch and save $$$’s]

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