4 builders who never spoke to each other

Fix what it says before tuning how it looks

Layout and button tests move conversion by single percentages while a changed promise moves it by multiples, so the order of the work matters more than the effort put into it. Rewrite the value proposition until a split test would teach you nothing, and only then optimise. An afternoon of writing routinely beats months of building at getting anyone to talk about you.

The method

1. 01

   Fix the message and the clarity of the page before running conversion rate optimisation, because tuning yields small percentages where messaging changes yield multiples.

2. 02

   Rewrite the value proposition itself before touching layout, because what the page promises moves signups more than how it looks.

3. 03

   Tune the message until split testing it would tell you nothing, instead of shipping a weak message and testing your way out of it.

4. 04

   Twenty minutes of creative writing can beat months of product work at getting people to talk about you, so stop assuming a better product is the only lever.

5. 05

   A worn-out offer type still works if the wording around it is fresh, so put the creative effort into the framing rather than the size of the deal.

What it returned

• 15%

  Cited tests: AwayFind gained 15% more trials from a headline change, Aweber 12% more paid signups from one extra word on the call to action button, and the ad man John Caples once recorded a 19x sales change from a headline test.

• 3

  The Sims 3 changed its value proposition and game registrations went up 128 percent.

Sources

• #HYPERGROWTH18: The Cheat Sheet | Corey HainesGrant Cardone · corey.co · Grant Cardone · 2018-09-07
• The 80/20 of Copywriting: How Copy Can Elevate Your Freelance Game In Just 7 Days - Double Your FreelancingListon Witherill · doubleyourfreelancing.com · The 80/20 of Copywriting: How Copy Can Elevate Your Freelance Game In Just 7 Days · 2015-08-28
• CD Baby's confirmation emailHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · CD Baby's confirmation email · undated
• Two million clicks from one emailHarry Dry · Marketing Examples · undated
• Conversion Rate Optimization: Social Proof, User-Generated Content, HeadlinesDru Riley · trends.vc · Conversion Rate Optimization Experiments · 2022-09-01