How to Use the Magic of FOMO in Copy to Make Your Sales Soar

I’m going to let you in on a not-so-little secret: your conversion optimization strategy is about more than just creating a sales page that’s easy on the eyes or throwing in a colorful, magical call-to-action button that gets noticed.

In fact, it’s also about casting a FOMO spell on your readers to drive them to take action.

Yeah, that’s right. FOMO. You familiar with the term? Well, before you roll your eyes at the sight of another millennial acronym, hear me out.

The term stands for fear of missing out. It’s something many of us have probably experienced at one time or another, in both real-life and online settings.

It’s actually what’s to blame for you clicking away to join an email list to get “exclusive” information, watch a video one of your friends or family members liked on social media, and even buy that product fellow entrepreneurs rave about on a sales page.

All because we hate to miss out. It’s a natural human instinct connected to the pain we feel when we lose. The technical term for it is loss aversion. Therefore, marketing is intentionally constructed to create a sense of FOMO built on exclusivity, urgency, and scarcity.

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That’s why a new product launch is built on FOMO. Event advertising is built on FOMO. Black Friday is built on FOMO. Heck, even Groupon is built on—you guessed it—freaking FOMO.

Sounds a lot like peer pressure, huh? Ding, ding, ding.

And, guess what? It works. It brings in news customers left and right. So, today, I’m giving you a how-to guide to using the magic of FOMO in your copy to make your sales soar.

But, that’s not all. I’m sure you’d love to have the task of writing all your sales copy taken off your desk completely. Am I right? I thought so. Stick around until the very end of this article to learn about a one-of-a-kind piece of software that can deliver your conversion-worthy copy to you today.

Why should you even consider using FOMO in your sales copy in the first place?

Simply put, it reduces procrastination among your ideal audience. Procrastination is italicized because the goal of FOMO in your content isn’t to encourage them to buy impulsively. Instead, it’s to buy a high-demand product or service without delay.

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And, this is extremely important for one reason in particular:

People can be severely hot and cold. Fickle. Flighty. Unpredictable. Whatever you want to call it.

Your ideal audience faces so many distractions. So, it’s super easy for them to drop out of your sales funnel if you don’t utilize FOMO in your sales copy to get them to jump on board.

Here are some numbers to prove it, thanks to a study conducted by MarketingExperiments:

• A time-sensitive $100 savings incentive with an actual deadline increased enrollment in an online course by 992 percent in the three days following the promotion.
• “Implied urgency” by using a date-stamp on the page of a “lowest price” deal increased sales by 10 percent for 48 hours after the page was shared via email.
• Mentioning the quantity of product available (even without mention that additional stock would not be available) increased conversion rates by 508 percent.

You see, FOMO through the use of urgency and scarcity tactics clearly gets your people to react swiftly—with no time to think too hard about the offer. It’s your opportunity to give them an extra kick in the rear and play on their fear of losing out—an immensely powerful motivator no matter your type of business.

Convinced now? Knew you would be. Here are 4 simple ways to leverage FOMO in your writing and get your audience to act fast:

1. Make exclusivity your best friend.  

We all want to be invited to join exclusive groups—online and offline, try out a new product before it hits the masses, and just feel like we’re in the “cool club” thanks to a particular membership. Right?

So, why not use that to your advantage and make exclusivity your new best friend by making it play a strong role in your sales copy. Reason being, according to Business2Community.com:

People like things that are exclusive. They want what they can’t have. They want what others covet. And, they want things that signal to the world that they are one of a select few. It’s in our nature as consumers.

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To get going on incorporating it into your content, you can use particular phrases such as:

• Members only—a members only webinar or Facebook group
• Login required—to access a training library  
• Ask for an invitation—to be invited to an exclusive product trial
• Become an insider—to receive new updates and a dose of weekly tips to your inbox
• Get it before everyone else—to be the first to get your hands on a product that launches or comes back in stock, or even a service line that launches or opens back up for clients (first come, first served deal)

Take a look at a great example of exclusivity in action:

AdLab teases some exclusive benefits its audience can get their hands on when they join the mastermind for Facebook ad training: a members only Facebook group, insider secrets, a monthly call, and much more.

One thing is for sure: when you make your ideal audience feel like they have the potential to become a VIP, they’ll jump on the chance to grab hold of your product or service. After all, they don’t want to miss out on being a part of your privileged club.

2. Set a time limit.

As Neil Patel puts it, urgency is predicted upon time. And, by setting a time limit within your sales copy, you unleash a sense of urgency for your offer.

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Therefore, go ahead and decide on a deadline to share with your audience in the following way:

This offer will be closing at 11:59pm ET on Sunday, October 15. Once I close down the offer, I won’t release it again at this price.

You can also consider using urgency-inducing, time-related phrases throughout your content such as:

• Now
• Fast
• Quick
• Hurry
• Close
• Never

Groupon is the king at using this tactic, driving people to make a decision faster than they would have otherwise. Take a look at this example, which is infiltrated with time limits.

If you’re looking for a watch and come across this deal, the “Sale Ends” verbiage in hard-to-miss red text definitely decreases your ability to procrastinate. So, what do you do in order to not miss out on this special deal?

You buy it. Right then and there—no delay. Using time limits to drive a sense of urgency is one of the easiest ways to sprinkle FOMO into your offer.

3. Utilize limited availability.  

Earlier, I mentioned FOMO is built on exclusivity, urgency, and scarcity. And, we just covered exclusivity (#1) and urgency (#2). Now, it’s scarcity’s turn to shine.

According to Influenceology, “Scarcity refers to any limitation placed on a product [inventory] or service [availability] with the goal of increasing sales through pressure placed on the customer. The fear of missing out causes people to make the decision to buy.”

When products or services are low in availability, it’s only natural for people to tend to feel a stronger desire to purchase. And, Black Friday is a prime example of this. Consumers want to get the best deal or product before it’s gone—so much so that they’ll wake up at the wee hours of the morning and fight massive crowds.

Use #scarcity in your #copywriting to boost your audience's desire to purchase https://blog.scriptdoll.com/how-to-use-fomo-in-copywriting-to-make-sales-soar Click To TweetAmazon is also a great example of scarcity in action. Just take a look at this product listing that’s low in stock.

(source)

Seeing that my desired product has only 2 left in stock makes me not want to wait any longer to purchase. I must buy it today—not tomorrow—or else I’ll regret not taking action.  

Therefore, to incorporate scarcity into your content, you can use particular phrases such as:

• Limited offer
• Supplies running out fast
• Get them before they’re gone
• Only [X] available

Sell a service? Put a limit on the number of new client spots for next month. Sell a product? Limit the amount of stock you’re opening up for purchase.

But, you must proceed with caution when it comes to this tactic.

Here’s why: the last thing you want to do is deceive your audience on a regular basis, claiming your products are going out of stock forever. Or, you have a limited time offer, but you run an identical promotion all the time.

Doing so just deceives your audience and destroys your credibility—taking your product back into the procrastination zone. More on this in a minute. 

4. Toss in an added bonus.

Did someone say “bonus?” Yup! You can make it even more difficult for your ideal audience to pass up on your offer if you throw one in simply for purchasing before a certain time (there’s urgency again!).

The best example of this are those infamous infomercials—”Order in the next 24 hours and we’ll send you an additional [insert wacky product] for FREE!”

Obviously, I’m advising you to take a more authentic approach to this tactic. Maybe it’s an e-book filled with insider secrets to getting the most out of your product or service—only available to the first 50 signups. Or, a free consultation, strategy call, and even free shipping.

Whatever you choose, you’ll find an added bonus sweetens your deal and ups the ante on the FOMO your audience could experience if they don’t act fast.

Be cautious not to abuse and overuse FOMO, however.

It’s definitely easy to abuse and overuse it in your sales copy through exclusivity, urgency, and scarcity tactics. You can choose to go the slimy route and tack on fake deadlines or time limits to pressure your people, and push them into purchasing. Thus, causing them to feel that dreaded buyer’s remorse afterwards.

Or, you can choose to use pressure through urgency and scarcity-inducing words and phrases to prevent your people from procrastinating. But, to do this the right way, you need to have the right product—something your audience wants and needs.

Reason being, using FOMO in your sales copy isn’t a quick fix for a lag in your conversion numbers. If you have something that’s in high demand, incorporating it into your content will only help intensify desirability and make your sales soar.

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Does the mere thought of actually writing all your sales copy from scratch give you a serious headache?

Well, I’ve got a one-of-a-kind tool that’ll alleviate that, giving you ready-to-use sales copy at the click of a button. You ready? Meet your new copywriting companion, ScriptDoll.

It’s a sales copy engine dedicated to assisting you with composing persuasive sales content in minutes. Once you create your product portfolio and answer a handful of painless questions, ScriptDoll drops those answers into thoughtfully crafted content scripts that sell—sales letters, email sequences, you name it.

Here’s why ScriptDoll is so beneficial to entrepreneurs like you:

• Increases your productivity level while saving you writing time—simply complete your product portfolio, answer a handful of straightforward questions, and voilà. ScriptDoll turns your answers into enticing, concise copy that drives sales. Best thing is, it’ll free up your time—fewer hours spent wrestling with the writing process and plenty more spent focusing on what matters most (understanding your customer and offering).
• Helps you avoid sounding like a broken record—new templates are added on a monthly basis, ensuring your audience doesn’t get tired hearing the same thing over and over again. At the touch of a button, fresh sales letters, email sequences, video sales scripts, native ads, and much more can be crafted just for you.
• Allows you the opportunity to keep your copywriting in house—there’s no need to spend thousands of dollars outsourcing your video marketing writing to copywriters. ScriptDoll crafts its effective templates thanks to its connections with some serious first-class copywriters around the world!
• Decreases your workload to almost nothing with pre-made product profiles—are you a puppy trainer, dentist, plastic surgeon or graphic designer? If so, you’re in luck because your product profile has already been completed for you. There are many more waiting to be used within the software engine, making it that much easier to push out content that converts.   

It’s time to wave goodbye to spending your days, nights, and weekends pounding away on the keyboard while struggling to master the art of copywriting. Take the first step towards regaining control of your time and capturing optimal conversion numbers—get your hands on these benefits today.

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It can be downright disappointing when you see you’re not hitting your revenue goals for a product or service your audience wants and needs.

Thankfully, however, you’re leaving this post today with the FOMO-inducing tactics necessary to have the psychological upper-hand in your content and make your sales soar. Plus, a tool to take the task of copywriting off your desk completely.

So, what’s holding you back? Go ahead and join entrepreneurs like you who are raving about ScriptDoll—helping serve up some seriously powerful, captivating copy that sells. You’re just a click away.  

Have questions or something to share on this topic? Let us know in the comments section below.