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9 Insane Copywriting Examples for More Conversions

5 Min Read

Conversion copywriting is a key part of any website – from headlines and body copy through to CTAs, modal boxes, and buttons. Conversion copywriting is what gets your audience from a ‘maybe’ to a ‘yes’. We’ve curated nine examples of the most effective copywriting used to optimize conversions. Some of them are straightforward, some unconventional, some unapologetically honest, and most of them clever. However, what binds them together is that they are all highly effective in getting the user to take the desired action.

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1) Make it easy to say yes

Image Source: Squarespace

“Everything you need to grow online” is a strong promise Squarespace makes. Added to that is the slick-looking website on display and with zero financial risk – as no credit card is required. This makes for a very compelling proposition to at least test out the platform.

2) Make it difficult to say no

pop up on CrazyEgg's website
Image Source: CrazyEgg

Would you click on “No thanks, I treat all click behavior the same?” Well, you might if you were busy or simply not interested in heatmaps. But not before experiencing that feeling of missing out on something important.

Most modal boxes have a cross button at the top right which closes the box when clicked. But by removing that functionality and instead providing a link to close the box, visitors have to read what’s written there. And once they do, even those who have no knowledge of heatmaps are more likely to at least find out what is being talked about.

3) A Page Not Found is not the end of the world

Skype
Image Source: Skype

Every page on your website is an opportunity to delight website visitors, even when things go wrong. The ‘404-Page Not Found’ is no exception. 

404s have become cooler and more optimized than ever, and Skype’s 404 page stands out for its awesome copywriting. Firstly, their copy reassures the user in a friendly and clever way. But beyond that, the copy is useful – the navigation menu remains at the top of the page, and they smartly provide the most important links a lost visitor might need — Download page, Feature page, Support, and Homepage.

4) Make a bold promise

pop-up on the website of startupbros
Image Source: StartupBros

Move over Download, Sign Up, Enter, or Click Here, this call to action by StartupBros ups the stakes with a bold claim. While many could think of the CTA text — The best button you’ll ever click — as unabashedly confident or maybe even slightly arrogant, the text goes well with the brand image of StartupBros. Just remember, if you’re going to make bold claims, ensure you can back it up in the product or service your website provides. 

5) Making them confront a harsh decision

Quicksprout
Image Source: QuickSprout

Does your website have enough traffic? That’s a smart question, because what business owner in their right mind doesn’t want to increase their website traffic? Yet again, by giving the visitors this one way to close the box — by clicking on No, I have enough traffic — QuickSprout forces the user to imply that they don’t want more traffic if they select No. This makes clicking Yes the only logical option. In this way, the copy uses visitors’ psychological biases to increase the chance of a conversion. Low website traffic is a common pain point for most online businesses. The visitors will be lying to themselves if they click on that button. Thumbs up for this one.

Download Free: Conversion Rate Optimization Guide

6) A smart way to know where they are coming from

WebEngage
Image Source: WebEngage

WebEngage uses an extremely useful pop-up on its homepage that asks visitors what they searched for to land on their site. That’s a smart way to get some extremely insightful information from visitors.

What works as well is that the copy gets right to the point. WebEngage is straightforward and honest about what they want to know and also implies that the information will help the user by improving their offering. 

7) Get creative with CTAs

Woot
Image Source: Woot

If there was ever an award for best product descriptions, Woot would probably be among the top contenders. Their product copy is funny, clever, and rich in details, breaking away from the standard bland descriptions.

And when it comes to CTAs, they do away with the conventional ‘Buy Now’ and ‘Add to Carts’ and instead opt for “I want one”. Would it work for your business? Find that out through an A/B Test. And if you are just about looking at the screenshot above, read the write-up of the day as well (towards the right).

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8) Add a compliment to the value proposition

example of value proposition
Image Source: WiderFunnel

Want to get someone to subscribe to your newsletter or blog? Conveying the value proposition right in the headline is cool. That’s what everyone is doing. But WiderFunnel goes a step further and adds to the value proposition with a little ego boost for the visitor. Note how the word ‘Smart’ appears at all three places — the headline, the sub-head, and the CTA. And by saying You Totally Fit in Here, they are setting rather high mutual standards of intelligence.

A little compliment, after all, never hurt anybody.

9) Making an offer they can’t refuse

an example of pop-up on the website for Groove
Image source: Wunderkind

This Wunderkind modal box again plays on the fact that people will be reluctant to click on something they know is not true. Rather than just giving the option to close the box, this message cites a reason that most people will be uncomfortable agreeing with. But they go further, linking the conversion to multiple positive outcomes for the user including education, revenue increase, and financial independence from VCs.

Test your copy

These are some examples of highly intelligent copywriting that you can adapt to your website. But you need to figure out what is the right website copy for your audiences and business. What works for another company won’t necessarily work for you. Try A/B testing different CTAs, text, or headlines to see how copywriting can boost your conversions.

If you feel inspired, you might as well sign-up for a free trial of VWO and start testing right away.

Lastly, you can watch Rishi Rawat talk about conversion copywriting in the video below for some great insights on the subject.

Copywriting: An underestimated conversion influencer
Mohita Nagpal
Mohita Nagpal A lover of the written word, I plan to be the planet's first sit-down comedian. When I am not rethinking a misplaced comma, I write about conversion optimization and website usability. You can follow me @mohitanagpal

Comments (14)

  1. Hey guys, just wanted to chime in on the “hard to say no” CTA’s and say those are super annoying. I should add they might not be annoying if intelligence is built in to remove them after rejecting the offer or subscribing.

    I visit Neil Patel’s Quicksprout site all the time, and have already opted in to his offer, and yet that darn thing pops up every time and I have to click “no thanks, I’m not interested in traffic.”

  2. Not being afraid to step outside the norm can yield better results. Most of the examples you have pointed out immediately establishes a connection with the user by making it fun or pointing out a problem.

    I may just try some of these on my website.

    Cheers,

  3. Awesome examples. The woot example was a hoot! 😛

    Is there any alternative to bounce exchange that’ll allow us to make the modal as customizable as above?

    Because bounce start at $2999, something more than most people’s monthly income!!

  4. WOW that is nuts Amod!

    There are definitely some nice pop-up alternatives out there that won’t bankrupt you! Just Google around for WP Popup Plugins, preferably premium ones. Off the top of my head, Popup Ninja, Pippity, or OptinSkin would all be able to do it. There are some that are even intelligent as Chris referred to above.

    Good luck!

  5. The Crazyegg modal box actually made me angry. After banner blindness I now get modal box blindness. I automatically search for the close button. After I didn’t find it clicked on the “no thanks” link rather hard.

    I want to read the webpage first and then I decide what to do. And not vice versa. The popups like Webengage (will check them out) are so much better IMO.

  6. @beatrix

    That’s the next wave of blindness…. by then, we should probably have something that pops OUT OF THE SCREEN! 😀

  7. Regarding “Skype’s 404 page particularly stands out for its awesome copywriting,” I might agree… except for that awful-sounding “Although we’re not exactly sure what you’re looking for, here’s a few ideas:”

    Here *is* a few ideas?

    Especially for web copy, it should also be more compressed:

    “Although we’re not sure what you needed, here are some ideas:”

  8. Cool stuff and thank you for the tips. Professional content writing services are of a great essence and most of the marketing agencies have been understanding this. Great post, though!

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