This post is sponsored by Superside

This Week’s Brainy Best At-A-Glance

Read time 2.2 minutes

🧠 Snack: The psychology of a perfect profile pic

🤓 Breakdown: The rule of 100 every marketer should know

🤩 Resource: How to make ads that convert

💡 Spotlight: The foundation of brand building

Brainy Snack 🧠

​Psychology studies show there’s a formula to faces we consider trustworthy.

Profile pictures that don’t use this formula could make people unconsciously untrusting of you… and therefore less likely to follow you on social media.

Here’s the formula for a likable profile picture:

#1: A U-Shaped Mouth

#2: Surprised or slightly raised eyebrows

Sahil Bloom has grown his audience lightning fast.

His content is outstanding. That said, his face shape may also give him an unfair advantage.

Brainy principle used: Faces​

​Tweet this brainy tip >

Brainy Breakdown 🤓

We all make mistakes. Sometimes that actually makes us more likeable. But sometimes it results in lost sales and trust.

Walmart tried to use Price Anchoring to show how great of a deal their sale price was.

But I think they forgot to have somebody take a second look…

Saving $0.01 doesn’t feel like a deal.

​Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On, found the right way to use Price Anchoring:

If a product is less than $100: Use percentage discounts.
​If a product is more than $100: Use dollar-off discounts.

Maybe we should send a copy of Jonah’s book to the Walmart marketing department. 😂

Brainy Resource 🤩

​Sponsored by Motion

You’re sitting in a room with a performance marketer who’s spent $100 million in paid ads.

What’s the first question you’d ask?

How did you build your creative team?
What’s your process for developing creative that converts?
Which analytics do you pay the most attention to?

Today, you’re getting an invite into that room. 🤯

Join the Make Ads that Convert 4-Part Masterclass with Dara Denney for a step-by-step walkthrough giving you the answers to each of those questions.

You’ll also get Dara’s personal collection of templates, helping you conduct competitor research, ideation, and creative analysis.

​Register for free with this link.

Brainy Spotlight 💡

Are you getting a little tired of all of the Twitter threads talking about how marketers made $1 million in 7 hours (and the generic advice that follows)?

Today’s Brainy Spotlight is here to remind you of the reality of marketing.

It takes time.

Our minds are built for relationships.

And relationships take time to solidify.

Why We Buy Reader Ramil John put my quote, “Trust comes before growth,” into this neat visual:

It’s your reminder that our minds are wired for relationships and connection.

And relationships are all about showing up for the other over and over again.

As long as you keep showing up, your audience will start to trust you and, inevitably, want to buy from you.

Want a chance to get featured in front of 47,300+ marketers and founders for free? Tweet me with a brainy campaign you’ve implemented and what results it led to. You just might see yourself in the next issue of Brainy Best.

If you learned something useful, would you share the newsletter with a friend? You can even  earn cool prizes  👀 for referring new readers to Why We Buy.

If you have an idea for a future issue, send ’em my way. 

Until next time, happy selling. 

Wanna really get inside your buyer’s head?

1. Get explosive clarity about what works with buyers by learning how to conduct 1:1 Clarity Calls
2. Learn how to mine online reviews from real buyers to generate ideas and copy that converts 
3. ​Book a 1:1 strategy call with Katelyn and get the answers you need to get unstuck and move forward with confidence
4. Apply to sponsor an upcoming issue of Why We Buy (next opening in June)

Thank you to our featured sponsors