Course curriculum

  • 1

    Watch These First

    • How to use this training

    • The 10x Page Plan

    • OTS walkthrough for full workbook
  • 2

    Module 1: Prewriting (aka the Really Foundational Stuff)

    • Intro (and why web copy is so important)

    • A pre-req mindset shift on writing copy for the web

    • You need to become a full-stack conversion copywriter

    • The conversion copywriting process for websites

    • How to identify what's broken: the process of starting a website redesign/rewrite

    • FAST PATH: Page length: How to think about personas and visitor / decision-maker profiles

    • The three research methods you'll use to write a website and how to use them

    • Setting up UserTesting.com to figure out what's working and not

    • User tests: How to set up user tests (for a site or a page - yours or a competitor's)

    • FAST PATH: Analyzing users tests, with the Believability Boosters and Friction Reducers worksheet

    • Thank-you page surveys

    • FAST PATH: TYP surveys: How to set up your thank-you / confirmation page surveys

    • FAST PATH: Analyzing survey responses: Q1 ("what was going on"), for leads

    • Analyzing survey responses: Q1 ("what was going on"), for customers

    • The Obstacle Interview

    • FAST PATH: The Obstacle Interview: Worksheet walkthrough and survey setup

    • The Obstacle Analysis: Sorting / Tagging responses to map them to the analysis worksheet

    • The Obstacle Analysis: Starting your analysis

    • The Obstacle Analysis: A brief pause to discuss interesting insights (and how to use 'em)

    • The Obstacle Analysis: Finishing your analysis

    • FAST PATH: Product messaging: How to document product features, benefits and outcomes

    • List, offer, copy

    • FAST PATH: The Optimized Offer: How to document your optimized offer

    • FAST PATH: "Bag o' offers"

    • The Optimized Offer: Example of completed page-level offer optimization

    • First module done - progress check

    • End-of-module quiz: Module 1 (Research and discovery)
  • 3

    Module 2: Assembling the First Draft of Any Web Page

    • Whom to write for

    • The transformation message map

    • TMM Walkthrough

    • FAST PATH: The 10x Page Plan

    • FAST PATH: Walkthrough: The 10x Page Plan

    • Thinking about "stages of awareness" while using The Transformation Message Map

    • FAST PATH: The world's most fundamental copywriting argument

    • The 8 sections of a 10x web page

    • FAST PATH: Hero sections: Every page starts with one (includes specific hero types)

    • Hero sections: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: Proof bars: Pages need, like, several of these (includes specific proof bar types)

    • Proof bars: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: Agitation: The most edited-out, should-be-left-in part of a page

    • Agitation: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • A 90-sec pause before you move on...

    • FAST PATH: Crossheads: You may be used to calling these "subheads"...

    • Crosshead (value prop): Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: The How: The core of most pages (including a 4-step flow for writing How blocks)

    • The How: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: The Switch: You've been ignoring this... You shoooooullllldnnnnnn'ttttttt......

    • The Switch: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: The Close: The close, the close, we're getting to the close!

    • The Close: Add yours to The 10x Page Plan for the page you're writing

    • FAST PATH: Now let's turn that all into your spit draft (or sh*tty first draft)

    • Wrapping up Module 2

    • End-of-module quiz: Module 2 (Prewriting)
  • 4

    Module 3: Writing, Editing and Wireframing

    • Walkthrough: A few home pages we've written over the years (insights into decisions, problems and more)

    • FAST PATH: Wireframing: Set up your page

    • FAST PATH: Wireframing: Wiring the top (while editing)

    • FAST PATH: The You Rule

    • Good soundin' stuff: One thought per sentence

    • Good soundin' stuff: Keep it unfinished at the top

    • Good soundin' stuff: Break your headlines

    • Good soundin' stuff: The "first person"

    • Good soundin' stuff: No more closed questions

    • Good soundin' stuff: Stack alliteration

    • Good soundin' stuff: Formatting big text

    • Good soundin' stuff: X verb Y

    • Good soundin' stuff: Not another bullet list

    • Good soundin' stuff: Stack similar sentences

    • Good soundin' stuff: How to finish your body copy, B

    • Good soundin' stuff: "Modern Family" your body copy

    • Good soundin' stuff: How to finish your body copy, A

    • Good soundin' stuff: One thought per sentence

    • FAST PATH: Wireframing: Finishing the second draft of your page

    • FAST PATH: Wireframing: Fix problems by comparing your wired copy to The 10x Page Plan

    • An introduction to wireframing

    • Editing: Sweep that copy!

    • FAST PATH: Sweeping Through Your Editing Process: The decision-maker sweep

    • FAST PATH: Sweeping Through Your Editing Process: The seven sweeps

    • Wrapping up Module 3

    • End-of-module quiz: Module 3 (Writing, wireframing and editing)
  • 5

    Module 4: Validation and Optimization

    • How to get the most out of this phase of the work

    • FAST PATH: Validation: Setting up and running your validation test

    • Validation: Figuring out what you need to validate

    • Validation: Analyzing your feedback and making decisions

    • FAST PATH: Implementation

    • FAST PATH: Experimentation

    • How to optimize your copy

    • Optimization: How to reduce bounce

    • Optimization: How to get more leads in general

    • What to do next

    • End-of-module quiz: Module 4 (Validation and experimentation)