Copyright © 2012, 2014 by Nathalie Nahai (print and electronic) Licensed for sale in USA and its dependencies only; American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, and Canada. This edition of Webs of Influence: The Psychology of Online Persuasion 01 Edition is published by arrangement with Pearson Education Limited. All rights reserved. Copyright under Berne Copyright Convention, Universal Copyright Convention, and Pan American Copyright Convention. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Allworth Press, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018. 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ISBN: 978-1-62153-395-5 Printed in China To my Boo CONTENTS Thanks Publisher’s acknowledgements About the author Introduction PART 1 KNOW WHO YOU’RE TARGETING 1 The human brain 2 The psychology of decision-making 3 Who’s online and why? 4 Who are you targeting? 5 Cultural quirks 6 Individual differences PART 2 COMMUNICATE PERSUASIVELY 7 Basic principles 8 Your website 9 Your images 10 Your videos 11 Your colors 12 Your social media PART 3 SELL WITH INTEGRITY 13 Influence: an introduction 14 Principles of online influence 15 Building reputational capital 16 Increase your sales 17 Pricing and value 18 The “behavior chain” 19 Risk, trust and privacy A closing note Notes Glossary Index THANKS To my Boo—for your absolute faith, support, laughter and love. You mean more to me than words can say and I couldn’t have done this without you. To my parents—Ian Williamson and Francine Nahai—for your boundless support and love; for always providing an invaluable, stimulating arena for debate; for sparking an insatiable curiosity about the language with which we express ourselves; and for showing me the unbridled excitement and possibilities one can experience when logic and creativity collide. To my brother and mental sparring partner—Paul Nahai-Williamson—for your wisdom and sharp wit, and for setting the bar so high. You are an inspiration to me. To Berthe and Shapour—for your love and guidance, I am eternally grateful. To my family—thank you for the joy you bring me, I love you. To my teachers—Dad, for inspiring in me a delight in physics and science; Annette Vergette, for igniting a lifelong passion for psychology and the exploration of the human condition; Mr Butcher, for believing in me; Anita Gentry and Doc Harris, for a thrilling introduction to the beauty of the English language; and Trisha Davis, for encouraging me to follow my creative dreams. SPECIAL THANKS To Elie Williams, Paul East, Sarah Wild, Rachel Stock and the rest of the Pearson team—thanks for taking me on—and to Robbie Steinhouse, a heart-felt thank you for your kind introduction and friendship. To Ketan Raval and David Tennant-Eyles, for your generosity and support in the fabulous design of this book. To Edwin Williamson and Heather Holden-Brown, thank you for your help at the start of this project, and to my agent, Jacq Burns, for equipping me to play in this ring. I’d also like to thank Rob Teszka—a good friend and a brilliant academic—forvolleying ideas with me over coffee and helping with my research. Araceli Camargo—for showing me what can be achieved with a big vision, a great community and a fabulous mind—you rock. Nici Clements—for your unwavering friendship and support all these years. Richie Manu—for believing in me and opening up the door to living life on one’s own terms. Sam Michel— for your exciting contributions to the debate on the psychology of online influence. I’d also like to thank Fabian Stelzer and the EyeQuant team; David Stillwell and Stephen Haggard at Preference Tool; Jon Murphy and the guys over at Oban Multilingual; and Meabh Quoirin at Future Foundation. THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS BOOK Abdulaziz AlBaijan Abigail Freeman Adrian Harris Alasdair MacGregor Alastair Dryburgh Alex O’Byrne Ana Margarida Barreto Anirban Saha Barry Furby Ben Slawson Bex Lewis Bill Mumford Casper Blicher Olsen Chris Murphy Chris Nisbet Cinzia Garoia Dan Fox Dan Gutierrez Dan West Dani Naydenova Darren Shea David Tennant-Eyles Deb Swinney Delfin Vassallo Depesh Mandalia Dominique Lim Edward Phillip Bell Ellie Parker Esra Barlik Eva Keogan Farhan Rehman Gabe Fender Gaby Arjun Sharma Gareth Hayes Gemma Fountain Geoff Kennedy Graham Jones Guy Buchan Hedley Smith Heidi Harman Heli Rajasalo Ian C Dowson Isabelle Quevilly Jack Murphy Jade Tomlin James Mawson James Wood Jamie Hancox Janakiram Ganesan Janice Learmond-Criqui Jean Laleuf Jim Allen Jimmy Saruchera John Cielik-Bridgen Jon Ingham Jonathan A. West Juliet Chen Kare Anderson Karen Hawey Kate Pierpoint Kate Warwick Katharine Robinson Katie Kinnear Katrina Padron Kim Borrowdale Laila Takeh Lance R. Frizzell Laura Hands Lauren Stone Luisfe Davalos Mark Batchelor Martin Talks Mary-Ellen Mullally Matt Cullin Matt Lent Matt Maltby Meredith Marsh Michael Britt Michael Greer Mike Teasdale Mike Weston Nadine Clarke Noel Leeman Olly Willans Pablo Ettinger Patrick Watt Paul Levrant Paul Rouke Peter Cambell Ralf Haberich Ramon Bez Rebecca Taylor Remy Valette Richard Hadley Roisin Waite Ross Andrews-Clifford Sam Michel Sameer Mohnot Sangeeta Haindl Servane Mouazan Sheridan Flynn Simon Fried Simone Brummelhuis Stuart McRae Tamara Askew Teresa Potocka Tim Aldiss Timothy Bosworth Tom Bowden W. C. Stevenson Wesam Said Will Sudlow Zoe Hoster