This Copywriting Tactic Increases Conversions
Posted: March 28th, 2023, 1:12 pm
Here's a little copywriting tactic I recently tried for the first time, and it worked, so I thought I'd share it with anyone here who might be interested.
This is not a new tactic, I believe I first learned it from Dan Kennedy around 15 years ago, but I never actually split tested it myself until recently.
And if it keeps working it'll be one of those go-to tactics I'll use in marketing funnels, emails, sales pages, etc.
In fact, I'll try to squeeze it into every marketing campaign where it's applicable.
As the story goes...
There was a company that was selling music cassettes, remember those? (does anyone under 40 even know what a cassette is?) and when the ad copy went to print there was a typo in the copy that nobody noticed.
The first time they ran the ad it said “Put music in your life.”
But when they ran it the second time there was an "s" at the end of the verb, so it became “Puts music in your life.”
The addition of that one letter, a simple “S” skyrocketed the response for the ad. And from what I heard it was an increase of somewhere between 300% to 400% higher.
Why did it work?
Well, I have a theory why it works and I'll share the short version of that theory with you right now...
The psychology behind this phenomenon is that when the verb is not plural, it conveys the idea that you have to do the work.
So taking the example above, “Put music in your life” feels like something you need to physically do, and it requires effort.
But when we say “Puts music in your life” it sounds more like the product will do the work for you.
The product I was helping promote was in the prepper community. And the first headline I wrote said "Prepare for the coming apocalypse".
The second headline said "Prepares you for the coming apocalypse"
The second headline boosted stickiness on the page and, subsequently, conversion by nearly 200%
Just for the record, I thought the first headline would win by a landslide because, after working in this arena for many years, I've learned that most preppers fancy themselves as somewhat rugged, self sustaining individuals. (or at least they'd like to think they are) so I thought the physical act of taking care of themselves and their loved ones would have more appeal.
But of course my theories and speculations come from ego, and they fall by the wayside in the face of measurable truth.
On a side note: We also ran a question type headline that said "Are you prepared for the coming apocalypse?" and conversions dropped significantly.
Since that first test we tried using pluralized verbs a couple more times, with similar results. And I'm becoming more and more convinced that the power of this trigger makes a real difference.
And you can use it just about anywhere, for any niche...
For example, there’s a huge difference between saying "Melt 10 pounds of ugly fat in just 7 days" and "Melts 10 pounds of ugly fat in just 7 days".
The first one feels like something you do, and the second one feels like something the product does for you.
Or how about...
"Generate an extra $1,000 per week" compared to "This generates an extra $1,000 per week".
Which one feels like it takes less effort to you?
Of course we can't always use this tactic because sometimes it simply doesn't fit, and if you try to squeeze in a plural verb where it doesn't make sense it can make your copy sound choppy.
But if it makes sense, even if you have to restructure the sentence a little bit, the psychological impact of this one subtle nuance can make a huge difference in the response to your offer.
At least it's working for us. So it might be worth a try for you...
And that's the end of my post for today. I hope this trigger tactic helps you increase your conversions. Or better yet, I hope it "increases your conversions for you".
Onward and upward...
All the best,
Steven R.