PRE-RECOMMENDATIONS INTRO FOR BETTERMEANS.COM

Meet the Conversion Sequence• Developed by MarketingExperiments• Breaks down the key elements for crafting

copy on the web• All my feedback will be based largely on this

sequence

C = Conversion M = Motivation People come to your site with a particular motivation in mind. The motivation to visit BetterMeans may be to learn about a cool new tech company or (preferably) to find a great new project management solution. You cannot influence motivation on your site; you can only reflect your users’ motivations in your copy. V = Value propositionA value proposition is, potentially, the most important copy on your website (especially for new users). It should be placed early on in the funnel on your site – at least on your home page and on your key landing pages (e.g., PPC landing pages). NOTE: Value props are not necessarily taglines, though they can be. I = Incentive An incentive – like a promo – is too often used by new companies to get people in… but it should really be a last resort (i.e., if value prop, motivation, and anxiety-busters aren’t working). F = FrictionFiction is simply how difficult it is for users to make sense of your messages and/or use your site. It’s usability. A = AnxietyVisitors may come to your site with anxiety visitors have about choosing your solution (e.g., anxious about switching from current project management solution; anxious about signing up for new product). Down the road, you may want to speak to users in greater detail about their anxieties so you can overcome them at key points on your site.

Big Opportunity: Refining the BetterMeans Value Proposition

A WELL-FORMED VALUE PROPOSITION:1. Highlights the benefits or values of the BetterMeans

offering that are MOST DESIRABLE to customers2. Is stated in a single, succinct, meaningful and clear

statement3. Applies only to your brand/offering (i.e., EXCLUSIVE to you;

your competitors can’t claim the same)4. Survives the test of time (is unchanging)

Your current value proposition

Sample Strong Value PropsCOMPANY/BRAND VALUE PROP TAGLINE

Fresh, quality, great-tasting fast food made with real ingredients.

Where’s the beef? Quality Is Our Recipe

The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands.

The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hands.

The world’s leading diamond company with unrivalled expertise in the exploration, mining and marketing of diamonds.

A diamond is forever

Compare hundreds of travel sites at once to find the deal that’s right for you.

Search One and Done

COPY ASSESSMENT FOR BETTERMEANS.COM

SUMMARY

• Biggest opportunities are on home page• Navigation copy challenges too simple?• “Why” feels like an unnecessary page• No clear calls to action on any pages• Heavy paragraphs on some pages

Overview: Home• Copy is very sparse• Copy does not sufficiently explain in text:

– What this product is– Whom this product is ideal for– What pain you will solve for me & my team– Why I should click to learn more

• Value proposition is complex, difficult to grasp• Video does all the talking… but it’s 3+ minutes long (so it’s not

‘scannable’)• No social proof (i.e., anxiety-reducers):

– Which company that I trust is using this product already?– What do existing users have to say about this product?– What newspapers, bloggers, etc are writing about this product?

• See APPENDIX for more about your key messages here

Overview: Why

Play button gets lost on grey video

Why bettermeans… what? What is this solution?

GRAMMAR: Cut comma in this line

The Einstein quote to the side explains all of the copy I’m

now covering. Although this copy is good, it’s “warmup”

text that may lose the reader.Break up paragraphs of text with bullets, links and headlines.

No call to action in this important area

It’s not clear what the value of this page is. The “how” page seems to do what this page does, but better.

Overview: How

• Fantastic long-form page that clearly breaks out what’s great about the bettermeans approach to decision-making, prioritization, and project management

• The section “Order Derived from…” is a bit too overwhelming/intimidating to read with its multiline copy blocks.

• The FAQs at the bottom of the page seem to be strong enough to warrant their own page.

Overview: What

• Another great page– Strong headline for the page– Great headlines to describe the screenshot– Great bullet lists of what you can do

• The ‘blue cloud’ areas between sections on the longer pages create a false bottom – several times, I stopped scrolling, thinking I was at the bottom of the page, only to look at my scrollbar and see that there’s more to go

Overview: Pricing

• The 3 reasons to believe at the top (i.e., setup in 60, no credit card, free trial) get lost in text

• The pricing FAQs are good here… but they might also be great with the other FAQs

• The tone for the copy on this page is the best tone of any page on the site

Overview: Navigation

• Short words are great• Unclear what the difference is between “why”,

“how” and “what”– Little indication as to what a user will find inside

each page… so no reason to click• Could just as easily name them 1, 2, 3 or A, B, C

ASSESSMENT: Your Value Prop

• Too many large words– Pretend your site visitors are in grade 6, even if they’re PhDs; simple, clear

language is easier to read for everyone in stimulating computer environments• I have no idea what it means

– Needs to be clear… which means the average visitor to your site should be able to ‘get it’ the first time they read it

• Tries to cram in everything– Your value prop needs to focus on what’s important for customers about your

offering

Your current value proposition

ASSESSMENT: Your Value Prop

• Need to simplify– From what I can surmise, bettermeans is a project

management tool that lets you vote on what you want to work on• Yes, there’s much more to it than that… but you have to

choose a small number of important points and state them clearly… or users won’t get it

• Says nothing about your target market– It doesn’t have to say anything about your ideal

customer… but that could really help

COPY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR BETTERMEANS.COM

Summary

• Add more social proof (e.g., companies using this product, testimonials, media reviews)

• Let headlines work harder• Use more ‘scannable’ text (e.g., bullets, button

calls-to-action)• KEY: Refine value proposition

RECOMMENDATIONS: General• List the kinds of companies this solution is ideal for

– List the companies who are already using it– In your FAQs section, you list the types of organization this solution is

best for… but I’d recommend you get more specific; “knowledge-based collaboration” could mean “tech startups”, couldn’t it? Use clearer keywords that users are looking for… and don’t be afraid to show an actual bullet list of org types that this solution’s made for.

• Reconsider interruptive ‘blue clouds’; link in more traditional ways, or make the clouds look like buttons you can click

• Consider putting top reasons to believe (e.g., setup in 60) into graphical form so they get noticed

RECOMMENDATIONS: General• Where possible, use bullet lists• Avoid paragraphs that are longer than 3 lines• Let headlines work harder:

– Elevate great statements like “Be 10x as productive as traditional companies” to headlines

– Example changes:• “New Team Structure” becomes “Goodbye, Boss Man” • “Full Transparency” becomes “No More Secrets”• “Distributed Leadership. Not Management” becomes “Let Great Leaders Rise to

the Top”

• Include more obvious calls to action– Currently lacking traditional buttons and text links, which, although

‘traditional’, really help people make decisions

RECOMMENDATIONS: Your Value PropSAMPLE VALUE PROPS FOR BETTERMEANS:

Vote up the best project ideas – and make every team member a key contributor

The innovative project management solution for innovative small businesses

The smart, affordable – and democratic – way to tackle complex problems in your org

Rethink command & control in your organization

RECOMMENDATIONS: Nav

• Delete the “why” page entirely – Other pages cover this content better

• Rename “how” something clear (e.g., How It Works, How It’s Different, Work Smarter, Get Details, Open Philosophy)

• Rename “what” something clear (e.g., Tour, Features)• Turn FAQs sections into FAQs page in nav

how it’s better features faqs

Current

Proposed

OPPORTUNITY: HOME PAGERECOMMENDED COPY

Current Home Page

Recommended Copy on Home Page

APPENDIX & MISCELLANEOUS

DESIREEXCLUSIVITY

Rank 0 1 2

0

1

2

Value Proposition Assessment Matrix

Desire0 – No interest1 – Possible interest2 – High interest

Exclusivity0 – Anywhere else1 – Somewhere else2 – Nowhere else

Steps:1. Rank the ideal customer’s desire level for the value proposition.2. Rank the exclusivity of the value prop.3. Multiply the two integers.4. If the total is less than 2, re-craft your value prop.

Value Proposition

< insert proposed value prop here >

Copy page & complete for each VP

Faster, better decision-makingSmarter project management & prioritization Promotes openness

Emphasizes efficiencyWorks democratically

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH BM

HOW DOES BM CHANGE THINGS?

WHY YOU SHOULD USE BM1. No command & control – everyone’s equal, everyone’s voice is heard 2. New, faster, more efficient ways of making decisions (especially about what your team will

work on – great for prioritizing)3. Smart teams that move quickly: Choose what you want to work on… so ideas that don’t have

group support don’t happen (voting) work environment becomes driven by profit + exciting projects that get voted up (= team engagement)

4. Transparent activity stream – both internal and to public groups (if you want)5. Promote compensation for contributions6. Standard collab tools like wikis, discussion boards, document storage

Social entrepreneursWHO SHOULD USE BM

Rethink Command &

Control

MESSAGE MAP

Pulled from your video

RECOMMENDATIONS: Messages

• CHANGE THE WORLD: This message, though nice, feels too lofty and overwhelming for the average person. – We all want to change the world, but we need to

have that change broken down for us – like “recycle every Tuesday” or “use green cleaning products”.

– From a messaging perspective, I would recommend subordinating the “change our world” message.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Messages

• REINVENT HOW WE WORK TOGETHER: This message is brilliant, succinct, and reflective of what many social entrepreneurs already think they’re doing: reinventing something. – Speaks well to your audience of ‘inventors’ (i.e., innovators). – Possibility to push this message further to remind users that

innovative people wouldn’t consider doing something the old way… so why should their project management & decision-making processes be old?

– From a messaging perspective, I would recommend keeping this message high in the messaging hierarchy.