how to beat most professional copywriters
TRANSCRIPT
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How to beat most professional copywriters
The “vital few” copywriting techniques
we use to achieve the greatest impact on profits.
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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
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The “vital few” most effective copywriting techniques
1
2
3
Case studies: Three real-world A/B tests
A winning copywriting template for whatever you sell
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Three real-‐world copywri0ng A/B tests
And the easy lessons you can use for your website copy
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A single word change leads to 161% more clickthroughs
Test #1
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Which version increased clickthroughs by 161%?
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• “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
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A paragraph rewrite increases leads by 150%
Test #2
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• 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
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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.
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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
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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
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Turning the tables: increasing sales by 40%
Test #3
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Original page: Underwater Audio
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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!”
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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
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Varia0on page: 40% increase in sales
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Lessons from these A/B tests
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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
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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
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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
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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.
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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 [email protected]
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How we became “conversion obsessed”
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Google took notice
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Some of our clients
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Doubled sales
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Become able to sell the product face to face
Step 1:
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Your robot salesperson will be no be"er than its creator
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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.
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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…
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Write it down
Step 2:
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The act of writing turns many a genius into a moron
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Write like a human
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Use at least as many words as you’d use when
selling face to face
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Be concise
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designsensory.com/pws/
Learn the right
style
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A template for a highly converting
landing page
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§ 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
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Self-interest headline
Johnson box
Bullet points with the main
bene"ts
Graphical appearance that matches the site
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§ 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.
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Use sub-heads to announce and tick off
mental shopping list items
Support all your claims with
evidence
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Ge"ing them to take action
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1. Summarize the bene"ts 2. Present the offer 3. Justify the price
What your offer and call-to-action should do
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1. Risk reduction strategies 2. Incentive for prompt action
Two easy ways to make them act right now
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Five most important aspects
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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
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“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
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§ 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
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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
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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?)
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Get more free resources
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