Would you like to increase your conversion rate by 300%?

Hi there 👋,

This sounds like a dodgy, too-good-to-be-true offer.

But I promise that I’m not trying to offer you some get-rich-quick scheme or embed you in an MLM.

Instead, I’m going to tell you how I managed to improve Heights’ conversion rate by 575.45% in just seven months. 

That’s an insane number. 

Trust me, I checked it many times.

But all it took was two experiments, and the numbers just kept going up from there.

So lean in close, and I’ll tell you exactly how you can do the same.

Also, I’ve included two passion projects that I’d love to share with you all before my sign off - a new early-stage startup online course that I am developing for later this year, and speaker opportunities for the upcoming Women In Experimentation online summit - so please do take a look and see if they interest you.

Secret 1: Get the language right

You can have a pixel-perfect website, but if the copy doesn’t resonate, it’s not worth much.

They say you have about 8 seconds to capture someone’s attention, so you have to make each word count.

At Heights, a braincare company, we were talking about everything brain-related on the website. 

From why your brain is important to what our products would do for it.

But the painful truth was:

• No one cared about the brain talk

• They had no idea what we were trying to explain

• It wasn’t resonating in the slightest

Ouch.

And they’re not the only ones, as companies always use vague, general texts about what their product does, and not the pains or benefits of the customer.

So what did we do about it?

We did a considerable value proposition project and created a 1,000+ entry swipe file of customer quotes to understand our customers' language truly.

Check out the full process here.

This was what our customers wanted to hear about, and the words they were using. 

We then used this to create two new propositions for our Homepage and Product Page. And they…flopped. 

So we tried again. We went back to the drawing board for the core of what makes a great value proposition, and came up with:

1. Describes the benefit the customer will receive (creative, clear and catchy)

2. Explains what your company offers, who it serves, and why

The results this time were much better, and they improved further with each test. 

We didn’t just stop there. We kept squeezing that lemon and perfecting our copywriting.

Secret 2: Double down on social proof

Once your copy is amazing, you can move on to the next secret: social proof. 

The concept of social proof isn’t anything new.

It was first suggested by a psychologist, Cialdini, in 1984 as one of his six (now seven) principles of persuasion. 

But with the rise of online businesses and social media, it’s become more important than ever.

Let’s get clear on what I’m talking about when I say social proof. I don’t mean just five stars in a row with no additional context. 

It is about bringing your customers’ experiences to life in a genuine way.

First, we did what every online business tries: adding a Trustpilot block to the bottom of the Homepage hero. 

This did nothing. People didn’t scroll that far, and it didn’t flow with the rest of the homepage.

So we tested adding the Trustpilot logo to the middle of the Homepage hero. 

It felt weird as they didn’t even know who we were or what the reviews were for yet.

But it meant everyone landing on the website saw we were a 4.9/5 company. 

Even though it didn’t increase the click-through rate to the Product page, it did result in an 87.50% lift in conversions!

Then we turned our attention to user-generated content.

We used content from Instagram on our homepage and struck a goldmine - a 44.7% lift!

We also focused on review ads on social media and found they performed best with cold audiences as well as retargeting audiences.

Social proof is a tricky one.

Just because other brands have logos everywhere doesn’t mean it is valuable for you.

Find what works for your brand and your customers. Then keep squeezing that lemon!

Recommendation

In every edition of Growth Waves, I also share a related book, individual or newsletter to check out related to the week's topic.

If you’re looking to improve your CRO, then Ruben de Boer is your guy!

I’ve seen him speak live, swapped ideas with him, and followed several of his courses before. 

He’s got several great courses available online, and a particular favourite of mine is his ‘Online Psychology and Persuasion for Conversion Optimization’ course. 

It manages to blend both growth marketing and psychology, and gives you plenty of practical ideas to get started with.

2 passion projects I want to share with you…

Firstly, a question for early stage DTC startups.

Have you been struggling to grow, and want some guidance on the fundamentals including PMF, creative messaging, paid ads and funding?

Later this year, Growth Waves will be collaborating with DTC Live on an affordable, live cohort course designed to help you tackle these challenges.

But we need to hear from you.

We want to hear about your startup and challenges so we can tailor this course to your needs. If you’re interested, please fill out the short survey here.

🌊

And secondly, I am so excited to announce that the first Women in Experimentation online summit will be happening on June 6th. It’ll be a free day filled with diverse speakers, who have the opportunity to either do:

1. A longer, 25-30 min slot

2. A shorter, 10 min slot

We are taking applications for speakers now. Please note that although this is hosted by Women in Experimentation, we encourage people of all genders to apply. We aim to have at least 30% male speakers as that is the benchmark used for female speakers at growth conferences.

You can apply here.

I can’t promise that those two changes will improve your conversion rate by 300%, but they’ve worked for me and many of my clients.

If nothing else, it will cross two things off your list, so you can find the real secret to your conversion booster.

Check out my full article for more nitty-gritty details on these two methods.

Chat soon,

Daphne