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I’ve spent many years in the trenches writing, testing, optimizing, erasing and starting from scratch.
If you’ve ever felt like you were spinning in circles when attempting to write your own conversion-boosting copy, you are not alone. You have probably wasted hours trying to find effective copywriting prototypes and best practices with fluctuating degrees of success. That’s why we’ve done the research for you.
In this article I will share 11 effective and actionable tips for writing copy that has substantial impact on conversions.
It Speaks Specifically to Someone
If you can’t tell who the copy was written for simply by reading it, you are probably in trouble. Who are your customers? What happened in their lives that made them come to your site at this particular time? Profile your visitors, understand their motivations, and write to their issues. Personas help.
It’s Written Naturally
Do people talk like your copy is written? Does it convey meaning with the kinds of metaphors, euphemisms and engaging omissions that are used in speech? Or are the words straining to persuade the reader, attempting to touch on every point necessary to make the reader buy?
“Clarity trumps persuasion,” says Flint McGlaughlin of MarketingExperiments. Stop persuading. Start communicating.
The Copy on the Page Matches the Offers in your Ads
Your visitors didn’t get to your site by magic. They got there from one of your ads, from a search engine or from a referral. Does the copy on your home pages and landing pages pick up where your ads started? Does your “Meta Description,” which the search engines display on their results page match the copy on the page itself? If not, you are breaking what the Eisenberg brothers call the “Scent Trail.”
At each step of their journey to and through your site, there should be something familiar, something related to the previous step. Nothing provides scent better than headings and copy that draws on a common thing. Images and color are also affective, but that’s another article.
One of the most expensive mistakes is made in pay-per-click (PPC) advertising on search engines. If you offer a discount in your PPC ad, the page they come to should have the discount clearly visible. Too often, great offers in ads are defeated when the visitor is taken to your homepage, on which the specific discount cannot be found.
Yes, to do this effectively means that each ad should have its own landing page on your site.
It gives the Reader Usable Information
Is the copy persuading or being helpful? It’s not about who you are and what you do. How can the visitors to your site solve their problems with your offering? Do you present a good value proposition?
When I come to your site, does your copy answer any of the following questions for me:
- How does it work?
- How will I use it?
- Which features should I care about?
- What should I be cautious about?
- When does it make sense to try something different?
- How do I justify the cost?
- How do I sell this internally?
These are just examples, but you need to understand that they are fundamentally different from telling the reader that you will give them “unparalleled visibility, divisional support and alignment.”
An Experienced Copywriter Wrote It
Don’t look at copy as filler on your page. In the hands of an experienced professional, your copy will increase the effectiveness of your Web site and this will translate into more leads and more sales. Unlike design, though, we can all create copy. And unfortunately we do.
As I have said before, treat copywriters like designers. Get two or three “sketches” of the copy. Choose one. Correct the errors. Leave the rest alone.
It is Efficient
Long copy is OK. Rambling copy is not. Use efficient copy of any length to engage your reader.
Amy Lemen recommends using copy indexing formulas to help you measure the efficiency of your copy.
Your Analytics Tell You It’s Working
Google Analytics is free, easy to add, and relatively easy to learn. Use it or something else. Then ask someone to show you how to check the following. If copy changes don’t make these better, try again. The company that knows grows.
Bounce Rates:
How many people leave immediately when they come to my pages? You want this to be low, at or below 30% usually.
Site-wide Conversion Rate:
How many people visit the site? How many people take action by completing a form or buying something? When you divide the latter by the former, you get your site-wide conversion rate. You want it to be higher over time.
Exit Percentage:
Which pages most often cause people to leave the site? These pages are either solving their problems completely or turning them off. Take a look at them. Try to get the exit percentage down.
Page Conversion Rate:
For those pages that really count, the pages where people buy, find out how many people took action and divide that by how many people visited. This is your conversion rate for this page. You want it to be higher over time.
Web sales
How much stuff are you selling via the Web?
You had an Individual Edit it, not a Committee
Having a whole Web site go through a committee is a bad idea. Just because your marketing manager developed the product messaging doesn’t mean she should write or edit the copy. The product manager should only look for errors, not rewrite. The CEO needs to know the end result.
There Are Links throughout the Copy
When someone reads your text, they are engaged. In fact, they are probably less likely to see supporting information in the left or right columns of the standard Web page. Use links within paragraphs to get readers into the site. Don’t over-do it, however. Too many links or links that encompass lots of text will make the paragraph difficult to read.
This is great for SEO, too. It provides an internal linking structure that helps search engines understand what the site is about. Your copywriter should be using important keywords for these links.
You Got Someone from Outside the Company to Participate
Internal writers are often too close to the material. Consider a copywriter from outside the company. This also requires that you go through the process of communicating what your company does. You’ll be surprised at how difficult this will be, even with a sophisticated copywriter.
This process should help you refine your messaging, and maybe delay updates until you’ve got a coherent story that the average human will understand.
You’ve Tested Your Headlines
Your headings are critical to scanning readers. Try different headings, font sizes and colors. Be patient. Watch your analytics for benefits that last.
Litmus Test
Do you enjoy reviewing the copy for your Web site? Do you feel pride when you read it? Is it something you’d consider adding to your portfolio should you find yourself looking for work? If not, imagine what your visitors think. Remember that “good enough” just doesn’t convert as well.
Read the original article, 10 Ways to Know If Your Copy Will Convert Visitors to Customers.
About the Author
Joel Harvey is a seasoned digital marketing executive and entrepreneur with a ten-year background in executing complex optimization engagements. As Managing Partner at Conversion Sciences, he has designed and run hundreds of tests — making him an experienced resource for optimization strategies. Joel has the rare ability to view everything through the lens of data and fact, without losing the ever important sixth sense one needs to consistently drive results. He asks why a lot, challenges assumptions, laughs loud and constantly reaches for the next level of results.
