🧠 We’ve had this craving for MILLIONS of years…

Hey there,

Welcome back to the 50th edition of Brandish,

Your guide to crafting an iconic brand.

I hope everyone is having a chill weekend,

I know I sure am.

This week we’re diving into a topic that I know Ash absolutely hates.

And No, It’s not Direct Response, I would have been 💀 before writing this lol.

Any guesses?

That’s correct, It’s FOMO.

So kick back, 

Grab your favorite drink 👉Brez

(Yes, I just told you what your favorite drink is)

And let’s talk about why people hate missing out.

The Dawn of FOMO

FOMO has been around as long as the first human interactions,

I would imagine it going something like…

Caveman A gets a new tiger-skin jacket.

With Caveman A’s superior sense of fashion, he impresses all the Cavewomen.

Then Caveman B sees Caveman A with a sick new tiger-skin jacket and all the ladies.

And now Caveman B wants one for himself.

Now obviously, 

This isn’t exactly something that would happen today.

Maybe something similar… 

But not in the same way…

My point is…

As humans, we still experience the same innate desires that we felt millions of years ago.

POMO: The Psychology of Missing Out

Before we get into the nitty-gritty,

Let’s first define exactly what FOMO is.

“The Fear of Missing Out” AKA “FOMO” is the concern or “fear” that a person is losing out on important information, experiences, or in some cases even making their life better.”

Going back to our friend Caveman B from earlier, 

He believes that having a sick tiger jacket will make him more fashionable, more popular, and get him all the girls,

Which in this case, will make his life better.

But enough about making our friend Caveman B’s life better.

(We love you bro)

Here’s how YOU can make your life better.

Tool of the Week

Lemme ask you a quick question. 

Would your life be better if you could print cash?

If you said yes, then stick around.

If you said no, then you’re lying, so also stick around.

If you think being able to print cash is a fairytale.

Then you might want to start believing in fairies.

Because thousands of brands are PRINTING with AfterSell.

In case you’ve been living under a rock,

AfterSell is a platform that helps e-commerce stores increase AOV by offering cart upsells,

Post-purchase offers, 

And assisting customers through various stages of their journey.

And I know exactly what you’re thinking.

So what’s the catch? Do I have to sell a kidney?

Well do I have two great pieces of news for you.

1)  You can keep that kidney.

2)  AfterSell is easy, automated, and ZERO cost.

For us at Obvi, we’ve personally been able to boost our AOV by over 15%.

AfterSell is also backed by industry giants like American Eagle Outfitters, Perry Ellis, and True Classic.

So if you aren’t already on the AfterSell train.

It’s not too late to hop on.

Click HERE to start printing today.

Or don’t if you hate money. 

If I got you to click on just ONE of those links just now.

That’s one of the many ways to leverage FOMO at work.

The rest of this newsletter will teach you exactly how I did it.

But first, let’s dive into the psychology behind it.

Picture this:

You’re scrolling through your social media feed after a long day, 

And something a friend posted catches your eye for a second.

You stop scrolling to take a closer look.

The photos are breathtaking—the clear blue waters, the vibrant sunset painting the sky with shades of orange, pink, and deepening blues.

You’re already wishing you were there.

Of course it’s because you want to see the views for yourself,

But there's a much deeper psychological reason behind it.

Enter Consumer Minds: The Social Comparison Theory

*Queue the dramatic Star Wars Music*

Now here’s a real-life example with one of the biggest brands in the world, Nike 👇

Strategy:

Nike teams up with top athletes and influencers to show off its products.

Implement:

Through campaigns like “Just Do It,” Nike shares stories of athletes overcoming tough challenges.

Outcome:

Consumers see these athletes and feel inspired to buy Nike gear, hoping to boost their own performance and feel like they’re part of an elite group.

Sounds simple enough right?

Here’s the playbook 👇

How To FOMO

We see brands use tactics like these all the time.

You know,

The ones you see on social media that all the drop shipping, day trading, and Amazon gurus use.

The one that makes your BS detectors go 🚨🚨🚨

Yeah, It’s called “Fake Scarcity”

And yes, people still fall for it.

But not smart people like us.

Like Seriously dude,

We all know there aren’t 10 e-books left in stock 🤦‍♂️

Now, I could sit here and teach you how to become a shitty person that also happens to look like a total doofus on social media like the rest of these guys,

But I rather teach you how to really tap into your buyer's mind.

(You’re welcome Ash)

How To FOMO (the right way)

✔ Push UGC

Encourage your buyers to share stories, reviews, and photos featuring your products.

Here’s the plug-and-play setup:

1)  create a page on your website dedicated to customer stories.

2)  Social Media Campaigns (make a hashtag)

3)  Contest and Giveaways - Host a contest where users share photos or videos of them using your product for a chance to win a prize.

✔ Leverage Social Proof

A great way to do this is by including it in your copy.

People love reading about the success stories of others, especially first-time buyers.

It helps them trust the brand and makes them feel confident that if it worked for others, it will for sure work for them too.

This can be done through Email, SMS, Ads, or any other content that you push out to your audience.

✔ Create REAL Urgency

There’s a couple of ways you can do this,

First of all, if you say there are only ten pieces left in stock,

Once the ten pieces are sold out, you MUST say SOLD OUT.

(whether or not it’s actually sold out is a whole nother subject)

The next way is through Limited-Edition Products,

Weather it’s changing up the packaging, 

Selling it only in-store,

Or the countless other ways to run a limited-edition item.

It’s pretty self-explanatory.

The only other thing I have to add is that It’s worked forever and will continue to do so.

Moving onto the last one here.

The Countdown Timer.

Simply just stick a live countdown timer on the page where you’re running a limited-time offer,

Then sit back and watch the orders start rolling in.

The reason this method is so effective is because it’s something about actually visualizing time running out that makes buyers start running around like headless chickens.

Quick note for all you e-commerce Kings and Queens out there before we wrap it up:

Chew On This is hosting a 3 hour live masterclass on retention marketing.

Mark your calendars and bring your questions because three industry experts… 

Eddie Maalouf - Founder/CEO @BAD Marketing

Francesco Gatti - Founder/CEO @Opensend

Ronak Shah - Founder/CEO @Obvi

…Who’ve driven over 7 figures in revenue through email/SMS marketing will show you EXACTLY how they did it.

Just click the link Here and we’ll see you there. 

Wrapping it up

And that’s a wrap on today’s newsletter! 

I hope that you learned something new from today’s mini psychology lesson on FOMO.

I suggest you start implementing it NOW because if you don’t,

You’ll really be missing out.

PS: I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you for your support all the way to Brandish Newsletter 50.

This wouldn't have been possible without you guys.

I truly appreciate each and every one of you who reads my weekly newsletters,

And if this is your first time here, better late than never haha. 

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

And I’ll see you at Brandish newsletter 51,

Ankit