2 letters that make people click (and buy) 📝

Become an early adopter of this "Identity Marketing" tactic

By simply adding “er” to the end of certain words, you tap into a powerful psychological motivator: identity.

Example: Don’t ask people to help… ask them to be a helper.

💡 ‘Identity Marketing’ leverages this by transforming actions into identities:

• Help us improve → Be a beta tester ✅

• Upgrade your plan → Become a pro user ✅

• Learn more → Be an early adopter ✅

• Join our community → Become a member ✅

• Refer a friend → Be an ambassador ✅

People are more likely to act when it aligns with how they want to be seen.

🧠 Why It Works?

Because it shifts the focus from a one-time action to an ongoing identity.

• "Help" vs. "Helper": A preschool study showed a 50% increase in children cleaning up when asked to be a helper.

• "Vote" vs. "Voter": Voter turnout increased by 15% when individuals were asked to be voters.

Suddenly, it’s not just about doing something; it’s about being someone (+belonging).

😱 The Emoji Hack

Identity Marketing is much more than just “er”. One of the coolest identity hacks is to encourage people to add emojis to their names on social media. It’s the perfect identity signal.

Examples:

1. Ship30for30 course: Students use a ship emoji 🚢 in their Twitter/X names. This creates a sense of community and shared identity. It also helps them find other students and cross-promote posts.

2. Beehiiv: All employees use a bee emoji 🐝 on Twitter/X. It literally reinforces their identity as Beehiiv supporters.

Hot opportunity: I haven’t seen this emoji trick on LinkedIn yet... Could be a goldmine for B2B. Just sayin’.

The Bottom Line 🔥

By inspiring users to think about their identity, you can nudge them towards desired actions and create a stronger sense of community and loyalty.

TL;DR 👉 Change your copy (add “er”) when you need people to act. Start an emoji movement on social media names. Worth a test!

See you next week ✌️

Tom

---

P.S. Becoming a cheater is much scarier than cheating. It works vice versa.

P.P.S. I discovered this “ER” effect from Jonah Berger’s new book, “Magic Words”. Great read!

P.P.P.S. You guys have chosen this week’s marketing idea! See poll results below. Follow me on LinkedIn to participate in future polls & discussions :)

—If you enjoyed this marketing idea, please tap the Like button below ♥️ Thank you!