Here’s the ONLY conversion copy principle you need to know.

Aug 11

Lately I’ve been revisiting the basics of conversion copywriting, because even after years of writing, the foundations still matter.

If you’re new to conversion copy (or just want to know what makes your words work harder), here’s the ONLY principle you need to know. 👇

(Fair warning: This turned into a bit of a mondo thread because I am anything but short-winded. You might wanna grab a coffee and a notebook, lock your kids/pets out of your office, and put on headphones so you can ignore everything.)

What is conversion copy?

Let me start with answering the question: what the hell IS conversion copy vs. “regular” copy or content?

Conversion copy: Gets people to do something

Ad copy: Gets attention

Content: Educates/inspires

👆 this is oversimplified, but that’s another thread.

BASICALLY. Conversion copy is all about getting people to take action on something.

Try a product for free.

Contact sales.

It’s the art of direct response writing, applied to a digital world.

We largely credit @copyhackers with the invention of conversion copy as we know it.

Jo is considered one of the greatest living copywriters. And she’s built a small empire teaching people how to get better.

Her main principle? It’s called the Rule of One.

The rule of one.

The Rule of One is pretty simple. Anything you write should:

Be written for ONE reader
Have ONE big idea
Make ONE promise
Contain ONE offer

If you can do this 👆 for your copy, you’re going to see dramatic improvement in conversions.

Let’s break each one down.

ONE reader.

If you create messaging for everybody, you create messaging for nobody.

Conversion copy (all copy, really) is built on the idea that you write to ONE person—a single one of your personas—so you can get really specific.

1.2: In practice, this looks like:

Understanding your personas at a cellular level.
Creating content tailored each persona’s needs.
Build campaigns/funnels around each persona.

Everything should be user-centered, not business-centered.

(As a sidebar, this is why content teams are SO important and supremely undervalued—it takes a shit load of content like ebooks, whitepapers, videos, etc. to build shit that tells a story, is entertaining, and which caters to each persona specifically…but I digress).

The ONE reader framework lets you:

zoom in on their challenges
use ultra-specific language that resonates, and
stands out from the crowd

Why? Because your landing page/copy actually RESONATES with the reader.

ONE big idea.

What is the ONE happiness-creating thing that your product will help customers achieve?

As Jo says “It’s not saving time and money. It’s saving time, OR saving money.”

You have to understand (through research) what the big pain is for your reader.

When I see companies use value props like “We help you grow profits, cut costs, and streamline operations” it makes me want to burn down a bridge.

Those are three big ideas. And focusing on all three means you dilute the power of what your product can actually do.

When you do your research to understand the ONE reader, you should also figure out the big benefit they’ll get from using your tool.

Then, build a landing page that preaches that ONE idea to that ONE reader.

Example: in B2B, you can often generalize and say that CEOs often care about improving overall company profitability, while everyday users care about getting shit done more efficiently.

You need two different landing pages to communicate those two different ideas.

ONE promise.

By this point you should know the ONE reader you’re talking to, and the ONE big idea they care about (”save time” or “save money.”)

Now it’s time to make ONE promise: what measurable promise can you make to your reader?

The ONE promise is really important: it’s where a lot of the page’s strength lies.

Can you help your reader save 5 hours a week? What about cut costs by as much as $20k/year?

👏 get specific. 👏

Something I’ve encountered in B2B is that companies (and legal teams) are often afraid to make promises.

“We don’t want to lead people to believe that they can expect these kinds of results.”

You have to make a promise to your reader if you want a chance at a sale.

My 3-prong response when there’s hesitation to a promise:

1: Copy is about starting a conversation w/ sales, not explaining every little detail.

2: Use a case study to support your claim.

3: Your customer isn’t an idiot: they know they won’t magically save $50,000.

Finally we’ve reached the ONE offer.

You’ve done all the hard work of figuring out who tf you’re talking to, what they care about, and what you can promise them.

Now, you have to convince them to do something. That’s where your offer comes in.

Offers are, by themselves, a beast to unpack and they probably deserve their own thread.

BUT the main idea is that you should make it as easy as possible for your reader to take the next step.

There are a lot of tactics to make your offers better (Rob Marsh even gave a 30-minute presentation about this at #TCCIRL2022).

But it comes down to creating something that people ACTUALLY want.

If people want pricing and you’re talking about demos, you’ll lose out.

However, if you’ve got something that people want, some ideas for enhancing your offer include:

Bonuses
Add a guarantee
Show ROI
Include a warranty
Social proof

Again, lots to be said about this; I’ll do a separate thread at some point.

We made it, yall.

PHEW.

We made it, y’all.

This turned into a mega thread, but as always, I do not apologize.

To recap:

There’s only one thing you need to know about writing conversion copy, and it’s the Rule of One.

Anything you write should:

Be written for ONE reader
Have ONE big idea
Make ONE promise
Contain ONE offer

👆 this is really the secret.

If you can nail the Rule of One on a landing page, you can:

convert more people
make a better first impression, and
show that you understand the reader (and build brand trust)

It’s seriously, SERIOUSLY important.

I’m going to go take a nap now, but if you want to learn more about this @copyhackers is your main resource.

I am but the messenger of Queen Wiebe’s brilliance.

Grace Baldwin