Amazon's clever tricks that make it near impossible to cancel your Prime membership.

The other day I decided to buy a portable laptop stand from Amazon. As I was about to finalize the purchase, Amazon upsold to me the benefits of signing up for Amazon Prime - typical Amazon.

They made sure to plaster "free same-day shipping" all over the page and, to be honest, it was pretty tempting.

I then realized if I signed up for Amazon Prime and used the free same-day shipping it would cost much less than if I were to have selected "same day shipping" at the checkout without an Amazon Prime account.

So, I decided to jump on board. I placed my order, waited for the portable laptop stand to arrive, then canceled my membership.

But, here's where things get a little interesting.

As I was attempting to cancel my membership I got a taste of Amazon's genius.

You see, as I was canceling my membership I was hit with the following page:

And as someone with a copywriting background, I have to tell you - I was impressed.

I mean, how they laid out this page and the copy they chose to go with made it almost near impossible for me to quit my Amazon Prime membership.

Now, what I want to do is break down for you exactly how Amazon structured this membership cancellation page and the persuasion tactics they used so you can learn some key insights and apply them to your own life as well.

Let's start at the top.

Notice how this statement feels very human?

It feels like Amazon is having a conversation with me - which hits me in the feels way more than if they were to have written something like "cancelation policy confirmation".

Plus, they also use my personal name.

Using personalizations like someone's name is a sure-fire way to know that your copy will resonate with the reader.

The key takeaway here is to avoid "corporate jargon" when writing copy, whether that be for your website or a flyer, whatever it is - avoid corporate jargon.

This right here is a classic FOMO technique - the fear of missing out.

I'm assuming what they're trying to make the user feel is something along the lines of "oh goodness me, if I cancel my membership then it might not only affect the items tied to my membership but also, I'll lose Prime exclusive benefits? I better not cancel my membership then!"

When I first read this I had to take a second look at it.

I won't lie, in the back of my mind I was really - and I mean really - considering not canceling my membership just for this reason.

The funny part was, I didn't even know what these Prime exclusive benefits were.

Ok, how can someone NOT cancel their Amazon Prime membership after reading this?

You mean to say that I saved $16.38 just from joining Amazon Prime?

The takeaway from this section is this:

When the user is attempting to cancel their membership with your business, remind them...

"ohh by the way, you got XYZ benefits from your membership with us, are you sure you want to lose it all?"

This will really heighten their FOMO senses and practically make it near impossible for them to quit their membership.

So I don't really stream music on Amazon (I'm more of a Spotify person) and I never really streamed movies or TV shows with Amazon either but who can resist not having access to 1 MILLION ad-free songs and UNLIMITED FREE two-day shipping?

It's just so tempting to click the orange button after reading stuff like that.

And, to be honest, I think that's Amazon's goal. To get you away from the membership cancelation page.

You can see evidence of that by the fact that they put such an emphasis on their blue links "Explore Video" "Listen now" "Learn more" and "Use your benefits today".

Again, the key takeaway here is to stack your value props in a way that makes it impossible for the user to click "cancel my membership" and provide them with tons of links so they're easily swayed by them and leave the cancelation page.

Here is where I think Amazon is making its last push to get you to not cancel your membership.

Notice the wording choice.

Instead of saying "End My Prime Membership" they're saying "End My Benefits". Meaning, they're trying to make an emphasis on the fact that you're not just canceling your membership but you're actually losing benefits.

This just adds to the FOMO for the user.

Next, you'll see on the left they have a blue box.

I think this is pretty clever because, first, the blue is very eye-catching. My eyes go instantly to the blue box instead of the "End My Benefits."

Second, the blue box option gives you a reminder 3 days before your membership renews so you have an ample amount of time to cancel your Prime membership before your next payment.

I'm sure most people going through this page would opt-in for that.

And I'm guessing Amazon's hope is that, with almost a month into your Prime membership, you'll change your mind about canceling Prime later on.

So, in conclusion, if you're trying to reduce the number of customers that cancel their membership with your business, here's what you can take away from Amazon:

• Avoid corporate jargon when writing copy. Instead, try to make your copy sound very human - almost like you're speaking to your one customer directly
• Remind your customer "Hey, if you cancel your membership with us, you'll lose ALL these benefits. Is that what you really want?"
• Use contrasting colors to direct the user's eyes in the direction where you want them to look
• Offer your customer an option where you can send them a notice before their membership renews later on so they can cancel their membership before the next payment

There you have it, Amazon's clever tricks that make it near impossible for you to cancel your prime membership!