3 Psychological Biases That Will Boost Your Writing Hooks

I have been writing on the Internet for 3 years now.

And whether you’re trying to grow your audience on social media or on platforms like Medium and Substack. Your writing needs a hook.

You might be great at what you do and share knowledge that’ll genuinely resonate with people. But it only works if they read it. If they don’t open it, you lose the race before it even begins.

The very first reason you don’t get viral is that you don’t understand human psychology. But we can change that quickly.

You see all those famous creators earning online. What makes them different from you is:

1. They are consistent in what they do.

2. They use psychological biases well and always offer great value to their audience.

Here are 3 psychological biases that will help you boost your writing online.

Let’s dig in.

1. The negativity bias

In this digital world — where attention is the key. The negative bias is very useful in marketing and content creation.

Because people remember negative events better and for longer when used properly. Here is how to use it:

1. Use negative verbs in your title

2. Tell people what they should avoid

3. Create “painkillers” not “vitamins”

2. The action bias

The action bias affects people’s inner feelings. When their decisions are unclear and they don’t know what to do.

People tend to lean toward action. Here is how to use it:

1. Pick a topic where you have solid knowledge

2. Use action words in your title

3. Help them find their purpose—give them a roadmap on how to do it

Because when you know a lot about a topic, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So, you can help your audience by sharing a roadmap of how you succeeded.

This will make you credible in front of them.

You can also sell them ‘how-to’ guides after building a good audience.

3. The social proof bias

People tend to trust you more.

• When you use numbers and stats

• When they see other people have already done it

• When they see the thing you are talking about is legit

In the end — we are human, and in our nature, we are cautious about new emerging things. We want more than just simple words.

So the great way to hook people is to apply social proof bias in content. Many content creators, entrepreneurs, and solopreneurs use this bias to market their content or product.

Here is how to use it:

1. Before you tell someone how to do something

2. Tell them why they should read it — what's in it for them

3. Make sure to highlight the numbers, stats, income, etc.

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