{"id":396,"date":"2017-02-06T12:58:47","date_gmt":"2017-02-06T12:58:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/reciprocity-rule\/"},"modified":"2024-08-14T09:55:33","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T09:55:33","slug":"reciprocity-rule","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/","title":{"rendered":"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights"},"content":{"rendered":"<section class=\"c-post-content\" data-ref=\"case-content\">\n\t<div class=\"post-content\">\n\t\t<div class=\"post-content__container container container--medium\">\n\t\t\t<aside class=\"post-content__sidebar post-content__sidebar--links\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sticky-menu\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"sticky-menu__title\">Contents<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"sticky-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link  active\" href=\"#introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Introduction<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#understandingwhyreciprocitymaynotworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Understanding why reciprocity may not work online<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#peoplearelesslikelytorespondinaclickandwhirrmode\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">People are less likely to respond in a click and whirr mode<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#peoplearelesslikelytoreciprocatewhentheycanstayanonymous\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">People are less likely to reciprocate when they can stay anonymous<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#thepersonyouaremakingarequesttoisnotdependentnoraffectedbyyouinanyway\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">The person you are making a request to is not dependent nor affected by you in any way<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#youreexpectedtogivestuffawayitsnotafavour\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">You\u2019re expected to give stuff away. It\u2019s not a favour.<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#therearepeoplewhowontreciprocateanywayunlesstheyseeabenefitindoingso\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">There are people who won\u2019t reciprocate anyway unless they see a benefit in doing so<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#understandingwhyreciprocitywillworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Understanding why reciprocity will work online<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#manyhumanswillreciprocateregardless\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Many humans will reciprocate regardless<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#howtomaximiseyourchancesofsuccess\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">How to maximise your chances of success?<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#youcanexceedexpectations\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">You can exceed expectations<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#youcanbreakanonymitybyshowingyourownface\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">You can break anonymity by showing your own face&#8230;<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#moreimportantlyalthoughitsharderandwontbeperfectyoucanstillapplysocialpressureandestablishsocialnormsonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">More importantly, (although it\u2019s harder and won\u2019t be perfect) you can still apply social pressure and establish social norms online<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#youcanencouragecooperativebehaviorbysendinglongtermsignals\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">You can encourage cooperative behavior by sending long-term signals<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#youcanshowthesacrificesyoumake\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">You can show the sacrifices you make<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#finallyyoudontneedtoputallyourhopesintoreciprocity\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Finally, you don\u2019t need to put all your hopes into reciprocity<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                            \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"sticky-menu__item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"sticky-menu__item-link \" href=\"#conclusion\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"arrow\"><svg viewBox=\"0 0 16 20\" fill=\"none\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"M10.6875 9.34375V7.34375L13.3438 10L10.6875 12.6562V10.6562H2.65625V9.34375H10.6875Z\" fill=\"#F6876F\"\/><\/svg><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"sticky-menu__item-text\">Conclusion<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/aside>\n\n\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-content__sections\">\n\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(With the release of Cialdini\u2019s new book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-suasion <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over the course of 8 part series I will do an in-depth exploration of each of his 7 (not 6!) principles and how best to sequence them)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ever wondered why helping influencers on Twitter doesn\u2019t create a relationship?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Tired of giving well researched content away without even getting a bunch of shares, not to say email addresses?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Baffled that free trials aren\u2019t converting into paid subscribers?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You might be overlooking some important reasons that reciprocity may not work as well in an online world, as it does in an offline world.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I have been reading posts about reciprocity that make bold statements about how it works online, but they oversimplify. There have been countless times when I would never reciprocate anything back even though people\u2019s content was outstanding. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can\u2019t be just as simple as give and take, can it?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, I decided to do some research. I am not an anthropologist. I cannot give you a full explanation about what role reciprocity plays in our cyber lives. But, I have spent more than 50 hours reviewing existing research and examining whether that rule would work online. Here\u2019s what I found.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I scoured through 20+ research papers so that you didn\u2019t have to, here are the 14 most valuable insights. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s start!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__index\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"post-content__index-title\">Contents<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<ul class=\"post-content__index-links\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#introduction\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIntroduction\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#understandingwhyreciprocitymaynotworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding why reciprocity may not work online\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#peoplearelesslikelytorespondinaclickandwhirrmode\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople are less likely to respond in a click and whirr mode\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#peoplearelesslikelytoreciprocatewhentheycanstayanonymous\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPeople are less likely to reciprocate when they can stay anonymous\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#thepersonyouaremakingarequesttoisnotdependentnoraffectedbyyouinanyway\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe person you are making a request to is not dependent nor affected by you in any way\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#youreexpectedtogivestuffawayitsnotafavour\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou\u2019re expected to give stuff away. It\u2019s not a favour.\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#therearepeoplewhowontreciprocateanywayunlesstheyseeabenefitindoingso\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThere are people who won\u2019t reciprocate anyway unless they see a benefit in doing so\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#understandingwhyreciprocitywillworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnderstanding why reciprocity will work online\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#manyhumanswillreciprocateregardless\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMany humans will reciprocate regardless\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#howtomaximiseyourchancesofsuccess\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHow to maximise your chances of success?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#youcanexceedexpectations\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can exceed expectations\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#youcanbreakanonymitybyshowingyourownface\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can break anonymity by showing your own face&#8230;\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#moreimportantlyalthoughitsharderandwontbeperfectyoucanstillapplysocialpressureandestablishsocialnormsonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMore importantly, (although it\u2019s harder and won\u2019t be perfect) you can still apply social pressure and establish social norms online\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#youcanencouragecooperativebehaviorbysendinglongtermsignals\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can encourage cooperative behavior by sending long-term signals\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#youcanshowthesacrificesyoumake\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tYou can show the sacrifices you make\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#finallyyoudontneedtoputallyourhopesintoreciprocity\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFinally, you don\u2019t need to put all your hopes into reciprocity\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__index-link\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"#conclusion\" data-ref=\"case-content-menu-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tConclusion\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"understandingwhyreciprocitymaynotworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">Understanding why reciprocity may not work online<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cialdini\u2019s rule of reciprocity may not work for your online marketing<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Here\u2019s why:<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"peoplearelesslikelytorespondinaclickandwhirrmode\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">People are less likely to respond in a click and whirr mode<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><div id=\"attachment_873\" style=\"width: 608px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-873\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-873 \" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image38.png\" width=\"598\" height=\"258\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-873\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timstreetphoto.com\/\">Image Credit<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People process information in two ways. One is when we rely on heuristics (mental shortcuts) to make our decisions (eg. a book has many positive reviews, so it must be a good one). The other is when we are more deliberate with our decisions (eg. reading through reviews, previewing table of contents). This concept is known as the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Elaboration_likelihood_model\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">elaboration likelihood model<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">All 6 principles in Cialdini\u2019s book \u201cInfluence\u201d are based on the idea of a click and whirr response (the idea that we take shortcuts when making decisions). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is an important point that many people have missed in suggesting that you can as effectively apply Cialdini\u2019s principles of persuasion online. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contrary to that belief <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/235636249_Online_Persuasion_and_Compliance_Social_Influence_on_the_Internet_and_beyond\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">existing findings<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suggests that we are more likely to take the long (deliberate) route if:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The topic is of importance to us<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have the cognitive resources available to process the message<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We know something about the topic<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The arguments are written<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exactly right. We can tick all these boxes for our cyber lives.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes, we do sometimes get bombarded with email and notifications, get distracted by our co-workers and relatives. That leaves us with less cognitive power. We also watch sales videos where our focus would shift back and forth from the content of the message to its source. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most of the time, though, we consume content in privacy. We are able to control our environment (various distractions), what we read, and what topical websites we get it from. Across all generations, blog articles were found to be the most consumed type of content (according to <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.adweek.com\/socialtimes\/how-different-generations-consume-content-online-infographic\/619882\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">research<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> by Fractl and Buzzstream).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This means that when we are online instead of taking shortcuts, we are more likely to make deliberate decisions about who we reciprocate to.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To make the point clear, let\u2019s consider a couple of examples. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the book \u201c<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Influence<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201d Cialdini cites Dennis Regan\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.communicationcache.com\/uploads\/1\/0\/8\/8\/10887248\/effects_of_a_favor_and_liking_on_compliance.pdf\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> where a man called \u201cJoe\u201d managed to double his ticket sales by first making a little favor. Before making an offer to buy some tickets he (unexpectedly for the recipients) offered them a bottle of Coke. Feeling obliged they purchased. Well done Joe!<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Sam Parr, founder of Hustle Con, repeated the same process. He <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theantimba.com\/the-reciprocity-rule\/\">negotiated<\/a> a motorbike\u2019s sales price down to 1800$ ($400 saving!) by gifting a $1.99 Coke before starting the negotiation. Here\u2019s what the conversation went like in his own words:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-844\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image09-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"649\" height=\"526\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But in the online world, even if you are genuinely trying to help someone, people\u2019s thinking process might look like this:<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><br \/>\n<\/span><b><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>Me:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Wow, what a cool episode. I think that the host of this podcast might also like reading a blog post on a similar topic.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-881 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/reciprocity1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"145\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(8 hours go by since we are in different time zones)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Host: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(opens the email) Who is he and why is he sending me this?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Host: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(an hour goes by, gets some work done, opens the email again) So why did he send it? Is he trying to get something from me? Is it worth my time? Well, whatever, I have got some work to do.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Host: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(closes the email, end of the conversation).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In our cyber lives we have more time to think about authenticity of other people\u2019s motives (any reasons to doubt it have been <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/3150936?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shown<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to reduce the power of requests).<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We have more control over what we devote our attention to and your \u201cgift\u201d might not get that attention. Even if it does, it might not even be considered a gift.<\/p>\n<p>And the recipient may feel fine about not saying \u201cthank you\u201d or suggesting something back in return. Here\u2019s one of the reasons why:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <div data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"mobile\"><\/div>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"peoplearelesslikelytoreciprocatewhentheycanstayanonymous\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">People are less likely to reciprocate when they can stay anonymous<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the book Cialdini tells us one of the reasons why we reciprocate is, \u201cbecause there is a general distaste for those who take and make no effort to give in return, we will often go to great lengths to avoid being considered a moocher, ingrate, or freeloader.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, when you are just an <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">anonymous<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> user &#8211; this won\u2019t happen. For example, you can use Kaspersky online scanner, close it and no one would ever know if you complied with the author\u2019s request to install an offline version of their software or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-878 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image44.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"450\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is no one to apply that social pressure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But research shows that social pressure matters a great deal. A <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cambridge.org\/core\/journals\/american-political-science-review\/article\/div-classtitlesocial-pressure-and-voter-turnout-evidence-from-a-large-scale-field-experimentdiv\/11E84AF4C0B7FBD1D20C855972C2C3EB\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">field experiment<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (sample size of 180,000+ people) examined the impact of social pressure on people\u2019s likelihood to vote. They found that a mail letter that applied the <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">most<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> social pressure resulted in the highest compliance rate. Here are the triggers that this mail letter included:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An identity appeal emphasising that voting is generally a good thing to do (\u201cDO YOUR CIVIC DUTY\u2014 VOTE! Remember your rights and responsibilities as a citizen.\u201d)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A social pressure appeal informing them that their voting records would be disclosed to their neighbours (and their neighbours\u2019 voting records would be disclosed to them).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those two triggers resulted in 8.1 percentage-point uplift (29.7% vs 37.8%). (Mailer that only included an identity appeal only resulted in 1.8 percentage points uplift).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The experiment above studied compliance, not reciprocity <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">per se. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Researchers did not give anything to people before making a request. So, unless you want to argue that citizens are by default in a reciprocal relationship with the government, we shall\u00a0look for some further evidence. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luckily, another\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1207\/S15324834BASP2103_8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<em>did<\/em> focus on reciprocity:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-846 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image11-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"414\" height=\"701\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(Adapted from Whatley et al, 1999, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1207\/S15324834BASP2103_8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Effect of a Favor on Public and Private Compliance: How Internalized is the Norm of Reciprocity?<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who received a favor and were not required to put their name on the form were <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">less<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> likely to comply with a donation request.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast to our offline lives, when we are online we can easily choose ignoring other people\u2019s requests. Lack of social pressure means that our identities are not at risk. This is particularly true when&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"thepersonyouaremakingarequesttoisnotdependentnoraffectedbyyouinanyway\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">The person you are making a request to is not dependent nor affected by you in any way<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When we are interacting in the real world, we can see, in real time, how our actions affect others and how we are being affected by them. When we are online, these effects are not clear. In fact, many interactions we have online are one-off encounters where we are not trying to build long-term relationships. So, we might as well just ignore them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s exactly what Neville (founder of Kopywriting Kourse) does. He clears his inbox from all these one-off shooters to leave space for those who have something important to say:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-851 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image16.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"381\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Neville is not the only one.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Research on social dilemmas shows evidence that this is a general human tendency. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1207\/S15324834BASP2103_8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> show that one-shot encounters encourage selfish rather than cooperative responses. People who only expect a single, anonymous exchange with another person will tend to favor<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> themselves<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rather than selecting mutually beneficial choices. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Period.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s why many people who really get a lot of value from the free version of your product would not share it. Unless they see their actions being interdependent with their ability to use it in the future (e.g. many start-ups would cease to exist unless early adopters spread the word), they are more likely to act selfishly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, influencers you are trying to reach receive hundreds of similar random emails per day. Most of them are perceived as one-off shots. Unless there is an indication that you might have some business in the future, it\u2019s better for that person to act selfishly and ignore you.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"youreexpectedtogivestuffawayitsnotafavour\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">You\u2019re expected to give stuff away. It\u2019s not a favour.<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the book <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-suasion <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cialdini mentions that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unexpected<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gifts are those that will most likely result in return favors. For what we are doing online (e.g. provide a free trial, write useful content, give an ebook away) we are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">expected<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to give these things away. Everyone is doing it and you\u2019re no different. That\u2019s why people don\u2019t even perceive it as being a favour, but rather a given.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps, a free trial might have surprised me back in 1999.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-858 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image23.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"501\" height=\"452\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Certainly not today.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"therearepeoplewhowontreciprocateanywayunlesstheyseeabenefitindoingso\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">There are people who won\u2019t reciprocate anyway unless they see a benefit in doing so<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Several papers including this <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/per.419\/abstract\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> discuss that there are different \u2018personality types\u2019 or social value orientations as they call it. Your social value orientation determines the nature and likelihood of you reciprocating back to others. There are 3 of them:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Prosocials &#8211; those looking for win-win cooperation; they believe that it is better if everyone comes out even in a situation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Individualists &#8211; those who are only concerned with their own outcomes. They make decisions based on what they will gain personally; no concern for others. <\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Competitors &#8211; those who tend to maximize their own benefit, but in addition they seek to minimize others\u2019 benefit, e.g. they find satisfaction in imposing their own will when cooperating.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, assuming that people consistently belong to one type or another, not everyone will reciprocate regardless of what you have done to them. Individualists take into account only how potential cooperation might affect their <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">own outcomes<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, so unless you provide them with a good reason to cooperate, it won\u2019t happen. <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/onlinelibrary.wiley.com\/doi\/10.1002\/per.418\/abstract\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Studies<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> supported the idea that individualists reciprocate less than prosocials.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"understandingwhyreciprocitywillworkonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">Understanding why reciprocity will work online<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But here\u2019s why it will work (and what you can do to overcome the caveats above)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"manyhumanswillreciprocateregardless\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">Many humans will reciprocate regardless<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As Cialdini says in the book, \u201cthe rule for reciprocation is so deeply implanted in us by the process of socialization we all undergo [eg, we learn it from our parents.]\u201d. With all of the studies above, researchers found that these factors <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">reduced <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">people\u2019s tendency to reciprocate, but none of them found that it eliminated it completely.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just social pressure that forces us to reciprocate.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/econpapers.repec.org\/article\/anrreveco\/v_3a6_3ay_3a2014_3ap_3a849-874.htm\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">researchers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> explain some people reciprocate because they have internalised reciprocity as a personal norm. It becomes a part of our moral values and thus failing to reciprocate might create feelings of guilt, even when no one pressures us to repay back.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For example, Mark Schaefer, author of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Return on Influence<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessesgrow.com\/2013\/08\/15\/why-i-stopped-saying-thank-you-on-the-social-web\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">shares<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> his experience of how he had been thanking everyone on Twitter for sharing his posts. His explanation of why he did this closely resonates the research described above. Him saying \u201cMom would be proud\u201d clearly shows that this is something we learn from parents. He carried that value to his online communications, too.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-882 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image17.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"469\" height=\"199\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We also want to reward and encourage good behavior of others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s a real-life example of a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.useronboard.com\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UserOnboard<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> fan:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-857 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image22.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"56\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, as we have already discussed, there are different personality types. Prosocial people will want to maximise outcomes both for you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> themselves, striving for equal benefit for both parties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>One of the very smart people in our industry who I had the privilege to learn from has this quote in his signature:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-849\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image14.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"636\" height=\"49\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Likely to be one of those types. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Finally, our tendency to think deliberately about who we reciprocate to does not result in us not reciprocating. It just means that we are less likely to be manipulated and more likely to respond to those who can provide real value.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"howtomaximiseyourchancesofsuccess\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">How to maximise your chances of success?<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p>With that in mind, let\u2019s consider what you can do to overcome the caveats I have just described. We will go through each action tip by considering 3 main use cases for the rule of reciprocity: building relationships with people in our industry, content marketing and user onboarding.<\/p>\n<p><strong>You can provide meaningful gifts<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In their books <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pre-suasion<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Yes! 50 Secrets from the Science of Persuasion, <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Cialdini and his colleagues mention meaningfulness (or significance) as a factor that increases your chances of making someone to reciprocate. I want to argue that in the online world meaningfulness is a core element, not an enhancer. Since we are more likely to be deliberate about who we reciprocate to, unless we see value in what has been provided to us, we are very unlikely to exchange anything with that person.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I interpret meaningful as something that helps us to make progress in our lives (this would particularly make sense for those familiar with Jobs-to-be-Done framework). Here\u2019s how you could apply it.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When Sam Parr was starting out with Hustle Con, Neville Medhora, founder of Kopywriting Kourse, was on his target list of those he wanted to invite. From watching <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=v0U3CJinRf8\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bootstrap Live<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> he knew that Neville loved Dave Matthews Band. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Guess what he did to build their relationship.<\/p>\n<p>Yep, he sent Neville a DMB live DVD.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s what Neville\u2019s response was:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-865 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image30.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"229\" height=\"411\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Going back to my definition of \u2018meaningful\u2019, Jobs-to-be-Done is the core research framework that helps us to understand people\u2019s struggles. By knowing what our customers\u2019 struggles are, we can write that thorough, actionable content that will help them to overcome those struggles. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gregory Ciotti, content marketer at Help Scout, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.gregoryciotti.com\/content-for-jtbd\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">puts<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> it this way:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>If someone implements your advice, they can\u2019t help but form a connection with you.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-892\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/gregory-helpscout.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"49\" height=\"49\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-citation-name\">Gregory Ciotti<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-citation-company\">Content Marketer at Help Scout<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>To give you an example of how jobs have been solved and what effect they produce, let\u2019s consider Brian Dean\u2019s work.<\/p>\n<p>Many people creating content struggle to make their work visible. They struggle despite implementing the good ol\u2019 advice of creating \u201cgreat content\u201d.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s exactly the struggle that Brian addresses in his link building <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/backlinko.com\/skyscraper-technique?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>And here are the types of responses that Brian occasionally gets:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-843\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image08.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"589\" height=\"105\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This shows the emotional connection that meaningful gifts like this create.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, SurveyGizmo provides an extra period of trial subscription <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">without <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">you asking them for it. I considered it as a meaningful favour because I wanted to carry on doing my research vs. having to ask them for extending my trial vs. having to build a business case for my management to approve that subscription.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-838 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image03-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"381\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Similarly, Basecamp\u2019s whole onboarding process (or \u2018lack\u2019 of thereof) was a meaningful \u2018gift\u2019 for its users:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-870 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image35.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"120\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"youcanexceedexpectations\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">You can exceed expectations<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As I have already mentioned, Cialdini\u2019s research shows that <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">unexpected<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> gifts are more likely to make the other person to repay you back. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have just seen Neville\u2019s response to the DMD live DVD. The second reason why it worked is that it was unexpected, even more so because their relationship shifted from online to real life.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People expect you to produce content, but you can still go beyond their expectations by producing really great content. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>For example, another type of comments Brian Dean gets look like these:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-869 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image34.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"589\" height=\"124\" \/><\/p>\n<p>His content is so uncommonly actionable, detailed and well-designed that he continuously exceeds people\u2019s expectations.<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, the trial option offered by SurveyGizmo exceeded my expectations because it was not the standard for software industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Other SaaS companies like Slack design unusual user experiences, e.g. its slackbot setting you up, another addition to its slick onboarding experience.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-839 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image04-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"530\" height=\"202\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"youcanbreakanonymitybyshowingyourownface\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">You can break anonymity by showing your own face&#8230;<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/online.liebertpub.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1089\/109493102753770525\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has shown that reversing anonymity increased compliance rates. A group of people was emailed to fill in a questionnaire. Some received an anonymous email, while others received an email <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">with a sender\u2019s picture<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. The latter were more likely to comply with the request (57.5% vs. 83.8%). \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is exactly how Stephen Twomey <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/justreachout.io\/blog\/howto-increase-response-rate-email-pitch\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">increased<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> his success rate with cold emails by more than 300%. He used that technique to get press coverage (social proof to boost your conversions!), backlinks from reputable publications as well as to connect with influencers in different industries. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>He just added a picture at the bottom of the email. Here\u2019s an example from one of the projects he worked on:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-867 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image32.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"217\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>Result: <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For 50 emails that he sent without the picture he received 3 guest post requests. For 50 emails that he sent WITH the picture he received 13 requests (300%+ difference).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many blogs still have faceless author contributions, even those in online marketing industry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-840 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image05.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"358\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Obviously, being able to see the author\u2019s face makes the connection more humane. Example from Conversion.com:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-859 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image24.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"148\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For user onboarding, you can use tools like Intercom, so that people know who they interact with.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-835 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image00-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"553\" height=\"710\" \/><\/p>\n<p><b>&#8230;and making them to show theirs<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the most important part. As we have discussed, when our identities are not at risk we are less likely to comply.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The best strategy with cold email is being referred by someone. Not to sell something you want to sell, but being referred to help. In that case the person on the other end knows that you know their right email address and you are part of their in-group, meaning their identity is on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\" wp-image-847 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image12-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"594\" height=\"194\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With content you can use platforms such as Disqus. They keep trail of all the previous communications a person had. For example, when I click on Bryan Harris\u2019s comment, I can see the past history of his communications. That means that when Bryan Harris leaves a comment on someone\u2019s website, he does not just leave an opinion, he leaves <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">his<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> opinion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-855 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image20.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"495\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For user onboarding use Intercom. It integrates with FullContact. FullContact uses a person\u2019s email address to gather all the publically available information on that user. So, when chatting with someone you don\u2019t talk with user #15345, but a real person. You have access to their job title, social profile, etc.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-850 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image15.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"358\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There is one caveat to Intercom. When I am chatting with someone from a support team, I don\u2019t necessarily know <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">if<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they know who I am. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-845 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image10-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"552\" height=\"709\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But if you play it smart you can still build a very personal connection. For example, go above and beyond in your customer service by utilising the information that becomes available to you. Look at what they did here:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-842 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image07-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"250\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And help your customers when they need it. Here\u2019s an example of me asking for extra access to Buzzsumo subscription. To do so I surely needed to disclose my personal circumstances, again putting my identity on the table.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-853 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image18.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"347\" height=\"569\" \/><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"moreimportantlyalthoughitsharderandwontbeperfectyoucanstillapplysocialpressureandestablishsocialnormsonline\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">More importantly, (although it\u2019s harder and won\u2019t be perfect) you can still apply social pressure and establish social norms online<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For this to work you need to place yourself in a community. So that it\u2019s not you reaching to someone as if you exist in a vacuum. Instead, it\u2019s you reaching out to someone with both of you <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">having a sense<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that you co-exist in the same community where rules are set and reinforced by the collective mind. Those rules govern who gets rewarded and who gets punished for their behavior.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Let\u2019s consider some examples.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When David Garland, founder of The Rise To The Top, wanted to connect with Tim Ferriss, he did not just send him a bunch of cold emails. Instead, he <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/therisetothetop.com\/davids-blog\/how-to-interview-build-relationships-with-influential-people\/?utm_source=conversion.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">used<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> a combination of different mediums including Twitter, his personal blog (and email), making his attempts to connect more public.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-868 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image33.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"226\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-862 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image27.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"230\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Did Tim Ferriss start feeling guilty for not replying to any of those comments (consequently creating a sense of obligation)? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t know, but as we have already discussed, publicity increases compliance. It might have had some effect when they connected via email. Ultimately result is all that matters. In David\u2019s case Tim agreed to participate. Twice.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-877 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image43.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"609\" height=\"317\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(we will cover other aspects of David\u2019s strategy later). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For content marketing, social rewards can come in the form of likes and upvotes&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-879 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image45.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"595\" height=\"50\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;or rankings:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-841 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image06-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"114\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Social costs can come in the form of being \u2018excluded\u2019 from a community for not contributing. For example, Moz excludes you from its ranking unless you have logged in the past 60 days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-866 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image31.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"597\" height=\"102\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It can also come in the form of not getting support from others when you need it. Here\u2019s an example from GrowthHackers.com:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-837 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image02.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"181\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If building a community platform sounds too complicated, could you build an end of the year wall of fame for users who shared your content (and unexpectedly give them something as a gift)? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surely you could. Just use Buzzsumo and you will quickly find everyone who shared your posts. It\u2019s quick and easy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-863 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image28.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"596\" height=\"336\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Memrise, a language learning app, applies social pressures to user onboarding, too! They made me feel guilty for not catching up with <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">my<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> class.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-874 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image39.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"551\" height=\"346\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They also push me forward by showing to me how I compare relative to my peers:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-864 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image29.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"293\" height=\"506\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even if your SaaS product does not have a community around it, can you assign people to demo classes and tell them that they are not catching up? You should test that!<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"youcanencouragecooperativebehaviorbysendinglongtermsignals\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">You can encourage cooperative behavior by sending long-term signals<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As we have already said, if people don\u2019t know that achievement of their goals is interdependent on cooperation with you, the chances of them cooperating automatically go down. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">To reverse that, you need to send signals that you are staying in the game for a long period of time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With cold outreach, there are numerous things you can do. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>#1. Be persistent.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">David Garland from The Rise On The Top has not been just helping Tim Ferriss for a couple of months, but has been providing him with favours for a period of 2 (TWO!) years. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In his <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/therisetothetop.com\/davids-blog\/how-to-interview-build-relationships-with-influential-people\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">own words<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p>For the past two years I\u2019d been building my platform, helping Tim out to the best of my ability in various small ways, including retweeting his content, writing about him on my blog, mentioning him on the show, reaching out occasionally with an idea, etc.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-894\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/dsg.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"49\" height=\"49\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-citation-name\">David Siteman Garland<\/p>\n<p class=\"quote-citation-company\">Founder of The Rise to the Top<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As you remember, persistence is what Neville Medhora (and <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/kopywritingkourse.com\/heres-how-to-cold-email-like-a-boss\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">many others<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">) evaluate in you when you are sending them a message.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>#2. Show your affiliation with people in that person\u2019s in-group.<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sam Parr who I mentioned previously asked for an intro from his friend Joey Mucha to invite Rick Marini, founder of BranchOut, to his conference. In this particular case Sam was not really making any favors to Rick, he was approaching him with an offer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">BUT! With his follow-up email, Sam made Rick a favor (of some sort) by not being sales-y (many people are), but reaching out to him in a very personalized, caring way:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-871 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image36.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"601\" height=\"203\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This made a good impression:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-836 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image01.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"149\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And Rick came to the conference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I used the following template to reach out to people who I thought could benefit from my research skills:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-847 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image12-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"591\" height=\"193\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With content, you can create interdependence by making it likely that people will want to ask you a question.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">We have seen it done at GrowthHackers, Moz\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On a standard blog, it seems that by answering people\u2019s comments you can foster reciprocation.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s an example from Brian Dean\u2019s blog:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-883 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/reciprocity28.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"598\" height=\"844\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">See this \u201cAdded to my buffer\u201d spin by Sam Oh? Nice and subtle use of the reciprocity rule. Obviously, I don\u2019t know the full story, but he might not have shared it unless he needed to ask this question. Thinking of long-term effects I can see that Sam shared Brian\u2019s content at least 13 times to his 7000+ Twitter audience (no causation suggested here, just an observation). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, provide valuable, detailed advice and make sure people know that you will help them when they need it.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I don\u2019t think this one applies to user onboarding well. You can\u2019t frame it as, \u201cHey, I gave you access to a free trial, so, could, you, please, complete your profile and set up the integrations, so that you can see how valuable our product is and ultimately sign up?\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cIf you don\u2019t do it now, I won\u2019t give an extension in the future\u201d (creating long-term interdependence).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Despite that, I have a great example for you (at the end of this article) of how one company used <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">incentives<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and interdependencies to triple their trial-to-paying conversion rate.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"youcanshowthesacrificesyoumake\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">You can show the sacrifices you make<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another factor that I did not see Cialdini mentioning in his book is \u201cthe degree of sacrifice experienced by the donor\u201d. Researchers <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/2092623?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">suggest<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that the more person thinks you have sacrificed something substantial to provide a gift, the more they will feel obliged to return something back. In my own interpretation it\u2019s about communicating or showing how much effort you have put into something.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Here\u2019s how I (unknowingly) used it to build relationships with people:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-872 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image37.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"272\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Not only is the fact that I read his book shows my degree of involvement with that person\u2019s work, the rest of the email is a 1028 words \u201cessay\u201d where I provide a new perspective on what he has been working on. It might not always work, but in this particular context I genuinely thought that this type of detail would add a lot of value. In the end, we had a very meaningful exchange around this topic. Moreover, using skills I learnt from copywriting books I tried to make it as engaging as possible, so strike a balance.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When people publish content on their blogs, all they do is hit publish and hope others will appreciate it. However, readers don\u2019t know how many hours you have spent and the number of late-nighters you had before hitting that blue WordPress button. Maybe you should be telling them. At least that\u2019s what the research tells us.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A couple of days ago I saw this post trending at GrowthHackers. From the title I sensed that it\u2019s another collection of random tips, but when I opened it the description below made all the difference.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-848 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image13.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"608\" height=\"549\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This has also been successfully applied to user onboarding.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-856 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image21.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"605\" height=\"670\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That person has gone at great lengths to explain what she did, what worked and what did not. She included screenshots. I could feel the \u201csacrifices\u201d she made before getting back to me. This is when I thought that Mailchimp is not actually that bad. I am still feeling obliged to stay with them although I already got all my campaigns working in GetResponse.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"finallyyoudontneedtoputallyourhopesintoreciprocity\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"post-content__section-title\">Finally, you don\u2019t need to put all your hopes into reciprocity<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many articles out there seem to suggest that you just publish good content, give a free trial to your customers and people will start giving back. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s ok, but gets you very little in the way of results.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reciprocity works for building relationships. Reciprocity works for creating preferences for your product, not your competitor\u2019s (at least one <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/abs\/10.1362\/026725708X306130\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">study<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> suggests that). <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It sometimes works to get people to enter email addresses into your sign up form.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">And it rarely works to get them to enter their credit card details and click \u201cpay\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This is the key action you want people to take, not just share your content, not leave you comments on your blog, but pay for your product. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s where incentives are most powerful though. Give people a good reason why they should purchase your product or enter their email and they will be more likely to do so.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, Optimizely <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/pages.optimizely.com\/2016-06-homepage-personalization-webinar-register-ondemand.html?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">generated<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> more than \u00a33 million in pipeline opportunities using incentives <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">alone<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. They offered an Apple Watch to a targeted list of high end executives in exchange for a meeting and got an 8% agreement rate.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-860 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image25.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"599\" height=\"302\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The rule of reciprocity is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">one of the many<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> tools you can use and solely relying on it would be plain stupid.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Many big brands follow that strategy on their blogs though. Adidas is one of them:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-854 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image19.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"217\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In contrast, guys at SnackNation, a healthy snack delivery service, offer an incentive for you to join their subscriber list. Free, great content serves the role of establishing the relationship. A clear incentive serves the role of getting them the email addresses. Here\u2019s an example from their wildly popular <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.snacknation.com\/blog\/employee-wellness-program-ideas\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">article<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, \u201c121 Proven Employee Wellness Program Ideas For Your Office\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-876 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image42.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"602\" height=\"315\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similarly, when David Garland offered Tim Ferriss to be interviewed on his show, he did not just assume that all their previous interactions would pay for themselves. Instead, he tied it in with an incentive. Tim Ferriss just launched The 4-Hour Body, making the show a perfect opportunity for him to spread the word. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This made it a no-brainer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Finally, one SaaS company used interdependencies (as well as incentives and an element of gamification) to triple its trial-to-paying conversion rate. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Team at ProdPad, a project management software, cut its trial from 30 days to 14 to 7 days. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Once they cut it down to 7, they <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.prodpad.com\/2016\/06\/ux-new-user-onboarding-extending-trial\/?utm_source=conversion_com&amp;utm_campaign=the-rule-of-reciprocity&amp;utm_medium=blog\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">decided<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to allow flexible extension for every important step you complete. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Set up an integration? 2 extra free days. Added a mockup? Another 2 free days.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-875 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/image41.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"459\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reasoning behind it is obvious. The quicker you can get a trial user from \u201cfirst touch\u201d to \u201cfirst value\u201d, the more likely she is to become your happy, paying customer. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Instead of leaving it as a 30 day trial, hoping that users will have enough time to make the full use of their product, team at ProdPad set up an incentive-based system where every desirable step is rewarded with a trial extension. They even gamified it (notice the progress chart and green ticks)!<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So, now when a user approaches a 30-day trial, she would not think, \u201cI should start being nice to their team, so that they can extend my trial in case I am over the limit\u201d, the user knows right from the start what the dependence is (between her actions and her ability to use the app).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Again, this shows that adding incentives to what you give away for free can substantially increase the power of your persuasion efforts. Tripling your trial to paying conversion rate is not bad at all.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t                        \t\t\t\t\t\t<li class=\"post-content__section\" id=\"conclusion\" data-ref=\"case-content-item\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"post-content__section-content\"><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reciprocity is a powerful persuasion tool, but it comes with its caveats when applied online. Beware of the reasons why it is less likely to work and overcome these challenges with the techniques I described above. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s a full summary for your reference:<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Building relationships<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide meaningful, targeted gifts (tip: research the person, Sam Parr watched conference videos to find out what Neville Medhora was into)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exceed their expectations (eg. send them a physical gift)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Break anonymity by showing your face (eg. include a selfie at the end of your email)&#8230;<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8230;and look for a way to ensure they show theirs (eg. find a way to be referred by someone)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use social pressure to your advantage (eg. connecting via an active community or social media adds publicity to your and the target person\u2019s actions)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make it clear that this is not the first time the two of you might engage with each other (eg. be persistent and show affiliation with that person\u2019s in-group)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Explain the sacrifices you made to provide that gift, in a subtle way (eg. explain how difficult it was to find, but you did X, Y and Z, and finally got it, or just <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">show<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> the effort you went to)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Content marketing<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Write meaningful material that helps your target prospects to make progress in their lives (tip: use JTBD framework)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exceed people\u2019s expectation by creating visually attractive, insanely detailed and super-actionable content<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Show your face in the author section<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make users show their face when interacting with you through the blog (eg. integrate your comments section with Disqus)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Create a community in order to enforce the social pressure (this involves having a publicly observable rating system as well as appropriate rewards and punishments that reinforce desirable user behavior)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make use of interdependencies between you and your readers (eg. by giving meaningful help through the blog comments you might encourage readers to give something to you, in anticipation that they might receive something meaningful back from you)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Show the sacrifices you made to write that article (eg. number of hours spent, interviews conducted, core challenges you had to overcome)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Onboarding<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Provide users with meaningful favours (tip: find out what their struggles might be at different points of the onboarding process, use JTBD and on-site surveys to get meaningful, contextual data)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exceed users\u2019 expectations by researching your industry and creating unexpected, meaningful experiences<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Use tools like Intercom to create personal, non-anonymous connections with your users<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If applicable, create social groups within your app in order to generate social dynamics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If applicable, use copy notifying the user how they perform relative to the rest of the in-app social group<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Show the sacrifices you made (e.g. to build the app, build a certain feature, or resolve a bug issue when answering a support ticket)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Finally, remember that the rule of reciprocity is only one of the many techniques that you can use. For your visitors to progress through the final steps in your conversion funnel, it would be less risky for you to utilise incentives (eg. explain the clear benefits of giving an email address or subscribing for your product) than solely relying on reciprocity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t                            <div data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"mobile\"><\/div>\n                        \t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<\/ul>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t<aside class=\"post-content__sidebar post-content__sidebar--form\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"sticky-newsletter\" data-target=\"post-newsletter-anchor\" data-device=\"desktop\">\n                \t<div class=\"post-newsletter\" data-target=\"post-newsletter\">\n    <h4 class=\"post-newsletter__title\">Real-world growth experiments. In your inbox. Every week. <\/h4>\n            <div class=\"post-newsletter__form post-newsletter__form--world kam-world\">\n        <script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/js.hsforms.net\/forms\/embed\/v2.js\"><\/script> <script>   hbspt.forms.create({     region: \"na1\",     portalId: \"9358319\",     formId: \"4e927e03-4f90-466a-8646-7f94947f860c\"   }); <\/script>\n    <\/div>\n            <div class=\"post-newsletter__form post-newsletter__form--uk-us kam-uk-us\">\n            <script charset=\"utf-8\" type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"\/\/js.hsforms.net\/forms\/embed\/v2.js\"><\/script><script>hbspt.forms.create({ region: \"na1\", portalId: \"9358319\", formId: \"03e799e7-ee63-4857-9182-cb3a687dba40\" });<\/script>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"post-newsletter__terms\"><p>Join 5,000+ optimizers who subscribe to our content<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n            <\/aside>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":446,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Conversion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ReciprocityBlogPost_1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"805\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"502\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Egor Driagin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Egor Driagin\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Egor Driagin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ff142597567844a78f3a9e0c715c671\"},\"headline\":\"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\"},\"wordCount\":8,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Behavioural Economics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\",\"name\":\"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How to make reciprocity work o&hellip;\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/\",\"name\":\"Conversion\",\"description\":\"Better results with evidence\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Conversion\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Colour-Logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Colour-Logo.png\",\"width\":1821,\"height\":193,\"caption\":\"Conversion\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ff142597567844a78f3a9e0c715c671\",\"name\":\"Egor Driagin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c5b6d83ba98450aca179efa1863497?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c5b6d83ba98450aca179efa1863497?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Egor Driagin\"},\"description\":\"Egor Driagin is the Content Strategist at Conversion.com. His mission is to convert Conversion.com\u2019s insider knowledge into actionable insights that you can start applying today.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/author\/egor-driagin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion","og_url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/","og_site_name":"Conversion","article_published_time":"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00","og_image":[{"width":805,"height":502,"url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/06\/ReciprocityBlogPost_1.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Egor Driagin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Egor Driagin"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/"},"author":{"name":"Egor Driagin","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ff142597567844a78f3a9e0c715c671"},"headline":"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights","datePublished":"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/"},"wordCount":8,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Behavioural Economics"],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/","url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/","name":"How to make reciprocity work online: 14 surprising insights | Conversion","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2017-02-06T12:58:47+00:00","dateModified":"2024-08-14T09:55:33+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/reciprocity-rule\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How to make reciprocity work o&hellip;"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/","name":"Conversion","description":"Better results with evidence","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#organization","name":"Conversion","url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Colour-Logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Colour-Logo.png","width":1821,"height":193,"caption":"Conversion"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2ff142597567844a78f3a9e0c715c671","name":"Egor Driagin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c5b6d83ba98450aca179efa1863497?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/80c5b6d83ba98450aca179efa1863497?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Egor Driagin"},"description":"Egor Driagin is the Content Strategist at Conversion.com. His mission is to convert Conversion.com\u2019s insider knowledge into actionable insights that you can start applying today.","url":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/blog\/author\/egor-driagin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=396"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6846,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/396\/revisions\/6846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/446"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/conversion.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}