When is the last time you remember taking action on something you saw online? What was it that enticed you to buy the product, subscribe to a newsletter, or visit a store?

Was it the appealing creative? An emotional video? Or the words written on the landing page?

It’s a tricky question.

Everything played a part—from the basics of human psychology to the copy on the buttons. Building a content experience that compels people to take action is a holistic process. It requires the contributions of designers, writers, marketers, and strategists to create something that inspires you to take action.

But when you’re finally ready to cross the bridge from considering to deciding, it’s often the message that moves you.

In the digital marketing world, conversion is king. For marketers, understanding the value of conversion copywriting presents a huge opportunity. We’re always learning how to write better, too. We’ve seen well-crafted words help our clients, but we wanted to dive deeper into the art and science behind conversion copy … what it really is, why it works, and how to do it well.

Let’s dive in!

What is conversion copywriting? What motivates our behavior online?
“Conversion copy is a deliberate data-driven attempt to write something that gets people to take action.”   – Joel Klettke, Conversion copywriter and consultant-

The term “copywriting” on its own can mean different things depending on the context. Some copywriters write advertisements, some write web copies, some write emailers & other social media copies. The types of copy can be distinguished in two ways, the intention and the process. The intent gets at what your goal is with your copy & the process pertains to how you go about writing it.

The difference, with conversion copywriting, is in the process: It gives the business owner so much insight into their own process, and customers too! Skilled conversion copywriters are highly valued because the process of doing it well can be intricate and time-consuming. Fortunately, when done right, it can have an immediate impact on ROI.

Now, let’s take a half-step back and talk about what’s going on in our brains when engaging with a website. When looking at what motivates people’s behavior online, we use the “Three Brain Model”: The primal system, emotional system, and rational system. The primal system is concerned with survival and maintenance. The emotional system is concerned with principles like empathy, or storytelling. Finally, the rational system is the most evolved part of our brain. It’s concerned with logic, language, and things like processing abstract thoughts.

But, Why does this matter for conversion copywriting?

When done right, conversion copywriting reaches all three systems on some level. It can arouse interests with an understanding of basic needs (primal), appeal to emotions by addressing genuine frustrations (emotional), and address the inner skeptic with convincing language (rational).

What should you consider when writing an effective conversion copy?

1. Audience
   With any business strategy, you have to begin with your target audience in mind. Everything you do should be aimed at improving their experience.
2. Research
   Every writer emphasizes the importance of customer research. It’s the secret sauce to any effective writing you’ll find on the web.
3. Tone and Voice
   Many brands and organizations are strategic in thinking about how they talk to their customers. When writing conversion copy, striking a tone that resonates is key to making a connection.
4. Context
   Prospective customers find your brand at various stages. Generally, you can imagine the three stages being awareness, consideration, and decision. At each stage, the work that has to be done to move them closer to conversion changes. That means the way you write has to change, too.
5. Design
   Copy and design have to work together. There’s no way around it. But in practice, there’s often a struggle to figure out which one comes first. Unsurprisingly, when it comes to conversion copywriting, the writing should drive the design.
6. Testing
   One of the benefits of conversion copy is that you can always improve it. Testing headlines, call-to-actions, or the body copy of a specific section is how to continually refine it.

Now, are you wondering How to improve your conversion copywriting? Check out the key hints below!

• Invest in research to better understand your audience
• Empathize with their pains, gains, hopes, and dreams — in their own words
• Work in tandem with your design team to amplify the right messages
• Test. Learn. Optimize. Repeat.

In conclusion, remember…
You’re not creating all this content, building these great landing pages, or investing in a social media account only to have them ignored.

You’re trying to make an impact after all, right?

by Lama Yatim