BJ Fogg · Messaging
Make the next step easy to take
BJ Fogg's Behavior Model (B=MAP) says a behaviour happens when motivation, ability and a prompt come together at the same moment. Find out which one is missing – making the step easier is usually more reliable than trying to raise motivation.
When it helps
When readers seem interested but don't click, book or fill in the form, or when conversion is low even though the traffic is relevant.
Keep in mind
When the obstacle lies in the service itself, such as an overlong form or a clunky checkout. Describe that change separately and don't promise that a new button label will fix it.
How to apply it
- Find what's missing: motivation (do they want to?), ability (can they, right now?) and a prompt (are they asked at the right moment?). If one is absent, nothing happens, however good the rest is.
- Make it easier before you push harder. Ability depends on things like time, money, physical and mental effort, and how well the step fits the reader's routine: cut steps, drop fields you don't need and answer the questions the reader would otherwise have to work out alone.
- Say exactly what happens. The button should name the action ('Book a time', 'Request a quote'), and the line beside it should answer what makes people hesitate: what it costs, how long it takes, whether it commits them and what happens next.
- Match the prompt to the situation. When motivation is low, it needs to give a reason (a spark); when the step is hard, it needs to make it easier (a facilitator); when both are in place, a clear reminder is enough (a signal).
- Place the prompt where and when the reader is ready, and separate what copy can solve from what needs to change in the service.
Questions to work with
- Which of motivation, ability and prompt is missing here?
- Does the reader know what happens when they click?
- Which piece of information or which step can we remove?
- Does the prompt appear when the reader is actually ready to act?
A fictional example
Fictional: the form sends a free quote request. Nothing is ordered until the customer accepts the quote.
Draft
[Start your journey]
Revised
[Request a quote] It's free – you're not ordering anything until you accept the quote.
The button says what happens and the line beneath removes the fear of committing, so the step gets easier without adding pressure.
Read the original sources
The application and example are our own. The example is fictional and has not been conversion-tested.