When it comes to writing converting copy, what you need to remember is that conversion = persuasion. This means that when you are writing copy with the goal of increasing conversions (isn’t that always the main goal?), you need to first understand what it means to persuade someone and the ways in which you can do it. 

“Copy that converts” is crucial because without it you’ll have no results – no new clients, no sales, no growth, no progress. Crickets.

As an online business owner, it’s important to be honest with yourself and ask yourself: are you seeing this in your business? If you are, then we need to fix your copy because a lack of conversions means your words aren’t doing their job.

When it comes to persuading your audience of ideal clients and customers, we can tap into the 6 principles of persuasion, as identified by Robert Cialdini in his book “Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion”.

To get you started, here’s a quick recap of 3 of these principles. For more detail on these principles and what they mean for getting your words selling, listen to episode 30 of The Copy Coach podcast.

1 : Reciprocation – people will be nice if you’re nice to them

This is the idea that if you give someone something or do them a favour first, they are more likely to want to return it. This works on the idea that people tend to want to say ‘yes’ to a request and will feel like they need to if they ‘owe’ you something. It also works because we are more likely to trust someone who already trusts us.

Use it: create a valuable freebie for your ideal client

2 : Consistency – we try to behave in line with our goals

This is the idea that we find it easier to comply with requests that are in line with what we ourselves have already said. So, if you can understand what your ideal client’s goals and ambitions are, you can present your ‘proposal’ (your offering, service or product) to them in a way that matches these.

Use it: understand what your ideal client’s goals are and write copy that shows how your service will help them meet these goals.

3 : Social proof – we copy what others do

This is the idea that we are more likely to say ‘yes’ when we see others saying ‘yes’, too. This need for following the crowd is amplified in uncertain situations. In terms of your messaging, this means that using testimonials and examples of past client wins is important for persuading your ideal client to say yes to what you are offering.

Use it: collect past client testimonials and examples so that you can show your ideal client that someone else enjoyed and found success with your service and methods.

Lookit: if your copy isn’t converting, you need to fix it. If you don’t? You’ll continue to:

• not see many or any conversions from your website.
• not have anyone booking in discovery calls, scheduling appointments, downloading your freebie, or buying your digital product.
• feel like you’ll never get where you’re trying to.

But you can get there.

For more detail on these principles and what they mean for getting your words selling, listen to episode 30 of The Copy Coach podcast.