Copywriting for Cold and Warm Traffic
Copywriting is absolutely essential for success in digital sales funnels. Every single word counts. The thing is though, that content focus must be changed out at each stage of the customer’s journey with you. People just don’t ‘see, click, buy’. It can take ages to woo them into buying. In fact, the average number of website visits before purcahsing is around 10.
In marketing language, Cold Traffic is people who are unaware of you – or even that they might benefit from what you have. Cold traffic is not in any way yet connected to you, your business and – importantly – unaware at this stage of how relevant what you offer is to them and their life. They may not even have registered that they need your product.
Example – people who experience poor sleep may be unaware of how magnesium relaxes muscles or how cherry bark extract increases seratonin. Your Magnesium & Cherrybark Elixir is meaningless to them until they have made the life-changing discovery of how potent these two ingredients are when combined.
They just know that they are tired and they know that they’ve tried every solution on the block and that none have been successful for them longer term.
Of course, you know this because you have done your consumer research thoroughly…. and you have free samples of your amazing product to prove that you are willing to back yourself.
Warm traffic is people who are aware of the problem they have – and that there may be a solution to meet that need. Warm traffic is thus more easily converted to a sale than cold traffic.
Hot Traffic is people who know they have a problem, know that there is a solution for it – AND are aware that you have that solution. Hot traffic is much more easily converted.
When you think about this in the context of going out there with a 25% off your Cherry Bark & Magnesium Elixir – you can see how Cold, Warm & Hot Traffic might each respond differently to that statement.
When copywriting for cold traffic, always reference the problem the audience is experiencing.
When reaching out to Cold Traffic always refer to the problem that you solve for your target audience – put the solution to their problem in front of them. They are not open to detail of any kind until they believe that your solution has merit in the context of their problem.
So – in the situation described above, where you are aware that your target audience has tried many remedies and none have been successful, appropriate ad copy might read as:
‘Repeated poor sleep can really get on your nerves. The day to day small irritations – like the guy in the next cubicle sniffing or talking way too loud can really get on top of you, yet taking sleeping pills regularly is just not a good idea either.
If your cupboards are already full of sleeping aids that just haven’t worked, we are not going to try to sell you another one. No we are not.
We are going to GIVE you one. That’s how confident we are that our natural sleeping aid will help you get a relaxing deep sleep – night after night. Let’s tell you a bit more about how it works and see if it will work for YOU.
[learn more by clicking on link].’
Note how there is actually no detail on the ingredients, no logic based ‘sell’ – just a focus on the problem, and a potential solution. We are letting them know we understand their situation and introducing the idea that we can help.
Warm Traffic is problem aware and solution aware.
By clicking on your link, the prospect is identifying him or herself as a lead – who may or may not sign up for the free sample. Either way, this person who has chosen to click for more information, has now traveled over the divide from Cold to Warm and is now ready to take in more information about your solution to their problem.
Warm traffic are problem aware and are becoming solution aware. Even if it’s not your solution that they buy – this lead is now aware that there is a solution to the problem that he or she can try [risk-free, by taking up your sample offer].
Right here on this landing page you can deliver warm traffic copy about the solution you offer. For those who click to your landing page but do not opt in for your free sample, you now have the option of using Custom Audiences to retarget them (as warm traffic).
Now our ad copy is a little more focused on HOW our solution may resolve the problem:
Ad copy might now read ‘using magnesium to help improve sleep quality is successful for some people, but adding cherry bark extract takes deep sleep one step further. Now you can improve your sleep quality without taking any drugs or risking a dozy sleeping medication hangover by using this product – get your free sample here’
This works because the prospect has already been exposed to the details about your product and is both problem and solution aware.
This does not mean however that you will secure a sale at this time. The customer’s journey with you has only just begun. Now that the potential customer has clicked on your link but not purchased, you can expose him or her to a remarketing campaign with testimonial videos – which would be not as effective for cold traffic, but highly engaging for warm traffic.
The bottom line here is that people buy from people they know and trust. The only way to build that trust is to deliver your communications correctly and sequentially so the customer comes to know you before you try to sell something. The job of your campaign as shown above is to get the customer opted in – this gives you permission to communicate directly with him or her and commence the relationship building process.
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