marketing-psychology

Overview

What the marketing-psychology skill does

The marketing-psychology skill turns your agent into an expert at applying psychological principles and mental models to real-world marketing work. It focuses on why people buy, how they make decisions, and how to influence behavior ethically across pricing pages, SaaS funnels, landing pages, and brand messaging.

Instead of vague theory, this skill is designed to:

• Recognize when a question is about psychology, mental models, cognitive bias, persuasion, behavioral science, decision-making, or consumer behavior in a marketing context.
• Explain the underlying mental models (like anchoring, social proof, scarcity, loss aversion, framing, and nudges).
• Turn those models into specific, actionable recommendations for your copy, offers, page layouts, and workflows.

Who this skill is for

Use marketing-psychology if you are:

• A content or product marketer improving pricing pages, onboarding flows, or key conversion journeys.
• A founder or solo marketer trying to position a SaaS or product more clearly and persuasively.
• A growth, CRO, or UX specialist who wants structured, research-backed suggestions instead of random tactics.
• A developer or designer who owns the marketing site and wants guided, example-driven improvements.

If your main job is to create or refine marketing content and experiences (not do pure academic research), this skill is a strong fit.

Problems the skill helps you solve

The marketing-psychology skill is built to support tasks like:

• Fixing underperforming pricing pages by applying anchoring, Good-Better-Best framing, and loss aversion.
• Rewriting landing pages to match how people actually read, compare, and decide.
• Positioning your product using jobs-to-be-done thinking and mental models instead of guesswork.
• Adding persuasive elements (social proof, scarcity, defaults) without crossing into manipulative tactics.
• Explaining decisions to stakeholders by naming the psychological principles behind a recommendation.

It is not a generic copywriting bot; it is a structured lens for applying marketing psychology and mental models to specific problems.

When marketing-psychology is not a good fit

This skill is probably not what you want if:

• You need pure academic research in psychology with citations and formal studies.
• You only want generic copy generation with no focus on behavior or decision-making.
• You are working on non-marketing domains (e.g., therapy, HR, or general self-help) without any connection to marketing.

In those cases, pair marketing-psychology with a more general research or writing skill, or choose a domain-specific skill instead.

How to Use

Installation and setup

To add the marketing-psychology skill to your environment, use the skills CLI pointing at the upstream repository:

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill marketing-psychology

This pulls the marketing-psychology skill definition from:

• Repository: coreyhaines31/marketingskills
• Path: skills/marketing-psychology

After install:

1. Confirm that SKILL.md is present under the skills/marketing-psychology directory.
2. Optionally review evals/evals.json to see example prompts and expected behavior.

No extra runtime configuration is required; the skill is rules- and prompt-driven.

Recommended file reading order

To get the most value from marketing-psychology, skim the core files in this order:

1. skills/marketing-psychology/SKILL.md

   • Defines the skill description and core behavior.
   • Explains that the agent should act as an expert in marketing psychology and mental models.
   • Outlines how to choose and explain models, then apply them to concrete marketing tasks ethically.

2. skills/marketing-psychology/evals/evals.json

   • Contains example prompts (evals) and detailed expected outputs.
   • Shows exactly how the skill should respond to realistic questions, such as pricing page optimization and ethical scarcity.

Use these files as a reference when integrating the skill into your own workflows or when fine-tuning an agent configuration.

Core workflow: how the skill thinks

The marketing-psychology skill encourages a consistent workflow when you ask a question:

1. Check for product-marketing context
   If your project follows the recommended structure and includes:

   • .agents/product-marketing-context.md, or
   • .claude/product-marketing-context.md (for older setups),

   the agent should read that file first. It contains:

   • Product overview and value proposition
   • Target audience and segments
   • Key jobs-to-be-done and use cases
   • Existing positioning and messaging

   This context allows the skill to tailor psychological models and examples to your specific product and audience, not just generic theory.

2. Identify relevant mental models
   For each question (e.g., “How do I improve this pricing page?”), the skill should:

   • Identify which mental models and behavioral principles apply (anchoring, social proof, scarcity, loss aversion, framing, default effect, etc.).
   • Name them explicitly so your team can discuss and reuse them.

3. Explain the psychology in plain language
   The agent then briefly explains:

   • What each model means
   • Why it matters for your scenario
   • How it affects user decision-making

4. Apply models to your specific marketing asset
   The skill turns those concepts into concrete recommendations, for example:

   • Reordering plans and highlighting a “most popular” tier for better anchoring.
   • Adding targeted social proof near pricing or forms.
   • Using scarcity only when it’s real (limited beta spots, expiring bonuses) and clearly explained.

5. Check for ethical implications
   A key principle in SKILL.md is to implement ethically. The agent should:

   • Avoid deceptive dark patterns.
   • Prefer clarity over tricks.
   • Call out when a suggested tactic could be misleading if misused.

Example use cases

Below are realistic ways to use marketing-psychology, grounded in the repository’s evals and guidelines.

1. Optimizing a B2B SaaS pricing page

Prompt example (similar to evals/evals.json):

How can I use psychology to increase conversions on our pricing page? We sell a B2B SaaS tool with three tiers ($29, $79, $199/month).

With marketing-psychology installed, the agent should:

• Look for product-marketing-context.md to understand your product and audience.
• Apply pricing psychology models such as:
  • Anchoring (emphasizing the highest plan or using a decoy structure).
  • Charm pricing (assessing use of prices like $29 instead of $30).
  • Rule of 100 (when to use percentage vs. dollar-off discounts).
  • Good-Better-Best framing (positioning the middle plan as the default choice).
  • Loss aversion (highlighting what is missing from lower tiers).
• Add broader persuasion elements:
  • Social proof near the pricing and CTA.
  • Default effect by pre-selecting a recommended plan.
• Deliver a concrete list of changes tied to your exact price points.

2. Using scarcity without being manipulative

From another eval, the skill is expected to handle prompts like:

Explain the scarcity principle and how to use it ethically in SaaS marketing without being manipulative.

The agent should:

• Define scarcity as a mental model (limited availability increases perceived value and urgency).
• Distinguish legitimate scarcity (limited beta seats, time-bound onboarding bonuses, capacity constraints) from fake scarcity.
• Give examples of ethical implementation:
  • Clear explanation of why a limit exists.
  • No fabricated timers or false limitations.
  • Option to join a waitlist instead of losing all access.

This makes the skill particularly useful for brand-conscious teams that care about long-term trust.

Adapting the skill to your workflow

You can integrate marketing-psychology into different types of setups:

• Marketing ops / documentation-first setups
  Place your core product context in .agents/product-marketing-context.md. The skill is designed to look for and use this file, making recommendations more precise.

• Developer-led sites
  If your repo already has a /docs or /marketing directory, keep using those and simply add the product marketing context file at the root. The skill will still work even if you do not reorganize your content.

• Experiment-heavy growth teams
  Use marketing-psychology to generate a list of hypotheses based on mental models (e.g., “What if we change plan order for better anchoring?”), then implement A/B tests around those ideas.

If you fork the coreyhaines31/marketingskills repo, you can also extend the evals in skills/marketing-psychology/evals/evals.json to reflect your own common questions.

FAQ

What is the marketing-psychology skill in plain terms?

The marketing-psychology skill is a set of structured instructions that turns your agent into a marketing psychology and mental-models specialist. It helps you understand and apply cognitive biases, behavioral science, and thinking tools to practical marketing tasks like pricing, landing pages, funnels, and messaging.

How do I install marketing-psychology?

Install it via the skills CLI pointing to the upstream repo:

npx skills add https://github.com/coreyhaines31/marketingskills --skill marketing-psychology

This fetches the SKILL.md and related files from skills/marketing-psychology in the coreyhaines31/marketingskills repository.

Do I have to create a product marketing context file?

No, but it is strongly recommended.

If you add .agents/product-marketing-context.md (or .claude/product-marketing-context.md in older setups), the skill can:

• Tailor mental models and examples to your actual product and audience.
• Avoid generic, one-size-fits-all advice.

Without that file, the skill still works, but responses will be more general.

What kinds of marketing questions does this skill handle best?

The skill is especially good at questions that involve why people buy or how to influence decisions, for example:

• “How should I structure my pricing tiers to encourage upgrades?”
• “Where should I use social proof on this landing page?”
• “How do I create urgency without being manipulative?”
• “Which psychological principles can I use in this onboarding flow?”

It will recognize and respond whenever you mention psychology, mental models, cognitive biases, persuasion, behavioral science, why people buy, decision-making, consumer behavior, anchoring, social proof, scarcity, loss aversion, framing, or nudges in a marketing context.

Is marketing-psychology only for SaaS?

No. The evals include SaaS-focused examples, but the underlying models (anchoring, social proof, loss aversion, etc.) apply to:

• Digital products and courses
• B2B and B2C services
• Marketplaces and apps
• E-commerce landing pages and offers

SaaS teams will find the examples especially relevant, but any product with a website and pricing/offer decisions can benefit.

Does this skill generate copy, or just recommendations?

The primary focus is on analysis and strategy using mental models. However, once it has identified the right psychological principles and structure, you can ask the agent to:

• Draft example headlines, CTAs, and benefit copy.
• Suggest section layouts for pricing or landing pages.
• Rewrite existing copy to better align with the chosen models.

For heavy-volume copywriting, pair this skill with a dedicated content or SEO writing skill.

How is this different from basic “marketing tips” prompts?

Basic prompts produce generic advice like “add testimonials” or “simplify your pricing”. The marketing-psychology skill is different because it:

• Uses an explicit mental-models framework described in SKILL.md.
• Names and explains the models it uses so the advice is reusable and teachable.
• Emphasizes ethical implementation and long-term trust, not just quick hacks.
• Leans on structured evals (evals/evals.json) to keep outputs focused and practical.

Can I customize the skill for my team?

Yes. Options include:

• Fork coreyhaines31/marketingskills and adjust SKILL.md to match your brand voice or constraints.
• Add or modify evals in skills/marketing-psychology/evals/evals.json to reflect your own common questions and success criteria.
• Expand your .agents/product-marketing-context.md file with more detailed personas, use cases, and constraints.

Where can I see more examples of how it should respond?

Open the evals/evals.json file in the skills/marketing-psychology directory. Each eval includes:

• A realistic prompt.
• A detailed description of the expected output.
• Assertions about what the agent should do (e.g., check for context files, reference certain mental models, provide specific recommendations).

Use these as a reference when deciding if marketing-psychology fits your workflow and quality bar.