Voting increases as much as 25% and the purchase of new cars (when people are asked if they intend to buy a new car in six months) increases by as much as 35%. Why does priming work so well? People who make commitments don’t want to be viewed as unreliable or inconsistent. They’ll consider the cost of looking like a flake higher than the cost of inconvenienc. Here’s how priming works online Let’s say I’m about to launch a new email newsletter. Here’s how I would prime my audience: A month or two out I would publish a post that says, “Hey, I’m thinking about creating a new email newsletter on a new goat-milk diet. Who’s interested?” Naturally, if I get enough interest, I’ll go for it. But I’ve also primed the audience.
Two weeks before launch: “Hey, just as a reminder, we philippines photo editor are going to launch that goat-milk email newsletter two weeks from now. Let me know if you plan on signing up.” And then finally, on the day before the launch: “I’m curious. Who intends to sign up for the new email newsletter? Let me know in the comments.”. To some people this smacks of manipulation. Well, it can be. Here’s why priming is not manipulation If you truly believe that people’s lives will be changed by your goat-milk diet, then you can help them make the right decisions with priming. For instance, people have used priming to help people make healthy decisions involving exercising, quitting smoking, protesting ignorant behavior, saving their marriage, or eating right.
Furthermore you can accentuate priming by asking people when and how they plan to respond: Do you plan on exercising this week? Which days and what will you do? Do you plan on joining the demonstration this week? Which days and what are you going to do (bring a sign, bullhorn, or nothing — you’re going nude)? Do you plan on working on your marriage this week? What are you going to do and when (stop work early and spend time with my spouse every other day)? Priming works because it’s a matter of giving people simple (and seemingly irrelevant) clues in areas of their lives in which they need help. And the more desperate they are for that help, the easier they are to prime.