But did you know that these same attributes can help you craft better marketing messages, too? Let’s look at each part of the SMART copywriting approach.

Specific

Too much marketing is generic. How often have you seen lines like these?

“Save time and money.”

“Lose weight.”

“Grow your business.”

These are all good benefits, but they don’t have any real impact without context. If the savings is just one cent, who cares? And how are these claims different from anything your competitors could use?

To be convincing, you need to paint a clear picture for your prospects. One of the best ways to do that is to use specifics. Look how much stronger these benefits become when you add specifics.

Save three hours and $50 a day

Lose 10 pounds your first week

The easiest way to scale from 1,000 to 100,000 customers

And this isn’t limited to just benefits. Go through your copy and get rid of generic fluff words like “high quality,” “best,” and “robust.” Give specifics. What makes your solution quality high? How are you measuring best?

Nobody believes marketers when they say how great their products are. So don’t. Instead, convince the reader with specifics, so he can come to that conclusion on his own.

Measurable

All marketing offers cost something, whether it’s money, time or effort. That’s what people are going to measure the value of your offer against.

Sometimes it’s easy to quantify that value. This Geico tagline is a good example:

The cost of inquiring (15 minutes) and the potential value of the benefit (savings of 15% or more) are clearly spelled out. It’s easy for the consumer to compare those and determine if that value outweighs the cost.

Often, it’s more difficult to quantify cost and value. Results for most products and services vary based on many factors. Fortunately, there are ways to measure it indirectly.

Comparisons are probably the best of these. Comparing yourself to your competition gives readers a point of reference. For example, car companies can call out how they have the best gas mileage or resale value in their class.

You can also compare the benefits of having your product to status quo. Focus on the reader’s pain point and how your offer will make life better. The bigger the pain point, the more value your solution will have.

And you can compare your offering to unrelated products or services. This can be especially useful when it comes to price. That’s why many ads point out that a subscription costs less than a cup of coffee per day.

Attainable

Most people know how important it is to focus on benefits. You naturally want to make your offer sound like the best thing ever. But if readers don’t think your promises are attainable, you aren’t going to persuade anyone to take action.

If you write a headline like “Lose 20 pounds overnight,” most people will assume it’s a scam, even if it’s true. That’s not something most people think is attainable.

But claims don’t have to be that outlandish to seem unattainable. For instance, claiming your product will “keep the weight off for good” may seem unattainable to people who have tried different options and gained the weight back each time.

The key is to know your target audience. Consider their experience, beliefs and pain points. And tailor your copy appeals to that.

Relevant

People don’t buy the best solutions. If they did, every company would have a monopoly on their industry. Instead, people buy the best solutions for them. That’s what you need to convince your prospects you’re offering.

Personalizing your copy is a great way to do this. In direct mail, email campaigns and personalized URLs, you can include information such as the person’s name, purchase history or other specific data points.

But even when you don’t have variable fields, you can still personalize copy for your specific target audience. For instance, you can call out who your offer is for with lines such as:

• Attention homeowners
• Specially formulated for women over 40
• Over 20,000 small businesses choose…

And of course, you need to use the appeals, language and something that fits your target audience, as well. That means you need to go benefit just benefits and figure out what those benefits mean to your specific audience.

For example, saving $500 a month may represent salvation to someone who is drowning in debt. To another person, that same benefit could about providing a nest egg for his family.

The more you write to their motivations and needs, the more relevant your copy will be.

Time Bound

It’s not enough to simply build interest and desire for your product or service. If you want to turn that desire into action, you need to convince your prospect to act now.

Because doing nothing is easier than responding to an offer. There is less risk in not responding. It’s familiar. What’s the harm in waiting?

That’s the question good copy answers. And the easiest way to add that urgency is with limited time offers. Attaching a firm end date or time limit forces the prospect to make a decision. They either respond to the offer or miss out.

For digital components, countdown timers can help call extra attention to the urgency of your offer. For static formats, try to make the expiration stand out through formatting, such as boldface type.

But what if you can’t use a specific expiration date? No problem. You can still add urgency.

Highlighting limited quantity is one way to add urgency without referencing a specific timeframe. Here’s an example from Amazon.

Another way to add urgency is to highlight the consequences of procrastinating. Agitate the pain point that your product or service solves, so that readers feel that frustration now. And stress how your solution will make an impact quickly.

Put SMART copywriting to the test

Use these tips to see for yourself how SMART copywriting converts better. Be sure to let me know how it goes. And if you need help getting started, please don’t hesitate to reach out.

The post Increase conversions with SMART copywriting appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

Sorry to be blunt, but it’s the truth. That’s likely why your landing page isn’t converting well.

Before you start cursing me out, I’m not criticizing your product. I’m sure it’s great. But people don’t care about products. They care about solutions to their problems.

That’s why product development experts tell you to start with a problem to solve instead of an idea for a product.

Yet when it comes to the landing page, many seem to forget this and make it all about the product and features.

I get it. Your product is your baby. You’ve grown it from a simple idea to something real. You love it. You’re proud of it.

But potential users aren’t in the same mindset. They aren’t emotionally invested in your product. They couldn’t care less about it. But they do care about themselves. That’s what you need to focus on.

Sell the solution, not the product

You may be thinking, “My product is a solution.” And while that may be true, there is a difference when it comes to messaging. A product is just a thing. A solution is a benefit that personally impacts the user in a positive way. Consider this example.

Apple didn’t launch the iPod by stating, “Here’s a digital music player.” They didn’t lead with features such as how much memory it had.

Instead, they introduced it with a simple line of copy that crystallizes what those features mean to people: “1,000 songs in your pocket.”

Remember, before the iPod, portable music was limited to how many CDs you could carry with you. The simple statement above speaks to that pain point in a specific, tangible way.

Notice how the focus of Apple’s message is on the user rather than the product? That’s what you want to do with the copy on your landing pages. Lead with benefits over features.

Broaden your appeal without losing focus

OK, I may have overstated things a bit when I implied people don’t want products. Some people do want products that solve their problem. But that’s only after they have identified what their problem is and what the options are to deal with it.

Say, for instance, someone is frustrated that he never seem sto get as much done during their workday as he wants. At that stage, he is problem aware.

The next step for someone in this stage is to search for solutions. That may include products, but it could also include other solutions.

With the example above, these might include productivity apps, delegating tasks where possible, or learning strategies to better manage his time. When the person explores these, he is solution aware.

If that person decides a productivity app is the best way to solve his problem, then he starts comparing different apps that do this. At the end of this step, he is product aware.

When you focus the page on your product, rather than as the solution to users’ problems, you’ll only appeal to people at this last stage. If your landing page is part of a campaign specifically targeting people actively shopping for products, that’s fine. But if it’s not, you’re ignoring a big portion of your prospects.

Be more original

Sure, having a feature that your competitors don’t can differentiate you … for a little while. But features are easy to copy.

Go ahead. Try to think of a brand you identify with a unique feature. Not easy, is it?

You have to work hard to find a unique value proposition for your landing page that isn’t as easy to copy. It could be specific results your product has delivered. It could be the niche you’re targeting. Or it could be your company mission.

It may take a few tries to find the right appeal. But if your current landing page isn’t converting visitors into prospects or prospects into customers, then it’s a must. If you need help, feel free to reach out.

The post Landing page isn’t converting? Here’s why… appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.

I’m sorry to tell you, but you’re probably A/B testing wrong.

And you’re not alone. It’s shocking to see how many mistakes even well-known and respected marketers make in regards to testing.

And that’s a big problem when the results of those tests are driving your marketing. Fortunately, each of the mistakes below is easily correctable once you recognize what you’re doing wrong.

Mistake #1: You end your tests too soon

Technology has made testing easier in a lot of ways. Today’s solutions can automate most of the process.

Tools like Optimizely and Visual Website Optimizer can save you a ton of time and effort. But like any tool, they are only as good as the person using it.

It’s easy to look at the early results of a test and draw a conclusion. Take this example from Peep Laja of Conversion XL.

What would you do if this was your test? Call the control a winner and start implementing the learnings throughout your site?

Image source: Conversion XL

That’s what most would do. After all, it says right there that the test version has a 0% chance of beating the control.

A couple of weeks later, the results looked quite different.

Image source: Conversion XL

That’s right. The version that had no chance of winning was now significantly outperforming the control.

What’s going on here? How can that be?

Scroll back up and look at the sample size again. A little over 100 visitors isn’t enough to get valid results.

So what size do you need?

That depends on a few factors, such as your conversion rate, minimum detectable effect and acceptable margin of error. But the answer is probably higher than you think.

Plugging your numbers into a sample size calculator such as this or this one is the easiest way to determine the minimum sample size you’ll need.

But this isn’t the only reason to keep your tests running.

Timing is also a variable that could skew results. Some businesses see conversion rates vary significantly between days of the week. There could also be events or other external factors that temporarily skew results one way or the other.

There are also random anomalies.

This simulation shows how even A/A tests (where both variants are identical) can deliver false positives up to 25% of the time.

By letting your tests run for at least a few weeks, any anomalies should even out.

Mistake #2: You’re making assumptions

You’d think this would be the last thing you’d see on a list of testing mistakes. After all, the whole reason for testing is to avoid assumptions and act on facts.

But even the experts sometimes fall into this trap.

Take this example from the Unbounce blog.

The article makes it sound like it’s testing the use of video. But that’s not the only difference between the versions.

My hypothesis would be that the headline in the winning version had a bigger impact. That’s the first thing that jumps out at me. (Although I’m a copywriter so words are kind of my thing.)

If you want to learn definitively how different components affect response, you need to isolate them.

Don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing wrong with testing drastically different creatives against each other. In many cases, it’s a better choice than testing a single component, because it offers a greater chance of a significant lift.

Just be aware what the test is: The sum of the differences, not each individual variation.

Mistake #3: You’re testing the wrong things

We’ve all seen articles that highlight results like this:

Image source: Leadpages

It’s pretty exciting. So it’s understandable to want to rush out and test it on your own site.

Here’s why you shouldn’t.

First, trying to replicate a test you read about is a spitball approach. There’s no strategy behind it. You’re just making changes to see what sticks.

Smart testing starts with a valid hypothesis. And no, “this worked for another company so it might work for us” is not a valid hypothesis.

A hypothesis should start with some sort of insight or logic. For example, if customer interviews reveal a common pain point or purchase driver, you might hypothesize a headline that speaks to that would perform better than the control headline.

Even smaller tests should include an educated rationale, such as “using a color with more contrast for the CTA button should help draw more attention to what we want visitors to do.”

Second, and even more importantly, small changes usually only lead to small wins. To get big wins, you need to test the big things first. For most of us, changing the color of a button just isn’t going to make a huge difference. Wasting your time on that deprives you of other important learning opportunities.

Remember, accurate testing requires a large sample size. And there’s only so much traffic to go around.

A framework such as PIE or PXL can help you prioritize your hypotheses and ensure you’re getting the most out of your testing.

Mistake #4: You’re missing the big picture

It’s easy to get tunnel vision when you’re looking at A/B test results. After all, you’re supposed to isolate variations so you know exactly how a change impacts your conversion rate.

The problem is not in the testing itself, though. It’s in how you interpret and implement those results.

Let’s use a hypothetical example.

Say you’re testing two different offers for your landing page; a free trial and a free demo.

Version A, the trial, gets a response of 3.2%. Version B, the demo, gets 5.6%.

Based on those results Version B is the clear winner. Would you say that Version B is the better offer for your business? Would you roll it out across your site?

Maybe the demo is better. But maybe it’s not?

What if the leads from Version B mostly fail to purchase afterward, while a good portion of Version A’s become paying customers?

Or what if the leads that do become customers from the demo churn at a higher rate than the trial?

Would you still say Version B is the better offer?

Here’s another example.

Let’s say you have an Adwords campaign running, and your headline is “Start Testing in Minutes.”

Now let’s say that ad leads to a landing page where you’re running an A/B test on the headline.

Version A is: “Start Testing in Minutes with This Point-and-Click A/B Testing Tool”

Version B is: “Increase Conversions with This Point-and-Click A/B Testing Tool”

Version A wins pretty handily. So you should use that approach on all your pages, right?

Not necessarily. Sure, A is the winner here. But you need to consider the factors beyond the page. Look at the headline of the ad that drove people to that page again.

Version A is the better match. It gives the people the information they expect, moving them seamlessly through the journey.

Version B on the other hand is a change in direction. It breaks the flow, killing momentum and conversions.

But what if the Adwords headline matched Version B closer? The results would almost assuredly be different.

Mistake #5: You treat testing as a one-step process

After declaring a winner, what do you do? I bet you roll out the winning version and move on to something else. But then you’re missing out on valuable insights.

One of the first things you should do is share the results with the rest of your team. I can’t tell you how many times in my own career some useful nugget has come to light after a project was finished or well under way.

You also want to apply what you learn elsewhere. Try to replicate the results with other segments. Use it to form new hypotheses. Build on those tests by further refining your most important pages. Optimization is an iterative process.

Finally, make it a point to revisit your tests periodically. Things change rapidly in today’s world and what’s working now might not be the best option in a year or two.

Conclusion

If you’re making any of the mistakes I’ve just described, don’t feel bad. Most marketers make at least one, even the ones from successful companies.

The good news is that now you know what you were doing wrong and you can correct course. Here’s the first steps you can take today:

1. Prioritize your testing ideas. Throw out any that aren’t based on a solid hypothesis. Then rank the remaining ideas based on their potential impact.
2. Predetermine the sample size you’ll need to get statistically valid results. Here are the links to the calculators again: https://www.optimizely.com/resources/sample-size-calculator and www.evanmiller.org/ab-testing/sample-size.html.
3. Figure out how you’re going to set up your test. Be sure to map out factors outside of the component you’re testing and isolate only the variables that prove or disprove your hypothesis.

Let me know how it goes in the comments section below.

Feature image by Alex Proimos

The post Do You Make These A/B Testing Mistakes? appeared first on SEAN KIRBY.