An S in a headline pulls 3x more sales

9 years ago

Thank you so much for sharing.

For me, little things like this are the most interesting aspects of copywriting -- and the most valuable, too.

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angiecolee

9 years ago

Dig his site, except that it stops scrolling if you X out of the pop-up. I got too annoyed to figure out how to get in touch, so I didn't.

Annoyance aside, the message was fantastic. Sent it to the copywriter I'm mentoring to help me explain the nuance behind choices like this.

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Jack Gordon

9 years ago

I love that, Ewen. So simple, yet so powerful.

I am sure I can apply that one right now in some of my stuff...

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StingGB 9 years ago

That's interesting Ewan, and definitely worth a punt. Split testing it on my sales page later.

Brian
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Mark 99

9 years ago

And I learn something new everyday!.

Cheers Ewan

Thanks

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Raydal

9 years ago

Herschell Gordon Lewis was the first I learned that from in chapter 5 of his
book Power Copywriting. Some little things can make a real difference.

I think that Tod means singularize the verb instead of pluralize. Adding an
"s" makes the verb singular.

-Ray Edwards

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ewenmack 9 years ago

Originally Posted by Raydal

Herschell Gordon Lewis was the first I learned that from in chapter 5 of his
book Power Copywriting. Some little things can make a real difference.

-Ray Edwards

Interesting.

I first heard about it from Dan Kennedy.

Best,
Doctor E. Vile
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- Raydal 9 years ago
  
  Originally Posted by ewenmack
  
  Interesting.
  
  I first heard about it from Dan Kennedy.
  
  Best,
  Doctor E. Vile
  
  For what it's worth, I think there is also a case study in The Robert Collier
  Letter Book, but it has no index in the back and it would be hard to find.
  If there was a PDF copy maybe a search would bring it up.
  
  -Ray Edwards
  
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  The most powerful and concentrated copywriting training online today bar none! Autoresponder Writing Email SECRETS
  
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Memetics 9 years ago

It also works as a temporal clause presupposition (it will happen to you in the future) in the sense that the pluralisation implies an established cause and effect of the product.

You can double up on the presupposition element of the phrase you're using by including an adverbial modifier before any pluralised noun.

Example:

Original: "Melt 12 pounds of fat in 12 days"

Pluralised: "Melts 12 pound of fat in 12 days" Temporal clause presupposition.

Adverbial modifier: "Completely melts 12 pounds of fat in 12 days"

Even if you're not sure of the validity of the adverb in the sentence ( "I'm not sure it completely melts the fat") you still accept what's modified (The fat melts). It changes the focus from the verb to the modifier and presupposes the verb will happen and bypasses any critical factor resistance.

Don't make your adverb too unbelievable though.
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- The Niche Man 9 years ago
  
  Just made me go over all my headlines, sub heads and ebook titles. Surprising how many verbs don't have an "S". Thanks for the reminder.
  
  Thanks
  
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  "201 Ways To Live Better On Less Money".
  "Because The Easiest Way To Make Money is ... ... By Saving Some First!"
  
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Inline

9 years ago

That's a great little twist with alot of power.

Makes sense and easy to put to work.

Thanks

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Cam Connor

9 years ago

Originally Posted by ewenmack

Some time ago I critiqued a promo here for a copywriter
and suggested she put a s on a verb on the headline.

The silence was deafening!

Even after I cited an example of 3x the bump in sales.

But how could something so seemingly insignificant
bump up the sales power?

Well Todd Brown has delved deeper into
the why right here...

Sales Funnel Secret: Pluralizing The Verb

Enjoy!

Doctor E. Vile

Yes, people are REALLY that lazy...

Put music in my life? Aint no one got time fo dat.

Great post Doc.

Thanks

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articlearbiter

Banned 9 years ago

Thanks for sharing Ewen, looking forward to trying it out.

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copyassassin

9 years ago

Ewen,

I was able to triple CTR by adding a "!" at the end of the ad. copy

Little hinges can open big doors.

Worth trying for sure!

Adam

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ewenmack

9 years ago

Originally Posted by copyassassin

Ewen,

I was able to triple CTR by adding a "!" at the end of the ad. copy

Little hinges can open big doors.

Worth trying for sure!

Adam

Well who wulduv thought!

Not me.

Thinking more about how a ! can work in the
right context, for example if the person isn't known
to be excitable, then yes it can create a sense of
curiosity to see what's he's so excited about.

Thanks.

Mind you, in many cases getting more people
to take the first step doesn't mean the extra flow equates
to more dollars going your way.

Best,
Doctor E. Vile

Thanks
1 reply

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copyassassin

9 years ago

my point is rather weird things -- subconscious forces -- can have a profound effect, like adding a 's'.

which you already know.

just another example.

Originally Posted by ewenmack

Well who wulduv thought!

Not me.

Thinking more about how a ! can work in the
right context, for example if the person isn't known
to be excitable, then yes it can create a sense of
curiosity to see what's he's so excited about.

Thanks.

Mind you, in many cases getting more people
to take the first step doesn't mean the extra flow equates
to more dollars going your way.

Best,
Doctor E. Vile

[ 1 ] Thanks

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splitTest

9 years ago

Originally Posted by Cam Connor

Yes, people are REALLY that lazy...

Put music in my life? Aint no one got time fo dat.

Great post Doc.

Reminds me of the "A" in the "ABCs" of writing headlines (credit to the MindValley article How To Write High-Converting Headlines)...

"A is for AUTOMATION

People in general are inherently lazy, and a product that promises to take the work out of their hands would be more likely to win their attention. Automation implies that very luxury – whatever you’re selling is going to fix the problem for the customer automatically."

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ewenmack

9 years ago

Originally Posted by splitTest

Reminds me of the "A" in the "ABCs" of writing headlines (credit to the MindValley article How To Write High-Converting Headlines)...

"A is for AUTOMATION

People in general are inherently lazy, and a product that promises to take the work out of their hands would be more likely to win their attention. Automation implies that very luxury - whatever you're selling is going to fix the problem for the customer automatically."

I noticed he didn't use what he said in the article
in the headline for his article.

Best,
Doctor E. Vile

Thanks

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TypingPandas

9 years ago

Thanks so much for sharing this. Never thought about this before, but it does make sense somehow.

Genius idea and I'll try to use it in my copies.

Best,
Typing Pandas

Thanks

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An S in a headline pulls 3x more sales

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