Apply behavioral-psychology principles to a marketing asset or decision — ethically. Use when asked to make copy/a page/an offer more persuasive, apply psychological triggers, reduce friction, or understand why something does/doesn't convert. Produces the relevant principles (social proof, scarcity, anchoring, loss aversion, etc.), how to apply each to the specific asset, and a line on staying ethical (no dark patterns).
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Use marketing-psychology to analyze [asset] for [audience and context] and [goal and friction], using only true proof points; return ranked applicable principles, 1–3 concrete rewrites, and an ethics line.
Required inputs
[asset]
[audience and context]
[goal and friction]
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SKILL.md
name: marketing-psychologydescription: "Apply behavioral-psychology principles to a marketing asset or decision — ethically. Use when asked to make copy/a page/an offer more persuasive, apply psychological triggers, reduce friction, or understand why something does/doesn't convert. Produces the relevant principles (social proof, scarcity, anchoring, loss aversion, etc.), how to apply each to the specific asset, and a line on staying ethical (no dark patterns)."
Marketing Psychology Skill
People don't decide rationally — they use mental shortcuts. Marketing psychology applies those predictably and
honestly: real social proof, true scarcity, sensible defaults, clear framing. This skill diagnoses an asset
or decision through behavioral principles and gives concrete, specific applications — while drawing a hard line
at manipulation and dark patterns (which win a click and lose the trust).
Required Inputs
Ask for these only if they aren't already provided:
The asset or decision — the page/email/offer/pricing/CTA you want to make more persuasive.
Audience & context — who it's for, their mindset, where they are in the funnel.
The goal & the friction — the action you want, and what's holding people back (cost, risk, effort, trust, confusion).
What's true — real proof points, actual constraints (so applications are honest, not invented).
Output Format
Marketing psychology: [asset]
The decision & the friction — what you want the person to do and the specific barrier (risk? effort? trust? price?). This selects the principles.
Principles that apply (ranked) — the few most relevant, each with a specific application to this asset:
Principle
Why it fits the friction
Concrete application here
Social proof
(e.g. "show '2,300 teams use this' near the CTA")
Loss aversion / framing
Anchoring
Scarcity / urgency (only if real)
Commitment & consistency
Reciprocity
Reducing friction (defaults, fewer choices)
(Pick the relevant ones — not all of them. Friction-reduction often beats adding persuasion.)
Rewrites / changes — 1–3 concrete before→after edits applying the top principles.
Ethics line — flag anything that would be a dark pattern (fake scarcity, forced continuity, confirm-shaming, hidden costs) and why to avoid it. Real beats manufactured — it converts and retains.
Quality Checks
The principles chosen are matched to the actual friction, not a generic checklist
Each principle has a specific, concrete application to this asset (not theory)
Scarcity/urgency is only used where it's genuinely true
At least one friction-reduction move is considered (often higher-leverage than persuasion)
An ethics line flags dark patterns and keeps applications honest
Anti-Patterns
Do not invent fake scarcity, countdowns, or fake social proof — it's a dark pattern and it backfires
Do not list every principle — pick the few that fit the specific friction
Do not stay theoretical — every principle needs a concrete application to the asset
Do not use confirm-shaming, forced continuity, or hidden costs — short-term lift, long-term trust loss
Do not ignore friction — sometimes the fix is removing a step, not adding persuasion