Books
Tim Ash is an expert on evolutionary psychology and a bestselling author who has worked for top companies around the world. He has applied his knowledge of persuasion to online marketing initiates to produce over $1,200,000,000 in value.
Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying how we think and why we act
By Tim Ash
Check out Tim Ash’s latest book! Unleash Your Primal Brain: Demystifying How We Think And Why We Act retraces the fundamental “why’s” behind our actions from an evolutionary perspective. From the rise of the earliest life on earth, to our uniquely human recent adaptations, you will come away with a deep understanding of our of how the brain evolved, and why we act the way that we do. It is the operating system that describes how all 8,000,000,000 people on the planet behave.
Available worldwide:
- Print paperback
- eBook
- Audiobook narrated by the author
- Several translations (Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Chinese)
Visit the book website: PrimalBrain.com
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Introduction
It’s dessert time!
There is a juicy apple in front of you, and a slice of chocolate cake.
You are free to choose.
Or are you?
The choice was made for you – hundreds of millions of years ago!
This book is about the commonalities all 8,000,000,000 people on earth share.
Our ancestors were molded by ruthless survival pressures from the earliest days of life on the planet. Adaptations which worked long ago are still inside of us – also shared with insects and reptiles. Later additions are common to all mammals from the tiniest shrews to the most massive whales. Some capabilities were bolted on relatively recently, and are only shared with our primate cousins. And the runaway explosion of humans on the planet can only be explained by our bizarre species-level evolution.
The only way to understand how our brains work is to examine the complete evolutionary arc.
I don’t care if you are young or old, rich or poor, introverted or extroverted. It is not about our individual differences. This book describes the basic operating system of how we all deal with life.
Drop a rock. It falls and hits the ground.
Once you understand brain evolution, many of our behaviors will become more predictable. To a scary degree, we are reactive animals ruled by passions, and not the rational geniuses with free will that we like to imagine.
First the bad news: The notion that people make decisions and choices to maximize objective self-interest has been demolished. People are not rational – far from it.
Now the good news: We are finding out exactly how and why we act in these seemingly irrational ways. In other words, there is a method to our seeming madness.
My view of the brain is heavily influenced by evolutionary biology and psychology. I don’t believe we have arrived at a perfect brain design, or that humankind deserves an exalted and special place in the universe. Rather, we are a band of super-cooperative apes who have come to dominate the planet. In the process we have wiped out whole ecosystems in our voracious destructiveness. At this moment we are by far the most dominant force shaping the very destiny of life on earth.
We evolved for a particular environment, but our rapid social advances and mushrooming populations have created a bewildering new world. On the timescale of this dizzying change, evolution has effectively stopped, and we must rely on what has gotten us this far. By retracing the path that our distant ancestors took to get here, we can understand the stunning abilities and glaring weaknesses which we have inherited.
Sometimes our reactions and responses are appropriate and uncannily helpful. In the blink of an eye we can assess complex situations and reach critical life-or-death decisions. At other times, we are seemingly our own worst enemies – repeating the same mistakes, even when we know the results will be counterproductive, or even deadly.
Unlocking the true nature of the human brain is the last frontier. Recent work in fields such as biology, neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, medical imaging, social science, and behavioral economics is combining to show us the inner workings of this evolutionary marvel.
This book is designed for you – the curious and intelligent searcher for truth.
I want to give you the essentials, and draw you a map of the wondrous terrain inside of the human mind.
You will forever be altered by the journey we are about to undertake together. It may seem like an alien landscape at first. But you will gain valuable perspectives which will allow you to live your life with a new appreciation of what makes us tick.
Forget the advanced technology all around you – let’s explore inside of the bony skull which guards the treasures within…
Get ready, it’s going to be a wild ride!
Praise For The Book
“In highly readable style, Tim Ash moves readers from the basics of brain functioning to the evolution of its regularities, quirks, and affordances. In the process, we gain invaluable insights into human decision-making and behavior.”
— Robert Cialdini – Author of Influence and Pre-Suasion
“Tim has studied the research on behavioral science and evolutionary psychology and written an excellent book that explains much of human behavior. If you want to know why we do what we do, then read this book.”
— Susan Weinschenk, Ph.D. – Author of 100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People
“A fascinating and thrilling look into our minds and what matters.”
—Jay Baer – Founder of Convince & Convert, co-author of Talk Triggers
“This book would be very helpful for anyone who wants to understand what truly drives attention, emotions and cognitive arousal, from the perspective of psychology! Very addictive read by an author with great experience and academic knowledge. I highly recommend this book!”
—Dr. Hedda Martina Šola – Director of the Institute for Neuromarketing, Associate Professor at Oxford Business College
“What a wild ride! Tim’s ambitious book takes us from early life on earth, to the bizarre qualities that make us uniquely human. Sleep, memory, herd instinct, motivation, language, culture, cooperation – it’s all in there. A must-read book that will literally blow your mind!”
—Joel Comm, New York Times bestselling author, keynote speaker, futurist
Landing Page Optimization: The Definitive Guide to Testing and Tuning for Conversions
By Tim Ash, Maura Ginty and Rich Page; 2nd Edition
Tim Ash’s bestselling books have sold over 50,000 copies in two editions and multiple printings. They have been translated into six languages: German, Korean, Russian, Polish, Chinese, and Brazilian Portuguese. The latest edition is considered a must-read bible on Conversion Rate Optimization by serious practitioners.
Praise For The Book
“Tim has figured out what so many people don’t understand: your website can (and should) get better. Every single day.”
— Seth Godin, Author of Meatball Sundae
“I love it when someone who’s obviously a true expert shares almost everything he knows. I can’t believe the amount of useful information and actionable insights Tim has crammed in here.”
— Steve Krug, Author of Don’t Make Me Think.
“Tim’s Landing Page Optimization is a must-have for your bookshelf.”
— Bryan Eisenberg, New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author
“Buy this book. Go rock it!”
—Avinash Kaushik, Digital Marketing Evangelist at Google and author of Web Analytics 2.0
“This is the best business-focused, measurement-based guide to website design I have seen.”
— Don Norman, Cofounder of Nielsen Norman Group and author of Living with Complexity
Tim has authored 200+ articles & been featured in dozens of publications.
See list of recent appearances.
Podcasts
Landing Page Optimization Podcast on WebmasterRadio.fm
From 2009-2016, Tim has recorded over 134 half-hour interviews with key figures in conversion rate optimization, traffic acquisition, neuromarketing, web analytics, split testing. website personalization, and user experience.
Guest have included: Joe Pulizzi, Steve Krug, Richard Banfield, Susan Weinschenk, Roger Dooley, Mona Patel, Amy Africa, Scott Brinker, Jeremy Schoemaker, Neil Patel, and Avinash Kaushik.
Episode List:
Testing and Website Redesigns with Kevin Eichelberger
Testing the Mobile User Experience with Michael Mace
Web Usability and Informal User Testing with Karl Gillis
Conversion Killers with Ben Jesson and Dr. Karl Blanks
Testing Programs in Enterprise Companies with Brooks Bell and Gregory Ng
Multivariate Email Testing with Basile Fattal
Page Loading Speed Deep-dive with Tammy Everts
Payment Optimization with Rey Pasinli
Inbound Marketing with Mike Volpe
Split Testing Tips and Tricks with Justin Rondeau
Analytics and Conversion with Nick Iyengar
Content Marketing Essentials with Barry Feldman
What Constitutes Good Websites and Landing Pages
Decoding the Secrets of The Brain with Susan Weinschenk
Stop Ignoring Marketing Fundamentals with Theresa Baiocco
Optimizing Your Testing Program with Ton Wesseling
Mobile Optimization and Corporate Change Agents with Chris Goward
Personalization with Chris Gibbins
Creating Video Ads That Convert with Jake Larsen
Understanding Financial Modeling to Create Better User Experiences with Soren Ryherd
Mapping Content to Buying Stages with Arnie Kuenn
Segmentation and Smart Targeting with Janet Driscoll Miller
Understanding Your Customer From All Side with Graham Cooke
The Politics of Ecommerce Website Redesigns with Khalid Saleh
Psychological Architectures for Conversion with Brian Cugelman
Split Testing Best Practices with Peep Laja
Stirring Up Innovation with Mona Patel
Google Analytics Insights with Simo Ahava
CRO Strategy for Advertisers
Big Company CRO with Mike Loveridge
Essential Usability Research with Scott Gunter
Generating Revenue with an Ecommerce Site with Tom Bowen
Winning Through Analytics and Audience Surveying with Dan McGaw
Small Business Ecommerce Conversion with Alex Harris
Manipulating Attention on Landing Pages with Oli Gardner
Solutions For Segmenting Your Visitors and Mobile Ecommerce Mistakes Made with Zee Aganovic
Irrational Behavior with Bart Schutz
The Emotion of Conversion with Talia Wolf
Video for Conversion with Greg Jarboe
User Experience and Conversion with John Whalen
So You Want to be a CRO Consultant? with Daniel Gonzalez
How to Make Email Marketing Convert with Hunter Boyle
Increasing Your Website Conversion with Amy Africa
The ROI of Content and Social Media
Email Pitfalls and Best Practices with Craig Swerdloff
The Power of User Research with Alfonso de la Nuez
Site Search Micro-Conversions with Jordi Torras
Business-to-Business Conversion with Anita Perez
Testing, Testing, Testing with Kyle Rush
Creating Offers That Convert with Jeremy Schoemaker
Designing for People in a Multi-Device World with Richard Banfield
How Not To Do CRO With Christina Inge
User Research for Higher Conversion with Pamela Pavliscak
The Power of Simplicity with Ben Hunt
Animated Characters for Conversion with Jake Levant
Paywall Optimization with David Torchiano
Site Speedup and Easy Device-Level Customization with Ari Weil
Testing Screwups and Igloo Building with Joel Harvey
Real-time Website Personalization with Karl Wirth
Quantity Versus Quality in Software Downloads with Joel Kleinman
Content, Content, and Funeral Homes With Joe Pulizzi
Social Media for Conversion with Jay Berkowitz
The Culture of Conversion with Joe Doveton
Expanding CRO Quick Wins With Stephen Pavlovich
The Power of Words with Jeff Sexton
Social Media ROI with Dennis Yu
Optimizing the Lifetime Value of Existing Customers with Michal Parizek
Making Phone Calls Pay Off with Irv Shapiro
Dominating Search Results with Angie Schottmuller
Deep Dive into SEO and Conversion with Jeff Ferguson
Reaching New Audience Through Partners; Limitations of Responsive Design
War Between Sales and Marketing with Jeanne Hopkins
Intersection of PPC and Conversion with Robert Brady
Conversion Rate Optimization, Radical Redesigns and Voice Impersonations with Mike Perla
Running Effective Click-To-Call Campaigns with Jason Wells
Small Business Conversion with Jenny Halasz
Predicting the Conversion Impact of Site Content with Aaron Maass
Quantitative and Qualitative Insights with Feras Alhlou
Content Marketing and Social Conversions with Kipp Bodnar
Real-Time Persuasion Profiling with The Science Rockstars Arjan Haring and Maurits Kaptein.
Insights and Landing Page Testing for Mid-Sized Businesses with Keith Hagen
The Customer Creation Equation with The Conversion Scientist, Brian Massey
Overcoming Timing and Pricing Objections with Charles Nicholls
Advanced Testing with Eric Hansen
User Experience and Intrinsic Motivation with Mona Patel
LinkedIn for Business Results with JD Gershbein
User Experience Toolkit with Ian Everdell
Video Conversion Secrets with John Cecil
Analyzing Analytics with Bill Bruno
Conversion Rate Optimization with James Niehaus
Website Conversion Rate Optimization
Usability and Conversion Rate Optimization with Steve Krug
The Irrational Brain with Roger Dooley
Offline Conversion Tracking with Jeff Eckman
Strategic Conversion Mistakes with Larry Marine
The Intersection of Technology and Marketing with Kate O’Neill
Surprising Split Test Results with Anne Holland
This Dog Can Hunt! E-commerce Secrets From Rob Snell
Local Search and Conversion with Andrew Beckman
Testing in the Trenches with Brendan Regan
Decoding Online Lead Generation with Jay Weintraub
Social Media in a Blender with John Lawson
E-commerce Conversion Killers with Linda Bustos
Common SEO-Related Conversion Problems with Gillian Muessig
POS and Curbing Customer Anxiety with Neil Patel
Brain Science and Online Persuasion with Patrick Bultema
Modern Content Management Systems with Oli Gardner
Conversion Rate Optimization with the Conversion Scientist, Brian Massey
Pay-per-click Conversion Alignment with Bill Leake
Recovering Shopping Cart Abandoners with Charles Nicholls
Improving Conversion Rates with Jon Fougner of Facebook
Understanding Users Pain Points with Larry Marine
Decoding Web Designers with Matt Mickiewicz
Spiders and Real People with Gillian Muessig
Content Network Success Secrets with David Szetela
Landing Page Segmentation and Competing on Cycle Times with Scott Brinker
Split Testing in Large Companies with Brooks Bell
Conversion improvement for Display & Mobile with Jonathan Mendez
Landing Page Testing and Compliance with Anne Holland
Headlines and Direct Response Secrets with Brian Clark
E-Commerce Catalog Optimization with Lance Loveday
Merging Direct Response Copywriting with SEO with Heather Lloyd Martin
Web Analytics for More Effective Online Marketing with Avinash Kaushik