1. Writing for people
by Robby Grossman
Monday, April 18, 2011

2. Good Copy Is
• Informative
• Actionable
• Intuitive
• Succinct
Monday, April 18, 2011

3. Bad Copy Is
• Anything else.
Monday, April 18, 2011

4. Copy Matters.
Proof by Case Study: PaperPhobic
Monday, April 18, 2011

5. Increasing Signups
“Sign Up”
Monday, April 18, 2011

6. Increasing Signups
“Sign Up”
“Get Started for Free”
Monday, April 18, 2011

7. Increasing Signups
“Sign Up”
“Get Started for Free”
Result: Conversion Up 60%.
Monday, April 18, 2011

8. Increasing Paid Accounts
“Checkout”
Monday, April 18, 2011

9. Increasing Paid Accounts
“Checkout”
“Choose Executive Account”
Monday, April 18, 2011

10. Increasing Paid Accounts
“Checkout”
“Choose Executive Account”
Result: Conversion Up 80%.
Monday, April 18, 2011

11. Lessons
• Know your goal.
• Be precise (don’t “default”).
• Think like your reader.
Monday, April 18, 2011

12. Most companies
write terrible copy.
Monday, April 18, 2011

13. Microsoft
“AppFabric is an open source SDK that helps
Ruby programs communicate with the
Windows Azure AppFabric service bus and
access control using plain HTTP.”
http://www.interoperabilitybridges.com/projects/azure-ruby-sdk-for-net-services.aspx
Monday, April 18, 2011

14. Microsoft
“AppFabric is an open source SDK that helps
Ruby programs communicate with the
Windows Azure AppFabric service bus and
access control using plain HTTP.”
AppFabric lets you run
Ruby programs on Windows.
http://www.interoperabilitybridges.com/projects/azure-ruby-sdk-for-net-services.aspx
Monday, April 18, 2011

15. SAP
“Maximize the effectiveness of every
customer interaction and drive process
efficiency at the same time.”
http://www1.sap.com/index.epx#/solutions/business-process/customer-relationship-management.epx
Monday, April 18, 2011

16. SAP
“Maximize the effectiveness of every
customer interaction and drive process
efficiency at the same time.”
Make the most of
your relationships.
http://www1.sap.com/index.epx#/solutions/business-process/customer-relationship-management.epx
Monday, April 18, 2011

17. Oracle
“Oracle is the leader in Enterprise
Performance Management (EPM), unifying
Performance Management and Business
Inte&igence (BI), supporting a broad range
of strategic, financial and operational
management processes.”
http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/index.html
Monday, April 18, 2011

18. Oracle
“Oracle is the leader in Enterprise
Performance Management (EPM), unifying
Performance Management and Business
Inte&igence (BI), supporting a broad range
of strategic, financial and operational
management processes.”
Oracle is the leader
in enterprise software.
http://www.oracle.com/us/solutions/ent-performance-bi/index.html
Monday, April 18, 2011

19. Picture the Person
You’re Talking To.
Monday, April 18, 2011

20. Lessons from
Other Contexts
Monday, April 18, 2011

21. Be Concise.
http://www.badlanguage.net/two-examples-of-bad-copy
Monday, April 18, 2011

22. Reduce Cognitive Load.
http://www.natashascorner.com/2009/02/25/dont-make-me-read-while-driving/
Monday, April 18, 2011

23. Eliminate Noise.
http://www.natashascorner.com/2009/02/05/better-hurry/
Monday, April 18, 2011

24. Give Time to React.
http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/Act-Fast!.aspx
Monday, April 18, 2011

25. You Get to Make
One Impression
Monday, April 18, 2011

26. Don’t Let It Be In My
Next Presentation.
Monday, April 18, 2011

27. Fin.
Slides available at http://rob.by/2011/writing-for-people-part-2
Monday, April 18, 2011