Do you want to learn the “vital few” copywriting techniques that we use to achieve the greatest impact on profits? Our advice comes from years of experience increasing conversion rates for highly successful companies such as Apple, Google, Facebook and Sony. What you’ll get: 1. Case studies: Three real-world A/B tests, and the lessons they teach us. 2. The “vital few” most effective copywriting techniques – with which you can beat most professional copywriters. (If this sounds impossible, remember that most professional copywriters don’t split-test their work.) 3. A winning copywriting template you can use to sell almost any product. This talk was given by Paras Chopra (CEO and founder of Visual Website Optimizer) and Dr Karl Blanks (Chairman and co-founder of Conversion Rate Experts). For more great resources, see www.visualwebsiteoptimizer.com and www.conversion-rate-experts.com.

1. How to beat most
professional copywriters
The “vital few” copywriting techniques
we use to achieve
the greatest impact on profits.

2. 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

3. 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

4. Three
real-­‐world
copywri0ng
A/B
tests
And
the
easy
lessons
you
can
use
for
your
website
copy

5. A
single
word
change
leads
to
161%
more
clickthroughs
Test
#1

6. Which
version
increased
clickthroughs
by
161%?

7.
• “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

8. A
paragraph
rewrite
increases
leads
by
150%
Test
#2

9. • 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

10. 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.

11. 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

12. 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

13. Turning
the
tables:
increasing
sales
by
40%
Test
#3

14. Original
page:
Underwater
Audio

15. 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!”

16. 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

17. Varia0on
page:
40%
increase
in
sales

18. Lessons
from
these
A/B
tests

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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.

23. 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

24. How we became
“conversion obsessed”

25. Google took notice

26. Some of our clients

27. Doubled sales

32. Become able to sell the
product face to face
Step 1:

33. Your robot salesperson will
be no be er than its creator

38. 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 find 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-specific objections
have been overcome.
ü I found the whole experience
pleasurable, and I’d happily do
it again.

39. 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…

40. Write it down
Step 2:

42. The act of writing turns many a
genius into a moron

43. Write like a human

45. Use at least as
many words as
you’d use when
selling face to face

47. Be concise

48. designsensory.com/pws/
Learn the right
style

50. A template
for a highly converting
landing page

51. § Open with a sentence that makes them say“That’s me!”
§ Use the“inverted pyramid”principle.
§ Bullet points with the main benefits 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

52. Self-interest
headline
Johnson box
Bullet points
with the main
benefits
Graphical
appearance that
matches the site

53. § 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.

54. Use sub-heads to
announce and tick off
mental shopping list
items
Support all your
claims with
evidence

55. Ge ing them to take action

56. 1. Summarize the benefits
2. Present the offer
3. Justify the price
What your offer and
call-to-action should do

57. 1. Risk reduction strategies
2. Incentive for prompt action
Two easy ways to make them
act right now

58. Five most important aspects

59. 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

60. “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

62. § 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

64. 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

65. 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?)

66. Get more free resources
visualwebsiteoptimizer.com/split-testing-blog/
conversion-rate-experts.com/learning-zone/