Conversion for Copywriting - CXL Review

One of the biggest problems of Copywriting is that people think that is an easy work and you do not need to study to do it. The consequence of this is a lot of bad copy and made by intuition.

In the second course I did in the Conversion Optimization Minidegree, CXL explain the not only how to create great excellent copy, but how important is this for you strategy in marketing.

For this article, first I am going to pass through the value propositions you need to delivery in your copy and then, the practice steps to produce a good one. Those topics in Minidegree are showed in an inverted way, but I believe it makes more sense to first understand and define the value of your product/service, and then write and you use in your copy.

For all those parts, I will bring some real examples and analyze what is good a work and which needs improvement.

As I said in the first article, I am not expert in copy or conversion yet (I hope), and there is no right or wrong. I am very open to receive feedbacks and to talk more about the subject! Hope this article can help somehow!

Value Propositions in Copy

A value proposition is the main thing you are going to deliver for you customer. This value goes beyond the product or service itself, and it is related to why your customer is choosing you and your offer.

For example, bags are important for carrying your objects. However, bags from Prada are more than this. They deliver a high quality and stylish product that few people have access to and that raises their status.

The value proposition explains how your product or service will solve the customer’s problem, what are the benefits from them, and also the reason why they should chose you.

So remember those points that your value proposition should make clear for your customer: relevancy, quantified value and unique differentiation.

But why the value proposition is related to copy?

You need to communicate your value proposition to your audience and to do it in a good way, it is necessary to create a copy that works.

Here some important tips to produce a good copy for your value proposition:

• Write it in a clear way that you can easily understand. You don't want your customer to make an effort to understand the value of your product/service, right?
• Use the language that your customer know and use. Besides helping to get the message across more easily, here you can create a connection with him
• Write as a headline (so do not write than one line) the main value and get attention from your audience
• Explain in a short sentence what you sell or how product/service works
• Use bullet points to describe in a specific way the results and benefits of purchasing your product/service
• Include a big and good image. It is better if is a real image from you product/service, and avoid images from Image Banks
• Say the reasons why you product/service is better and the best option in the market
• Put the value proposition in your main pages as homepage, product pages, categories pages, important landing pages, etc.

Look at some good value propositions and why they are good:

• Specific headline with the main value
• Clear and short sentence with an explanation about what is the product and how it works
• Real images from the software

• Bullet points describing the benefits from the product in a specific way
• Good image showing how the software works

Look at some value propositions that needs improvements:

• It does not have a headline with the main value. It is just a sentence not specific and not related to the product
• Actually it does not show any benefit from the product
• Images from categories and from Image Bank

• There is a testimonial from the President and not the and you can not identify what the product/service is and what is for
• Image from the president and not from the product/service
• The message is big and is not specific 

5 steps to create a good copy

In the Minidegree, 6 steps are explained to create a good copy. However, to be more practical, I will address only 5 of them.

1. Research 

How you going to write for someone you do not know? So this is the first and one of the most important step that you can not skip. Also it is the first one, because everything after it depends on this. 

Do a survey with your audience and understand why they buy your product, what they see of value and how your product will help them.

This research will help you not only with you copy, but also with you value proposition. And to do it, it is necessary to interview ideal customers. 

In those interviews, it is important to understand which profile they have, the problems they have in common and how you product/service is helping them, the questions they have, which words they use to describe you product.

Another strategy is pay attention on how your competitor is doing. How they are communicating, which benefits they are focusing, and what features you have and they do not.

2. Outline and Guideposts

Before you actually start writing your entire page, sketch it out. This will help you not to forget the main points and to follow the same line of reasoning between each part of your page. 

It is important to remember that each page will have an objective, and therefore, each page will have a different outline.

3. Draft Copy

Things you should avoid:

• Jargon: avoid jargon and fancy words that will create doubt in your audience and will require their effort to understand what you are trying to get through. Use simple words that are in your audience's vocabulary
• Superlatives and hype: people do not believe it anymore!
• Being vague: by being specific, your audience will realize that you understand what you are talking about and will believe you
• Talk about them: people want to solve their problems. They do not want to know who you are and where your company comes from
• Hide the price: if your price is higher than the market or your product/service usually has a higher price, first show its value and then its price, also be as more specific as you can

4. Revise and Rearrange

Before publishing, revisit your page the next day and fill in the missing information. Also, send it to people who understand and ask for feedback.

5. Test

Copy is testing, so after you publish launch two versions of the copy from your page and test which works better. Then, follow the metrics and see which of the options is performing best.

In short, having a good copy means getting to know your audience and writing to them in a way that they will never say "no" to your product/service.