by I recently helped a client optimise their Teachable course page copy.
They were doing well in their course niche – project management exam coaching – but thought they could improve conversions from their flagship course page.
So I got to work optimising their existing sales copy.
The result?
A 25% increase in sales from paid ads, and a 10% overall conversion rate boost…
Happy days.
Now we’re testing some more copy changes on another of their courses…
Meanwhile, I thought I’d share a couple of the ‘quick wins’ we got from the project with you, so you can apply them to any sales copy you’re currently running.
(Hey, it’s summer, the World Cup is in full flow, and I feel like passing on some #goodvibes…
So consider these swipeable copy tactics a gift you can use on your own sales pages.)
First up, headlines:
My client’s headline was a pretty matter-of-fact description of the course.
It was simply the course title + its acronym, named after the certification exam itself. Kinda flat.
Yes, at least people knew they were in the right place if they were looking to prepare for this important project management exam…
But that was about all.
So we replaced it with a more dynamic, benefit-driven headline that told prospects what they’d get if they took the course, while still keeping the ad-friendly relevance that was important for SEO:
“Discover the reliable way to gain CAPM certification and kickstart your Project Management career”
Not gonna win any Pulitzers, but it’s descriptive and future-paces the prospect’s outcome.
You can use something similar if you need a reliable headline that scores high for relevance –
The cool thing here is that “reliably gain (whatever exam) certification” is their immediate benefit…
But “kickstart your Project Management career” is the ultimate benefit (our target market is mid-level professionals looking to move into the growing and lucrative PM field).
So a simple headline like this goes beyond just “what they get” when they take the course…
It links to what they really want and where they want to go, which is the whole point of the course.
Any certification is worthless unless you can use it to open doors or gain an advantage somewhere, right?
Next we promoted a crucial element into a new subhead:
Their 99.6% first time pass rate for course students.
Wowsers. Big number, and a bold claim…
A high % pass rate is hugely reassuring for prospects considering paying for a service to help them pass an exam. So it’s a great stat, and shows confidence in the course.
If you have a powerful proof element like this that shows your product or course works for others – and therefore is more likely to work for your prospect than not – get it up there early.
“Don’t bury the lead” as they say in the non-fake news industry.
I encouraged my client to get that stat involved in the argument earlier than their old version, and I’m convinced it made a big difference to the conversion rate rise.
Their original subhead was a very numbers-heavy list of course features…
How many hours of video tutorials are in the course, the amount of practice questions etc.
All impressive stuff, and we kept them in the form of a bullet list to show how comprehensive the course was.
But ultimately, the number that really matters to the target prospect is that pass rate.
So that’s what we led with, and the features moved further down where they could add more weight to a stronger argument.
It’s like baking a pie (no really, it is…)
The amount of videos, practice Qs etc are just the recipe’s ingredients. Whereas the taste of the pie is the enticingly-high pass rate.
(Mmm, smell those fresh-baked pass rate pies! Ok now I’m hungry.)
The other key component was the crossheads used throughout the course page…
A lot of digital course owners just stick with the default crossheads from their page builder, like “Course description”, “Features” and “Target Market”…
They’re missing out.
There’s tons of opportunity in using crossheads to keep a reader’s attention, and attract page skimmers who just want the facts, but positioned as benefits.
So we changed boring ol’ “Course description” into:
“Want to get CAPM certified at your first attempt?
Here’s how we can help”
Much more benefit-focused, and the question works because there’s no way our target prospect can answer “no”…
First time certification is exactly what they want, since it gets them nearer their ultimate goal of a new career much faster and cheaper than trial and error alone.
We also dumped “Target audience”. Why?
Well, although ‘behind the scenes’ here in marketing world, you and I might refer to our target audience or market, nobody reading copy wants to think of themselves as just “an audience” (much less as a target of anything)…
We’re individuals, and we like to be reminded of that. Call it our inner teenager, but it’s true.
And sales copy is always more effective when written to one person alone.
So we simply switched “Target audience” to “Ideal for…”
Because we still wanted readers to be able to easily identify themselves in the list of employment types our job could help.
Takeaways:
When you’re next writing or re-writing sales copy, here’s 3 simple ways you can optimise it and boost those conversions:
1 – Don’t just use a description of your product, course or service in the headline
Even if you don’t get super creative, leading with a relevant ‘ultimate benefit’ can make a huge difference to who reads beyond the headline and sees the rest of your message.
2 – Don’t bury the lead
If you have a great fact, stat or social proof that demonstrates your effectiveness, put it out there early.
People want reassurance, and if you can counter an objection like “does this actually work?” early on, you stand a better chance of making a sale later.
3 – Crossheads aren’t just there to split up the page – they’re powerful sales tools
Crossheads get read, so you can use them to guide your reader – especially those in a hurry – towards the essential parts of your message.
Ok, now go have some fun with your copy, make a few tweaks, and see if you can help more of your customers and clients with their problems.
Pass on those good vibes!
PS – looking for a conversion boost of your own?
Maybe I can help. Head here to get in touch, or just hit reply and tell Dr Pete where it hurts ; )
