A I D C A
If you’ve ever done any marketing training, you might be familiar with the AIDA principle. For the web there’s one extra step. So A is for Attention, I is for Interest, D for Desire. C stands for conviction and A is the final Action.
Attention
We’ll start with A, Attention. How do you get someone’s attention, generally? Usually by telling them something that piques their curiosity, pushes their buttons or appeals to their self-interest in some way. If I whispered to you on the subway that I’d discovered the secret of eternal life, my guess is you’d want to know more. Or at the very least you’d be intrigued by my weirdness! The best way to get attention with the written word is by using headlines. Your headline is really an opportunity to tantalise people into reading more by creating an emotional reaction. That’s the only job it has to do. And there are plenty of ways to do that. We’ll be talking more about that in next month’s feature.
Interest
OK, so the next step is to build on that interest and move them into your body copy. Think about the basic human needs for shelter, safety, money, love, nourishment, achievement and sex. Most of us want all or some of these needs met on a regular basis. Your Interest statement needs to address these needs. So if the product can save money, specifically mention how much. If it will make their family safer, explain how. It helps to focus on the main benefit.
Desire
Right so now we’ve got their attention and engaged their interest, the next step is to stoke up some desire. This is where you pull out all the stops. Paint a picture for your reader which evokes a life made infinitely richer, easier or more pleasurable once they have availed themselves of your product or service. Tell them how people just like them are already enjoying the benefits. Awaken their desire to be more successful, more beautiful, more gifted or luckier than any of their peers. And then make your offer sound unmissable by limiting its supply through use of a deadline or exclusive deal. We all like to feel that we’re getting extra special treatment and that we’re not missing out – that’s just good old human nature.
In this section of your copy you’ll need to give your reader all the details they’ll need to make a buying decision. Remember we make buying decisions with our feelings, not our intellects, though we might use reason to rationalise those emotional decisions after the event.
Conviction
Moving onto the fourth part of our web page structure then, the C, which stands for conviction. This is where you need to provide social proof in the form of testimonials, statistics and any positive PR or press coverage you’ve received. It’s also where you can address and overcome any objections your customer is likely to have.
Action
By now your prospect should be feeling really hungry for a transaction. What could possibly go wrong? The fifth part I want to talk about is the call to action, or put simply where you tell them to buy now, with urgency. And it’s where most web copy falls flat on its face.
If you’ve written your copy or presented your content in a structured way, you need to follow right through to the finish. This is where the energy needs to be ramped up! Sometimes it helps to write this piece of your content first. What do you want them to do as a result of engaging with your content? People expect to be reminded of the benefits and be told exactly what to do next. Don’t disappoint them! And if you can end on a note of inspiration, do so. If you’ve watched The Power of Words, you’ll notice that the part of the message that really hits home after you’ve read the sign is ‘change your words, change your world’ which transitions into Purplefeather’s logo and web address. It evokes emotion, and reminds you what you can do with a strong call to action.
Hopefully this post has given you some more helpful tips on conversion and there’ll be many more to come over the year. What do you think? Love to hear your comments.
