How to optimize for connection (and increase conversion)
Welcome to today’s issue of Conversion Alchemy Journal. If you received this from a friend and enjoy it, subscribe here.
Behind every click, every conversion, every dollar spent, there's a human being with a story.
And in order to understand their story, we need to stop optimizing for conversion and start optimizing for connection.
How do we do that?
That’s what conversion alchemy is all about. Like turning base metals into gold, we turn words into customers.
The problem is that a lot of copywriters focus merely on the base metal, the words. Hoping that being clever or mirroring people’s language will do the trick.
No, true conversion alchemy, is more. It’s craft, and it’s part art and part science - even in the age of AI.
You might think AI can and will replace a conversion copywriter. You’re right, it might!
But it can’t replace a conversion alchemist.
That’s because while AI can write the content, it doesn’t have the context.
Or better, it has a “context window”, but you have to feed stuff into it to make it work.
The "context window" in a large language model (LLM) is the amount of text that the model can consider at one time when generating a response. In simple terms, it’s like the model's attention span or memory—how much of the conversation or text it can "see" and remember while trying to understand or continue the dialogue.
LLMs can memorize, but they need us to feed into their experience.
In the words of Rory Sutherland, “Context is everything”.
It’s the language you use, yes, but it’s also the user experience and how you lay out those words on the page. It’s your prospects’ motivations, pains, desired outcomes and expectations. It’s their psychology and decision-making process. And it’s all the work you’ve done in the past or the work you plan on doing in the future.
A true conversion alchemist knows how to carefully and patiently select and add context, how add what and in what order, and how to combine and iterate on their experiments.
When you can do all of this well, that’s when you get great results with AI.
Take this example of me asking a quick question to Gemini 1.5 while working on a website navigation wireframe:
The model was able to understand the nuance of my question (that I intuitively knew but didn’t plainly state). How? Because I gave it all the context it needed and I’d been working with it (yes it’s a collaboration) for almost a month.
Ok, but how does AI and context fit into connecting with humans?
While up to this point we could at most try to empathize with others, AI gives us access to the entire human knowledge base. This means we can now dive deeper into understanding human behavior, emotions, and decision-making processes than ever before.
With access to this knowledge and our ability to provide context, we can create more meaningful connections with our audience. We can craft messages that resonate on a deeper level, addressing not just surface-level pain points, but the underlying emotions and motivations that drive human behavior.
The key is to use AI as a tool to enhance our human understanding, not replace it. As conversion alchemists, we blend the power of AI with our intuition, experience, and empathy. We use AI to gather insights, generate ideas, and even craft initial content. But then we apply our human touch – our ability to read between the lines, to understand cultural nuances, and to inject authentic emotion into our words.
This is where the true alchemy happens.
We're turning words into customers.
We're creating experiences that feel personal and meaningful, even when they're reaching thousands or millions of people.
📚 Copywriting nuggets in the wild
Content of the week: Lessons on human nature from the dating world
I'm a bit fan of Orion Taraban (almost done reading his book, highly recommended), so when this interview came out, I devoured it. Listen for an insightful view on how viewing the dating scene as a marketplace can help you better understand humans in general.
Swipe file: Is your value prop aligned with your actual value?
Today, an example of an anti-swap file piece. Check out this value prop from Deepstash:
"Become the smartest in the room - Unlimited access to 200,000+ powerful ideas from top books, podcasts, and more."
When I read this it makes me think of competition, volume of information, and variety.
But is this what the app is really about?
Scroll a just below the fold and here's their value section:
This copy is all about productivity, habit formation, and convenience.
I see a pretty clear alignment problem. Now, I'm not sure whether they're testing their value prop or what, but keep this in mind: is your value proposition copy aligned with 1) what your audience wants and 2) what your product offers?
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Work with me on your copy
Let's get more customers →
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✅ Don't miss it
Episode 24 of The Message-Market Fit podcast is out!
I had a fantastic chat with Gab Bujold, B2B messaging strategist and co-host of the "We're Not Marketers" podcast. Here's what you'll learn:
- How Gab redefines product marketing and why PMMs aren't marketers
- The key qualities that make a great product marketer
- How to effectively align sales and marketing teams for better results
- What "message market fit" means and why it's crucial for startups
- How to overcome challenges in B2B marketing jargon
- The role of podcasting in B2B marketing and how to stand out
- Why market segmentation is vital for startups and how to approach it
- Gab's go-to-market audit process for optimizing messaging
- Essential learning resources for B2B marketers looking to level up
And way way more.
Check it out here, wherever you listen to podcasts or on Youtube. And if you find it valuable, would you consider subscribing and leaving a rating? 🙏
Validating copy and increasing conversion rates
I recently chatted about copywriting on the Innovators Can Laugh podcast with Eric Melchor. Such a fun time!
Here are 3 things you'll learn if you listen:
- How to fix your website's first impression: We discuss common homepage mistakes and how to make your message crystal clear from the start.
- Why asking your customers is crucial: Learn about simple tools that help you understand what your audience really thinks about your copy.
- A new trick using AI for higher conversions: I share how to use AI to "become" your customer and improve your copy - it's easier than you think!
Check out the full episode here.
P.S. You'll also hear about my budget-friendly survival strategy when I first moved to the UK. Hint: It involves a lot of frozen food.
🤔 Thought of the week
"Musashi was silent. "You accomplished something today, but it was not well done, not by a long shot. Since you're still young, I can't really blame you, but it's a grave error to think the Way of the Samurai consists of nothing but a show of strength.”
Eiji Yoshikawa, Musashi
In any skill there’s what you have to master and what masters you. Until you get rid of what’s holding you back from being flexible, you’ll still only be an apprentice. And most of it is ego.
Have a great weekend!
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Chris Silvestri
Founder, Conversion Alchemy
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🙌🏻 Let’s be friends (unless you’re a stalker)
