It’s interesting how opinions and ideas develop about a certain field. Case in point: copywriting. I’ve been reminded just recently of some of the misconceptions people who are unfamiliar with this profession (and a few that are) have so I thought I’d take a moment to clarify things.
Misconception #1: To Improve Copy You Must Completely Rewrite It
Not true. In fact, testing by tweaking small sections of the copy (headline, opening paragraph, call-to-action, etc.) is the best way to go. With a complete overhaul, you have no way of knowing what specific elements worked or didn’t work.
Unless your copy is getting dismal results, or unless the client just insists on a total rewrite, I usually recommend testing and tweaking.
The reason most website owners don’t go for this, however, is because of the time it takes. Everybody is looking for instant gratification. They want to put copy up on a page and *BOOM* have it immediately overwhelm them with the results. Which takes us to misconception number two.
Misconception #2: Copy Will Either Work Right off the Bat or It Won’t Work at All
Nine times out of 10 you’ll get the best results from putting up copy then making small changes to it until you see peak performance. (As mentioned above.) But still, uninformed clients bounce from one copywriter to another looking for the one who has a magic bullet.
To make it worse, uninformed copywriters panic when clients tell them the copy didn’t get the results they hoped for. Instead, they should tell the client upfront that testing and tweaking to achieve maximum performance is not only necessary, but expected.
Misconception #3: “Lift” is Equal to “Conversion”
Frequently, I see people whose eyes pop out of their heads at the sound of a statement like, “The changes to our copy brought about a 13% lift.” The response if typically something like, “A 13% conversion rate?! I’d LOVE that!”
Let me explain. “Lift” is not the same as conversion rate nor does it indicate an increase in sales dollars. Lift is the increase in conversion rate. If you start with a 2% conversion rate and your testing achieves a 13% lift, your new conversion rate will be around 2.3%. See the difference? Not worth it? Hardly! Depending on how much you pull in with sales currently, .3% could be a significant improvement.
Whether you’re a client or a copywriter, it’s important to understand what to expect during – and after – the copywriting process. Otherwise, confusion just leads to disgruntled people (on both ends of the stick) who get frustrated instead of the success everybody is looking to obtain.
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