This is Inbox Hacking, a Free Newsletter for fearless email marketers wanting to level up. Email marketing insights, tools, & tactics sent twice per week. Someone forwarded you our Newsletter? Sign up for your Free subscription. Todayâ use these 3 persuasion tactics in your emails.
Morning Inbox Hackers. Our friends at SalesAgency have a remote job opening for an Email Production Associate – apply here.
On tap in todayâs edition of Inbox Hacking:
- 3 persuasion tactics you can use right away in email campaigns
- Fresh Knowledge Base section, includes deliverability warning signs
- Self help via one of my favorite ads ever
- Key stats affecting marketers
- Todayâs hack (double actually)
I woke up at 4:40 a.m. to start on todayâs newsletter so we better get to it before a nap overtakes meâŠ
Steve O Lessons = Persuasive Emails
HubSpot highlighted the brilliance of Steve Jobs. Way to go out on a limb.
Still, the 3 persuasion tactics he used are helpful as you beg, steal, borrow, push, and nudge your subscribers to take the actions you want them to.
- Labor Illusion Effect
- Halo Effect
- Von Restorff Effect
These are psychological effects. Since no human being can escape them, they are effective. Except on sociopaths, I guess.
Labor Illusion Effect for Persuasive Emails
I used this one to start todayâs newsletter. And it was true, I got up at 20 minutes til 5 a.m. to write this newsletter.
Steve Jobs gushed about how long Appleâs new gadgets took to develop.
âBy highlighting the countless hours, weekends, and years dedicated to perfecting Apple devices, he invoked a psychological principle known as the labor illusion.â ~HubSpot
This effect is real and youâll see it everywhere if you look.
- Itâs why people believe home-grown veggies taste better
- Why home-cooked meals are the bomb
- Why BBQ ads tell us how long the brisket was smoked
And those are just food-based ones. Iâll toss in how Kobe Bryant counted made-shots in practice until he got to 400, making his labor as impressive as winning 5 NBA Titles.
Next up, HaloâŠ
Halo Effect
Steve Jobs used ads that put Apple in the same vein as folks like Ghandi.
âBy associating Apple with groundbreaking figures like Gandhi, Einstein, John Lennon, and Picasso, Jobs created positive associations between these visionary individuals and the Apple brand.â ~HubSpot
Steve was super humbleđ . Oh, and footage of historic figures is often free versus hiring Kevin Durant to promote your stuff. (free film resources)
The article author tested the Halo Effect and it generated about 3 times more interest in his podcast.
Not to mention, HubSpot used the Halo Effect by inserting Steve Jobs into the article on these persuasion techniques. The psychological effects are impressive and already proven but stand out when connected to a brilliant (and modest) innovator.
Standing out is what the next tactic is all about.
Von Restorff Effect
Be weird, be remembered. (The key is to not let your odd marketing ploys outshine what youâre marketing).
Von Restorff-type research has shown:
- A word outside the category of other words in a list stands out
- Numbers are 30X more memorable when placed alongside letters
- A red tomato immediately catches your eye in a basket full of green ones
*This effect is not quite as pronounced in older adults.
Steve Jobs made Apple products âweirdâ in the computer world where gadgets were not slick and sexy, just functional.
đ»Iâve got a couple of emails in my inbox that use one-word subject lines. One mailer uses calls-to-action with an http:// link written out – clunky on purpose to stand out from typical links. One newsletter comes up with stories I have not and will not see elsewhere.
These persuasive emails stand out to me. I read them more often than others that blend in with the masses.
Time to close.
Persuasion Tactics Wrap-up
Thereâs no reason not to utilize all three of those tactics to create more persuasive emails.
#1 Labor Illusionâ You work hard on your content so tell your readers about the grind.
#2 Halo Effect is easy, just be creative like Jobs – heâd prescribe psychedelic popsicles (legally I canât).
#3 Von Restorff Effect is getting harder as marketers all look for ways to stand out. Luckily thereâs not another weirdo just like you out there. Donât take that the wrong wayđ .
Read on – weâve got Effies and Gen Z marketing findings.
Knowledge Base
đKnowledge is power, so is human potential.
7 marketing podcasts (some can help you today, some in 5 yearsâ choose wisely).
đ€Forget personalized marketing for a sec & get personal (video).
Need better email survey questions? Pew Research how-to (video).
đ2023 Effie winners.
Spot deliverability problems before your reputation suffers.
*Follow Inbox Mailers on LinkedIn.
Inboxes are more crowded than ever.
Many brands have 8 out of 10 emails unopened, going to waste.
Demoralizing? YepâŠ
But it doesnât have to be this way.
You can dramatically increase your open rates with Inbox Mailers.
Users of this new tech are seeing 50% – 70% open rates consistently.
âPlus, Inbox Mailers re-engages inactive subscribers using our Network Effect.
Our platform integrates easily with your current ESP.
Increases click volume too, leading to better campaign ROI.
Stand out in inboxes and donât let your campaigns go to waste any longer.
Inbox Mailers is the only email tool with genuine perfectly-timed emails because theyâre triggered by your subscribers.
*sponsored


Self Help
Killing two birds with one stone.
One of the best ads I ever saw and a way to deal with life.
Free tip to go with itâ Build routines and donât let feelings alter them.
(Also, donât murder birdsđŠđŠ )
*Shout-out to Inbox Hackers:
đąAli at Citrin Cooperman (professional services)
đŁAlexis at CHOA (childrenâs healthcare)
Facts and Stats
- Pinterest survey shows a positive online environment ultimately led to a purchase for 54% of respondents
- 47% of Gen Z shop online while watching TV, 44% have paused a TV ad to look up a product or buy it, & 34% have purchased a product through a TV ad QR code (Media Post)
- 56% of marketers use automation for segmentation (Snov)
Bonus: Wait, Dolly Parton holds how many Guinness World Records? 10
Laughableđ€Ł
Donât waste another minute reading articles about THE BEST TIME TO SEND AN EMAIL.
Spoiler alertâŠ
The only perfect time is when your subscriber has time to read your emailâ and is actively in their inbox!
Inbox Mailers triggers your email to fire at that moment. How? We have a literal ear to the inbox (using our mega-mailer network).
Schedule a free one-on-one demo for more details. Youâll see your open rates rise immediately with these subscriber triggers.
*sponsored

Get Hacking
Writers live interesting lives. Great stories come easier that way.
Something to think about as an email marketer.
Why not test yourself with more adventures and bring your subscribers along?
Donât worry if you canât at the moment though.
Many great writers possess a bottomless pit of creativity and can bring their readers along without leaving their desk.
(ALT hack – clean your email list before Google hits this giant delete)
*If you know other email marketers who could use Inbox Hacking, please forward this email to them. Thanks for reading.
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đ49 Psychographic Segmentation Examples
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