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The evidence of theories of persuasion or influence is everywhere in business. However a lot of the time it’s not understood.
For example you know companies choose celebrities to endorse their products. You know brands want you to ‘like’ them on Facebook? You’ve seen shops give you 3 slightly different versions of more or less the same thing. But do you know why? And can you use this knowledge in your own business online.
If not then you will be the end of this 2 part article).
The reasons for all of these things comes back to the laws of persuasion or influence.
Writers such as Kevin Hogan and Robert Cialdini have covered the concepts in depth, starting with Hogan’s 1996 book The Psychology of Persuasion.
These laws (10 of them) are well utilised in every form of business, but how do they look online?
In this 2 part article I’ll present examples of how each of the laws are implemented online to help companies ‘persuade’ buyers to part with their money and how you can do the same.
This article will look at laws 1 through 5.
Law 1 – The law of reciprocity
When someone gives you something of perceived value, you immediately respond with the desire to give something back
You don’t have to look very far to see examples of companies giving away things of value to potential customers.
How I do it
On my site I have written hundreds of articles, ebooks, videos etc and provided them all for free. It’s not just because I’m nice (of course I am) – it’s called ‘Content Marketing’ not ‘Content Philanthropy’. It’s a marketing technique designed to build trust and build on the concept of reciprocity. People who contact me looking for websites are grateful for the stuff I’ve put up on the site and in some way feel a need to reciprocate.
I give a lot of stuff away for free - not just because I'm nice.
If you have read any of my ebooks, particularly my 
