How To Make Bold Claims More Believable

Last week we talked about good vs. bad copy ideas. So let’s break down some “good” copy quickly so you can see how it works

Here’s an Ad from Babbel – a language-learning website:

How do you know this copy is working?

According to AdBeat, Babbel had over 16,000 ads like this seen in the last 8 days.

93% of those were Native Advertising published to content networks or social media feeds like we’ve been talking about on the blog recently.

Their best ad has been running for more than 375 days.

When companies are getting numbers like that – you know they’re spending big bookoo bucks on buying traffic. And when they’re running the same ad for a long time (even a month is a long time in the Internet marketing world!) then you know those ads MUST be working.  

Otherwise they’d be throwing huge advertising dollars down the tube and would test something else out instead.

Why Does It Work?

Let’s look at the ad one more time:

They’re claiming that you can learn a new language in only 20 minutes per day. 

That is a HUGE claim! Naturally, with big promises like that, readers are going to be skeptical. 

So the smart copywriters over at Babbel made this look more like a news story to soften that bold claim. (*cough* native advertising *cough cough*)

By saying that they ‘sat down with our linguistic experts to learn how and why this program works‘ – they’ve turned this into content instead of sales copy.

And better yet, it looks like a news story.

How Can You Use This Same Principle In Your Own Copy? 

Great copywriters know that the only what to know what will truly work is to test it. So there is no one-size-fits-all template our trick that will work every time. 

But there are some basic principles that help you know where to start. 

For example, in the famous copywriting book “Great Leads” you’ll learn that 80% of an ad or sales message’s success comes from the headline and the first few paragraphs. 

Copywriters call this very first section of the sales message: “The Lead”

In this book you’ll learn that there are 6 different types of leads (some copywriters will argue there are 8, but that’s a lesson for another time). 

One of those leads is called a “promise lead” that uses bold claims and promises to catch attention.

This type of lead is best used for audiences that are highly aware of their problem and the potential solutions out there – so it’s okay to be a bit more direct in your copy. 

BUT – because this audience is very aware, they’ve also heard a LOT of claims and promises, which means they’re pretty skeptical. So sometimes you need to soften the blow of that big claim so it’s easier to believe. 

Think about what this audience has heard in the past?
What marketing claims or statements have they undoubtedly heard before? 

This goes back to last week when we talked about “meeting the customer where they’re at.“

In this situation, this highly aware audience has probably heard the “learn a language super fast” promise before. 

By making this ad look more like a news story or editorial-style content, they’re softening this bold claim by turning it into content. 

You can use the same principle in your own copy. Make a big claim up front (of course, make sure it’s true and that you can back it up with proof), and then give it an editorial-style spin to make it easier to swallow. 

Easy, right?

This principle has served me well since I first started to learn copywriting. I took a course called CopyHour when I first started to dive into this magical world of persuasive words, and still use all of the principles I learned there in my copy today (especially all the stuff about how to choose the best “Lead” based on your audience)

I always send people there when they ask me how to start learning copywriting and it’s one of the few copywriting courses I continually recommend. 

Click here to check out CopyHour for yourself.