How to increase article conversion rates

Conversion is one of the key indicators of business performance. There are many effective tools for increasing conversion. One of them is text content and articles. So, what should you do if your articles aren't converting well? That's what we'll discuss today.

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Different types of conversion 

Conversion is one of the key indicators of business performance. There are many effective tools for increasing conversion, one of which is text content and articles. So, what should you do if your articles aren't converting well? That's what we'll discuss today.

What do we mean by "useful action"? They come in different forms. If you want to increase conversions to newsletter subscriptions, that's one thing. If you want to increase conversions to sales, that's another.

Conversion to newsletter subscriptions

To achieve results, you need to remove pop-ups and ads from your website. Experience shows that users have developed a reflex to close anything that pops up or attacks. Therefore, it's worth disabling all pop-ups with calls to action like "Don't go! Subscribe!"

They may generate a certain percentage of subscriptions. However, these aren't the leads we're looking for. We don't want to attract random people.

Recommendations

1. It's best to embed the subscription form within the body of the page. It should adhere to the site's general guidelines. Only then will the reader be able to calmly explore it, rather than dismiss it and automatically close it.

2. The text in the form should convince the reader that subscribing is in his or her best interests.

Examples

If the site is about travel, leisure, and country recreation, you can write in the form:

➽ Secret places in Ukraine: subscribe to find out first

➽ Where to spend the weekend with your family?

A weekly digest of interesting places for holidays with children 

➽ Professional guide to country recreation.

Everything that is NOT written in tourist brochures

That is, it is important not just to call on the reader to “Subscribe!”, but to make a specific offer that will interest him.

It could also be an offer like “Don’t miss out!” or “Fresh {something} in your inbox.”

Examples

➽ Infonic's Tips for Choosingdomain name 

➽ Current marketing recommendations

➽ Weekly newsletter with examples of text content design for professional growth and inspiration 

How many calls to action should be on screen?

1. There is an opinion that every screen should haveonea sentence calling for explicit action.
2. In most cases, it is not advisable to offer both:

• and subscribe;
• and like;
• and download the guide;
• and leave your phone number for feedback.

But in some areas, a "package deal" will work. Everything is individual, and everything needs to be tested.

Conversion to sales

It's a mistake to think that publishing a long, expert-written article with a link to a product is enough to increase conversion rates, and applications will start pouring in.

To achieve exactly this result, several factors must coincide:

• the article will be read by users who find your product useful;
• These people initially trust the publication or the author of the article (read about the importance of a personal brand in ourarticle); 
• the product is sold at a fairly low price (the reader does not need to think long and compare);
• the reader makes his own decision;
• he has a reason to buy now, not later;
• The purchasing mechanism is simple and clear, and works without any problems.

Basically, we've described the "sales funnel":

ImportantIf any part of the funnel fails, there will be no results.

Examples

➽ The company developed a new, complex CRM system for a large business. The company is well-known and has a good reputation. Its managers wrote a detailed, useful article that is read by the right people—regular customers.

Everything seems to be going well, and the company is waiting for applications, but there are none. And it turns out that interested readers can't make a decision on their own because they need to discuss the matter with colleagues. Hence the lack of applications, straight from the article: the reader is mentally ready, but unable to buy.

In this case, instead of a direct call to action, the development company should offer a presentation or tutorial so that the reader has the opportunity to immediately discuss the promising proposal in detail with colleagues.

➽ The company sells high-quality household appliances, including fans. It's summer and hot outside. The SMM team is launching a helpful article about choosing fans.

Everything about it is excellent: it provides a great overview of the models; the article was advertised in a timely and effective manner; and the right readers came, interested ones.

They want to make a purchase, click the "Buy" button, and see a "Site Error" message. What do they do? They copy the name of the fan they like from the review, find it, and order it. But this time from a competitor.

So, in the case of sales, it's a mistake to expect a super-effective result from a single expert article (even a very useful one!). The focus should be on the sales funnel. To convert readers into buyers, you need to work on all parts of the sales funnel simultaneously, rather than relying on individual articles.

We also recommend reading our material on the topic “How to increase sales without attracting new customers"