Email Marketing Psychology: 9 Triggers To Include In Your Emails In Emails
Feb 19, 2026
In this post I cover the all-important topic of email marketing psychology.
Specifically:
Nine important ways humans think
How that impacts your success with your email marketing
And how to use that psychology ("triggers") to your advantage
9 Important Triggers In Email Marketing Psychology
#1: Reciprocity.
What it means:
People feel the need to “give back” if you have given them a certain amount of value.
This is true even if they’re unaware of it.
When you help them out, give them value, solve their problems...
At a certain point...
They will feel the pressure to return the favor.
Even if they aren’t fully aware of it. (Maybe it has something to do with feeling guilty about getting but not giving.)
What you can do:
Keep on sending valuable emails
Reference past pieces of content they have consumed (trackable via clicks in your ESP)
Don’t be afraid to make offers (if you have given enough, at a certain point, you will start getting)
#2: Loss aversion.
What it means:
We feel the pain of losing out on something more than the satisfaction of gaining something.
This is one of those weird (and slightly depressing) quirks about being human:
The negative things affect us more than the positive things.
Comparing losing something to gaining something-
The losing is always a more intense emotion.
(This is why losing 100 bucks feels worse than winning 100 bucks feels good.)
What you can do:
Include a countdown timer in all of your promo emails (to highlight “missing out on an opportunity”)
Throw in some surprise bonuses towards the end of a promo that they won’t get if they don’t sign up
Make sure your copy focuses not only on the good they get when they buy, but the bad they avoid as well (but don’t go overboard here, I’m not endorsing false “doomsday” copy)
#3: Scarcity.
What it means:
We place a higher value on things if we perceive them to be scarce or limited.
This plays out in our lives all the time:
Somebody doesn’t have a lot of time for us, so we feel lucky to get 15 minutes with them.
A show is disappearing from Netflix next weekend, so we feel extra compelled to watch it.
And, in the context of selling:
There is a limited amount of something to buy…
Or a limited time in which to buy it…
So we are more likely to whip out our credit cards.
What you can do:
Put an end-date on all your promotions (no open-ended “buy when you want” format - in that case people never buy)
Have a very real limit on how many customers you take and communicate that (the typical way to justify this is to say “we are giving full attention to each person that enrolls”
Do a rolling list of bonuses (people that buy on a certain day get these bonuses, and when the next day rolls around, that set of bonuses gets swapped for a new one)
#4: Exposure effect.
What it means:
We trust the things we see the most.
It’s important to note here that the exposure effect is not really even about the quality of what you are giving people.
It’s much more that you are just showing up.
The brain likes consistency, and equates it with something they can trust-
So if people see you everywhere, they are more likely to trust you.
What you can do:
Keep showing up in peoples’ inboxes. Even if they don’t buy right away, sending a bunch of emails to subscribers keeps you top of mind. And “top of mind” means when they are ready to buy, you’re certainly in the running for their final choice.
Don’t neglect your email sequences. The death of the exposure effect (and the benefit it brings to your business) is ghosting your list. A couple weeks (or months) without emailing your list? And then randomly popping back into their inbox? Not great. Sequences can avoid this.
#5: Anchoring.
What it means:
The first interaction we have with a brand sets our expectations.
This is all about first impressions. Ever notice how you kind of judge somebody based on your very first interaction with them? (And without really thinking about what random point in their life you met them at?)
Don’t worry - we all do it.
Same thing with your business.
When people have a positive first experience with your business-
It’s much easier to get them to consume your content and buy your products.
But when that first experience is somehow negative? You’re playing life on hard mode.
What you can do:
Make your welcome sequence awesome. This is usually the first interaction somebody has with your business, so it’s essential you make a good first impression.
Make your emails easy to read. Short paragraphs, scanneable, all that jazz. This connects your emails with “ease” in your reader’s brain - and makes it more likely that they continue to open them.
Not related to email, but if you do a lot of content marketing, make it good. Easier said than done, obviously, but a little bit of extra effort ensures that first impression is a good one.
#6: Relativity.
What it means:
We struggle to understand something new if we don’t have something to compare it to
Ever notice how often effective copy compares new products to products you already know?
A big one:
“We are the DuoLingo of…”
Most people know DuoLingo (in case you don’t, a super easy-to-use app that teaches you languages).
So when they say “the DuoLingo of car rentals”...
You kind of know what they’re getting at.
This is all about making it easier for your reader to understand what you are offering. Especially useful if you sell something that’s a bit different than what they’re used to.
What you can do:
Compare yourself to a well-known company. Obviously you want to differentiate yourself here. Positioning is important. But more important is not confusing people.
Use the right phrases in your copy to compare things. Explaining a difficult concept? One thing I like to do is using the phrase “it’s kind of like…”. This clarifies what people are actually getting when they buy from you.
#7: Delight at unexpected value.
What it means:
We experience a lot of joy (and attach joy to our perception of a business) when we get unexpected value.
This is kind of like a surprise gift. When a company hooks us up-
We get really excited. And crucially-
We value that exact same thing more if it comes as a surprise than we do if we were expecting it.
(Isn’t our brain stupid???)
What you can do:
Send super valuable resources without asking your audience if they want it.
Include bonuses that you didn’t mention beforehand.
Update your courses and programs and then let past students know about it.
#8: IKEA Effect.
What it means:
People value something more if they had a hand in building it.
When I lived in Germany, IKEA furniture was basically all I owned-
And I can confirm:
When you put it together yourself, there is a certain amount of pride.
Same thing with your products.
Give your list some kind of involvement in whatever it is you’re creating, and they will value it more.
What you can do:
Release paid products as Beta versions. Make it cheaper in exchange for their feedback on what to improve. (Pre-selling with email is a great way to do this.)
Ask for feedback in your post-purchase sequences (and actually act on it). People will forgive products that aren’t perfect. What they won’t forgive is you not asking them about it.
#9: Social proof.
What it means:
We trust things more when we see that others trust them too.
Obvious one to end on here, but it’s one of the most important ones.
Never forget social proof. It’s your bread and butter, and even if people don’t read your entire testimonial wall-
Simply seeing that you have them is often enough to convince them to buy (assuming you have the right offer).
What you can do:
Always be gathering reviews. Put links in your post-purchase sequences so you are always bringing them in.
Add screenshots of good reviews or testimonials everywhere. Your sequences. Your sales page. Your social media. Your sales emails. The more people see, the more legit (and trustworthy) you become.
Reach out to your “VIP” customers about interviewing them. These make great video case studies.
One Obvious Point About Email Marketing Psychology
It goes without saying-
But you need to actually ACT on this stuff.
My challenge for you:
Take out a piece of paper
Write down all nine of these on a list
Keep this list next to your computer
Look at at before you write any email
Just that simple reminder is going to guarantee you are triggering your reader's minds in the best way-
And will make your emails more effective as a result.
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