You’ve spent hours putting together the perfect website for your new, awesome product/service. You want your website conversion rates to go high.
You’ve chosen the best WordPress theme, configured all the widgets to perfection, and everything looks great.
Your website is clean, sleek, and tailored to all mobile devices.
You even tested the design, look, and feel among focus groups and received stellar feedback. So you know it will be a hit with your audience.
You then start writing about how awesome your product is.
What it can offer that no one else’s solution can.
You write about how incredible the customer service is compared to competitors.
And the price.
Ooh the price.
Simply unbeatable.
Your website’s minimalism and cleanliness would make Apple jealous.
You couldn’t be happier.
You’re ready to launch the website and are eager anticipating floods of emails from people singing the website’s praise and buying your product.
Weeks go by and nothing happens
No need to worry.
“New websites take time” you convince yourself.
Fair enough.
Months go by.
People are visiting your site but your conversions are still minimal.
“Why are people visiting but not buying?!”
Obviously, the website is attractive and your audience clearly likes it. Right?
Where could you have possibly gone wrong?
You have the perfect website and the perfect product.
That’s enough to sell right?!
Where are the floods of emails?
It just might be your copy.
In the 1970s, psychologists Langer, Charowitz, and Lang conducted an experiment on how people reacted to language. When people were asked to cut in line to use the photocopying machine without a reason, they found that 60% of people said yes. When people explained why they wanted to cut in line, the conversion rate shot up to a sizzling 90%.
Now, what’s the point of this little story?
What does this mean for your business?
It means, give people a reason to buy into your product.
Give them a reason to say a resounding “yes”.
Persuasive copy is the difference between passive shoppers and moving customers to actually take action.
What does the copy say about your product? How does it resonate? What problem(s) does it solve?
Does your copy satisfy your customers’ deepest burning desires? If you’re experiencing a lack of responses and conversions, your copy probably isn’t doing this.
People crave authenticity and are tired of the recycled, boring message many companies use today.
It’s not hard to create a sleek website and have a nice product.
It takes a lot more work to write in such a way that people can’t help but buy anything you sell.
Once you harness the power of copywriting, that’s when the floods of responses come.
Let’s consider an example of a company that’s harnessed the power of copywriting.
Introducing Sweat Block, a company with a mission to help people stop sweating.
Sweat Block didn’t always have killer copy and were not standing out amongst hundreds of other sweating solution products.
Here’s how Sweat Block’s home page used to look before:
It’s good copy. The format of the page is good. The call to action is good. And there is plenty of social proof to help validate them (Rachel Ray, NBC, etc). Clearly, it’s a good product.
However, the copy lacks a little something.
It is a little vague –
“Control Sweat, Stop Embarrassment” doesn’t really drive the point home.
“Buy it now” is a good call-to-action and is right in your face but it’s not all that compelling.
How many green, neon “buy it now” signs have you seen in the last week? Probably too many to count.
Being good was not enough for Sweat Block to stand out.
Sweat Block believed they had a killer product that needed killer copy to relay that message.
Here is Sweat Block’s current home page:
“Control your sweat, and wear what you want”
They tell you exactly what the product is about in plain, simple English.
More importantly, it quickly communicates the benefit that you will receive: The ability to “wear what you want”.
Another brilliant thing you’ll notice is the call-to-action.
“Stop excessive sweating for up to 7-days with just the dab of a towelette”
“Sweat Less. Live More”
Short, to the point, and powerful. It’s not just any call-to-action. It’s a call to value.
Moving down the page, you’ll notice the use of social proof.
“More than 1800 5 star reviews”
Wow, who wouldn’t want to buy a product that has that many raving fans?
People are more likely to buy products tried and tested by others.
According to a study done by Nielsen, 83% of online respondents in 60 countries trust the recommendations of friends and family.
In fact, you can increase conversion by 34% by simply adding testimonials on your sales pages. Here’s how companies like WikiJob, AirBnb, Slack, and SumoMe use social proof to grow their business.
In addition to the social proof Sweat Block uses so well, there’s the “Doctor Approved. Doctor Recommended” part with a nice video attached to it.
How many times have you done something without fully understanding it simply because the doctor told you to?
Chances are, you have.
Doctors are well trusted, respected, and professionals that know their stuff.
They also make great advocates for companies selling products related to healthcare. However, this has to be done tastefully and must come from an authentic place.
Lastly and also importantly, there’s no mention of price.
Great copy doesn’t boast about how cheap or affordable a product is relative to competitors.
Great copy understands what customers crave the most.
It understands what keeps them up at night and offers a solution wrapped up in strategic yet simple words.
So what was the outcome once Sweat Block made these copy changes?
They experienced a 108% growth in revenue.
That’s right.
A 108% growth in revenue from the home page copy.
Imagine if your ENTIRE WEBSITE has killer copy?
Imagine how many more visitors you would be able to convert.
Are you picturing the floods of emails from customers thanking you for your product and for knowing exactly what they wanted?
That’s what can happen with copy changes.
Sweat Block is just one of many companies who owes their incredible success to the power of copywriting. Great marketing and business growth happens with more than flashy “free” and “buy now” buttons.
Business might survive with these techniques, but they thrive when they harness the power of copywriting.
And to help you kick ass and experience explosive growth in your business, here are
3 elements of great copy
These aren’t fluffy tactics and empty promises. These techniques have withstood the test of time, have helped businesses achieve incredible growth, and have changed lives. Ready? Here they are:
1) Delivery of core message with simplicity wins every time. Your core message should be written clearly and simply. It has to agitate your customers and provide a solution to burning desires and issues.
2) Call to value. Your call-to-action should invite people to make a change in their lives and should encourage dialogue.
3) Leveraging social proof. Testimonials, praise, and review help to establish trust with your customers.
Of course, this isn’t a comprehensive list of all things that make great copy but that’s the beauty of copywriting. There are many ways to make your copy stick in your customers’ minds but by harnessing a few key elements of great copy, you’ll be reaping benefits for years to come.
Now, do you want to keep hearing crickets or flood your inbox with responses?
Author Bio
Joseph Solomon is a professional copywriter who specializes in story based copy for entrepreneurs and small business owners. When he’s not working on creating sizzling copy, he can be found trekking around the world.