Good user experience and well written copy sometimes just aren’t enough to get the sale. Even after explaining all the benefits you have to offer, there are many that curiously don’t decide to buy. This could be because they just aren’t interested, but it could also be that they’re chronic procrastinators.
When you insert urgency in your writing, it targets those who tend toward procrastination. These visitors think so much about the purchase they talk themselves right out of it. No matter how valuable your product or service might be to them, these prospects remain indecisive despite your best efforts.
Creating a sense of urgency cuts through the mental chatter and gets right to the heart of indecision. Taking advantage of the natural impulsivity/impulsiveness of visitors can be a helpful strategy to increase sales and loyalty, if used properly.
Why It Works
Indecisive people need extra incentive. These prospects already know they want what you’re offering, but hesitate out of fear. The worry that spending money will end up a waste of resources or time (or both) suspends the decision indefinitely. Paralyzed by the thought of making the wrong choice, visitors leave and eventually forget about the decision altogether.
Urgency strikes at that fear by forcing the decision. Afraid of missing out, the concern of wasting time on inaction becomes more important. Without the time to wait and forget, the impending loss motivates action rather than procrastination.
Helping, Not Pushing
Habitual procrastinators are no strangers to lost opportunities. They know this, and typically aren’t happy about it. When adding urgency to your pitch, you let them know directly that this is an opportunity they may later regret delaying.
This might seem manipulative, but remember your product or service should already be designed to benefit customers. The goal is to help them in some way, and your writing should adequately reflect the value you are offering. For the interested procrastinator, a limited offer becomes an opportunity to overcome their indecision.
Methods of Urgency
There are many tactics to insert urgency into your writing. The most common methods are verbal haste and limitation. Both can be used together directly or indirectly.
Verbal haste inspires action by evoking a sense of urgency within the reader:
- Deadline
- Now
- Limited
- Instant
- Hurry
- Expires
- Fast
- Etc.
Limitation is used to create urgency through scarcity. Limiting time or the amount available are common examples. Visuals like a clock or supply counter are simple ways of implementing limitation.
Examples of Urgency vs. Non-Urgency Pitches
To illustrate the power of urgency in marketing copy, here are some direct comparisons of pitches with and without urgency:
E-commerce Product:
Without Urgency: “Get 30% off our premium wireless headphones. High-quality sound and comfort at a great price.”
With Urgency: “Flash Sale: 30% off premium wireless headphones – Only 6 hours left! Limited to first 100 customers. Already 82 sold!”
Event Registration:
Without Urgency: “Join our digital marketing masterclass. Learn from industry experts and enhance your skills.”
With Urgency: “Early Bird pricing ends in 48 hours! Save $200 on our digital marketing masterclass. Only 15 spots remaining at this price!”
Software Subscription:
Without Urgency: “Try our project management software with a free 30-day trial. Cancel anytime.”
With Urgency: “Sign up today and get 3 months free! This founder’s special offer expires at midnight. 237 people have claimed this deal today!”
Service Booking:
Without Urgency: “Book a consultation with our fitness experts and start your transformation journey.”
With Urgency: “January transformation special: First 50 clients get a free nutrition plan ($99 value). Only 7 spots left! Offer ends Sunday at 11:59 PM.”
Top Tools for Creating Urgency
Here are some of the most effective scarcity marketing tools to implement urgency in your marketing:
- Countdown Timers
- OptinMonster – Popular for creating dynamic countdown timers for websites and landing pages
- Deadline Funnel – Specializes in “evergreen” countdown timers that are unique to each visitor
- FOMO – Combines countdown timers with social proof notifications
- Thrive Ultimatum – WordPress plugin for creating scarcity campaigns
- Stock Level Indicators
- Sales Pop – Displays live sales notifications
- Back in Stock – Alerts for limited inventory and waitlist management. Built-in to many ecommerce platforms.
- Social Proof Tools
- ProveSource – Shows real-time user activity and purchases
- TrustPulse – Displays recent customer activity and conversions
- Proof – Combines social proof with urgency elements
- Landing Page Builders with Urgency Features
- ClickFunnels – Includes built-in scarcity elements
- Leadpages – Offers countdown timers and limited-time offer features
- Instapage – Provides dynamic countdown capabilities
- Email Marketing Tools with Urgency Features
- Klaviyo – Includes countdown timers in emails
- Omnisend – Offers dynamic content and urgency elements
- Kit – Previously ConvertKit. Provides automation for time-sensitive campaigns
Things to Avoid
Building trust is an important aspect of sales many often ignore. The product or service must be worth the cost to consumers. Using urgency to promote mediocrity (or worse!) might initially get sales, but will disappoint customers in the long run.
Remember to use these methods and tools authentically and avoid false scarcity, as this can damage trust with your audience. The most effective urgency comes from genuine limited-time offers or truly limited availability of products or services. Shady practices affect overall customer conversion, too. Programing a countdown to always set today as the deadline, or even just excessive hype, has a tendency to repel otherwise interested buyers.
Final Thoughts
The takeaway is to be honest and genuine in your marketing campaigns. Using urgency can be a powerful addition to an ongoing campaign. It also allows for a substantial increase in sales for a short time. Remember to boost your efforts at promoting the sales page during the campaign to get the most out of the opportunity. Always remember that urgency complements, rather than replaces, well written copy.
