How to improve UX copy performance by leading with the benefit

When you have mere seconds to grab someone’s attention online, your writing must get straight to your best, most compelling point. That’s why anyone who produces copy－from UX content designers to marketers－should leverage an effective writing tactic known as leading with the benefit, or front-loading the benefit.

I’ve personally A/B tested this type of copy against copy that backloads the benefit. And time and time again, the version with the front-loaded benefit consistently sees better engagement and conversions.

What does leading with the benefit mean?

Leading with the benefit centers on tailoring your copy to your target audience. Before writing a single sentence, you’ll want to first understand who the average reader is — their needs, aspirations, hesitations, fears, and where they are in the marketing or sales funnel.

Once you have a clear idea of your target audience, you’ll need to select your product’s best selling points, and find a way to describe them in a clear, concise, and persuasive manner. Rather than telling your readers about features — you should reframe them as benefits or solutions. Another way to think about this is: “What’s in it for them?”

While this process can feel like a lot of work, it’s worth it, trust me. The upfront work will make the writing feel effortless because you’ll be armed with the right intel to execute confidently.

What does leading with the benefit look like?

The best way to understand the concept of leading with the benefit is to see it in practice. Consider the following hypothetical example:

Background: People turn to Get Movin’, a fictitious app that delivers fitness advice from qualified health experts to everyday people. This app is designed mainly for people who are tired of fad diets and want sustainable solutions for their weight-loss and health goals.

Here’s an example of an info card on Get Movin’ where the benefit is backloaded:

What’s wrong with this copy?

The benefit is not immediately clear to the reader. Instead of putting the audience’s needs first, this copy instead highlights the general arrival of a new year and ways to get in shape. As a reader, I don’t see the benefit until the beginning of the body description where I learn these tips are are from certified health experts — something that I do care about. Remember, we only have mere seconds to catch the attention of our readers, and most people scan copy quickly, so there’s no time to waste.

Now let’s rewrite the above copy using the leading-with-the-benefit framework, shall we?

Rewritten copy

Why is the new copy better?

It gets straight to the most compelling selling point — top fitness tips from experts. Now that you have the reader’s attention, you can expand on who’s offering these tips and how these tips can benefit the audience.

I tested front-loaded benefit copy against back-loaded copy in a recent experiment and saw a 13% increase in click through rate (CTR) and 3 percent increase in conversions. A simple reframing can make a big difference in performance!

Now let’s look at them side-by-side. See the difference more clearly?

How do I use this tactic?

Do you want to try out this tactic on your own app or website? First, start by auditing your content by using this checklist:

Are my titles audience-first? If not, how can I reframe them?

Are my body descriptions audience-first? If not, how can I reframe them?

Am I selling product features vs benefits?

If I’m focusing on just the features, how can I reframe them as benefits to my target audience?

Do I know my target audience’s needs, wants, hesitations and fears?

If not, what data or research insights can I find that can help me understand these traits?

If I do, how can I use this knowledge to inform better, more persuasive copy?

Takeaways

Here’s a recap of everything we’ve covered:

• Get to the point: Leading with the benefit means getting straight to your most compelling selling point.
• Your audience has limited time: It’s important to lead with the benefit because your reader is likely time constrained and scanning your copy instead of reading everything word for word.
• Know your customer: Before you write a single sentence, make sure you understand your target audience.
• Pick your winning selling point: Once you understand your target audience, pick the most important selling point of your product and figure out a way to communicate it in a simple and straightforward way.
• Test and validate: Partner with your cross-functional team — from data science to engineering — to A/B test your copy to see how your front-loaded benefit version performs against your existing copy.