Oops! How a Single Dot or Emoji Can Sink Your Sales

You'd never guess... A tiny dot or emoji could be the difference between a sale or no sale

You'd never guess... A tiny dot or emoji could be the difference between a sale or no sale. According to studies, tiny non-copy elements can have a massive impact on your conversions.

Let’s dig the dirt on two case studies today — After reading a copywriting tip that you can use right away!

🖊️ The Copywriting Tip You Can Use Right Away: Use Emotions

Your subconscious bias ends up playing a huge role in what you ultimately decide to buy. The reason for this is that our emotions process information much faster than our rational minds.

Emotion precedes logic when buyers make purchasing decisions.

So how can you evoke emotion when writing copy?

👉 Here’s an example of different ways to write this headline for a weight loss product: ‘Lose weight with our 4-week program’

Evoking Confidence Lose weight with our 4-week program and feel confident in your skin.

Fulfillment Imagine yourself looking in the mirror 4 weeks from now feeling glad about how you look 10 pounds off!

Freedom Lose 10 pounds in 4 weeks and move through the world with ease, confidence, and a renewed zest for life.

Relief Say goodbye to the stress and frustration of struggling with your weight for good.

👉 Let’s do another one, using this headline for a SaaS productivity app: ‘Increase productivity and efficiency in your workday’

Tapping into a feeling of Calm Restore a sense of calm and order to your workday with our productivity-boosting app.

Control Take back control of your time and tasks so you can focus on what really matters.

Insightfulness Cut through the chaos and gain the clarity you need to work smarter, not harder.

Efficiency Experience the satisfaction of getting more done in less time with streamlined tools and methods.

Were these examples helpful? Let me know by replying to this email.

🧠 How a Single Dot or Emoji Can Sink Your Sales

Katelyn Bourgoin spotlighted an interesting study on Twitter (X) last week.

But this is not the only study I came across last week.

Tom Orbach, in his newsletter ‘Marketing Ideas’ shared an interesting (but failed) marketing experiment.

Let me summarise his findings for you.

The "Magical Dot" was a viral marketing idea that involved placing a small notification-style dot next to menu items on websites. I’m adding a screenshot from his newsletter to explain what this looks like.

The theory was that this would create a sense of FOMO and novelty, drawing more clicks. One founder even claimed a 41% boost in click-through rate after implementing it.

However, further research indicated the dot's impact was often short-lived, with no lasting improvements in actual conversions or revenue.

Some companies even removed the dot after seeing no real business benefits.

📈 How can startups and medium-sized companies apply these lessons to their marketing campaigns:

If you’re a startup founder or the CEO of a mid-sized company looking to scale, this is how you can use this information.

1. Understand the Complete Customer Journey

  • Map out the complete customer journey from their perspective, not just your touchpoints

  • Identify critical moments that can make or break the customer experience

  • Account for both the logical and emotional aspects of the journey

2. Optimize for Emotions

  • Craft copy that taps into the core emotions driving your target audience

  • Avoid making customers "work too hard" to understand your message

  • Don't use emojis in place of words, as they can reduce click-through rates

3. Focus on Bottom-of-Funnel Metrics

  • Shift focus from vanity metrics to bottom-of-funnel KPIs like conversion rate, CPA, LTV

  • Identify and remove any unnecessary steps or distractions that could cause customers to abandon purchase.

4. Test and Iterate

  • Test singular elements to measure the real-world impact of your campaigns

  • Monitor results over time, not just the initial spike, to ensure the effect is sustainable

  • Be willing to quickly pivot away from tactics that don't move the needle on key business metrics

5. Activate the Journey Map

  • Translate journey map insights into actionable steps for teams across the organization

  • Develop a high-level version for an overview and a detailed version for taking action

  • Flag opportunities to change the experience for the better and assign action items

The key is to take a data-driven, customer-centric approach.

Map the full journey, optimize for emotions, focus on bottom-line metrics, test rigorously, and activate the journey map to drive better conversions.

Want help doing all of this? Send me an email at [email protected] to hire me for an audit. I’ll help you create your journey map and audit reports for you.

✨ A Mindset Tip For Entrepreneurs

I ghostwrote 3 ebooks (70K+ words) when I was 7 months pregnant with my firstborn. I got my blog published on The Copywriter Club when I was 9 months pregnant with the second one.

I’ve replied to emails and Slack messages when I was in labor or waiting in on an ultrasound.

I just had goals that I wanted to hit before I turned 30.

And I hit them.

I’m proud of what I did and where it got me.

But now, as a 30-year-old mom of 2 (6 & 2) I want a slower life. My kids need more of me. I crave reading more fiction. I crave slow mornings. And honestly… This is the reason I’ve said ‘no’ to misfit projects coming my way while patiently waiting for my dream clients to pick me.

At this point in my life, I want to work with 1-2 REALLY good clients and continue doing great work for them for years.

What does this mean?

Practically it means…

• I hop on fewer calls per week.

• I apply to 1% gigs online — only where I know I can contribute true value.

• I spend more time connecting with people as well as posting online.

• I do more of what I love.

There are two lessons in this message. 

1. Work hard and get to a point where you have the luxury to slow down.

2. Leave no stone unturned when you’re trying to make it.

Future you will be grateful. I promise.

📚 A Book Recommendation…

This week’s book recommendation is fiction!

I just finished reading The Silent Patient by Alex Michaelides. This book is a psychological thriller that revolves around the lives of Alicia Berenson, a painter, who is found under mysterious circumstances — standing beside her husband who was fatally shot multiple times.

Alicia refuses to say a single word that will explain what happened.

Only the narrator, a psychologist can make her speak.

The best part about this book is the narration. Specifically, the confusion of the narrator as he tells the story and tries to put together pieces of the mystery.

I picked up fiction after a long time. I’ve been reading business and marketing books for far too long.

This was a good summer read.

About the founder…

Hi. 👋 I’m Hira, A Copyhackers certified SaaS conversion copywriter with wins like raising $2M for MedTech and nonprofits under my (metaphorical) belt.

These days I’m writing end-to-end sales funnels (ad scripts, landing pages, VSL, nurture sequences) and product marketing blogs for 8-9-figure enterprises.

Check out my guest post in The Copywriter Club, and scroll through the insights I shared on Hubspot’s 2024 Social Media Marketing Trends Report.

Don’t forget to peek through my website, maybe you’ll find a podcast episode that you like!

If you liked this week’s newsletter, share it with a friend!

And don’t forget to hit reply to this email and say hello. :)