How Using A Drop Capital Increased My Ebook Sales By 40%

You will often find me with my head in a book, studying the marketing and copywriting experts from the past.

It was whilst reading one such book, that I discovered how using a drop capital, can increase readership of advertising.

The book was: 'Ogilvy On Advertising' - by David Ogilvy

In the book, Ogilvy, an advertising and marketing legend, discussed the merits of using a drop capital (also known as a drop initial).

Ogilvy was renowned for producing advertising which got results, having helped to build some of the most recognizable brands in the world including: American Express, Sears, Ford, Shell, Barbie, Pond's, Dove, and Maxwell House among them, and more recently, IBM and Kodak.

In 'Ogilvy On Advertising', Ogilvy is quoted as saying "The drop capital increases readership of your body copy by an average of 13%".

How Does The Drop Capital Increase Readership?

Drop capitals seem to work in the same way that images do. In that they catch the readers eye as they scan the page.

The big capital letter drops down inside the first paragraph. Because we read from left to right, our eyes move naturally away from the image and into the text to the right.

The first paragraph is very important, and has to capture the reader's attention and interest, so that they continue to read down the page.

The key point is: 'The more people you can get to read the text on your web pages, the more sales you are going to make.' Period!

What I really like about the drop capital as a sales tool, is its subtelty. It doesn't shout: 'Hey! I'm trying to trick you into reading!' I like to refer to it as a 'stealth copywriting' technique. It's extremely effective, but without flying above the radar.

Does This Offline Copywriter's Trick Increase Sales On The Internet?

After reading about how effective drop capitals can be offline; I decided to see if they could boost my sales conversion rate, on a website selling an ebook.

My first big hurdle was learning how to create a drop cap effect on a web page.

I spent a considerable amount of time trying to create a graphic of a capital letter, which would fit just right in the paragraph. I quickly discovered that it's very easy to create an image that is either too big, or too small.

I didn't want the whole effect to look amateurish, as I felt that it would make my site look unprofessional, and almost certainly 'hurt' my conversion rates.

After much perserverance and trial and error, I managed to get everything looking just right.

I Set Up A Split Test To Track My Sales Conversion Rate

Using some state of the art 'split test tracking software', I set up two different versions of my sales page. The software split all incoming traffic to my website. Half the visitors viewed a page WITHOUT a drop capital, and the other half saw the same page, but this time WITH a drop capital.

A piece of tracking code was placed on my 'thank you' page, so that I could track which version of my sales page was viewed, whenever a sale was made. This scientific method of testing, would prove to me over time which version of my sales page made more sales.

I decided to let the test run for at least 100 sales, so that the results wouldn't be a fluke. I eventually stopped the split test at 135 sales.

My Test Results Revealed That My Sales Were Up By A Huge 40%!

The results from the test were pretty amazing. Not only did it prove that drop capitals work online, but it also suggested that they are even more effective on web pages, than they are in offline advertising.

Here are my test result statisitics from a website where I am selling an ebook...

Page WITHOUT a drop capital image: 3796 unique visitors, 57 new sales, 1.5% conversion rate

Page WITH a drop capital image: 3702 unique visitors, 78 new sales, 2.1% conversion rate

Even though the page WITH a drop capital received slightly less unique visitors, it still managed to sell 21 more ebooks for me. Overall, the page WITH the drop capital made 40% more sales, than the exact same page WITHOUT a drop capital.

I'm sure you will agree that the increase in sales is very significant; and all after changing just one single letter on my web page! If you don't currently use drop capital images on your website, you really are leaving money on the table.

Instead of spending all your time and money, trying to get more and more visitors to your website, you really should look at how you can increase your sales, from the existing traffic you are already getting.

This is the easiest way I have found to increase my profits, and I didn't have to spend an extra dime on advertising to get it!

Jason Lewis has developed an easy 'cut and paste' solution for creating a drop capital effect on a web page. For details, and to see video proof of how drop capitals have increased online sales, please visit: Increase Conversion Rates With Drop Capitals

---

How Using A Drop Capital Increased My Ebook Sales By 40%

You will often find me with my head in a... Read More

More Than An Ebook

The following in an excerpt from the E-Book of the... Read More

How to Almost Guarantee Your eBook Market Success

Conceptualizing a profitable idea and formulating a marketing plan to... Read More

The Advantages Of Being An e-Book Writer Or Publisher

All well known experts have agreed that informational products especially... Read More

eBook Publishers Dilemma: Should I Use PDF or Exe Format?

If you write and publish eBooks, sooner or later you... Read More

Ebooks - How To Bring Them Into The Market

So, you have decided to start an ebook business. The... Read More

Stop Trying To Sell Your eBooks

Throughout the Internet there are many people who have written... Read More

Benefits of Ebooks for Your Business

No matter what type of home-based business you operate, chances... Read More

Who Really Wrote That Ebook?

The publishing world has never been more fun, and opportunities... Read More

How To Protect Your eBooks From Piracy And Copyright Infringement!

eBooks, or electronic books, mean big business for all aspiring... Read More

Top Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book - Part 2

You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More

Your First Step To A Digital Publishing Empire

There is only one way to climb a mountain -... Read More

7 Secrets to Explode your eBook Sales! Part 7

Secret #7: How to create a mountain of sales using... Read More

Demand for E-books on the Increase

Demand for electronic books, or e-books, has created one of... Read More

Top Ten Tips To Get Started Writing Your Book - Part 1

You are far more likely to successfully write and publish... Read More

Profiting From Writting Your Own Ebook

As you might have heard, the Internet is all about... Read More

The Kolbrin ? Ancient Warnings of Modern Threats

The Kolbrin is a substantial Biblical-era wisdom text of immense... Read More

10 Excuses for NOT Authoring an eBook!

Most people at one time or another have said to... Read More

Cash in on Your Expertise

Even though I've never met you, I know one thing... Read More

Writing an eBook is Risk-taking Behaviour ? Choose to do it!

The choice to author a book isn't one that just... Read More

This Simple Publishing Mistake Could Be Losing You Half Your Back End Sales!

Many of the Internets biggest ebook sellers are making this... Read More

Online Promotion: 20 Phenomenal Tricks To Sky-rocket Your Traffic And Sales With eBooks

There are many authors who have made a killing with... Read More

Writing Acknowledgements for E-Books

It is important to have an acknowledgements section in your... Read More

Choose the Right Format for Your Ebooks

Choosing the right file format for your ebook is an... Read More

How To Get Your Article or Ebook Started Fast... Time Saving Tips To Get Your Writing Moving..

As we have all heard time and again (and it's... Read More

Top Ten eBook Mistakes and How to Correct Them (Part 1)

Did you know that you already have an eBook inside... Read More

Selling Books and E-Books Online

For many authors the thought of getting professionally published is... Read More

Ebook Promotion: 10 Secrets Smart Ways To Increase The Downloading Of Your Ebook

If you promote an ebook, then you must learn these... Read More

EBOOKS Are Books Too!

Electronic books ? that is books you read on the... Read More

Internet Marketing Online: 15 Smart Quick Ways To Profit From Ebooks

If you have an ebook, I can show you 15... Read More

How eBooks Can Be Very Valuable

EBooks have a number of benefits over the traditional book.... Read More

10 Steps to Author 1 eBook

Authoring a book, specifically an eBook (electronic book), is easy,... Read More

How To Find HOT, Non-Internet Marketing Topics For Your eBooks

It's so tempting to write ebooks yet again, on "How... Read More