To assume, makes an ass out of you and me.

So to combat that, you need to approach every task with an open mind. Avoid leaning too heavily on expertise.

And for copywriting, keep the customer in mind at all times.

I did just that when I signed up to a recent webinar to discover some conversion rate optimisation (CRO) techniques that will strengthen my craft.

Because even though I’ve been writing for nine years, without learning new things just means I’m relying on my ability to write compelling stuff. And without new input, the content can become tired.

And let’s be honest, conversion is what copywriting is all about, right? Converting the window shopper into a lead. Converting that lead into a bona fide customer.

The first thing I learned is that best practices can be the enemy.

We were presented with five multiple choice questions, each with visuals to show us what the original piece of content was (webpages, headers, CTA’s) and the choices that were created to replace it.

And we were then told that each of these choices and the original were split-tested. We were asked which option was the most popular.

I got 1/5.

Because I went with what I knew. Which is how to make a customer’s experience more appealing through clear labelling, simple and effective headers and above all, entertaining content.

But the answers were surprising.

For example, did you know that by simply colouring in the fields on a contact page can improve conversion by more than 50%

And that a product page will convert more viewers if it has a price on it, regardless of UX and the page aesthetics?

Some of the options were awful, from a digital marketing perspective.

But they performed surprisingly well – and it goes back to the beginning.

Don’t assume. We need to research the customer thoroughly and then test the bejesus out of a page.

The majority of the time, the content you create will do the trick. The same for your use of SEO and imagery, as well as website navigation.

But you can’t ASSUME it will work every time. So testing it, finding out through surveys and A/B testing is critical.

You can get some handy tips and knowledge in my pocket copywriting guide, The Core of Copywriting. Click the button below to grab a copy.