Demonstrating expertise is my favorite copywriting technique/secret for two reasons (that I’m sure will be of interest to you):

1: It boosts conversions like crazy when done right (more on that in a bit).

2: Most copywriters don’t use it, which means those who do use it get a leg up on the competition while establishing and building brand authority (quite the valuable asset).

Why Does Demonstrating Expertise Boost Conversion Rates?

We are living in a hyper-specialized world. If I have a heart condition I don’t just want to go to a doctor– I want to go to the best doctor who specializes in my specific heart ailment, is taking new patients, operates at a location within driving distance from me, and is within my budget. That is what I want, anything less feels like a bad deal (because it is!).

Your shoppers feel the same about you and every other site they stumble across. They don’t just want to buy from a site that sells a product that kinda fits their needs; instead, they want to buy from someone who developed a product only after studying every other option that was available, then used their research and knowledge to build something far better.

They want an expert, an authority in your space. Otherwise, it’ll be far more difficult for them to convince themselves to open their wallet. In the next section, I’m going to use an example to show why demonstrating expertise matters and then I’ll show how you can express it on your product pages.

Example of Demonstrating Expertise

Let’s say I was hired by Highkey.com to improve bestseller sales (Mini Cookies: Chocolate Chip).

Here’s why demonstrating expertise matters for Highkey.com (and we’re 99% 100% positive you can relate to this to some degree). I Googled “healthy chocolate chip cookies” and this is what I saw (watch the video below—it’s just 46 seconds):

There are countless competitors out there, and most shoppers are fully aware of this. Even if your business only has one or two major competitors, you’re still not immune to the bargain hunter: between 70% and 80% of online shoppers are comparing prices.

You don’t want them to rely on price alone because price doesn’t tell the whole story (see our article on price justification).

Users on your page are aware of what’s out there so if they don’t get a compelling reason to stick around, they will bounce. This is where demonstrating expertise comes into play.

What’s the Solution?

To demonstrate expertise I’d focus on the following details if I were Highkey.com:

– Talk about the hard science of getting the ingredients to work just right.

– Talk about the credentials of our team– how specialized they are at what they do.

– How we taste-tested everything that was available at our local grocery store, locations that were a 2-hour car drive, and specialty online stores. I would praise these alternatives. Praise?! the consumer expects us to criticize the competition. By not doing that we’re fighting their expectations– which gets them to notice us.

– The science of metabolism.

These are just some of the things I considered. It’s very likely you will end up with a completely different (and just as effective) list of copy angles to pursue.

You’re probably wondering: isn’t this too much content? It’s a valid point. In this article, we reveal a unique strategy that uses smart logic to only show this content to shoppers who care. This solution is revealed in CHAPTER 4 so you don’t need to worry about it now– but if you’re the eager type, sneak peek here: Tell Me More About Skimmers and Diggers.

What Demonstrating Expertise Is, and Isn’t

Like everything in life, things work best when they are done in moderation. Yes, we want to demonstrate expertise, but we don’t want to do it in a way that comes across as arrogant or overconfident. The vibe you’re looking for is this:

Why Marketers Don’t Rely On Demonstrating Expertise As Much

Here’s what marketers say: Make the buyer the hero of the story. Don’t make yourself the hero.

This is very good advice, but there is a little asterisk (*) here. Before you can make the buyer the hero of the story you need to prove you are worthy of their undivided attention. You need to demonstrate expertise.

In the video below I discuss this idea:

Next Steps

You likely came here from our 9 Truths About Online Shoppers article. If so, you need to read the next item on that checklist (People Root for People Who Beat the Odds).

If that’s where you came from you absolutely need to see this: Marketing Secrets.