Exponentially Increase Sales Using Persona-Based Copy

I just read a revealing article by Marketing Sherpa that astounded me. The article describes how Leo Schachter Diamonds revamped their site and increased visitor conversions from .86% to 54.1%. (No, that last number is not a typo.) What was their secret? Persona-based copy. Here's how it works:

Put simply, most business websites are boring. Oh, they try to be exciting with Flash, an eye-catching design, and video or podcast offerings. But, when it gets right down to it, they confuse "professional" with "stuffy."

Persona-based copy can change all that. The public mask you present to the world, AKA your persona, is unique, engaging, and has a story of its own. When a company decides to adopt a persona -- both online and in other marketing communications and sales materials, they create a public face.

Your company's persona isn't just its public image. It's a face, a name, a person with a story to tell. Whether this person lives and breathes or is simply the product of a zealous marketer's imagination doesn't matter. Adopt a persona, and watch the revenue come rolling in.

So, how do you do it?

1. Decide whether or not your company's persona will be a real employee (your President, VP, PR director, or rank-and-file doesn't matter) or a fictitious character.
2. Make sure the persona you choose reflects your company's core values and philosophy.
3. Give your persona a voice. A blog, a newsletter, sales letters, your website. Put the persona out there so that the public can engage it.
4. Unleash them. You read right. No rules, no boundaries, nothing to weigh them down. Let them be their fictitious or real selves. Let their personality shine.

Think about it. What was Wendy's before Dave? Or Jack-In-The-Box before Jack? Give your company a public persona and watch as conversion rates increase, name recognition goes off the charts, and faithful customers return time and again.