In this episode of The Brainy Business podcast, host Melina Palmer interviews Samuel Salzer, founder of Habit Weekly, a newsletter that curates the latest in behavioral science research and news. Salzer discusses the importance of creating content that people actually want (imagine that!) and the value of putting good things out into the world. He also shares insights on building habits and behavior change, and how businesses can apply these principles to their marketing and customer engagement strategies. Overall, the episode highlights the power of behavioral science in shaping our daily lives and the importance of staying up-to-date with the latest research and trends.

Show Notes:

• [00:40] Today’s episode is a refresh of my conversation with Samuel Salzer, founder of Habit Weekly.
• [02:06] It is so fun to see how much things have grown at Habit Weekly in these three years. They have a full team of people now, and they’ve been doing their awards for a few years as well. I was honored to have been a winner in the inaugural edition, and a finalist in multiple categories every year.
• [03:29] Samuel shares about himself, his background, and how he started working in behavioral science. He has always been an entrepreneur and started his first business at 16. 
• [05:02] He found human decision-making fascinating. 
• [06:44] He wanted to learn more about what we can do to support people in making behavioral changes in their lives. 
• [08:42] For his work he focuses on how to scale behavioral change. 
• [09:56] You are succeeding if you help create value for your users and customers, understand them better, and help find a good solution for their problems. 
• [10:38] Whether we like it or not, behavior is quite complex. We are complex beings living in complex environments. 
• [13:06] Most businesses look at reducing friction in their customer journeys. Sometimes increasing friction is a good idea too. 
• [16:06] We are really good at creating stories and narratives in our minds to support whatever thing we really want to do. 
• [18:28] Just the simple shift of taking the word from reward to consequence makes it feel heavier in a way that can change behavior.  
• [19:39] Each individual choice matters.
• [20:50] We are often trying to do things that remove a negative effect.
• [23:17] The concept of “eating the frog” is doing the hard thing first. 
• [25:45] Samuel felt like it was hard to stay up on the content and research in the field so he started sharing links on LinkedIn. 
• [26:53] This eventually evolved into Habit Weekly. It’s now a mailing list that sends content related to behavioral design on a weekly basis.
• [28:27] You know you found something people really want if they are reaching out to you asking you to create a mailing list. It doesn’t have to be difficult to start an email list if you understand what drives people. 
• [30:27] His goal is to make sure that anyone interested in applying behavior change has the best and latest insights every week.
• [35:21] This field of behavioral science is still in the adolescent phase. In the near future, it is going to move into this more mature phase that is more about the process and learning more about applying these concepts in the best way. 
• [37:21] Samuel is really excited about the better understanding in the next few years of how any organization can easily start applying these concepts. 
• [40:17] His superpower or wish would be to see the world through other people’s eyes. (Melina would like to be able to speak and read every language fluently.)
• [40:58] He also loves books and movies. A really good book or movie can help show the world from someone else’s perspective. 
• [44:44] Many businesses create content people don’t want. If you start from a place of sharing, reciprocity will kick in eventually and people will appreciate what you are doing and what to give back to you one way or another. 
• [46:18] Melina’s closing thoughts

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More from The Brainy Business:

Get your copies of Melina’s award-winning books. 

Get the Books Mentioned on (or related to) this Episode:

• Friction, by Roger Dooley
• What Your Customer Wants and Can't Tell You, by Melina Palmer
• Sludge, by Cass Sunstein
• Nudge, by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein
• You Have More Influence Than You Think, by Vanessa Bohns

Connect with Samuel: 

• Samuel’s Website
• Samuel on LinkedIn
• Samuel on Twitter

Top Recommended Next Episode: Framing (ep 16)

Already Heard That One? Try These: 

• How to Finally Change Your Behavior (So it Sticks) (ep 81)
• Loss Aversion (ep 9)
• Friction – What It Is And How To Reduce It, with Roger Dooley (ep 274)
• Time Discounting (ep 51)
• Partitioning (ep 58)
• The Overwhelmed Brain and Its Impact on Decision Making (ep 32)
• Optimism Bias (ep 34)
• What is BrainyTab? An Interview with the Founders Radu and Raluca Judele (ep 85)
• Reciprocity (ep 238)
• Booms and Busts (ep 30)
• How to Make Content People Can’t Help But Engage With, featuring Katelyn Bourgoin (ep 201)
• You Have More Influence Than You Think, with Vanessa Bohns (ep 197)
• Sludge (ep 179)

Other Important Links: 

• Brainy Bites - Melina’s LinkedIn Newsletter 
• The Brain Science Behind Your Shopping Decisions (watch Melina’s TV interview!)
• Eat That Frog!: 21 Great Ways to Stop Procrastinating and Get More Done in Less Time
• Habit Weekly