If there's a gap between what potential customers already know and what they still want to know, they will take action to close that gap.

 

Potential customers feel good when they satisfy their curiosity. It actually activates the brain's reward center.

 

If your potential customer is curious about information you have, chances are they will be driven to pursue it.

 

Potential customers will make the effort to satisfy their curiosity. The more curious they are, the more likely they are to act. Once they obtain the information, it feels rewarding.

 

Ways to use information gaps in your marketing…

 

Raise some subjects you'd want to know more about, point out a gap in r current knowledge, and prompt you to continue reading to pursue the missing answers.

 

Delay the filling of the gap for as long as you can, without introducing too much discomfort, in order to keep your visitors engaged... To keep them hanging on, really.

 

Highlight a topic their audience is somewhat familiar with and interested in, but doesn't yet have deep knowledge of.

 

If you can pose a question that they are not certain they can answer, or offer information that promises to supplement their current understanding of an intriguing topic, you can motivate them-not just to take action, but to do so quickly.

 

Similar to stories, which potential customers feel compelled to finish, information-gap theory can motivate a prompt response from a potential customer.

 

Once you make potential customers aware of the gap in what they know, they will want to fill that gap quickly.

 

A well-crafted question is a smart way to trigger the effect of information gap theory.

 

Make sure you pay off what you promise. While it may be tempting, do not be misleading. Do not resort to clickbait. Do not risk angering or disappointing your customers and prospects. If you do, the approach may backfire. And once it does, you will have rendered the information-gap approach useless for future marketing efforts to that audience. Additionally, you will have eroded the trust between you and your target, and that may be impossible to regain.

 

It’s a mistake to ask questions your prospect already knows the answer to. Instead, intrigue them with a question about a topic they have some knowledge of, but are neither experts in nor utterly unfamiliar with.

 

Frame the information you want to present in a way that piques your audience's curiosity.

Tee up an information gap using superlatives, such as the best, worst, most, last, biggest, only, etc. 
 

Negative superlatives outperform positive superlatives.

 

Begin a story but delay the conclusion to prompt potential customers to continue reading. Use ellipses like “And the winner is…”

 

Pique potential customers' curiosity by posing a question or challenging their assumptions.

 

A/B test a contrarian view.

 

Invite your potential customer to interact with an app or game that will reveal something about themselves.

 

Use a numbered list to offer information.