In e-commerce, conversions refer to website users that are also paying customers. Improving the conversion rate of your website is crucial as you end up with more website traffic and, as a result, higher sales. A good headline grabs the attention of the reader and retains it until they continue reading an article, blog post, or any other kind of written content on a website. Getting past the headline and actually reading the article is quite rare, as only 8 in 10 readers actually do this. This is why you need to write an attractive headline that gives readers a reason to continue reading your article. Here’s how you can improve conversions with your headlines:
The easiest way to communicate effectively with a reader is by writing in clear language. Your tone doesn’t have to be overly dramatic or really complicated for people to understand that you have something of value to offer them. Simple language helps you make your point in a more effective manner, as readers will not get stuck unnecessarily and will get to the message fast. Stay away from technical language that can be avoided, and stick to a general writing style.
Addressing your reader directly is always a good plan as you get to connect with them. They are reading what you’ve written, most likely to get a question answered, or a problem solved. Make it clear that you care about them and want to help them out of their predicament as soon as possible. Use words like “you” and “yours” to engage with a reader personally.
Listing out the benefits, i.e., what the reader is going to gain from reading what you’ve written, is key to getting them to continue reading your piece. Will they get a discount if they use your code? Will they get a solution to their problem if they follow what you’ve instructed them to do? Investing a few minutes to read your piece should benefit them one way or another, and it’s better if you lay it out for them in the headline of the article.
Power words are known for grabbing the attention of customers by triggering a psychological reaction in them. This reaction usually motivates them to do what the power word in the headline is telling them to do. These are also known as “action words” and are a highly used marketing tactic that pushes readers and customers to do what the writer wants them to.
Another effective e-commerce marketing strategy is to include a clear and powerful call to action that tells the reader what to do next. These differ slightly from power words, as they are more direct. They create a sense of urgency within the reader to perform an action, almost without really thinking that much. This rapid response improves conversion rates. Calls to action can vary, for instance, “click here”, “download now”, etc.
Numbers, usually statistics, can provide readers with a lot more information than a whole paragraph of words can. Quantitative figures help readers in understanding the exact benefits provided to them by reading your article and following your advice.
This is an unsaid rule, but misleading audiences with inaccurate information to coax conversions out of them is morally wrong and also highly ineffective in the matter. It can ruin the trust and credibility your audiences have and costs you in the longer run.
In the writing process, you may come across multiple approaches to do a singular thing. It’s the same for writing headlines. Experiment with various ideas to see what works out best. You may come up with different ideas and test every variation by seeing which one of them helps you get more conversions.
As mentioned in the previous point, it is a great idea to keep track of the performance of older headlines. This helps writers in understanding what worked in terms of driving traffic. Keep score and rate every top headline you’ve ever written, and compare their effectiveness and the elements that make them successful.
An important thing to keep in mind is that every single brand, website, and blog differs from others in the same category. Most of the time, coming up with extremely successful headlines that are able to convert traffic into actual numbers is impossible. It isn’t an exact science that can be measured and compared to the dot, but you can get the most of your capabilities by monitoring it closely.
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The purpose of this article is to give you an idea of how to successfully convert site traffic into paying users. With the 10 points we have talked about in detail above, we hope that we have been able to do this well. Follow the advice to improve conversions with your headlines!