🧠 Egg-spensive

Today’s Edition of Captivated: Egg-spensive - How 1 simple egg can help you crack the psychology of selling more products

“Eggs cost SO much...”

If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed: eggs aren’t cheap.

The price of eggs has been sky-high, making even a simple breakfast feel like a luxury item.

But eggs have long been a secret ingredient not just in cooking, but in selling more products too.

A simple shift in how much effort people put into something can completely change how they feel about it.

The moment someone contributes, even in a tiny way, their brain decides it’s worth more.

The psychology behind it is how everything from furniture to cake mix to online subscriptions keeps people engaged, and makes them more likely to spend....

(continues below).

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⏩️ Too Busy Scrolling to Read the Whole Thing?

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🧭 INSIDE THIS EDITION

• Egg-spensive

• Smart Tool You Can Use #1

• Did You Know?

• What's the Big Deal?

• The Psychology Behind It

• Smart (& Free) Tool You Can Use #2

• Steal this Strategy for Yourself

• tl;dr

• Smart Tool You Can Use #3

📈 DID YOU KNOW?

People who assemble their own furniture valued it 63% more than identical pre-assembled versions

🤔

 .. What’s the Big Deal? ..

There’s an old (debatable) story about Betty Crocker’s cake mix. Originally, it was designed to be as easy as possible... just add water.

But supposedly, sales weren’t great because it felt too easy. People didn’t feel like they were really baking. They felt guilty.

So, the instructions changed. Instead of dried eggs in the mix, people had to crack and add their own.

The theory goes that this small step made a difference because it gave customers a sense of effort and ownership.

Whether or not that exact story is true, the same principle is behind why people feel more attached to IKEA furniture they assembled themselves, or why they’ll pay extra for sneakers they customize, meal kits they cook, or planners they get to fill out.

The moment we put work into something, it stops being a product and starts feeling like ours.

🧠

 .. The Psychology Behind It ..

🧠The IKEA Effect –

Your brain releases dopamine when it completes a task, even a small one.

That feeling of accomplishment makes you value what you worked on more, making us feel accomplished.

That effort rewires perception: instead of seeing an item as just another purchase, we see it as something we created, which makes us value it more.

🧠 The Endowment Effect –

Once you contribute to something, you get attached. Ownership changes perception.

When we personalize something, make decisions about it, or add the finishing touch, we subconsciously believe it’s worth more.

This applies to everything from customizing a product to assembling it ourselves.

🧠 Effort Justification –

The more effort we put into something, the more our brains convince us that it must be worth it.

That’s why people stay in long lines for limited-edition products, feel more committed to a high-priced course they had to apply for, or stick with a product they had to spend time setting up.

🧠 Micro-Commitments and Engagement Loops –

Small actions (like picking a color, choosing a plan, or answering a quiz) rewire the brain’s reward system and trick the brain into a cycle of commitment. 

Each step keeps customers invested and makes them more likely to follow through, their brain becomes more invested in finishing the process.

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 .. Steal this Strategy for Yourself ..

1 - Make People Feel Involved: Give customers an active role in your product:

• Give customers a way to personalize something, even in a small way.

• Add an element of decision-making. Even simple choices - picking a style, selecting a plan, or choosing a preference - create a sense of ownership.

• Use interactive onboarding or guided setup. The more people put in, the more invested they become.

2 - Create a Sense of Completion: Find a way for customers to contribute the final step to a product:

• Frame your product or service as something that needs a final step from them to be “complete.”

• Digital products can do this, too: progress bars, “finalize your setup” nudges, and interactive features make customers feel like they’re finishing something, not just receiving it.

• If there’s a physical component, highlight the part they “craft” themselves (even if it’s just mixing, assembling, or personalizing).

3 - Use Micro-Commitments to Keep People Engaged: Get one tiny yes at a time:

• If your sales process has multiple steps, get people to take small actions early. Each “yes” builds commitment and keeps them from dropping off.

• Interactive content (like quizzes, “build-your-own” tools, or step-by-step setups) keeps engagement high without feeling like work.

• If you have a subscription or ongoing service, find ways to re-engage customers so they don’t check out mentally. Asking them to make small choices along the way keeps their investment fresh.

✌️ 

 .. tl;dr & captivated wrap-up ..

Egg prices are up, but not using psychology in your products and services is even more expensive.

The brain values what it works for.

A little effort, cracking an egg, assembling a chair, setting up a profile, triggers ownership, engagement, and a dopamine-driven reward loop that makes people assign a higher value and be more likely to buy, stick around, and spend more.

If you’re not giving customers a way to invest in what you’re offering, you’re making it too easy to walk away.

If you want customers to feel more connected to what you offer, give them something to do, even if its super simple.

In other words, find your egg.

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