How to beat most professional copywriters

The “vital few” copywriting techniques

we use to achieve the greatest impact on profits.

How to beat most professional copywriters

The “vital few” copywriting techniques

we use to achieve the greatest impact on profits.

Dr Karl Blanks, Chairman Paras Chopra, Founder and CEO

The “vital few” most effective copywriting techniques

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Case studies: Three real-world A/B tests

A winning copywriting template for whatever you sell

Three  real-­‐world  copywri0ng  A/B  tests  

And  the  easy  lessons  you  can  use  for  your  website  copy  

A  single  word  change  leads  to  161%  more  clickthroughs  

Test  #1  

Which  version  increased  clickthroughs  by  161%?  

 

•  “Request  pricing”  increased  CTRs  by  161%  •  How  they  did  this  test:  – They  surveyed  their  visitors  on  this  page,  asking  what  informaFon  they  would  like  to  see  

– Many  said  pricing  

A  paragraph  rewrite  increases  leads  by  150%  

Test  #2  

•  Arlington  PlasFcs  Machinery  sells  used  plasFc  equipment  and  extruders  

•  Their  inventory  page  is  the  most  heavily  trafficked  page  and  lists  119  subcategories  of  plasFc  machinery  

•  They  wanted  to  simplify  the  page  and  hence  increase  number  of  leads  /  quote  requests  

Original  page  and  the  original  copy  •  Arlington  PlasFcs  Machinery  has  

a  vast  inventory  of  used  and  surplus  plasFcs  machinery.  View  our  selecFon  of  plasFcs  processing  equipment,  categorized  by  equipment  type  and  funcFon.  PlasFc  equipment  in  stock  includes:  Blow  Molding,  Extrusion,  InjecFon  Molding,  Support  Equipment,  Rotomolding,  Size  reducFon,  and  Thermoforming.  If  you  don’t  see  what  you’re  looking  for,  feel  free  to  call  and  see  if  we  can  help  find  the  plasFc  machine  you  need.  

Test  hypothesis  process  and  changes  in  the  copy  

•  From  Google  AnalyFcs,  found  out  most  popular  subcategories  – Added  links  to  the  5  most  popular  subcategories  in  the  opening  paragraph.  

•  From  site  search  analyFcs,  found  out  what  were  the  visitors  searching  for  –  Listed  machine  types  rather  than  purposes  (e.g.  “single-­‐screw  extruders”  rather  than  “Extrusion”).  

•  Monitored  a  few  sales  calls  – Added  the  open-­‐ended  phone  call-­‐to-­‐acFon  

New  copy  and  the  results  

Arlington  PlasFcs  Machinery  has  a  vast  inventory  of  used  and  surplus  plasFcs  machinery,  including  single-­‐screw  extruders,  twin-­‐screw  extruders,  horizontal  injecFon  molders,  granulators,  shredders,  and  more.  Have  any  quesFons?  Please  call  us  at  [phone  number]!  

Results  

–  150%  higher  leads  than  the  original  page  

–  addi0onal  $15,000  worth  of  sales  queries  

–  increase  annual  sales  by  $500,000  

Turning  the  tables:  increasing  sales  by  40%  

Test  #3  

Original  page:  Underwater  Audio  

What’s  wrong  with  the  page?  

•  In  the  words  of  the  customer  itself:  

“The  (rather)  una9rac:ve  table  had  informa:on  in  terse  phrases  organized  in  no  par:cular  fashion  (ac:vity,  seal,  size,  features,  warranty,  depth).  The  paragraphs  con:nued  below  the  fold  and  essen:ally  repeated  the  table,  with  only  a  few  unique  addi:ons  hidden  in  the  text.  In  short,  it  was  not  the  most  engaging  page!”  

A/B  test  –  changes  made  

•  Paragraphs  of  informaFon  rolled  into  the  table  itself  

•  User-­‐friendly  categories  (“Best  for”  vs  “AcFvity”)    

•  Instead  of  mulFple  embedded  ones,  single  call-­‐to-­‐acFon  at  the  end  of  the  table  

•  Cleaned  table  layout  with  more  whitespace  

Varia0on  page:  40%  increase  in  sales  

Lessons  from  these  A/B  tests  

 

 

Lesson  #1:  How  to  know  what  to  fix?  

•  Use  analy0cs  data  to  derive  insights  – Fix  copywriFng  on  most  trafficked  pages  first  

•  Use  search  (internal  and  external)  to  see  what  people  are  looking  for  – Rewrite  copy  to  reflect  customer  wants  

•  Do  surveys  and  ask  open-­‐ended  quesFons  to  gain  insights  

Lesson  #2:  Looks  maVer  

•  Copy  comprises  not  just  of  text,  but  the  way  text  is  presented  – Cleaner  layouts  with  more  whitespace  are  more  effecFve  

–  If  you  have  lots  of  text  in  the  copy,  proper  structure  to  that  text  is  as  important  (perhaps  more  important)  than  the  text  itself  

•  Copy  in  tables  might  turn  out  to  be  very  effecFve  –  It  is  easier  to  scan  

Lesson  #3:  A/B  test  

•  The  ONLY  way  to  verify  changes  to  your  copy  is  to  A/B  test  them  

•  Remember  that  all  the  “best  pracFces”  or  “guidelines”  you  hear  about  might  not  apply  to  your  website,  so  A/B  test  to  make  sure  they  actually  work  

Visual  Website  Op0mizer  

•  The  world’s  easiest  A/B  tes0ng  tool  •  Requires  no  technical  knowledge.  Easily  create  and  publish  A/B  and  mulFvariate  tests  without  knowing  HTML  

•  Easy  integra0on:  copy-­‐paste  one  code  snippet  in  your  website  and  you’re  done!  

•  100+  features  in  one  tool:  heatmaps,  collect  user  feedback,  geo-­‐behavioral  targeFng,  revenue  tracking,  etc.  

Ge^ng  started  with  A/B  tes0ng  

•  A/B  tes0ng  using  Visual  Website  Op0mizer  – Sign  up  for  FREE  30  day  trial  at  hlp://visualwebsiteopFmizer.com/  

– Prices  start  at  FREE  – Most  popular  plan  for  serious  testers:  $249/mo  for  the  100,000  visitors  plan  

•  Ask  for  a  30  minute  personalized  demo  – Email  sales@wingify.com  

How we became “conversion obsessed”

Google took notice

Some of our clients

Doubled sales

Become able to sell the product face to face

Step 1:

Your robot salesperson will be no be"er than its creator

Mental shopping list

ü This site looks relevant—will satisfy my visitor intention).

ü I believe that this is the best site of its type, so I won’t be considering the competitors, (which include doing nothing and ordering offline).

ü I can easily "nd what I’m looking for.

ü I understand which product is best for me, because the site makes clear recommendations.

ü I believe that this type of product is what I need.

ü  I believe that this particular product is what I need.

ü  I believe the claims that the site is making, about the company and about the products, because they’re supported with proof.

ü  All of my miscellaneous product-speci"c objections have been overcome.

ü  I found the whole experience pleasurable, and I’d happily do it again.

1.  Know everything about the product 2.  Have bought and used the product with your own money 3.  Can understand why people buy it

4.  Could sell it to yourself or friends 5.  Know all the objections and have great counter-objections 6.  Have gathered proof to support all your claims (your “legal dossier”)

Don’t start writing until you…

Write it down

Step 2:

The act of writing turns many a genius into a moron

Write like a human

Use at least as many words as you’d use when

selling face to face

Be concise

designsensory.com/pws/

Learn the right

style

A template for a highly converting

landing page

§ Open with a sentence that makes them say “That’s me!” § Use the “inverted pyramid” principle. § Bullet points with the main bene"ts and a clear next step.

§ Graphical appearance that matches the site and connects to the target audience.

§ A Johnson box, saying what you’ll get on this page

§  Irresistible fascinating link to section 1 §  Irresistible fascinating link to section 2 §  Irresistible fascinating link to section 3

A headline that makes them want to read more

Self-interest headline

Johnson box

Bullet points with the main

bene"ts

Graphical appearance that matches the site

§ Use sub-heads to announce (and sell) each section. § Have sections tick off each item in the prospect’s mental shopping list. § Support all your claims with evidence. § Font size is important! It should be like climbing into a “Jacuzzi of text.”

You have their a"ention, but you still need to make every single

word count.

Use sub-heads to announce and tick off

mental shopping list items

Support all your claims with

evidence

Ge"ing them to take action

1. Summarize the bene"ts 2. Present the offer 3. Justify the price

What your offer and call-to-action should do

1. Risk reduction strategies 2. Incentive for prompt action

Two easy ways to make them act right now

Five most important aspects

1. The “angle” 2. The things that get looked at first 3. The offer(s) and calls-to-action 4. The weakest aspects 5. The proof

“With your permission, I am going to make an analysis of the soil of your lawn to determine—at my own risk and expense—what elements are lacking in it, what you need for stronger, healthier, more closely grown turf.”

An angle for selling fertilizer to home owners

§ Long-term strategy for pricing

§ Winning offers § Make the initial purchase a “no-brainer” § Make the “headline offer” irresistibly appealing. § Consider stripping down the features of your service, then

charging for extras.

§ If you can’t make it free, make it seem cheaper § Upsell/cross-sell § Add premiums and incentives § Bundle/unbundle

The offer(s) and call-to-action

1.  Social proof

2.  Testimonials § From customers, particularly those who are famous (e.g.

celebrities) or have authority (e.g. the Queen on Weetabix)

§ From the media (online and offline)

3.  Displays of credibility

Three examples of effective proof

Outsourcing or delegating your copywriting

§ Someone with a track record of getting wins. §  This is the Olympics of writing. Don’t trust it to someone who has never run a race.

§ Ensure each change is split-tested

§ Ensure the person follows this process

§ Need someone who can

§ sell (would you buy from them?) § write (can you understand what they write?)

Get more free resources

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