The Zeigarnik Effect

I was walking in a park the other day, and….

The Zeigarnik Effect is the tendency to experience intrusive thoughts about an objective that was once pursued but left incomplete (definition from PsychWiki)

In a nutshell it means that we remember things better when something is left unfinished or incomplete. It also means that we will keep reading something until we have closure or we have reached the end. If you leave something hanging, you’ll generate suspense and the reader will have to complete the story, unable to leave right in the middle.
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How does this translate to you? Blog posts, emails, sales letter pages. Those long, winding sales letter pages are a good way to put the Zeigarnik Effect into practice. Start a story, give a little details, but don’t complete it until the ending. Therefore you’ve given your readers a chance to read your whole sales letter.

Or you could begin an email campaign by beginning a story but playing it out over a few emails, or in one email, but not giving the entire story away right in the first few paragraphs. Wait it out a little.

This does not mean you can abuse the Zeigarnik Effect. People do have their patience and their limits, and you can cause them to lose both if you wait too long. You could also cause some stress or uncomfort because people do not have the closure they seek.

If you’re a coach you can give someone a problem at the end of the day, but wait for them to give you the answer until the next day. They will do nothing but think on their problem, and hopefully that amount of time will help solve an issue.

The Zeigarnik Effect is another tool to help you achieve a successful home business. Sometimes it’s not just about Internet tools, Social Media, or Affiliate programs. Sometimes it just mettles down to psychology.

As for my park story? I found a birds nest.

1. The Zeigarnik Effect
2. Marketing Your Business On Twitter | Home Business Success Training by Devon Brown