5 *Easy* Psychology Frameworks That Make Emails Convert

Hey, happy Tuesday!

It’s Victor here from The Obzia Newsletter.

Forget the basic persuasion hacks and gimmicks you see everywhere.

Real email conversion comes down to understanding psychology.

When you know how people think and make decisions, your emails start working way better.

Below are 5 simple psychology frameworks we use often for clients at Obzia to boost email performance.

1. Loss Aversion

People are way more scared of losing something than they are excited about gaining something.

It's just how we're all wired.

So instead of only focusing on what they'll gain by buying, remind them what they'll lose by not buying.

"Your cart is about to expire" (they're losing the items they already picked)

"This price goes back up tomorrow" (they're losing the discount)

These work because they tap into that fear of loss.

2. Social Proof

Your customers trust other customers way more than they trust you.

I mean, it’s 2025… People aren’t gonna trust a company straight away.

That's why reviews, testimonials, and results need to show up in your emails frequently.

Don't just throw them in once and call it a day.

Weave them into your welcome series, your abandoned cart emails, your campaigns... everywhere.

When people see that others are buying and loving your product, it removes a ton of friction from the purchase decision.

3. Anchoring

Show the original price first. Then reveal the sale price.

Example: $120 $79

That contrast makes your offer feel like a no-brainer.

Without the anchor, $79 is just $79.

With it? It feels like they're saving $41. Suddenly a good deal.

Same product, same price, but the psychology completely changes how they perceive the value.

4. Curiosity

If you give away the entire point of your email in the subject line, why would anyone bother opening it?

They already got what they needed.

Instead, use curiosity to pull them in. Don't spoil the point of your email. Tease it.

Make them want to open and read more.

This doesn't mean being vague or clickbaity though… It just means creating an “open loop” so they're actually motivated to open, read, and close the loop.

5. Commitment Bias

Once someone takes a small action, they're way more likely to take a bigger action later.

It's called commitment bias.

So get them to do something early.

Make them click "yes" to receive an offer before asking for their email.

Ask them to reply to your email with their biggest challenge or pain point before asking them for a customer interview.

These micro-conversions prime them to say "yes" again when you ask them to take action on something bigger.

Psychology in marketing isn't some advanced tactic you need a PhD to understand.

It's just about knowing how people subconsciously think and making your emails work by leaning into exactly that.

My Favorite Email of the Day

The email: Click here to view »

Subject line: EXPIRES TONIGHT!

The brand: Javvy

My thoughts: Perfect example of applying the “loss aversion” framework to your cart abandonment email.

Helpful Links Worth a Look

• See how Lemme runs their Abandoned Cart email flow

• Some cool Halloween email designs we’ve made for brands recently

• We’re hiring email designers!

That’s it for this one.

Until next time,
Victor from Obzia

P.S. Want a free audit of your email account? Book a call with me here.