Examining the Structure of Persuasive Content
How structural decisions influence persuasive messages
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Today we’re going to dip our toe into the world of persuasion. More specifically, we’re going to examine the structure that underlies 13 persuasive messages.
In content strategy, the term “structure” refers to the underlying structure of content; it encompasses information architecture, content models, metadata, and linking strategies. Structure is concerned primarily with the format, arrangement, and relationships between the parts of your content.
First, let’s take a quick look at the origins of persuasion.
A Brief History of Persuasion
Wikipedia is an excellent source of information. Here’s what I think is most relevant for you to know: Aristotle’s “The Art of Rhetoric” (🤑) teaches us about “rhetorical proofs,” which still hold up after all this time.
Ethos: An appeal to authority or credibility
Logos: An appeal to logic or reasoning
Pathos: An appeal to emotion
Aristotle also offers an important fourth dimension of rhetoric.
Kairos: The context in which proof is delivered
Content structure is one example of kairos.
Cialdini’s 6 Principles of Persuasion
The art of persuasion has been studied by modern psychologists also.
The rest of today’s post will follow the six principles of persuasion espoused by Dr. Robert Cialdini in his seminal book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion (🤑).
I first picked up Cialdini’s book at least 10 years ago. I remember buying it at Barnes & Noble in Daytona Beach. It’s not exactly light reading, so I’ve had to take it in doses. It traveled across the country when I moved to San Diego. And it has accompanied me on many airplane rides.
Here are the six principles of persuasion from Cialdini’s book.
Scarcity: People want something more when they think they may not be able to get it again.
Reciprocity: People feel obligated to return a favor.
Liking: People are more likely to say yes to someone they like.
Authority: People are more likely to listen to someone who has established credibility.
Commitment & Consistency (aka Consistency): You want to practice what you preach.
Social Proof (aka Consensus): You will look to the others for advice, especially when you are uncertain about a decision.
His website has a good overview of persuasion, but the book explains a lot of the underlying science. It covers some very relatable scenarios and a few surprising studies. One study (The Milgram Experiment from the ‘60s) involved shock therapy!
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Content Structures That Enable Persuasive Messages
Like it or not, our modern life is full of persuasive messages.
Celebrity endorsements, thirty-day challenges, and even the micro-networks we unintentionally create for ourselves on social media are persuasion in action.
Let’s explore examples of Cialdini’s six principles of persuasion through a variety of structures. For each example, I’ll explain the persuasive principle and list the underlying content structure elements.
Scarcity: People want something more when they think they may not be able to get it again.
Create scarcity with headlines. Tools like countdown timers can enhance this effect.
Slap Chop - Header Image
This header image is all one graphic. That’s a questionable choice for many reasons (SEO, accessibility, etc.), but most people who find their way to this page encounter a healthy dose of persuasion. If you “order now,” you get a low price, free shipping, and a bonus item. Moreover, this is a “limited time offer.”
If this header were all neatly laid out in HTML, the persuasion potency (did I just invent that term?) would be significantly less.
Header (image)
CountdownMail - Countdown Timer
I find these kinds of timers anxiety-inducing, but they must work since I discovered at least six comparable products that make it easy to customize a timer and embed it in your email or web page. “Time running out” is one example of scarcity.
Counter (Animated GIF)
Reciprocity: People feel obligated to return a favor.
Provoke a sense of reciprocity with forms, banners, or other structures that deliver strategic messages and motivate people to engage.
Crazy Egg - Hook & Promise
One of the most prolific examples of reciprocity is “try before you buy.” Digital marketers call this a lead magnet. Sometimes a lead magnet is a PDF like a workout plan, online course, or something else for free. Many technology companies rely on free trials to acquire new users.
Hook (text)
Promise (text)
Form (URL)
Button (link)
Terms (text)
TOMS - Banner
Website banners can contain any message you want. They’re the perfect structure for delivering an extra dose of persuasion. Here’s a great example from the TOMS homepage using a common web pattern.
Headline (text)
Code (text)
CTA (link)
Liking: People are more likely to say yes to someone they like.
Make your content more likable by enabling translation or using multimedia.
George Foreman Grill - Translation
Whether or not to make an individual the face of your brand is an important decision. Adding a face is a structural decision that has worked for many brands—choosing which specific face, however, is a matter of substance. You’re probably familiar with the George Foreman Grill. Well, in Asia you can buy the Jackie Chan Grill.
Title (text, in translation)
Photo (image)
Image from u/roidweiser Reddit
Wendy’s - Multimedia
In the 21st century, *most (*IMHO) of our interaction with brands and other people trying to persuade us happens through a structure imposed by some third-party. Social media, billboards, even commercials, have structural constraints.
Text (under 280 characters)
Video (looping)
Authority: People are more likely to listen to someone who has established credibility.
Build authority using content structures that require logos, seals, credentials, institutions, or dates.
Toothpaste - Endorsements
It seems like every toothpaste on the market is recommended by the American Dental Association. Compare these two packages of toothpaste. Colgate uses a seal designated by from the ADA while the Crest package uses only an obscure symbol.
Seal (image)
Roman - Expert Bios
This digital health clinic for men effectively establishes authority with simple web page elements that combine with messaging to create a very persuasive component.
Label (text)
Headline (text)
Photo (image)
Name (text)
Bio (text)
Commitment & Consistency: You want to practice what you preach.
Find small, straightforward ways to encourage buyers to say yes.
Shopify - Free Trial
I had trouble finding an example of this in the wild. Thank you Convertize for this image, which shows an A/B test that Shopify ran to remove the “pain of paying.”
CTA (text)
Form (full name)
Form (email)
Button (text)
Terms (text)
Peter for America - Foot in the Door
Political campaigns use this technique all the time. They ask you to sign up for their email list, sans donation. This small cost-free commitment is an easy “yes” for people who share similar views. Then the campaign can continue marketing and testing different messages on you. Eventually they’re doing to ask you to done.
Hook (text)
CTA (text)
Form (email)
Form (phone)
Form (zip)
Button (text)
Consensus: You will look to the others for advice, especially when you are uncertain about a decision.
Provide social proof using a mix of qualitative data such as testimonials, quantitative data such as counters, or a combination of both with ratings.
Sumo Logic - Testimonials
The next example is one from my portfolio. The structure of these testimonials makes it clear that Sumo Logic is a useful product for a variety of cases at successful companies. Another structural decision we can observe is the use of text (instead of a logo) for each company.
Headshot (image)
Quote (text)
Name (text)
Role (text)
Company (text)
OpenTable - Ratings and Reviews
Ratings and reviews are great options for structuring social proof. OpenTable asks its members to rate their experience five dimensions: Overall, Food, Service, Ambiance, and Notes. Motivated users can take their ratings further by adding a review.
Rating (5 stars)
Review (text)
Amazon - Counter
This counter on the Amazon World Book Day shows the number of Kindle pages that have been read within a collection of featured titles. The loading animation catches the eye, and rapid turnover creates a sense of urgency. All of these are structural decisions that nudge people toward action.
Pages read (integer)
Data source (API endpoint)
There’s So Much More to Structure
Structure can create clarity, as I hope to have done in the previous section.
Each H3 lists the persuasion principle and its definition.
The italicized text explains what you can learn from the following examples.
Each H4 identifies the brand and example.
The plain text offers my analysis
Structure makes sentences simple or complex.
“Dead as a doornail” is an example of alliteration, assonance, and simile—all in one tiny package.
Cheers and chants also capitalize on the power of structure. Watch this quick clip from the movie “Cool Runnings.” It makes me want to root for them every time.
Thank you so much for reading this week’s essay. I hope you learned something useful.
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Additional Reading
If you’re interested in learning more about content structure and persuasion, please consider reading “The Ultimate Sales Letter” (🤑).
Here’s a great quote.
Writing copy that sells is not a creative act so much as it is a mechanical process, adhering to formulas, and assembling essential component parts within a reliable framework.
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