Marketing

How to catch the crack in your conversions: PART 1

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How to increase your conversion rates
Say NO to foreign copy!
 
Today, I spoke to a prospect who told me about the several amazing copywriters she’s hired in the past to write her landing page copy. They all wrote beautiful prose-clad copy, BUT, nobody really bought from the page 😐
 
Why?
 
Here are the TOP 5 Reasons why sales page copy tanks:
 
1. Your funnel is distorted – you don’t have a connected conversion strategy
2. You don’t have a consistent voice, and hence, shockingly foreign copy
3. Fluff words that sound cool and sassy – but do NOTHING
4. Prose that sounds fab except, it can’t make sales
5. Your copy is unintentionally threatening!
 
You can fix the first 4 problems if you have the right systems in place.
But if your copy constantly sounds like you’re scaring and threatening people by using big bad words in unintended places just to grab their attention, the following copy better be worth their adrenaline activation. Or else, their logical brain is going to curse you for leading them to a high that you forgot to satisfy.
 
So if you’re finding yourself writing threatening copy, you really need to work on your mindset game.
 
What’s a mindset to do with writing copy?
 
E.V.E.R.Y.T.H.I.N.G.
 
If your writing voice sounds:
 
1. fake
 
2. desperate
 
3. needy
 
..you’re more likely to write threatening copy that uses trigger words like WARNING, make it unnecessarily “rhymy”, drop in powerless punches AND…
 
Most likely to cook copy that speaks to NO-ONE!
 
Pretty sad.
 
But, all of these annoying copy problems can be resolved if you have a stronghold on your audience’s pain points – big, small, and unsaid.
 
Start your copy with THEIR specific pain points and lead them towards a specific outcome THEY desire and keep the tempo on with headlines that are not just H1 text, but are there to keep moving your reader towards mini-conversions throughout the page without deviating from that one pain point they want to get rid of right now.
 
Which means, you’re not writing for people who don’t want it that bad. May be they have to put other things in place before this problem becomes their big priority. So, write for that prospect who wants to get done with their biggest challenge right NOW, not later.
 
If you organize their priorities on the page, your copy converts effortlessly.
 
Thank you for coming to my Copy Talk 😛
 
Questions? AMA in the comments!
 

Tripwire Sales Page Copy 101: What converts better?

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What works better? Long-form sales page or quick short copy?
“LONG-FORM SALES COPY converts better or SHORT SALES PAGE is enough to sell my tripwire product?”, asked my client today.

Here’s what I told her:

**It** doesn’t really matter to the buyer.

Because..

1. The buyer is not here to measure the length of the sales page

2. The buyer is not here to count the number of words

3. The buyer is not here to admire the beauty of your design. If the design is fab, they’ll definitely admire it. But the sole purpose on the page is to **know** the product.

Your potential buyers are here to see if they’re:

1. Getting the right product – is it the right fit? What am I getting?

2. Is it worth the money – even if it’s a tripwire product

3. Who’s the creator? Is the creator credible?

4. What kind of results have past buyers seen?

5. What am I really getting if I buy this product today?

6. What will I lose if I don’t buy this product today?

7. What can I do with this product? The ROI?

8. What big worry can this product get rid of for me?

9. How much time can I save per week if I use this product?

What should you keep in mind before writing a Sales Page

1. What stage of the customer journey is my audience at? What are their major needs at this point?

2. What’s their biggest worry right now? What are their current roadblocks?

3. How are they looking at solving this?

4. List of product features + benefits

5. Prove your authority and credibility as the product creator

6. List of Frequently Asked Questions so that you don’t leave them frazzled at any point

7. Ample social proof to back up your claims and offer

8. What’s the purpose behind the purchase of a product like this?

9. Address the possible objections to buying this product

10. How can I speed up conversions and maximize sales?
 
Writing a sales page is not just about the number of words and the length of the page. It’s a multidimensional process that involves a myriad of moving parts to bring in conversions.

Questions? Ask me in the comments 🙂

Elementor Product Page Copy Teardown: How to write a Fluff-Free Features List

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#Elementor decided to inject my feed with their ads.

So I decided to tear down their sales page into Conversion Copy.

The biggest dilemma before writing a sales page is:

Should you start your sales page with benefits over features?

Not necessary.

You don’t have to force benefits out of the page when the benefits don’t want to come.

What does that mean?

Look at the Elementor sales page screenshot below.

It looks like they were hell-bent on leading with benefits and in the process, the message sounds blah..

Alternatively, fluff-free positioning and features list looks like this, in that order:

  1. Build the page of your choice with the form builder
  2. Choose from a variety of well-designed, visually appealing testimonial carousels instead of the same old monotonous templates.
  3. Built-in pop-up forms so that you have everything hosted on one integrated platform instead of scattered forms and pages.
  4. Countdown timer to catalyze conversions.
  5. Capture real social proof to boost your credibility with the Star Rating Widget.

Go over these options and compare it to the copy in the screenshot.

What’s the difference?

  1. Copy Positioning in the screenshot is so weak and bleak that you CAN fall asleep reading it
  2. The tone and voice in the screenshot is plain blah. There’s ZERO personality. It doesn’t even sound like everyone else. It sounds unsure and shallow which is worse than sounding like everyone else.
  3. The copy sounds desperate. It’s trying so hard to be clever by using phrases like “Make it count” — what does that even mean?

The point is — to state the facts and speak the truth straight instead of mincing your words.

So every time you sit down to write sales page copy, do this one thing:

  1. Try and make sense out of it

Go apply the above DON’Ts to make your copy pop out and shine.

And if you need help with copy audits, reach out to me at roshni@contentprimer.com

– Roshni

10 Sinner Words You Should Never Use In Your Copy

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Generic copy is useless.

Exactly like the same old click-bait market research question, everyone asks in Facebook groups – “Looking for an amazing web designer”. And that’s it.

These posts don’t indicate the nature of the industry. They don’t give — at least a hazy picture of what the work is going to be like. No requirements specified. Nothing. Nada!

Posts like these smell scam from a mile away. On a post that gets 97 comments, nobody gets hired. Sounds familiar?

Now the experienced business owners know that such generic posts are time wasters and avoid the trap because they know genuine posts are super-specific.

Let’s reverse engineer that mindset. If you are looking to attract experienced, well-established businesses as your CLIENTS, you should stop being generic in your copy.

But how?

Stop using these 10 words:

Brilliant, Amazing, Incredible, Awesome, Fabulous, Fantastic, Great, Superb, Lovely, Extraordinary

There! I told you what not to use. But what should you be using instead of these words?

The answer is nothing. You should never think of replacing these words. You should think of replacing the sentences that need these words. These words indicate (read: scream) that your writing is amateurish. That is exactly why you depend so heavily on safe words like the adjectives.

Adjectives are merely fillers. They make your copy shallow.

Ouch! Sorry if I made writing even more difficult for you but..some hard truths are epiphanies on their own.

And here’s one – Copy that can convince is never backed by loose, commoner adjectives.

You know why it’s hard to sell your services?

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Because you’re undecided in your head.

You don’t know how to value your services.

You don’t know how to evaluate the value of what you do.

You don’t know the impact you’re creating with your work.

If you can articulate the impact, they’ll never question your price.

But..

If a price objection comes up and you dilly your way by matching up the price to the time you’re spending, the creativity you’re using or years of experience you’re carrying — it doesn’t cut it!

Because what’s your client gonna do with your experience? Creativity? Time spend?

How’s it beneficial for them?

Noo – it isn’t!

Show them what’s of value.

Show them WHY they should hire you instead of your competitor sitting in the adjacent browser tab.

Because your creativity, experience, and time is NOT a measure of the outcomes they’re expecting.

The same shit applies to online sales as well.

Your copy should just CONVERT – by stating the VALUE your work brings to the table.

Not the hours you’re pouring into the project.

And if you’re finding it hard to articulate the value of the work you do, I help you do just that.

Love,
Roshni

Writing web copy is all about connecting with your reader from Word 1

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 To do that, you should know how to meet your audience. Meaning? You should know how you can match “your solutions” to the audience’s expectations.

You should know how to make your reader choose you. To make that happen, you should prove it to them that you:

  1. You understand them and you know their problems well
  2. You know how to solve their problems
  3. Your solution – be it product or service – is their best bet because, you have proof to back your claim.
  4. You empathize with their fears and frustrations
  5. You are totally capable of giving them the results and outcomes they have been craving for

If your copy can do this, you win. They pay. You win again 💪

But how do you make sure that every word you write is ticking these points off of your copy?

Register for my talk at #DCMC on The Science Behind Online Sales and Conversion Copywriting where I give you all the marketing moolah you need to write copy that makes money.

Register for this once-in-a-year, no picth only 100% value, FREE content marketing congress, and sit tight because your copy ride at #DCMC z gonna be funtastic! 

How To Write Value Propositions That Make Your Prospects Say Yes To You

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How to write a value proposition

Premature positioning without translatable proof crashes your credibility.

The job of a value proposition is to gravitate your prospects toward saying yes to you.

Humans are constantly looking to benefit. Use this behavior to your advantage.

Let’s look at the value propositions of various websites and audit the copy for conversions.

Example 1:

Stop defining your company with a weak adjective

The above value prop is – braggy.

Also, I had never heard of Cypher learning until now. Adjectives like best, world-class, and high-quality mean nothing. They’re just filler copy.

“Spotting a pretty adjective is the first sign of a fluffy value propositions statement.”

– Roshni Shaikh

“High-quality” just means “high quality”.

There’s no other way to measure it. Because it’s subjective.

Therefore, your value propositions should never depend on adjectives to define them.

Adjectives can never communicate the real value of your business offers. Behead the adjectives out of your value prop and focus on bringing the outcomes to the forefront.

Why your value prop is not your USP

A few days back, Peep Laja, the founder of ConversionXL tweeted about why the concept of USP is obsolete.

And I agree with him.

Because in 2023, it’s impossible to be running an extremely unique business.

Especially, if you’re in the SaaS market – you know how crowded this industry is. So describing your brand as unique is not a good idea at all.

how to write value propositions
How to write value propositions that make your prospects say yes to you

What does the absence of a value proposition do?

What should your value proposition communicate

My first thought goes – how do you make your results colorful? Colorful pie chart? Colored graphs? Rainbow data?

I feel confused and I start wondering what the product actually is.

Unfortunately, it’s a web development company.

Solution: They could have spoken about the approach they mention in the CTA and position their brand with a clarified message.

Why it’s important to state the biggest benefit – FIRST

How Edgecase can complete your value proposition

Nobody actually needs more data in this data-saturated world. But everyone wants to be able to manage data well.

So saying “Need more data” is not only useless but also intimidating.

And having data is not a benefit. It’s actually a liability to deal with if you don’t know how to tackle the data overflow problem every company faces today.

So if you’re a company offering a solution to analyze, organize, optimize and monetize your data, you should as well state this fact in your value prop and lead with it to bring in conversions.

Otherwise, you confuse your readers. And confused readers get off the wagon ASAP.

Lesson: Lead your value prop with your biggest benefit

Keep your first screen clean

How not to write your value proposition

Again, here’s another value prop starting with an adjective. We know what the problem is. So let’s talk about the UX here.

The goal of a business website is to make your reader’s job easy.

You start with clean websites. The screenshot of a login portal to the left is confusing and meaningless. It doesn’t add any value to the message.

The objective of your message is to take your reader from one awareness stage to a deeper, better understanding of your brand.

When you add screenshots like the one shown above, it makes the reader think hard, they panic and quit the page. 

Conclusion: The reader cannot grasp what this company is about until they read the tiny text that uses two keywords (AI and data analytics) in an unnatural sentence. 

Solution: A hero section with no image is better than having a confusing, deviating image with an unclear value proposition.

Avoid writing unprofitable value propositions

Stating your own name in the value prop has zero benefits.

This isn’t telling me what kind of digital work you do.

The words “more and beyond” denote uncertainty. If the reader senses uncertainty, they’ll have a hard time trusting your brand.

So, use your online real estate wisely. Own your message, connect with your audience and bring them closer to your brand.

But how?

3 simple ways to make your brand more approachable

  • Write a benefit-packed value prop with a meaningful call to action
    Look at the example below. Appsumo doesn’t waste a second in addressing its readers. They identify the software buyers immediately. They know exactly what the software buyers come to them for. They make them feel exclusive instantly. This is a 10/10.
  • Connect with a belief your audience stands for
    Meetup does this really well.
    Their value prop says – “The real world is calling”, which connects with most of us on so many levels because we’re all fighting digital screen toxicity.
    We’re all striving to make our lives a little bit more outdoor-ish. The gist is – to find out how you can match your audience’s mindset and convey that.
  • State your why loud and clear just like 450GSM
    They’re not afraid to break the rules. The moment you land on their homepage, it’s clear.
    There are no clever tactics, no desperate messaging to sound badass – only clear messaging that gets the job done.
how-to-write-a-value-prop-that-conveys-benefits

Action steps to writing a clear value proposition

  1. Avoid adjectives – because adjectives repel clarity and are subjective
  2. Highlight the biggest benefit
  3. Use social proof to write your value proposition if you can
  4. Connect with the values and beliefs of your audience
  5. Connect with your reader’s mindset and intent
  6. Clean UX around your value prop means higher conversions
  7. Stop trying to be unique and focus on being useful to your readers

Questions? Ask me in the comments.

7 Pressing Reasons To Have An Active Business Blog

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Business Blog

Is maintaining your business blog becoming a terrifying nightmare?

You know what the internet world calls a business owner with a stale blog? Non-existent 🙁

You have seen wrong writers, littered content calendar, that pressurizingly blinking cursor, the content marketing gurus who force you to take care of alt tags, meta descriptions and other robotic parameters you don’t understand and you think it is better to let it go?

Take a seat. I’ll be your blog-therapist for today. And in the end, I’ll leave you feeling good + a cheeky grin guaranteed!

You are tired of deception from the so-called “helpers”. You download all the free content creation calendars that promise you to take away your blogging woes.

But then, you end up staring at a blank worksheet that asks you the exact same questions … you have been digging the mud for??

And you graze your face exactly like that witch from a horror movie…That’s okay, swallow your snot. There is something more horrifying than this….that blank screen…it feels like your voice is being throttled. But sometimes, you go on a rampage and type out that entire paragraph like a solo engine taking test rounds around the station…and then when you read it, you press the backspace until you go back in time…to an intimidating-blinking cursor. Story repeats, yeah?

So, you make up your mind and you try to hire a “writer”…but, you end up scrapping all the work you were DELIVERED. You look at the chunks of kooky words that hang like your most ill-fitting garment catching dust. When you hit the sack, you are having nightmares where your prospects are barfing on your website. Eiks!

Forget all of this.

One fine day, you recover from all of this drama because it was a Sunday morning! You’ve had a fantastic week and now that you have an interesting incident to share with your audience, you decide to blog on your website. You grab your mug of fresh green juice and sit in the sun with your biz machine aka your laptop. All was good until you fall back trying to avoid the glaring sun … having no clue where to start, build context or structure your writing. Agghh, too much work! And you quit, right?

Or maybe you wrote it off that evening and then 11 months have gone by, your blog dons that stale blog.

If this is your story, there is help coming soon.

Look boss, I agree, you have challenges! You wanna go smash those sales figures, rock those goal-sy meetings, attend networking events, figure out the perfect funnel, grow your email list, hunt for the tech wizards who can set things up for you, go live on that podcast and the list never ends. You have A LOT on your plate!

But, are you putting your blog on the back seat because your time is TAKEN up?

Psst…aren’t you making a mistake big gun?

Tossing your blogging plan backward means you’re chapping up your business plan. Wanna know why? Here are 7 reasons (out of 119 reasons btw) to keep your blog active.

Blogging cuts down your sales time by 50%

Your blog is the place where your prospects get to know you, learn about your personality and identify your voice. It is where you show them who you are, instead of telling them what it is about you that they should know to buy from you. I mean, that’s what you do in a sales call, right?

By reading one piece of writing on your blog, your prospect has a registered impression about you. Now, it is up to you to build the tempo from here. A job well begun is half done? Obviously! You are already half your way through in winning that prospect. So, go blog darling!

Blogging gives you fodder to feed your social media profiles

You cannot go live 14 times a week to share your thoughts on social media. But, you can have blogs written to let the world (your customers) know, what your opinion on an issue is.

Now, why do you want to lose a stream of high-quality traffic just because you lack a blog?

Why do you want to send back those interested prospects to your competitors?

I repeat, why leave money on that frickin’ table?

Blogging makes you that money-making list

How else do you want to grow your email list? Yeah, you can tell me we have chatbots. But you know what? The chatbot is a vulnerable media. One click and poof, your messages are muted. You wanna talk to deaf ears? Nah…

I’d love to know if you have another method to grow your list (I am curious)

So, listen to me, get your blog up and going. Because honey, in that list is your money!

Nurture your authority. Earn respect as an expert

Imagine you are an authority figure or an influencer in your industry. If I meet you downtown and won’t stop admiring you and your work, how’d you feel? Mind=Blown!

That’s why, grow your authority. And this is a no-brainer. Come on, you are an expert already, and that’s why you are running a business. IT’s not just about someone admiring you. It’s the recognition that fetches you reputation. Your reputation is everything when you’re in business.

I’ll show you 5 easy ways to build authority…right here, right now

  1. Recommend products you use (clink clink..already making money from affiliate marketing? Nice uh!)
  2. Give your audience helpful tips that they can ACT upon (they’ll thank you forever and feel indebted to you even if they are paying money to get your secret tips and saucy advice)
  3. Get yourself featured on elite publications and look at how clients swarm your doorway. (In case you don’t know, check out my piece on the prestigious Thrive Global that got me 3 new leads within a week of posting it)
  4. Make powerful connections and flaunt them. This isn’t hard at all. All you have to do is one round-up post on your blog featuring influencers from your industry and you have an invaluable network in your back pocket.
  5. Once you do these 4 steps, you become a “credible source of valuable information” naturally. You become more authoritative.

Now, all you have to do is, share information + ideas consistently.

Blogging brings Traffic + SEO

If you have a website and do not want traffic, you are mad. I mean, not you you..come on you obviously want traffic. Imagine leads come and land on your website and they head to your services page and end up hiring you. All because you shared a blog post of yours on social media. And, if you have kickass copy + a fantastic funnel, nobody can stop you from building your list, growing your biz and making a ton of money.

Plus, there is a lot of noise out there. You can cut through that noise by talking to people in your voice on your blog, on your uncluttered space. So, my dear, get a blog!

Tip: If you need more information on SEO, check it out here.

Strike conversations with your clients over a blog post

Your blog can act like an intense knowledge dissipating FAQ repository. The information can itself act as sales objection tackling mechanism which puts your prospects in your pipeline. Having your would-be clients in your digital vicinity is cool, right?

Also, who doesn’t want an opportunity to talk to clients isn’t it?

Offer YOUR solutions (services) to your clients’ problems (opportunity)

Imagine talking about a meeting in your office that sped up productivity that leads to you landing a high-ticket client. If you talk about those innate occurrences and unique experiences, you are making your clients believe you are a real, working breathing human being. And they trust you enough to buy from you.

Quick Recap

To conclude, your blog is not just beneficial for your business, it is your creative asset. It helps you capture your voice and your reader’s attention.

Your blog is the virtual bridge that connects you with your customers. If you want to resonate with your clients, build your personal brand, grow your authoritativeness, drive traffic to your website and benefit from all of the other advantages it comes with, get your blog running.

P.S: If you are totally convinced that your blog has to have a game on but you do not have the time or capacity to maintain your blog, click here.

How Emotional Intelligence helps you in Marketing?

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Emotional quotient

I could easily say that I lacked what we called emotional intelligence, a few years ago.

I have come a long way as I have begun to understand myself better. It is also important to realize that the emotional state and stability are as important as the day to day cognitive functions.

A person’s cognitive ability is measured through the Intelligence Quotient. But is it the only way to success?

No! It isn’t enough if you have a good IQ score to succeed. Emotional Quotient is a factor that complements IQ to denote a success score.

EQ is as critical as IQ is to exist in this competitive world. Emotional Intelligence determines a person’s ability to network and communicate.

In today’s career path, it is impossible to go up the ladder without interpersonal skills. Understanding your ability to accept, acknowledge and work on your emotional stamina helps you achieve that prerequisite equilibrium. This state of equilibrium helps you to stay afloat, even during the most challenging of times. This, moves you towards success and achieve goals.

Any person’s EQ works alongside few verticals namely:

  • Awareness
  • Acceptance
  • Regulation
  • Determination
  • Empathy
  • Interpersonal skills

Awareness

Exposure to information about anything makes an experience worthwhile. Be it a product or service or a place, more trust is established when you know more about an entity or case. Likewise, in order to function effectively, we need to be aware of our emotional stature. It is important to give a thought to your behavior. For example, if you have reacted to a situation with anger, it is always better to tell the inner self that you did experience anger. Swaying away from acknowledging your emotions leads to conflicting personalities resulting in more problems.

Acceptance

Once you acknowledge the problem, it is essential to reflect on the ability to react your emotions without being a conscience judge. By accepting the faults, you are making an effort to study and assess your behavior. This helps in giving yourself time before making an impulsive decision.

Regulation

Only when you accept your behavior and reflect on it, you become capable of regulating it instead of being tamed by your emotions. When you possess power over your emotions, you also become emotionally stronger which is of utmost importance to being successful at workplace.

Determination

High emotional quotient signifies self-confidence. It showcases your ability to handle effects of external pressure without compromising your behavior. This trait makes you a highly appreciated professional. And, no matter what the repercussions are, you will stay motivated and determined.

Empathy

The moment you begin to understand yourself better, your emotional spectrum broadens. When this happens, there is more space to empathize with your peers and understand their emotional needs. This brings in harmonious existence at the workplace, in the long run leading to success via a positive circle.

Interpersonal skills

With the exceptional ability to have a command over your emotions, your personality stabilizes leading to lasting relationships. Building relationships and a strong network base happens only when you possess desirable personality traits.

The above factors prove that emotional stability encompasses your scholastic ability in determining success. Thus your emotional quotient thrusts your career ladder, eventually resulting in success. Do you agree with me? Do you think you are emotionally intelligent? Comment below if you have had a mention-worthy emotional journey.

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