At least one organization has quite legitimately come up with a headline similar to the one I used here to attract eletter/marketing sign-ups. You see the catchy headline, and then — to discover the deadly words — you need to sign up with your email address.
It’s a fair marketing approach, but I don’t rush to give away my email address, and generally can find what I need by searching a bit with Google. Although I can’t be absolutely sure the words are the same, this piece from the Brax.io blog seems to match the concept. (Brax may be a useful service if you manage a large volume of paid online advertising, though I haven’t tested it personally.)
Here’s the fundamental advice, followed by the words (though I’ll let you go to source for details about most of them).
Not all words are created equal. So when it comes to advertising, conversions, and branded content words could mean all the difference. So what words drive readers away and which words should you be using instead? Here are seven conversion-sabotaging words you need to avoid at all costs.
- Submit
Submit is derived from the word submission, and therein lies the problem.
It has a negative connotation of being inferior, yielding, and nobody wants to feel like they?re giving up anything especially when you?re already asking for any personal information like an email or name. In a study by Dan Zarella from HubSpot, he found that the call to action ?submit? had a lower conversion rate and download or register were even worse. - Buy Now
Don?t remind people they need to give you money.
Use words that will compliment your page and add a personalized touch. - Spam
Even saying you won?t spam someone?s email makes them less likely to give you their email.
A test from Michael Aagaard from Unbounce found that the line ?100% Privacy ? We will never spam you? in the form field backfired by over 18%. - We
While it may seem harmless to refer to yourself as ?we,? it seems people don?t care as much about you and want to know if you can help them be a ?better version of themselves.? - Free Download
Write more personalized copy for better conversions.
?iMPACT?s study on their text button doubled their conversions when they changed the button from ?Free Download? to ?Show me how to attract more customers.? - Your (in call to actions)
Never use ?your? in the call to actions.
Michael Aagaard also discovered through A/B Testing that switching to the first person in the call to actions had a difference of 25% in conversions.
Just switching ?your? free trial with ?my? free trial had a 90% increase in click through rate when it comes to a benefit the user will receive. - Save Time & Money
The bane of all cliche phrases is ?save time and money.?
You?ve probably seen this catchphrase hundreds of times in your lifetime. And Joanna Wiebe from CopyHackers has finally written the reason why everyone should stop using it.
