9 Top Tips on How to Create Effective Upsell Copywriting That Converts
It’s grim out there — your vacuum cleaner gave up on life a few days ago, and the pet hair is starting to build up. You browse around online and find a decent-looking replacement...
But, could you find something better?
Is a different, more expensive model better for you? Should you get the X-1000 or the X-1500 with ‘super suck’? What about the life-changing ‘essential’ extra attachments for only £20 more? We guess you’ll never really know; you’ve already made your choice, right?
*pop-up*
“If you like this, you’ll also like...”
There it is, the X-1500 with additional attachments, and a car vacuum attachment thrown in for free. What do you do? It’s only a little bit more than you anticipated...
You check them out, right? And maybe you even buy them, spending more money than you originally intended on more products than you went to the site for.
Why? Upsell copywriting.
The principle of upsell copywriting is simple: present customers with an alternative, more expensive product, or with a few additional extras, and convince them to purchase.
Sounds pretty lucrative to us, so we thought we’d share the secrets with you and get your business benefiting from the power of upsell copywriting.
We’ve put together these top tips so you can learn what upsell copywriting is, how it’s written, and why you need it.
What is upsell copywriting and what is it used for?
Let’s start with the basics. What exactly is upselling? What is upsell copywriting, and how do you use it on your website?
To understand upsell copywriting, first you need to understand what upselling is. We’re sure you already have an idea, but we’ll give you a quick refresher.
Upselling is usually done after someone has made a purchase (or as they’re about to), and it involves encouraging the customer to upgrade their purchase or buy additional extras to go with it.
If you’ve ever been in a physical brick-and-mortar store and noticed the products on display at the checkout, it’s a similar idea; you showcase related items or extras to customers as they’re about to buy something, in an attempt to trigger further purchases.
Upsell copywriting is how you do it online. Copywriting that’s designed to upsell products is written in a specific way; it needs to persuade the customer whilst also making them feel good. You don’t want to push too hard, so you have to subtly outline why added extras or related products are better for them than just the original on its own.
Upsell copywriting is used in a myriad of ways on your website, from related products and ‘customers also bought’ sections, to suggesting extras after the checkout process (in email form, for example).
But how do you write upsell content in order to make more money for your business? We’re here to tell you with our top tips!
1. Use a sense of urgency
Giving customers all the information they need and allowing them time to think it through can be a great idea for customer satisfaction — but with upsell copywriting, it’s all about tapping into a sense of urgency.
If you’re looking to upsell something, the best way to do it is to let your audience know that there is a limited amount of time to make the extra purchase. We’ve all heard of FOMO (fear of missing out), and, when it comes to upsell copywriting, it’s something you can use to your advantage.
Using language like ‘while stocks last’ or putting time limits on the offer, together with persuasive content, can make it more likely that your upselling will be successful.
Remember that, in order for this to work, you need to upsell products or extras that are related to the first purchase and give added value to the customer. You’re not trying to trick them, but give them more of an opportunity to add extra value to their lives.
2. Validate and enhance positive feelings
This one is important, but often overlooked. The very first thing you should do when trying to upsell is validate the customer for making that first purchase. Use positive language to reinforce those feelings of value and joy the first purchase gave them, so they’re more open to making an additional purchase.
Make them feel good about what they’ve bought, and then tell them how they can feel even better by also buying something extra!
3. Know your audience
Any kind of copywriting requires you to know your audience, but it’s even more vital with upsell copywriting. To successfully upsell a product or service, you need to know exactly who you’re talking to and what they value most.
Your audience demographics — like average age, gender, location, income, interests, and hobbies — can all help you decide how best to frame the benefits of certain extras. This focused approach will lead to better success overall.
Social media ads based on previous purchases, follow-up emails, and upselling on the website itself can all be used to create a multi-platform upselling strategy. Many ad platforms on major social media sites, like Twitter or Facebook, will let you target specific demographics, so you’re not wasting money showing your ad to people who won’t have any interest in your product. Upsell copywriting works the same way.
In short, your target audience will dictate the language, tone, style, and platforms you use for upselling. It will also help you upsell products to them if you know what they value, and can tailor upselling techniques to meet their personalised needs.
4. Be the voice of authority and a trusted advisor
The one thing you categorically don’t want to do when creating upsell copywriting materials is to sound like a company that just wants to make more money. More money is always great, of course, but you show your audience that you care about their best interests. 7 in 10 consumers are more likely to buy from companies they trust and, thanks to authority bias, are much more likely to buy from you if they see you as a trusted, expert source.
Use friendly, light-hearted language to come across like a trusted friend or advisor, and give them advice on how to improve their lives and get the best value from your website.
However, you also need to be the voice of authority. Use language that suggests that you ‘know’ rather than ‘think’ something.
‘We think you’ll also like…’ vs ‘if you like X, Y, or Z, you’ll also like…’
You’ll probably notice that the second one is significantly stronger than the first. Say what you need to say with authority, and don’t sound like you’re guessing; it can help customers have more faith in your suggestions.
You should also educate your customers in order to lead them to view you as a voice of authority. Make sure your upsell copywriting tells them the benefits they get from upgrading their purchase. Always approach upselling from the customer’s perspective, and make sure you bear in mind how your suggestion helps to maximise their experience.
5. Use social proof-led language
Most marketing and website content is written in the active voice. We write in the active voice; we’re doing it right now, in fact. But upsell copywriting is a little different.
Whilst the active voice is always best in general copywriting terms, that isn’t always true in upselling. Upsell copywriting does best when it includes something called social proof. Social proof simply means suggesting to or telling your audience that other people approve of a certain action. 81% of consumers would trust the word of family or friends over that of a business, so social proof is important. The most common form of social proof is user reviews, but there’s a way you can insert social proof into your upsell copywriting as well.
Take these three examples, for instance:
“We think you might like…”
“Check out these extras…”
“Other people also purchased…”
Which one is better?
The first one is passive, the second one is active, and the third one includes social proof, so it’s by far the best option to upsell. Social validation within upsell content performs better than simply telling the user to do something, or making a suggestion. Amazon is a big example of this — they use it in abundance.
6. Decide on the right kind of upselling for your product or service
Upselling covers a wide range of examples, like offering extras, upgrades, longer subscription periods, and extra related products. You need to find out which one is better for you.
The variant of upselling you want to use will depend on the type of product or service you provide, as well as your audience. Think about your product; can it be upgraded to a model with better specs? Is it something that you sell extras for (such as sound systems to go with TVs or peripherals to go with computers)? Is it a service that you can sell added extras for? Or maybe it’s a subscription service with different tiers?
Once you’ve thought about which kind of upselling you’d like to focus on — or at least narrowed it down to a couple — you can start A/B testing to see which one performs best. Simply give 50% of your audience one upsell option, and the other 50% a different option.
Whichever has a better conversion rate and return on investment can be rolled out site-wide once testing is complete.
Make sure that your upsell copywriting isn’t generic. It needs to sell the specific type of upsell that you’ve chosen. Talk in detail about how upgrades, extras, or longer subscriptions can benefit your customers.
7. Use all the words you need
Copywriting created with the intent to sell often demands brevity; it needs to be concise and say as much as possible in as few words as it can. This isn’t strictly true for upsell copywriting though.
You need to make sure you get your message across, and this is far more important than an arbitrary word count. As long as it’s not a novel, it’s fine! The customer already bought something, so you already have their attention — you just need to focus on describing the benefits of extras or upgrades to increase the chance of persuasion.
8. Make sure the price is right
If someone is buying a £300 product, it can make sense to upsell them a better model for £50 extra, but you don’t want to do it the other way around. Consumers are more likely to purchase extra or more expensive products if they’re within a certain percentage of the original price. There’s no hard-and-fast rule on what this percentage is; RetailDoc puts it at around 25%, but it’s important to test and see what works best with your audience.
The rule of 3
The rule of three is common in content marketing and copywriting, because people like patterns, and three is just enough to form a pattern without seeming repetitive. Use the rule of three in your upselling techniques by giving customers a choice of three products, all at slightly different price points: a cheaper option, a mid-range option, and a more expensive option.
They may not always go for the more expensive option, but the data you collect will also help you streamline your price point increases for upsold products.
9. Use a professional copywriter for upsell copywriting
Whilst it’s possible to take upsell copywriting into your own hands, it’s always recommended to have a professional do it. Upsell copywriters have experience and talent, and know all the latest industry standard techniques.
You now know that upsell copywriting needs to be persuasive, tailored to your audience, specific to your product line, and make use of the right tone and language.
Upselling is usually a one-shot deal; if they don’t convert the first time you try and upsell them, they likely won’t at all, even if you keep trying. You only get one chance to do it right, so if you want to give your upsell copywriting the best odds of success, hiring a professional is the way to go.
At ZippyLingo, we have a pool of talented upsell copywriters with a passion for persuasion. High-quality and low-cost, our upsell copywriting services give you the conversions you crave.
Say hello and let us know how we can best help your upsell copywriting project come to life.
