Apologizing Creates Demand

Shaan Puri shares how he dramatically increased sales by using reverse psychology in marketing - apologizing for scarcity rather than promoting availability. This counterintuitive approach created urgency and drove unprecedented demand for his product launch.

• When launching a product, Shaan's team initially considered typical marketing approaches:

  • They rejected discounting as it would have "the opposite effect"
  • They considered free gifts or limited-time bonuses for early buyers

• Instead, they tried a completely different approach:

  • Sent an unstyled, personal email from the founder
  • Apologized in advance for the expected quick sell-out
  • Expressed concern that "many of you are gonna be upset"
  • Promised to have more inventory for the next launch
  • Conveyed worry about the anticipated "chaos"

• The results were remarkable:

  • Their typical good launch day would see around 800 sales
  • This approach generated 2,800 sales - their biggest day ever
  • Success came from "apologizing in advance" rather than promoting

• The psychological principle at work:

  • "Instead of saying 'come get it,' we were like 'we're so sorry, you're probably not gonna get it'"
  • This reversal of typical marketing messaging created powerful scarcity
  • Craig Clemens called this concept "embedded marketing"

• Both Shaan and Craig believe this approach deserves more attention:

  • They've discussed writing a book about these marketing techniques
  • They consider this one of several marketing insights they've identified that warrant deeper exploration