If you want to keep your conversion rates high and your cost per acquisition low, improve your copywriting by steering clear of these 44 mistakes.

1. 44 Common Copywriting Mistakes
By Daniel Doan (danieldoan.net)
😞
That Might Accidentally KILL Your Landing Page Conversions

2. Let’s try to avoid the following mistakes...
(making a few might be okay, but too many of these will destroy your conversions)

3. Lack of Credibility
Your copy doesn’t have enough proof of
success or points to reassure that your offer
will deliver on its promises.
How to fix it:
➔ Create more proof points
Showcase more testimonials, proof of
success, and transformations.
➔ Demonstrate the value
Showcase the offer in a more direct and
visual way through the copy.
danieldoan.net

4. Overly Logical
Your copy is overly logical and doesn’t stir any
emotion at all. It comes off dull, drab, and
completely lifeless to your prospects.
How to fix it:
➔ Insert more emotion upfront
Build initial interest by appealing to
widely felt emotions.
➔ Weave in more visual copy
Show, don’t tell. Write in way that
showcases movement and visuals.
danieldoan.net

5. Dull Transformation
Your copy makes your offer sound hard. Your
prospect feels that moving forward will be a
painful and confusing process.
How to fix it:
➔ Future-pace their success
Make sure your prospect is reminded of
the desired transformation.
➔ Use adjectives that convey ease
Add more verbiage that reassures your
prospect that the offer is easy.
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6. Repetitive Language
Your copy overuses a lot of words that make
the writing feel like your prospect is reading
the same words over and over again.
How to fix it:
➔ Make sure there’s a narrative arc
Use a proper storytelling structure on
the copy. Don’t just repeat stuff.
➔ Use a thesaurus on your verbs
Make sure the words you’re using are
varied enough to maintain interest.
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7. Completely Dry
Your copy doesn’t elicit many emotions or take
prospects through a journey — it just states
things in a matter-of-fact way.
How to fix it:
➔ Liven up the phrasing
Add more words that add more visuals
and paint a stronger picture.
➔ Engage in more storytelling
Use more narratives to help prospects
imagine their future success.
danieldoan.net

8. Not Conversational
Your copy reads stiff and robotic — almost
forced. It doesn’t sound like something an
actual human would say.
How to fix it:
➔ Read it out loud
Make sure the phrasing sounds like
something you would actually say.
➔ Use transitory phrases
Inject the right words in between
statements to make things flow.
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9. Overly Selfish
Your copy focuses too much on what you
personally value in your offer and not enough
to how your offer can help your prospect.
How to fix it:
➔ Rethink the big idea
Try to come up with a better angle that
resonates more with the prospect.
➔ Dig deeper into psychographics
Learn more about the headspace that
your prospect is in.
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10. Wrong Tone
Your copy makes your brand come off
incongruent with how you want to be
portrayed.
How to fix it:
➔ Assume a persona when writing
Visualize a specific character in your
head when writing — then write in a
tone they’d find relatable.
➔ Create a brand voice document
Use a document that encapsulates how
to properly phrase sentiments.
danieldoan.net

11. Not Relatable
Your copy isn’t relatable to your prospect and
they don’t see themselves as someone that
your offer can genuinely help.
How to fix it:
➔ Craft a more specific narrative
Write a relevant hook, then follow it up
with a linear story.
➔ Use more of their words
Do more research into phrasing that the
prospect actually uses.
danieldoan.net

12. Too Much Jargon
Your copy assumes that your prospect knows
way too much vertical-specific information
and vocabulary.
How to fix it:
➔ Simplify your writing
Use words that are simpler to
understand and get to the point faster.
➔ Use more direct analogies
Incorporate analogies into the writing
that help with comprehension.
danieldoan.net

13. Bad Assumptions
Your copy assumes too many incorrect details
about the prospect to the point where they
feel like you don’t understand them.
How to fix it:
➔ Zoom out a bit more
Don’t go as narrow with the phrasing.
Instead, be more inclusive.
➔ Study your prospect more
Interview more of your ideal customers
and look for broader similarities.
danieldoan.net

14. Not Enough Benefits
Your copy lists a lot of information about
features, but doesn’t do enough to tie them
into tangible and directly relevant benefits.
How to fix it:
➔ Use more fascination bullets
Incorporate more benefits bullets and
tie every feature into a benefit.
➔ Interview more customers
Find out more specific use cases from
real customers and write them out.
danieldoan.net

15. Speaks Too Broadly
Your copy doesn’t specifically talk to one
person, but assumes that you’re speaking to
several people.
How to fix it:
➔ Use more “you” language
Reframe the copy to speak to just one
person — the singular prospect.
➔ Call out the prospect early on
Make sure the copy grabs the prospect
from the start and calls them out.
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16. Weak Call to Action
Your copy’s CTA contains too much friction, to
the point where the prospect isn’t inspired
enough to take the next step forward.
How to fix it:
➔ Improve the lead-in copy
Change up the copy that leads into the
main call-to-action. Add more benefits.
➔ Overhaul the offer’s positioning
Make the offer objectively better and
reduce all perceived risk.
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17. Poor Structure
Your copy contains sales arguments that are
poorly timed and aren’t cohesive, making it
difficult for prospects to follow.
How to fix it:
➔ Follow a proven framework
Whether it’s AIDA, PAS, or something
else, make sure the copy fits.
➔ Interview more buyers
FInd the “eureka” moment and frame
the copy to lead to that point.
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18. Too Vague
Your copy doesn’t hone in on the specifics of
the right pain points and how your offer will
specifically help them get what they want.
How to fix it:
➔ Write more concisely
Search for more fluffy parts of copy and
try to say more in fewer words.
➔ Re-study the core benefits
Go back to the drawing board and
make sure the benefits are relevant.
danieldoan.net

19. Overly Pushy
Your copy comes off as pressuring prospects
into the sale instead of elevating desire and
using psychological triggers.
How to fix it:
➔ Use less aggressive statements
Ease up on the use of demanding tone
and reduce assertive phrasing.
➔ Build up the sales argument
Create a more clearly defined narrative
that better positions the offer.
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20. Weak Hooks
Your copy doesn’t do a good job at piquing
curiosity and holding attention at the
beginning of sections (where it matters most).
How to fix it:
➔ Try a counterintuitive hook
Use a hook that goes against “common
knowledge” yet ties back into the offer.
➔ Open up a strong curiosity loop
Create phrasing that piques their desire
to figure out how the story ends.
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21. Terrible Formatting
Your copy is hard to read and provides a poor
user experience — your prospects’ eyes get
fatigued and they’re not sure where to look.
How to fix it:
➔ Make sure the text is skimmable
Break up large chunks of text and make
sure the copy works for skimmers.
➔ Watch prospects in real-time
Use software to analyze heat maps and
figure out what prospects are doing.
danieldoan.net

22. Confusing Messaging
Your copy doesn’t create and build on a single
narrative. It feels disjointed, confusing, and
creates tangents that are hard to follow.
How to fix it:
➔ Rethink the main big idea
Make sure that the narrative is
congruent all throughout.
➔ Create more logical transitions
Ensure that each section seamlessly
transitions to the next.
danieldoan.net

23. Overly Long Sentences
Your copy contains too many sentences that
drag on for far too long, overstaying their
welcome and boring prospects.
How to fix it:
➔ Reduce comma usage
Go through and remove commas.
Replace and rephrase offenders.
➔ Frontload the benefits
Make sure all benefits are placed
towards the front of sentences.
danieldoan.net

24. Broken English
Your copy contains typos or grammatical
mistakes that create a “halo-effect” and make
your brand seem unprofessional.
How to fix it:
➔ Distance yourself from the copy
Step away from the copy, then read
through every word with fresh eyes.
➔ Use a grammar-checking tool
Run everything through a tool that calls
out typos and mistakes.
danieldoan.net

25. Not Enough Value
Your copy doesn’t convey a strong sense of
value for prospects to feel like they’re getting
a more than fair deal.
How to fix it:
➔ Focus on relevant bonuses
Lean in on extra perks to reassure
prospects that they’re getting a lot.
➔ Position for the right people
Make sure the copy positions the offer
in a way that’s unique to the market.
danieldoan.net

26. Unclear Sentiments
Your copy contains wording that requires your
prospect to read multiple times in order to try
to figure out what you’re saying.
How to fix it:
➔ Read with “Customer’s Eyes”
Put yourself in the prospect’s shoes and
make your way through the copy.
➔ Get an external perspective
Ask a third-party to review and identify
potentially confusing trains of thought.
danieldoan.net

27. Not Skimmable Enough
Your copy does not contain enough elements
that can be parsed at a glance. Prospects
must wade through long chunks of text.
How to fix it:
➔ Split long sections up
Break up the longest parts into chunks
of skimmable, easy-to-digest copy.
➔ Bold key value phrases
Highlight words or sections that stand
out as relevant to the prospect.
danieldoan.net

28. Wrong Headspace
Your copy contains an angle that assumes
your prospect believes something that makes
them receptive to your offer, but they’re not.
How to fix it:
➔ Retrace the buyer’s journey
Review your prospect’s journey to make
sure your messaging fits their psyche.
➔ Survey more customers
Ask your ideal customers for feedback
about what angles best resonate.
danieldoan.net

29. Unconfident Frame
Your copy contains wording that suggests that
you’re not fully confident in the value you
provide to your prospect.
How to fix it:
➔ Remove weak phrasing
Don’t use words such as “if” — instead,
reframe the sentiment better.
➔ Add more certainty
Make sure every single sentiment
comes across more assertively.
danieldoan.net

30. Droning Sentences
Your copy contains too many sentences with
similar length and tone, creating an ambiance
that puts prospects to sleep.
How to fix it:
➔ Mix in more short phrases
Add short sentences and 1-2 word
phrases to break up the monotony.
➔ Add more emotional pull
Craft a real narrative with emotional
crescendos to pique interest.
danieldoan.net

31. Lack of Flow
Your copy does not transition properly
between ideas. Your words and sentences feel
stiff and are haphazardly structured.
How to fix it:
➔ Revise sentences individually
Within each paragraph or chunk of text,
edit each sentence by itself.
➔ Edit two paragraphs at a time
Keep your eyes on two paragraphs at a
time, editing for flow between both.
danieldoan.net

32. Unnecessary Details
Your copy drones on and on and reveals too
much about your offer that your prospect
does not currently care to learn about.
How to fix it:
➔ Make the use case more focused
Focus more explicitly on the best use
case for the prospect.
➔ Remove irrelevant features
Trim the fat on any details that don’t
speak to directly relevant benefits.
danieldoan.net

33. Irrelevant Benefits
Your copy harps upon benefits that aren’t
strong enough to motivate the prospect to act
— they don’t matter that much.
How to fix it:
➔ Find the right benefits
Study your target market and find out
their biggest pain points.
➔ Place the strongest benefit first
Restructure the copy to frontload the
most important value propositions.
danieldoan.net

34. Accidentally Insulting
Your copy makes your prospects feel belittled,
like you’re assuming they’re idiots and/or
judging them for their insecurities.
How to fix it:
➔ Ease up on the negative tone
Try to frame the copy in a more positive
light and focus on uplifting them.
➔ Remove incorrect assumptions
Review your persona and make sure
you’re not making them feel dumb.
danieldoan.net

35. Insufficient Proof
Your copy doesn’t offer enough tangible and
demonstrable proof that the offer is as
effective as advertised.
How to fix it:
➔ Add a visual demonstration
Use a demo that clearly showcases the
offer being effective for a customer.
➔ Sprinkle in testimonials
Throw in proof of wins from personas
that are similar to your prospect
danieldoan.net

36. Lack of Urgency
Your copy doesn’t give a good reason as to
why the prospect should act immediately
instead of later.
How to fix it:
➔ Tease fast-action bonuses
Give them a real incentive or bonus if
they act within a given timeframe.
➔ Bring to light real scarcity
Make sure they know the drawbacks of
not acting as soon as possible.
danieldoan.net

37. Risky Proposition
Your copy’s call-to-action feels like it’ll incur
too much risk for prospects. Perhaps they’re
worried about a hard sell or time wasted.
How to fix it:
➔ Make it safe for prospects
Reassure that you’re trustworthy by
making the CTA more risk-free.
➔ Provide extra benefit incentive
Make sure prospects fully understand
that they’ll win even if it’s not a good fit.
danieldoan.net

38. Overly Emotional
Your copy leans too hard on emotion and tries
to go for an overly emotion-driven angle
without creating a proper sales argument.
How to fix it:
➔ Transition the hook into logic
Make sure there’s a proper transition
into a logical sales argument.
➔ Add more proof points
Lean the copy back towards logic with
more proof of customer success.
danieldoan.net

39. Undermined Offer
Your copy attempts to convey that the offer is
a good deal by offering a reduced price, but it
backfires due to poor positioning.
How to fix it:
➔ Position the discount better
Make sure that the promotion doesn’t
undermine the value of the offer.
➔ Add more relevant bonuses
Provide additional incentives for the
prospect to move forward.
danieldoan.net

40. Unclear Pronouns
Your copy uses a lot of vague nouns and
pronouns that make it extremely difficult for
the prospect to understand what’s going on.
How to fix it:
➔ Replace most pronouns
Find and remove all pronouns that
make sentiments vague.
➔ Incorporate more specific nouns
Use the most detailed version of a noun
instead of a vague generic.
danieldoan.net

41. Not Enough Desire
Your copy says a lot about the offer, but
doesn’t do enough to make the offer feel
enticing enough for prospects to want it.
How to fix it:
➔ Future-pace more often
Include more copy about the promised
land and how your offer is the vehicle.
➔ Create a real unique mechanism
Tease benefits that can only be
achieved with your specific offer.
danieldoan.net

42. Lexically Verbose
Your copy uses a lot more words than
necessary to convey a sentiment that could
be clearly expressed in a more concise way.
How to fix it:
➔ Use fewer syllables in words
Try to use words with as few syllables
as possible.
➔ Have less convoluted phrasing
Split sentences with multiple commas
into multiple sentences.
danieldoan.net

43. Murky Positioning
Your copy doesn’t accurately reflect the
strength of the offer and the magnitude of the
desired outcome for the market.
How to fix it:
➔ Clarify the result
Make the copy more goal-oriented,
instead of improvement-oriented.
➔ Improve the offer’s positioning
Ensure that the transformation is readily
apparent from the start.
danieldoan.net

44. Buried Lede
Your copy hides the most unique parts of the
offer and doesn’t immediately highlight your
core selling proposition.
How to fix it:
➔ Hone in on your value prop
Find a better way to convey that your
offer is unique to your brand.
➔ Create a better hook
Lead with something novel that also
opens a strong curiosity loop.
danieldoan.net

45. Not Enough Expertise
Your copy sounds like you don’t really know
what you’re talking about — it clearly sounds
like you’re trying to make stuff up.
How to fix it:
➔ Use more specific claims
Avoid unfounded claims and phrasing
that makes the claims sound vague.
➔ Incorporate more numbers
Add more specific numbers throughout
the copy to add more believability.
danieldoan.net

46. Cliché Angle
Your copy uses a lot of messaging that’s
already rampant in the market and doesn’t
feel fresh or unique.
How to fix it:
➔ Create a unique mechanism
Find a better way to convey how your
offer differs in terms of process.
➔ Do more competitive research
Study your competitors and find an
angle of attack that hasn’t been used.
danieldoan.net

47. How do we avoid these mistakes?
Dig deeper to understand your ideal customer better.

48. Survey Your Buyers
Keep the questions short and don’t send more
than a handful at a time. Give them
compelling incentives to participate.
danieldoan.net

49. Dig Into Analytics
Study your customer data and come up with
hypotheses that you can test and prove (or
disprove) with repeated split tests.
danieldoan.net

50. Interview Customers
Go one-on-one with your customer base and
ask them to narrate their thought processes
as they navigate through your website and/or
offer.
danieldoan.net

51. Tap Into Communities
Figure out where they like to hang out in
online communities such as reddit and
Facebook Groups. Then, observe their
behavior.
danieldoan.net

52. Study Industry Reports
Find the right research resources in your
vertical to better understand your audience.
White papers and “state of the market” reports
are perfect for this.
danieldoan.net

53. Video Call Customers
Ask your ideal customers to hop on a video
call and grill them a bit on what made them
choose your offer over other alternatives.
danieldoan.net

54. Create Your Own Community
Start a community online that caters to your
ideal customer, then interact with them and
figure out what makes them tick.
danieldoan.net

55. Map The User Journey
Take a look at all the touch-points at which
customers have contact with your business
and make sure its mapped correctly to ensure
message-journey fit.
danieldoan.net

56. Use Heatmaps
Leverage the power of heat mapping software
to understand where drop off points might be
and fix any loose ends.
danieldoan.net

57. Listen To Sales Calls
Tap into these to gain specific insight into
what’s not going right for your customers and
how your company can better serve them.
danieldoan.net

58. Tap Into Your Email List
Ask your email list subscribers what’s
bothering them and get into a conversation
with them to ask more questions.
danieldoan.net

59. Study AOV and LTV
List your top three most profitable customers
and your top three least profitable ones.
Identify the differences in order to disqualify
leads who are a poor fit.
danieldoan.net

60. Look At Your Competition
Study your position, relative to the market.
Figure out what their core value propositions
are. Find the gaps in the market.
danieldoan.net

61. Read Support Ticket Logs
Sometimes the best data is found inside
customer support tickets. Dig through tickets
to find what customers are struggling with.
danieldoan.net

62. Scope Out Market Alternatives
Find out what other ways might your customer
be solving the problem that your offer solves
in a faster or better way. Then, meet them at
the problem unaware state they’re in.
danieldoan.net

63. Re-evaluate Positioning
Figure out what “job” the customer is trying to
get done with your offer and ask yourself if
your offer is targeting the correct use case.
danieldoan.net

64. That’s it! You’ve reached the end!
Want more copywriting strategies? Check out my Banana Copywriting Bible.
😄
P.S. Want me to write landing pages, email drips, or ads for you? → danieldoan.net