Let’s say you’ve got a fantastic product or service, but you need help to get the word out. You’re not alone. Many businesses are in the same boat, trying to cut through the noise and grab their audience’s attention. That’s where killer ad copy comes in.

It’s not just about telling people what you offer. It’s also about crafting a message that resonates, persuades, and ultimately converts.

From understanding your audience to using “power words” that pack a punch, we’ll discuss all the tips and best practices for writing a winning ad copy.

1. Understand Your Audience:

The first step in creating your ad copy is to know who you’re targeting and what they’re looking for.

This helps you address your audience directly in the copy, tailor your message to their preferences, and create content that resonates with them.

Why is it so crucial?

Because people are more likely to respond to messages that resonate with their needs, desires, and pain points. It’s like telling a fisherman you’ve got the best worm when he’s looking for a lure. You need to know what bait to use.

Take Nike’s ads, for example.

They don’t just sell shoes—they sell a lifestyle. Their ads often tap into their audience’s aspirations and emotions, whether it’s the joy of running or the thrill of competition.

How do you go about understanding your target audience? Here are some tips:

• Start with demographics and psychographics. Dive into demographic data, but continue. Look into psychographics—what are their values, interests, and lifestyles? Tools like Google Analytics, social media insights, and customer surveys can be your best friends here.

• Look at your current customers. Your existing customers can provide insights into your target audience. Analyze their purchase history, customer feedback, and engagement patterns to understand who they are and what they like about your products or services.

• Create customer personas. Compile your research into customer personas—detailed profiles of your ideal customers. Personas should include demographic and psychographic information and outline pain points, challenges, and how your product or service fits into their lives.

• Stay abreast of industry trends. Stay up to date with industry trends and research that might affect your audience’s preferences and behaviors. This can help you anticipate changes and adapt your messaging accordingly.

• Use A/B testing. Test different versions of your ad copy with segments of your audience to see what resonates best. Use the insights from these tests to refine your messaging.

Remember, empathize with Your Audience. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and understand their emotions, challenges, and desires. This empathy will help you create more authentic and relatable ad copy.

2. Craft a Strong Headline

Statistics suggest that while 8 out of 10 people read headline copy, only 2 out of 10 visitors will read the rest.

This shows how important it is to create a strong headline for your ad copy. Your headline should grab attention and make a promise or offer that compels the reader to keep reading.

A strong headline doesn’t mean getting carried away and making it two-sentence long. The headline should be long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep things interesting.

A good rule of thumb is to keep your headline to a maximum of 30 characters to ensure it’s easily digestible at a glance.

At the same time, make sure your headline makes a strong and decisive statement. For example, Dollar Shave Club’s famous headline, “Shave Time. Shave Money,” promises convenience and savings.

Using numbers or statistics can also help you add credibility to your ad copy. For example, a headline like “Join 1 Million Satisfied Customers” instantly adds credibility and appeal.

That’s not all. Here are some more quick tips to help you craft a strong headline for your ad copy:

• Ask a Question: Questions are the spark of curiosity. For example, headlines like “Tired of Overpaying for Your Phone Bill?” directly address a common pain point, encouraging readers to seek a solution.

• Incorporate Emotional Triggers: Emotions drive action. Use emotional triggers that align with your brand and audience. For example, a headline like “Transform Your Home into a Sanctuary of Comfort” appeals to the desire for a peaceful living space.

• Urgency: Creating a sense of urgency can prompt immediate action. For example, use phrases like “Limited Time Offer” or “Act Now” to encourage your target audience to take immediate action.

• Highlight what sets you apart: If your product is the first of its kind, mention that in the headline.

3. Highlight Benefits, Not Just Features

When writing ad copy, it’s easy to fall into the trap of listing all the cool features of your product or service.

Your audience doesn’t want a tech manual or to hear how great your product is—they want to know what’s in it for them.

Features are the characteristics of your product or service, like a 10-hour battery life in a laptop or organic ingredients in skincare.

However, benefits are the outcomes or advantages of those features, like uninterrupted work or healthier, glowing skin.

4. Use Clear and Concise Language

Avoiding jargon and keeping your copy straightforward will help you communicate your message more effectively. Your target audience will be able to understand your message more efficiently, reducing the likelihood of confusion or misinterpretation.

You can take inspiration from Apple’s ad copies—known for their minimalist, short, impactful sentences.

Check out how Apple’s headline is short and sweet. It still gets the main point across and grabs your attention with solid, snappy sentences.

Want to write a clear and concise ad copy that effectively communicates your message like Apple? Here are some tips:

• Focus on Key Benefits: Highlight the most important benefits of your product or service. For example, a skincare brand might emphasize “Instant Hydration” rather than listing all the ingredients.

• Use Simple Language: Avoid jargon or complex vocabulary. For instance, instead of saying, “Our product is an amalgamation of various nutrients,” you could say, “Our product is packed with essential nutrients.”

• Be Specific: Vague statements won’t resonate with your audience. Instead of saying, “Our software improves productivity,” specify, “Our software cuts your workload by 50%.”

5. Include a Clear Call to Action (CTA)

A Call to Action (CTA) is essential to your ad copy.

It’s the part of your message that tells your audience exactly what you want them to do next—whether clicking a link, signing up for a newsletter, or purchasing.

Again, you might want to emulate Apple’s approach to CTAs in their ad and website copy.

They use specific, visible, and customer-oriented CTAs that guide readers to learn more about the product with clear links and small arrows in a standout color.

Notice how Apple also uses action-oriented language that leaves no room for ambiguity. Instead of just saying, “Learn more, the CTA says, “Learn more about the design of iPhone 5.”

This tells your audience precisely what action you want them to take and what they can expect when they click on the CTA.

You can also create a sense of urgency using phrases like “Limited time offer” or “Act now.” They’ll help you encourage your audience to take immediate action.

Here are some more best practices for creating a winning CTA for your ad copy:

• Keep it Short and Sweet: Your CTA should be concise and easily understood. Avoid long phrases that might confuse your audience.

• Make it Stand Out: Use design elements like contrasting colors, bold text, or buttons to make your CTA pop. You want it to be the most noticeable part of your ad.

• Align with Your Goal: Ensure your CTA aligns with your ad’s goal. If you’re promoting a new product, your CTA might be “Buy now.” If you want to generate leads, it might be “Download our guide.”

• Test Different CTAs: Experiment with different CTAs to see what works best for your audience. A/B testing can help you determine which CTA leads to higher conversion rates.

6. Use Power Words

The choice of words can drastically affect how your audience will react to the ad copy.

Power words are specific words or phrases that trigger an emotional or psychological response, making them incredibly useful in advertising. They can create a sense of urgency, evoke curiosity, or offer exclusivity, prompting the reader to take action.

Here are some examples of “power words” in an ad copy:

• Urgency: “Hurry,” “Instant,” “Now,” “Limited-time offer”
• Curiosity: “Secret,” “Unveiled,” “Exclusive,” “Behind the scenes”
• Value: “Free,” “Save,” “Discount,” “Bonus”
• Trust: “Proven,” “Guaranteed,” “Endorsed,” “No-risk”
• Emotion: “Amazing,” “Discover,” “Unlock,” “Empower”

Aside from invoking urgency, action-oriented power words like “discover” or “unlock” can also prompt users to take the next step.

However, we suggest using power words sparingly—overuse might make your ad copy feel spammy or insincere.

And don’t just use them for no rhyme or reason. Your power words should align with your brand’s tone and personality. At the same time, they should be relevant to your product, service, or offer.

For example, consider this ad copy by Indeed, a popular job search platform.

In one of their Facebook ads targeting recent college graduates, they use words like “Opportunity,” “Presents,” and “Congratulates” to evoke a sense of excitement and achievement.

They don’t overdo the usage; the words also directly align with their platform and offerings.

7. Test and Optimize

Once you’ve crafted your ad copy, the work doesn’t stop there.

You must continually test and optimize your ad copy to ensure it performs as intended.

The most common testing, also called A/B testing, involves creating two versions of your ad (A and B) with one varying element, such as the headline or CTA.

By showing these ads to similar audiences, you can see which version performs better and use that insight to improve your copy.

For example, let’s say you’re running ads for a fitness app. You could test two different headlines:

• Version A: “Get Fit in Just 10 Minutes a Day”
• Version B: “Transform Your Body with Our Quick Workouts”

If Version B has a higher click-through rate, you’ll know that focusing on “transformation” and “quick workouts” resonates more with your audience.

The best part? You can use modern-day tools to make this process a breeze for you.

For example, you can use FigPii—a powerful conversion optimization tool to improve your ad copy and website experience.

FigPii offers features like heatmaps, session recordings, and A/B testing to understand how users engage with your ads and landing pages. Analyzing this data lets you make informed decisions to refine your ad copy and improve conversion rates.

Then, you have Google Analytics to see how users interact with your ads. Look at metrics like click-through, conversion, and bounce rates to determine how well your copy performs.

The trends and customer expectations are constantly evolving, so don’t just stop after one test. Regularly review and update your ad copy. Keep an eye on the latest trends and best practices, and experiment with new approaches.

Wrapping It Up with Winning Ad Copy!

Crafting a compelling ad copy involves striking a balance between being informative and persuasive. Following these tips can create ad copy that captures attention and drives action.

Remember, the key is to keep testing and refining your message. Stay in tune with your audience, keep an eye on the trends, and don’t be afraid to shake things up. So, give these strategies a shot, and watch your ads come to life!

The post Tips and Best Practices for Writing Better Ad Copy appeared first on Invesp.

The post 6 DTC eCommerce Websites with Killer Value Propositions appeared first on Invesp.

For an eCommerce site, the product page is the most important page, and the product description is the most important element within it.

This is where we convince and convert a new buyer.

For as long as I’ve been in the marketing trenches I’ve NEVER thought about testing a product page copy.

The reason?

Well, you know– there are too many product pages. It’s overwhelming.

But… a few weeks ago, I changed my mind.

A friend – Rishi Rawat from Frictionless Commerce – who specializes in fixing product pages for eCommerce sites convinced me into doing this.

So, we thought of doing a webinar.

But I brushed off the idea because I think most webinars are boring.

So, Rishi, myself, and a whole bunch of people met to answer a few questions:

“If we do this, how do we ensure attendees walk away with incredible insights? Are we being too ambitious?”

50-minute knowledge bomb session– no filler, no fluff.

After 2 hours of back and forth we had a consensus:

Full disclosure: the beloved product page format has been around 18+ years. Expect some hole poking. Expect some controversy. Expect to have your brain blown.

“Khalid, if the value is so high why a free webinar?”

Because we can. At Invesp sharing is a core value.

In this webinar, we share a radical product page idea. It’ll make you uncomfortable but also more money. None of your competitors are doing it.

If you’re looking for a competitive edge, this is a session to watch:

You might need to bring your notepad and take note of:

1. A radical product page idea, that will make you uncomfortable but also more money.
2. How to convince a new buyer using the power of words.
3. How to be concise, credible, and engaging in your product descriptions.

Make sure you run a test on every change you make to see just how much your performance is improving. Got any questions about the idea we’ve given here? Let me know in the comments section.

The post The Mighty Product Page: Rethinking Product Descriptions appeared first on Invesp.

Yes, the digital marketing space is jam-packed with content.

Relying on SEO for traffic might just be one way of shooting yourself in the foot.

Did you just ask, why?

Well, making your content rank is getting harder than ever before – and even if you do rank, Google can change the rules anytime and you’ll be back on square one.

The secret ingredient to a successful content marketing strategy is designing a CONTENT MARKETING ENGINE.

In this session, Ross Simmonds,  Founder of Foundation Marketing, describes content as the foundation of culture and the internet.

He goes on to define a Content Marketing Engine as the process of both the creation and distribution of any type of content –blog posts, webinars, podcasts, and more.

Here is a video recording of this whole session:

Session duration: 70 minutes

Key takeaways of this session:

In order to make great content you need to optimize your content portfolio using the four Rs: REMIX, REVISE, REMOVE, and REDIRECT.

• If the content generates x # of backlinks or traffic and needs work, revise it.
• If the content generates x # of backlinks or traffic and doesn’t need to be revised, redirect it.
• If the content doesn’t generate x # of backlinks or traffic but is still valuable, republish it.
• If the content doesn’t generate x # of backlinks or traffic but isn’t valuable, remove it.

Pieces of content that generate tons of backlinks are tools, definitions, stats, and research.

The first part of a Content Engine: Creation

As a brand, you shouldn’t limit your own content, its okay to get inspirations from what other industries and brands are doing.

If you already have existing content, don’t let it get buried by new pieces of content that you are creating. Reverse engineer early success from your existing pieces of content.

Google is changing the way we view and receive information– Google is becoming the destination. To combat this, create better content by taking a page out of Google’s playbook where you look at content that might exist on the Wikipedia website and remix it.

If you reverse engineer Wikipedia pages and create an amazing and appealing version of Wikipedia content, you can outrank it. Some brands have actually taken the entire Wikipedia page and turned it into a landing page:

Bring old content back with a modern touch (revise), you can update the date of a post even without making content updates if the topic is still relevant.

The 2nd part of a Content Engine: Distribution

The lifecycle of your content begins when you press publish.

The next thing that follows is distribution. The only way you will win in a crowded content marketing is to have an organic content distribution strategy.

With ad costs up, limited budget, and SERP features, content distribution is key.

A few easy ways to distribute your content is to:

• Reshare: followers change, don’t be afraid to reshare past posts
• Repost: content to new places and new niche audiences such as Facebook Groups and Subreddits

If the content isn’t resonating well with your site, republish it as a guest blog on other sites.

Don’t be afraid to remix content into assets and experiment.

Disney created a bunch of flops, but we always remember the hits!

So, If you would like to be notified about our free-training sessions like this one, please join our community. You need never miss an opportunity to ask us any marketing questions during live sessions.

The post Designing A Content Engine: How To Create & Distribute To Drive Results appeared first on Invesp.

How many of you treat emails as your products?

I’m guessing, a few… 

Just like the product you sell, welcome emails have to satisfy the customer’s needs or wants. 

Your new subscribers have to see value in the first email you send them from the word go.

That’s how you get them hooked. 

Considering that 57.7% of marketers already send out welcome emails too, what can you do to make yours stand out from the noise?

The post Using Jobs To Be Done Framework to Write Welcome Emails appeared first on Invesp.

The post 11 Customer Service Psychology Secrets that go Down the Funnel, Not Down the Drain appeared first on Invesp.

The post How To Connect With Users Emotionally appeared first on Invesp.

The post The Ultimate Guide to Persuasive Online Copywriting appeared first on Invesp.

Content marketers see the world differently—they want their content to be shared far and wide, allowing no form to hinder it.

On the other hand, demand-generation-focused marketers believe that content such as webinars, white papers, case studies, analyst reports, or information not available anywhere else for FREE should be GATED.

Now:

Whether you gate your content or not, it usually depends on:

1. The quality of leads you need
2. How widely do you want your content to be shared or consumed

In this post, we’re going to dive deep into the pros and cons of each approach and share insights to improve your process, regardless of which route you decide to take.

But before we delve in, there are a couple of important points we should cover:

• Content and the buyer’s journey
• The content’s purpose, promotion, and value

Content and the buyer’s journey

Modern marketers have learned that consumers advance through a three-step process called ‘the buyer’s journey.’

1. The awareness stage

At this stage, prospects know they have a problem.

But they don’t know much about your business. Useful content for this stage includes blogs, infographics, podcasts, videos, case studies, and white papers.

2. The consideration stage

During this stage, prospects are beginning to see your brand as an industry authority and a potential solution to their problem.

Content for this stage includes webinars, ebooks, free courses, and software downloads.

3. The decision stage

At this stage, prospects make the purchase decision.

Content offers for this stage include free consultations, product demos/offers, and free trials.

Here’s the kicker:

It doesn’t matter what stage you are in; some readers will still think content gating is annoying.

As Thrive Themes co-founder Shane Melaugh puts it:

“Some prospects will think any kind of lock or any kind of barrier (such as an opt-in) is annoying. But from my testing, a shared lock will annoy about 2% of visitors and increase social shares by about 40x. Decent trade-off.”

Moreover:

How does the buyer’s journey impact the content on your website?

During the early stages of the buying cycle…

Prospects in the earlier stages have lower commitment and a higher tendency to abandon forms than those in later stages.

One way to stand out is to appear transparent and courteous immediately.

In other words:

At this stage, giving away your content for FREE can improve your brand’s visibility, enhance your credibility, and more.

———————————————-

The content’s purpose, promotion, and value

Purpose:

What is the content’s goal or purpose?

For example, if the goal is to encourage inbound links, hiding that content behind forms may hinder you, since the gate presents a barrier to consumption.

Promotion:

Along with the goal, consider how you’ll be promoting the content.

For example, if the goal of the content is to encourage sharing via social networks, infographics or in-depth blog posts/articles work nicely since you’ll give it away for FREE.

However, if the goal of the content is to generate leads and grow your email list, then gated ebooks and cheat sheets would be a better fit.

Value:

When visitors see an offer, they assess its value. How much currency is it worth? Is it worth an email address and name? Phone number? Is the content worth filling out a form and sharing information?

Now that we agree on some of the essential concepts, let’s jump into different considerations around hiding content behind forms or giving content for free…

When, Why, and Whether To Hide Content Behind Forms

For starters:

Let’s agree on a common definition of what it means when we say, GATED content

To gate means you require specific information from the user, usually via a form, in exchange for access to a specific piece of content.

Examples of content to gate include [but are not limited to] books, webinars, checklists, cheat sheets, email series, and more.

Unsurprisingly, most people are willing to give or share their personal information when they perceive your content as valuable and unique.

When done well, gating content can benefit both prospects and business owners.

For example, it’s appropriate to gate high-value content such as research papers, webinars, training, or workshops…

Similarly, it’s important to keep some of your best content open and discoverable.

Now, the customer experience is paramount in today’s business.

Oddly enough…

One of the most compelling arguments against content gating is that it creates a suboptimal experience.

As Mike Weir puts it [Vertical director – LinkedIn]

“You may get the lead, but maybe the prospect isn’t ready to buy, get emails, calls,s or sales pitches. We as marketers have to be more scientific about distinguishing between the people who are ready for emails and calls and the people we might be alienating with it.”

So get this:

Before hiding your content behind forms…

Begin with the ‘END’ in mind:

By asking yourself these four questions…

Every piece of content should be created with a specific stage of the sales funnel in mind.

For example, content such as articles and blog posts should not be gated if your main goals are to establish stronger thought leadership, increase site traffic, and improve SEO.

However, as you move towards the bottom of the funnel, it becomes more appropriate to gate content such as webinars, cheat sheets, and more…

Second, before gating content, ask yourself:

Is this content available anywhere else for free?

Get to know your competitors to make sure they aren’t giving away the same content without a form…

Or worse – gating content on one of your channels while making it available without a form on another channel you own.

Third, before hiding any piece of content, ask yourself:

Is this content valuable enough?

It’s hard to quantify value based solely on a document’s length or the time spent creating it.

The mistake most businesses make is gating content that is not significant enough to prompt prospects to fill out the form.

Fourth, how do you plan to use the information you receive?

Hiding your content behind long, drawn-out forms is a sure way to scare people away.

You want to avoid them at all costs unless capturing your audience’s information is one of your main goals…

We can all agree that shorter forms have higher conversion rates than longer forms.

Lastly, before hiding any piece of content behind forms…

You should have a robust lead-nurturing program in place to leverage that lead data.

The benefits of hiding your content behind forms

By now, you’ll have realized that creating effective gated content is essential for building your email list and growing your community.

It allows you to receive valuable information about your prospects…

And hopefully, a line of communication from which you can build a meaningful relationship in the future.

Hiding your content behind forms helps you:

1. Capture more leads

The overall objective of content marketing is to attract more prospective visitors to your website.

However, it will be fruitless if you do not convert your visitors into potential buyers.

Now, gating your content will help you capture valuable lead information, which enables you to nurture them into a sale with onboarding strategies such as email, remarketing, et.c

2. Get information about who specifically accessed the content

Granted, some of this information could be fake.

Nonetheless, you will still get enough information from people who found your ungated content valuable.

3. Boost perceived value

Psychologically, we value things we’ve had to work harder to get, and for that reason, people who put in the effort to get the content may view the report itself as more valuable and useful.

4. Sales outreach to those who accessed the content may be easier and more effective

Since you collected a lot of information from those people who accessed the content, it is easier and more effective to offer your products or services later on in the sales funnel.

Unfortunately:

Every sweet has its sour…

Hiding your content behind forms does come with some drawbacks you should be aware of…

The drawbacks of hiding your content behind forms

1. Smaller audience potential

It’s hard to get your landing page [where your content is gated] in front of people, let alone make them fill out form fields.  

Therefore, when your content is gated behind a form, fewer people will consume it.

2. Harder to earn links/amplification

One of the hardest-to-swallow drawbacks of gated content is this: it’s harder to earn links and amplification of your content since people generally do not link to a page like this:

3. May leave negative brand perceptions

For some people, gated content leaves a very bad taste in their mouth.

It could be about whether the content was worth it after they filled out the form.

It could be about the outreach that happens to them after they fill out the form, or simply that their interest was in getting the information, not starting a sales conversation, duh!

4. Loss of SEO benefits

Gated content does not get links or engagement.

As a result, it loses a bunch of SEO benefits, such as increased site traffic, more indexed content, lower bounce rates, and a stronger thought leadership position.

When, Why, and Whether To Give Content Away

Let’s face it.

Most business owners struggle to know whether they’re giving away too much free content to their audience.

There’s no doubt that when you provide your audience with valuable free content, there’s always a higher level of content they’ll be willing to pay for.

As Nathalie Lussier [Ambitionally co-founder] puts it:

“The higher-value stuff you can give away, the more people will see your generosity and want to buy from you. This happens through the built-in human need to reciprocate. When someone is nice to us, we want to be nice to them.”

Examples of content to give away for FREE include [but not limited to]

• Articles/Blog posts
• Case studies
• FAQs
• Infographics
• Product videos/descriptions
• Podcasts

The benefits of giving your content away for FREE

1. Ability to drive traffic from all social channels

Free content is inherently more shareable than content that’s hidden behind forms. Creating high-quality content and encouraging people to share it freely can significantly increase the chances of connecting with a sizable pool of potential customers.

Social, search, word of mouth, email- whatever it is. You can drive a lot more people here.

2. Ability to retarget and remarket to a larger future audience

Giving away content for free is detrimental only when the content marketing strategy isn’t integrated with the business’s overall sales strategy.

In general, free content should be seamlessly tied to paid content or products later in the buyer’s journey.

3. Boost your search engine visibility

Giving away your content for free may get you links, engagement, and a bunch of SEO benefits, such as increased site traffic, more indexed content, and establishing thought leadership.

Again, every good has its evil… Giving away your best content for free does have some drawbacks…

And here they go:

The drawbacks of giving your content away for FREE

1. Prospects might become used to getting everything for free

If your audience is comprised solely of people who expect you to give them everything for free, when you try using that list to generate some actual revenue, you’re going to get a very poor response.

2. Giving your best stuff for free attracts people looking for handouts

Sometimes it’s smart to hold a little something back in your marketing…

…to tease and fascinate the reader, to seduce them with a bit of mystery, rather than giving everything away.

3. Hard to convert most visits that come to open access content into leads

It might be hard, or even impossible, to convert many or most of the visits to open-access content into leads.

As Rand Fishkin [Moz] had this say:

“It’s just the case that people who are going to consume that content may never give you information that will allow you to follow up or reach out to them.”

Final Thoughts

Finding the right moment to gate content is important.

Determine where users are in the funnel and tailor your communication to their stage and level of commitment.

Provide stellar content behind gates to demonstrate the value of your offering and prove your worth before asking for something in return.

Furthermore, customers today can quickly discern the difference between promotional content that’s all about pushing your products and services — and content that reaches the very late stages of the buying cycle.

Therefore, once they trust you with their contact information, use it respectfully. Continue to nurture the relationship, provide incredible value, and make it worthwhile.  

The question remains: To gate, or not to gate?

Back to you – What’s your content gating strategy? How often do you gate your content?

Let us know in the comment section below…

We’d love to hear your thoughts!

The post Demand Generation: When to Hide Content Behind Forms and When to Give Content Away appeared first on Invesp.

“The more information you’re advertising, the more persuasive it will be,” David Ogilvy said it best.

The state of advertising and marketing products online has undergone a drastic change compared to the 60s and 70s. Now, companies online want to present quick information, make sales, and increase revenue.

So, can e-commerce stores nowadays benefit from “more information” to close more sales? Should they not limit themselves only to dry product descriptions?

The fast-paced, impatient world we now live in has pushed most companies to display only the most relevant information on a given page:

• a manufacturer’s description;
• a highlighted call to action button;
• discounts

But sometimes, we need to take a breath and look at what the state of selling online has become.

The reality is that companies continuing to grow and expand online have brand recognition that gives them an edge; brand is what makes your company stand out among your competitors.

To survive this fast-paced world, smaller companies need to go beyond just selling and aim at building their own brand and a loyal base of brand ambassadors. This specific loyalty is one of the most challenging stages of the buying process to establish.

You want customers that will share and chat about your product and service. Providing your customers with meaningful experiences, i.e., such experiences that they have never undergone before, created by your brand can help you find and nurture your brand evangelists.

Connecting with a base of clients in personalized, emotional ways is not easy. But it is as doable as it is inspiring for both brand and customers. Multiple forms of communication, both verbal and non-verbal, can take up the challenge of summarizing and delivering memorable branded experiences on the product page.

Of course, in an online environment, verbal forms stand out.

Words are powerful. Copy is one of the three main components to optimize on a page, along with the placement and the design of elements. Mistakenly, many e-commerce conversion optimization projects focus on design and placement, leaving copy as the last thing on the list (if it even makes the list).

From customers’ first impressions to becoming brand evangelists, they go through a five-stage journey of experiences at motivational, physical, intellectual, emotional, and transformational levels, as this recent research and survey highlighted. Check below how copy on product pages can convey each one of these levels:

1. Motivational level

At this pre-experience stage, future customers meet your brand for the first time. Those who will become ambassadors leave with a sense of belonging, which is always recalled positively.

This first encounter might happen offline, when people see one of your products or hear someone praising your services. If the first contact happens online, on a product page, not only images or other visuals, but also your copy should convey individuality and contrast, something that the customer will not find anywhere else.

Imagine you are looking for vintage-style dresses online, and search suggests ModCloth as one of the options.

You browse the size and see that, at ModCloth, the titles of their categories already indicate individuality. One of the sections is called “Unique Dresses”:

You browse further and see that each unique dress is given an aura of exclusivity by being assigned a detailed name. For instance, the one below is called “Ineffable Elegance A-Line Dress.” Well, the customer can find regular dresses anywhere, while this exact pompous dress can only be found at ModCloth. These titles alone motivate customers to connect with the brand.

To motivate the customer further, the description of the dress compliments the good taste of the client viewing the item:

“Your sense of style is indescribably lovely, so we’re not surprised that you’ve added this chic navy dress to your wardrobe! Part of our ModCloth namesake label, this striking A-line features a chrysanthemum-printed faille fabric with a sheen that almost glows in the light, plus princess seams, pockets, and full skirt, leaving everyone positively speechless with its grace!”

2. Physical level

On the stage of experiencing your brand, ambassadors cherish the multi-sensory perceptions they go through in different contexts.

If you have a brick-and-mortar store as well as an online store, the opportunities to create consistent, enjoyable multisensory experiences are far greater. Take Starbucks, for example: the smell, the music, the sound of coffee machines, cozy sofas, the right colors. They know how to translate all the ambiance to their product pages, with descriptions as “our holiday coffees are bursting with notes of the season”, that strengthen their brand as well as the sensory perceptions of customers.

If your store is only online, you can rely on copy, images, and videos to convey multisensory perceptions related to your products and brand.

To reinvent men’s sportswear so women feel beautiful as they adopt a powerful, active lifestyle, Sweaty Betty showcases products with videos, so customers can better visualize the piece of clothing in action. The videos are accompanied by descriptions that show customers the sensations and perceptions of wearing the product, geared for fitness activities.

The description relies on adjectives and adverbs to relate the product to multisensory perceptions, as “in and out of the studio,” “super soft,” “high stretch,” “comfortable,” “flattering,” and “sweat-wicking”:

“In a new cropped length, the Chandrasana 7/8 Leggings look amazing in and out of the studio. Fully opaque in both Scandi style print and black side-out, the super soft interlock knit fabric is high-stretch and comfortable, while flattering style lines sculpt the silhouette.

• High-stretch, sweat-wicking fabric feels soft and comfortable
• Fully opaque for safe downward dogs
• Power mesh panels and Scandinavian style print transcend the studio
• Model wears size S and is 178cm/5’10” tall

3. Intellectual level

You offer intellectual experiences to your customer when you provide them opportunities for learning, thinking, applying knowledge and forming opinions.

Excellent copy is a pillar of intellectual quality across a diversity of materials that may explain the production process, the origin of the brand, or unique information about products.

If this all sounds like too much to add to product pages, you can apply the component of authenticity to endow your brand with perceptions of heritage, nostalgia, cultural symbolism, sincerity, craftsmanship, quality commitment, and design consistency.

At Levi’s, as they are a renowned brand, they can claim, “We invented the blue jean.

And we’re reinventing what it means to wear them”,their product descriptions take advantage of the cultural symbolism of their jeans, associated with quality and consistency in design:

Levi’s first describes the brand as “everywhere” and points out this piece is an innovation the customer should try because: 1) they know what they are talking about; 2) other women everywhere approved it. They reinforce the authenticity of the brand:

Women everywhere have fallen in love. Now it’s your turn. These innovative styles flatter, hold your shape, and make you feel amazing. Our 711 Skinny sits just below the curve of your waist for a universally comfortable fit, and the skinny leg adapts to any style you choose. This one is speckled with faint spots of paint.

4. Emotional level

To reach the emotional level with your brand evangelists, tell them stories. Loads of stories.

Stories convey strong emotions and meaning, adding significance and content to the brand.

Peugeot’s website brought storytelling up a notch.

Help your customer develop their stories with your brand. This is enriching for both of you. Social media can help you out with that. Or you can integrate these stories to your products and website, as Hiut Denim does.

With the motto “Do one thing well” at their homepage, Hiut Denim already conveys the idea that the customer can create a story with their brand. Their product pages tell stories as well:

Their product description shapes a story of effort, persistence, and dedication to the product. This enriches both the product and the brand:

“Phew. These have taken 18 months to develop. Finding a stretch denim that still looks like authentic denim has taken us all around the world in search of that. Worth it. But not easy.”

5. Transformational level

At this last stage, your brand might be able to provide a personal transformation for your customers, either in a physical state, a state of mind or a lifestyle. This change comes from positive, compelling experiences.

Interaction stands out in your plan of connecting to customers at this level. Interaction is a successful, ongoing, and consistent communication between your brand and your clients that offers individuality, multisensory experiences, authenticity, and stories.

In product pages, your copy might bring this interaction to the surface, reinforcing both a lifestyle and a state of mind, as The Handmade Home does:

The Handmade Home turned into a studio producing and selling clothing and home décor after becoming a successful lifestyle and décor blog. They first built interaction with readers, and then became a brand for an online store. This way, their followers already know the authors’ interest in fonts, which is evidenced by a link to the posts about fonts in the product description. They paired the description with a picture of one of the authors wearing the T-shirt, in her kitchen (which is part of their home DIY blog posts as well). The whole product page reminds customers of previous interactions:

“If Comic Sans has always made you cry, you totally relate to our font humor here, and you think Helvetica is just about the most perfect font ever created… this shirt is most definitely for you.

 Love the design? You’ll love sporting the look!

 A versatile, adorable, soft, and comfy tee in a classic style.

 Check back often, as we’re constantly adding new products and options!”

Next steps

When working on your product pages, remember that brand evangelists feel the experiences with their brands were made just for them, as individually tailored to strengthen bonds.

The components of individuality, multisensory perception, authenticity, story, and interaction in brands’ messages create the preconditions for customers’ meaningful experiences. All five elements can take part in all five levels of the journey to becoming ambassadors.

When working on your product pages, remember that brand evangelists feel their experiences with your brand were made just for them, individually tailored to strengthen bonds.

 If you would like to set a plan for the next steps on fine-tuning your product pages, check our article on How to Write Web Copy that Sells.

If you are looking for straightforward ways to improve copy, check NN/g’s 3 Tips for Better Product Descriptions on Websites.

If you prefer to dig deeper into refining your e-commerce product page effectiveness, check out our webinar on Getting 2x More Conversions from Product Pages on our YouTube channel.

The post A Guide To Writing Product Page Copy That Creates A Memorable Brand Experience appeared first on Invesp.