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Imagine this…

The holiday season is just around the corner.

Which means you haven’t hit the gym in *checks calendar* 9 months.

But your best friend is getting married in early December. And she wants to look more toned in her wedding dress.

Bad news for you: She wants a gym buddy so she’ll stay motivated and accountable.

She hypes up a gym 15 minutes away, claiming she’s heard the spin instructors actually make the classes enjoyable.

Begrudgingly, you agree to join her for ONE class.

But when the dreaded day finally arrives and you position yourself on a stationary bike in the class, you’re shocked.

The upbeat music and positive instructor make the first 5 minutes bearable and—dare you say—enjoyable?

“What is this sorcery?” you think.

15 minutes in, you’re dripping sweat and pedaling as fast as your legs can go.

As the class wraps up, you and your friend can’t believe how fun the experience was.

Before you leave, you both sign up for 2 months’ worth of biweekly classes.

How did a dreaded activity become one you’re now looking forward to?

In today’s edition of Why We Buy 🧠 we’ll explore Temptation Bundling—why we’re more likely to do something we don’t wanna do when it’s paired with something enjoyable.

Let’s get into it.

🧠 The Psychology of Temptation Bundling

Temptation Bundling involves pairing an activity you should do that provides *delayed* gratification—like working out—with an activity you want to do that provides *instant* gratification—like playing a game on your iPad.

This psychological phenomenon was coined by researchers in 2013.

These researchers wanted to see if they could improve gym attendance by pairing a “want” (listening to binge-worthy audiobooks) with a “should” (exercising).

They discovered that when people were given access to captivating audiobooks that they could ONLY listen to at the gym, attendance initially went up by 51%.

Eventually, 61% of participants paid to have access to these gym-exclusive audiobooks.

No matter how good or beneficial your product is, it’s useless if your buyers don’t actually use it.

So you’ve gotta find ways to make “need” activities more appealing and enjoyable with your product so customers keep coming back.
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🤑 How to Apply This

Ok. So how can you apply this to sell more stuff?

Apps​
​Transform “needs” into enjoyable routines

Meditation can be incredibly difficult to make a habit of. But to improve mental health, it serves as a “need” for many.

Calm makes this difficult—and, frankly, sometimes boring—task more engaging and enjoyable with (oftentimes) celebrity-narrated stories and soothing sounds or music.

This transforms meditation from a necessary but tedious task most people are unlikely to stick with long-term into a rewarding, enjoyable activity they’re more likely to continue doing. And, as a result, they may experience a boost in their mental health. Win-win.

Wanna see your brand here? Advertise with us​

Social media​
​Make mundane tasks binge-worthy

Audible links doing something people want (e.g., listening to a popular audiobook) with something they need (e.g. commuting home.)

So instead of reserving reading for bedtime, people are more likely to listen to Audible to pass the time during mundane activities, making those tasks *gasp* more enjoyable.

Bonus points: Their Twitter X account uses relatable humor to engage with customers, keeping Audible top-of-mind and making customers more likely to keep using it.

Smart, huh?​
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eCommerce​
​Incentivize a need

There are a few staples in the skincare world: sunscreen, vitamin C, retinol, moisturizer, and eye cream.

From a skincare perspective, these are things people “need.”

And to increase the likelihood of people getting these skin-improving products, Paula’s Choice paired it with something they want: to save money.

But they didn’t just offer a promo.

Using one little word (“exclusive”) in front of that 20%-off incentive makes people even more likely to buy.

(As a fellow marketing geek, you might’ve noticed Paula’s Choice also showcased credibility with “Award Winning” on the product picture and tapped into the price anchoring by showing the original price compared to the customer’s exclusive price.

This product page is a powerhouse for buyer psychology. 😮‍💨)
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💥 The Short of It

Giving customers what they want might be fun in the short term, but it likely won’t keep them around long.

That’s why brilliant marketing uses what Jack Maguire calls the reverse mullet strategy: Party in the front (“want” activities), business in the back (“need” activities).

This strategy delivers customers what they need by also giving them what they want, so they’re more likely to buy *and* comply.

If you wanna learn how to fix your messaging AND use Reverse-Mullet Marketing to sell more stuff, join the PAINKILLER waitlist before we launch next week.

(Not to spoil the surprise, but an exclusive bonus will only be available to the 2,473+ smart people on the waitlist. 👀)

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Until next time, happy selling!

With ❤️ from Katelyn and Jordyn​

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Psssssst: Brie Abramowicz used 1 science-backed copywriting technique when she wrote this 5-star review for Wallet-Opening Words.

Do you know what it is? Hit reply to share your guess.

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