CRO Minidegree Review — Week 3

This is the third post in the series of twelve posts where I am reviewing CXL Institute’s Conversion Rate Optimization Mini-degree, once every week. In this post, I will be covering a step-by-step process to conduct research for finding great conversion copies.

This review is a summary of a very comprehensive course by Momoko Price who specializes in writing conversion-focused product messaging and works at Kantan.io. Her module was one of the best so far I have gone through at CXL. She describes an 8-step process for getting the best copies for various pages. Here are those 8 steps:

1. Conduct a Copy Teardown
2. Message-Mining Basics
3. Message-Mining from your customers
4. Craft Effective Unique Value Propositions
5. Message Hierarchies
6. Getting a rough Frist Draft
7. Editing & Punching Up your copy
8. Formatting & Layout

For this post, I will be focusing on the first 4 steps only. You can check the full course here at CXL.

Ok, so let’s dive right in:

So, how do we really know if the copies on our important pages are good or not? We want to really understand if our copies include the fundamental conversion critical elements needed to make a compelling persuasive argument. And the challenge is to have a process for doing this right — in a repeatable, predictable way.

This section gives us a framework for doing copy teardowns correctly. Momoko has based this frame on 3 things:

Basis of Momoko Price’s Copy Teardown Framework

Let’s look at MEClab’s Conversion Equation:

C = 4M + 3V + 2(I-F) - 2A

This is not a strict mathematical equation but a representation of various things that go into improving the probability of conversion. This is how to read (and interpret) it:

C stands for probability of conversion. M is for motivation (intrinsic & extrinsic), V is clarity of the value proposition, F is for friction and I stands for the incentive to go through that friction. Finally, A stands for Anxiety. As a conversion optimizer, our job is to put elements that convey a unique and clear value proposition & increase user’s motivation. At the same time, we address all questions and anxieties a user might have. The idea is to join the conversation going on in our user’s head and help him/her make the decision.

To top it up, there are 6 (now 7) principles of persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini:

1. Social Proof
2. Authority
3. Liking
4. Scarcity/Urgency
5. Reciprocity
6. Commitment
7. Unity (us vs. them)

I won’t be going into detail about these principles for now. Details can be read here and here. These principles are fundamental to conversion optimization and are certainly a must-read for every marketer.

The third element in the framework is the principles of the pioneers of conversion copywriting — Claude Hopkins.

1. Hopkins’s Rule #1- Be Specific: When we do a specific claim wrt our offering, it is much more believable rather than generic statements.
2. Hopkins’s Rule #2- Offer Service: These are based on knowledge of human nature. The best ads ask no one to buy, they are based on service. They offer wanted information. They cite advantages to users.
3. Hopkins’s Rule #3 - Tell the Full Story: Our communication, however long or short, needs to convey the full story.
4. Hopkins’s Rule #4 - Be a Sales(wo)man: Our copy needs to pass a critical test. Imagine a salesperson saying the things in your copy to a prospect. Would it help him or her to sell the goods in person? If not, we need to rework.

Based on these principles, the course creator (Momoko Price) created an amazing framework for coming up with great copies. Let’s cover that in detail in the next post.

Happy Learning!

Yatin