How to Use ‘Memory Craving’ to Make Your Offers Irresistible
Imagine if your audience couldn’t stop thinking about your offer.
If they felt an emotional pull so strong, they craved it – like a favourite childhood dessert or the first thrilling rush of a rollercoaster ride.
This is the power of Memory Craving: a psychological trigger that makes people deeply desire something because it reminds them of a past experience they want to relive.
It’s the same reason people reconnect with high school sweethearts, why a certain song can bring tears to their eyes, and why they keep going back to a brand that once made them feel amazing.
And guess what? You can tap into this emotional magic in your marketing to make your offers irresistible.
Let’s break down exactly how to do it.
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Before we get started with today’s episode, we’ve put a little something together for you.
It's really cool and it's FREE (yes, it's cool and free – we're nice like that). We all know that subject lines are important to get right and are a leading measure of your open and click rates – but writing them can be a challenge.
That's why Kennedy has spent months training an AI to write powerful subject lines that is beating top copywriters' subject lines 80% of the time in A/B tests – and you can get access to it here.
What is Memory Craving and Why Does It Work?
Memory Craving is when a person longs to experience a feeling from their past.
It’s not just nostalgia – it’s a deep, almost physical urge to relive an emotional high.
Think about it:
- Smokers crave cigarettes not just because of nicotine but because of the ritual – the familiar hand-to-mouth motion, the social connection, the deep breath.
- People return to their favourite holiday destinations because they chase the feeling of relaxation, adventure, or joy.
- That first sale notification you ever got? You still remember how it felt – the rush of excitement, the validation.
When we shine a spotlight on a powerful past emotion and show someone they are currently lacking that feeling, they will crave it.
And if your product or service can give it back to them? They’ll buy.
Step 1: Trigger Memory Craving with a Story
People don’t crave facts. They crave feelings. And the easiest way to evoke feelings is through storytelling.
Try this exercise:
Think about the emotion your product delivers. Is it confidence? Excitement? Relief? Now, guide your audience back to a time they felt it before.
For example, let’s say you sell an online business course. You might start an email like this:
Do you remember the first time you made money online?
That rush when you saw the notification pop up? Your heart pounded. You refreshed the page, barely believing it. Someone out there, someone you didn’t even know, chose to pay YOU for something you created.
It felt like freedom, didn’t it?
Now, the reader isn’t just reading – they’re feeling. They’re back in that moment, reliving the high.
And then, you introduce your offer as the way to bring that feeling back:
If you want to feel that again, if you want to make this a daily reality, then it’s time to get serious about your business. And my XYZ Course will show you exactly how to do it.
BOOM. Emotion activated. Desire triggered. Craving created.
Step 2: Highlight the Gap (Make Them Feel the Lack)
Once you’ve helped them relive a powerful memory, you need to turn up the craving by making them aware of the gap between then and now.
Here’s how:
- Ask a thought-provoking question: When was the last time you felt that rush?
- Point out the time gap: Has it been months since you had that thrill? Years?
- Show them what they’re missing: Imagine waking up tomorrow and getting that same rush… every single day.
By contrasting their past emotional high with their current reality, you make them want it back NOW.
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Step 3: Offer Your Product as the Solution
This is where your offer comes in.
If you’ve done the first two steps correctly, your audience is emotionally primed. They want what you’re selling because they crave that feeling again.
Now, you position your product as the bridge:
- “If you want that feeling again, here’s how you get it.”
- “This is exactly what my product does—brings back that feeling.”
- “You don’t have to just remember it. You can live it again.”
For example, let’s say you’re selling a fitness program. After reminding your audience of how amazing they once felt in their best shape, you say:
You CAN get that feeling again, the energy, the confidence, the way your clothes fit just right. And my program makes it easy.
See how that works? They’ve relived the feeling, felt the gap, and now you’re giving them the way back.
Step 4: Use Multi-Sensory Triggers
To amplify the craving, describe what they saw, heard, smelled, or even tasted during that memory.
Think about how cigarette ads (when they were legal) didn’t focus on the cigarette itself. They focused on:
- The sound of the lighter flicking.
- The feel of the smoke curling in their lungs.
- The sight of the glowing tip in the dark.
This level of detail tricks the brain into re-experiencing the memory.
So in your emails or sales pages, use multi-sensory language:
- Do you remember the sound of the PayPal ‘ding’ when your first sale came through?
- The way your stomach flipped with excitement?
- The buzz of confidence as you told your friends?
The more senses you activate, the stronger the craving.
Step 5: Create Urgency (Intensify the Craving)
When someone is emotionally invested, you want them to act immediately before that craving fades.
- Scarcity: “Only 10 spots left, if you wait, you’ll miss your chance.”
- Deadline: “Doors close at midnight – get back to that feeling NOW.”
- Fear of regret: “If you don’t act, how much longer will you stay stuck, craving this feeling?”
When they’re in a heightened emotional state, urgency pushes them over the edge.
The Takeaway: Make Them Feel It First, Then Sell
The biggest mistake marketers make? Trying to sell before making people FEEL.
Memory Craving flips that on its head. Make them relive a powerful emotion first. Then show them how your offer brings that emotion back.
Here’s a recap:
- Trigger a memory of an emotional high.
- Highlight the gap – make them crave it again.
- Offer your product as the solution to getting it back.
- Use multi-sensory triggers to deepen the emotional pull.
- Create urgency to drive immediate action.
This is how you make your audience desperate for what you sell, without feeling pushy. You’re not selling a product. You’re selling a feeling they’re craving to experience again.
Now, go test it out in your next email or sales page. Watch what happens. 😉
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Subject Line of the Week
Every week, I test and track my best-performing email subject lines, and this one stood out:
“DANGER: Chair, Silk, Chainsaw”
Why It Works:
- Curiosity Trigger – These three objects don’t seem to belong together. Your brain instantly asks, “How are they related?”
- Unexpected Contrast – “Chair” and “Silk” feel harmless, but “Chainsaw” introduces an element of danger.
- Emotional Intrigue – Adding DANGER at the start heightens suspense. What’s the risk? What’s the story? The only way to find out? Open the email.
Try this technique in your own subject lines! Use three unrelated words and frame them in a way that creates curiosity and tension.
Related episodes
How Do You Get Your Customers To Buy And Buy Again?
3 Buyer Triggers You’re Ignoring (And How They’re Killing Your Sales!)
How Liz Wilcox Used One-Word Subject Lines to Skyrocket Her Membership to $600k
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